The Concluding event in the summer programme ‘Nights at the Castle’, at the Castle of St George in La Spezia, is ‘Travel the Universe’, taking place this Saturday night at 9.15pm. The event is organised by the Spezzino Institute of Astronomical Research and the talk will be led by their vice president. A number of speakers will talk about different aspects of the moon including the myths early mankind believed about the moon, the role of the moon in works of art, music and literature, and the arrival of man on the moon. It will conclude with a discussion on the
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Tomorrow Appeninnfest takes place. For one day the land between the National Park of the Tuscan Emilian Apennines and the Parco dei Cento Laghi will be transformed into a festival space with a market, music and a whole lot of activities for kids. It looks like it’ll be ideal for those of us with children as the organisers have placed a special emphasis on activities for children this year. Children’s activities include donkey acrobatics in which children will be taught how to balance on the backs of donkeys, donkey rides, obstacle courses, puppet shows and canopy tours. For those of
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La Spezia is celebrating the end of summer by holding two classical concerts which explore classical music in different ways. Tomorrow (Augest 10th) ‘Music Under the Stars’ will be performed in the open air in Piazza Saint-Bon. The Flutist Tito Ciccarese and the accordion player Gianni Fassetta will be playing a selection of music including work by Mozart, Piazzolla and Verdi. Next Saturday soprano Silvia Martinelli, flutist Fabio Taruschio and pianist Andrea Found present ‘The Opera in Concert’ outside the Church of St John and Augustine. The concert is a celebration of the bicentenary of the birth of Verdi and will
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I’m coming to the conclusion that there is no such thing as going for a ‘quiet drink’ in Italy. By that I don’t mean that a quick drink at the local inevitably turns into an all night drinking session, I mean that the word ‘quiet’ coupled with the words ‘Italian bar’ don’t naturally go together due to the high level of engaging, interesting people you’re bound to start debating with on various subjects. This was the situation I found myself in, when last night I decided that it would be a good idea to go for a fabled ‘quiet drink’
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Villafranca is currently hosting the annual Mama Africa Meeting, a festival of African culture, which brings together workshops, live performances, film screenings, bars, food stalls and debates on contemporary African issues bought to you by forty different artists and teachers. It started on the 28th of July, with a parade through the town and an evening celebration. The workshops on offer include African jazz dance, balafon music and African dance theater and the debates range from African economics to the experiences of African women. I’m going to have to break out of tourism writer mode to tell you about the
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As I’m at a loose end tonight and as the long list of comic accidents that have befallen me recently (you can read up on one of them here) seem to be abating, I thought I might go to “Who’s coming to dinner tonight?” a live culinary and theatrical event as Malaspina Castle. Although the title is reminiscent of the panicky feeling you get when an unexpected (and usually unwelcome) guest has been invited to dinner last minute, the reality of the show sounds a lot more fun. Set in the rather lovely castle, the audience is invited to sit
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Continuing it’s summer of culture, The Centre of Modern and Contemporary Art in La Spezia will be playing host to print art specialists Lab 43. Whilst my artistic talents leave a little to be desired, this sounds like an interesting opportunity (especially as this particular workshop is for people of all abilities). Lab 43 are famed for their collaborative workshops, attended by artists from all over the world, usually held in their open plan studio in Venice. Artists are encouraged to explore the various facets of print making, using techniques such as intaglio etching, lithography, screen printing, woodcut, relief and bookbinding. They pride themselves
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Unfortunately, as a massive claustraphobe with a hatred of anything even resembling a cave or a mine, I will not be able to participate in the series of events taking place at the Miniera Pietra del Fuoco, a disused mine in Corchia. Those of you whose stomachs don’t turn at the thought of being underground, have the opportunity to explore the mines during a series of events taking place every weekend until the 14th of September. These will include night walks, geology talks and nature hikes. The events start this Sunday night with a picnic at sunset, where you will be
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And so my battle against the local wild boar continues. For those of you that have been lucky enough never to encounter the cinghiale they look like this: I’ll admit that at a distance they do actually look quite sweet but that’s as far as I’m willing to compliment them. Anyway, being the over optimistic fool that I am, I thought it would be nice to plant some olive trees on my land. There I was, imagining planting a few trees, watching them grow and then harvesting a veritable multitude of olives. Unfortunately, that has not been the case thus
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Throughout the summer, the Museo Amedeo Lia in La Spezia will be hosting variety of free events. The museum is famed for it’s varied collection of over 1200 works of art. These range from paintings, miniatures and statues made from bronze, copper and ivory, with works from Titan, Raphael and Lippo Memmi  on display. Set in a abandended convent that dates back to the 1600’s, the museum also has wonderful cloisters and a garden boasting 30 different botanical species. Starting this Friday and ending on the 9th of August, the museum will be open till 8pm and serving a selection
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