Battle of the Bridge in Pisa – Gioco del Ponte


Its origins may be lost in the mists of time, but this summer pageant with a cast of thousands is still the most important annual event in Pisa.
Armies representing the Mezzogiorno (south of the River Arno) and Tramontana (north of the river) neighbourhoods of the city meet at the Ponte di Mezzo, where the opposing teams demonstrate their physical strength and prowess.
No longer do they bludgeon each other with maces and pointed shields (as they did in days of yore), but instead they take turns to push an immense cart weighing several tons, and they are judged by the force of their efforts. Before the “battle” there is a grand procession along the banks of the Arno with hundreds of participants wearing medieval costume, many of them in the Spanish style of the late 16th-century. Approximately 100,000 turn out for the event each year.

Giacomo Puccini February 2010 Events in Lucca

Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini

Giacomo Puccini February 2010 Events in Lucca

TUTTI I LUNEDI’, MARTEDI’ E MERCOLEDI’ DEL MESE /EVERY MONDAY, TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH
SPECIAL CONCERTS
“PUCCINI AND MOZART”
(always with different performers and programmes)

TUTTI I VENERDI’ DEL MESE – EVERY FRIDAY OF THE MONTH

MOZART & PUCCINI
Arie e duetti da/arias and duets from  LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, COSI’ FAN TUTTE, DON GIOVANNI, MADAMA BUTTERFLY, LA BOHEME, TOSCA

TUTTI I SABATO DEL MESE – EVERY SATURDAY OF THE MONTH

UNA NOTTE ALL’OPERA/A NIGHT AT THE OPERA
Arie e duetti dal repertorio lirico di Puccini, Verdi, Leoncavallo, Donietti, Mascagni ed altri/arias and duets from the Italian operatic repertoire

TUTTE LE DOMENICHE DEL MESE – EVERY SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

PUCCINI E LA CANZONE TRADIZIONALE NAPOLETANA – PUCCINI & THE  NEAPOLITAN TRADITIONAL SONGS

Viareggio Carnival, let’s go!

Are you ready? This February, like every year, Viareggio is ready to give you his best welcome thanks to one of the most popular carnival of the world! Viareggio Carnival.

Every year for 133 years, this has been a main draw for locals and tourists alike. It is a three week festival that is a gala time for partying n February. The streets are filled with floats during the time and parades are held about 5 times over the period. Masked people and bands play throughout. The tradition started in 1873, and was originally a tax protest by citizens, but then what really happened, but to turn it into a festival later.

Giacomo Puccini January 2010 Events in Lucca

Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini

Giacomo Puccini January 2010 Events in Lucca

TUTTI I LUNEDI’, MARTEDI’ E MERCOLEDI’ DEL MESE /EVERY MONDAY, TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH
SPECIAL CONCERTS
“PUCCINI AND MOZART”
(always with different performers and programmes)

TUTTI I VENERDI’ DEL MESE – EVERY FRIDAY OF THE MONTH

MOZART & PUCCINI
Arie e duetti da/arias and duets from  LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, COSI’ FAN TUTTE, DON GIOVANNI, MADAMA BUTTERFLY, LA BOHEME, TOSCA

TUTTI I SABATO DEL MESE – EVERY SATURDAY OF THE MONTH

UNA NOTTE ALL’OPERA/A NIGHT AT THE OPERA
Arie e duetti dal repertorio lirico di Puccini, Verdi, Leoncavallo, Donietti, Mascagni ed altri/arias and duets from the Italian operatic repertoire

TUTTE LE DOMENICHE DEL MESE – EVERY SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

PUCCINI E LA CANZONE TRADIZIONALE NAPOLETANA – PUCCINI & THE  NEAPOLITAN TRADITIONAL SONGS

and
Mercoledì/Wednesday  27th JANUARY 2009, AT 21.15 – BASILICA DI SAN GIOVANNI
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMADEUS!”
special gala performance with
arias, duets and trios from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s masterworks
on  Mozart’s 254th birthday

Tuscany – Christmas in Florence

Piazza della Repubblica
Piazza della Repubblica

If you decide to spend your Christmas in Florence, you can lose in the atmosphere of the city, with squares, avenues, side streets and shop windows are bathed in the special atmosphere of lights, colours and Christmas cheer.
Here tourists and visitors can find useful information on the Christmas period.
For example you might start your visit with the nostalgia of the German Christmas market in Piazza Santa Croce until December 20 or you could choose from the wide choice of   markets  in the Province of Florence. You can admire traditional, mechanised or live Nativity scenes , fascinating for adults and children, in churches, institutes or in the open air.   Who is interested in cultural actvities can find the opening times of museums and churches for Christmas  and the first week of the New Year. Can choose  guided tours as well as a list of activities to do with children are also available.
For a general calender of variety of events, from gospel choirs to charity fairs, from exhibitions  to shows and  venues for Saint Silvester Night .
For the first time this year it is possible to celebrate the new Year’s Eve together with Bologna: the two cities are now much closer thank to the high speed train that allows passengers to get from Florence to Bologna and back in only 37 minutes.
In cooperation with the municipality of Bologna and Trenitalia there are concerts and special events with artists performing in both cities .
Lastly, there is a wide selection of proposals for your Christmas and New Year parties and dinners, listing restaurants where you can have dinner, but also cafès, pubs and discos , or  villas, castles and palaces  in or outside Florence.

You can find all informations on : www.firenzeturismo.it