7:00PM. Aperitivo time in Italy!

A well consolidated tradition by many Italians is meeting half an hour before the evening meal to enjoy together an “aperitivo”. The habit of the evening aperitivo has become very popular in recent years but it is a practice that was common during the Romans. The word Aperitivo comes from the Latin “aperire” that means to open, to begin. In fact its purpose is to open your stomach and tickle your appetite.

Aperitivo usually starts at 7:00pm and goes on until 8:30pm. You can choose among a vast range of alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks. Every region or city has its own special one and according to the location a similar cocktail can just change the name.

The most popular alcoholic ones are Pirlo (common in Brescia, Lombardy and made with sparkling white wine, Campari or Aperol and soda water), Spritz from Veneto is made with white wine and sparkling water), Rossini (named after the famous classical composer: mashed strawberries and Prosecco sparkling wine or Champagne). Even sparkling or dry white wines are usually served during the aperitivo and the most popular one is Prosecco.

Let us not forget the famous Bellini, created by a barman, at the Harry's Bar in Venice, in 1948.
Non-alcoholic aperitif cocktails are usually a mixture of fruit juice and chopped fruit. They can easily become alcoholic aperitifs adding some gin or vodka. You can also buy already made non-alcoholic soft drinks such as Crodino (most popular - created in Piedmont), San Bittèr made by the San Pellegrino Co. (Bergamo, Lombardy).

Aperitivo is always served with something to much on such as chips, peanuts, cubes of pizza, olives, pickles etc.
In recent years it has become a common practice to prepare a small buffet with cold pasta, pizza, canapés, sandwiches, rice and seafood salads, etc.
These aperitifs are really appreciated among youngsters that can have an aperitif and have dinner paying the aperitif just a little bit more.

“Autumn flavours”, food festivals in Italy. MUSHROOMS FESTIVALS

Autumn is the period of great specialities from our land: new wine, apples, honey, boletus mushrooms, chestnuts, pumpkins, etc.
Autumn is time of harvests and food festivals to celebrate and praise fruits of our lands and to say goodbye to summer and to fields’ labours.

Every region in Italy celebrates its own food through festivals that last for days. Let’s go and visit just some of them:

• Liguria – Calizzano near Savona (October 10th and 11th) – BOLETO FESTIVAL;
• Lombardy – Pizzale near Pavia (October 25th ) HONEY MUSHROOM FESTIVAL;
• Veneto - Nervesa della Battaglia near Treviso (From 25th to 29th september);
• Tuscany – Balconevisi near Pisa (October 17th and 18th) BOLETO FESTIVAL;
• Tuscany – Palazzuolo sul Senio near Florence (Every Sunday in October) BOLETO; FESTIVAL
• Basilicata – Dugenta near Benevento (the whole weekends of September and October); BOLETO FESTIVAL;
• Calabria – Camigliatello near Cosenza (From October 16th to November the 1st);
• Sardinia – Sorgono near Nuoro (from 25th to 27th September);

“Autumn flavours”, food festivals in Italy: NEW WINE FESTIVAL

Autumn is the period of great specialities from our land: new wine, apples, honey, boletus mushrooms, chestnuts, pumpkins, etc.
Autumn is time of harvests and food festivals to celebrate and praise fruits of our lands and to say goodbye to summer.

Every region in Italy celebrates its own food through festivals that last for days. Let’s go and visit just some of them:

• Piedmont – Alba (September 27th) –celebration of the best wines of Langa and Roero areas;
• Piedmont – Carema (from 24th to 29th September) wite tasting in the “opened cellars” in the area. Piedmont is the land of Barbera wines;
• Trentino-Alto Adige – Chiusa near Bolzano (September 19th and 26th and October 3rd) Wine is paired with local specialities such as speck, barley soup, canederli, sausages, sauerkraut, krapfen and roast chestnuts;
• Veneto – Vicenza (From 23 to 25 October). This is the first National Festival of wine-tourism;
• Emilia-Romagna – Gusano near Piacenza (October 3rd and 4th);
• Emilia-Romagna - Pioppe di Sanvaro near Bologna (October 18th);
• Marches - Monte Porzio near Pesaro (October 3rd and 4th);
• Marches – Treglio (November 7th and 8th) cellars are opened to visitors and wines are paired with local food;
• Tuscany - Impruneta near Florence (until September 27th);
• Tuscany - Vagliagli near Siena (until September 27th);
• Tuscany - Scansano near Grosseto (until September 27th);
• Tuscany – Poggibonsi (October 3rd and 4th);
• Umbria - Penna in Teverina near Perugia (October 2nd and 4th);
• Latium – Marino (from the 1st to 5th October);
• Sardinia – Sorgono near Nuoro (from 25th to 27th September). Sardinia is the land of Cannonau

red wine.

ITALIAN ART: some curiosities

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was set in Verona as many other play of the Engllish writer.
Florence is home to Italian art.
The Italian language evolved from the Latin of the Roman Empire.
The famous children's story, Pinocchio , was written by an Italian.
Today's modern Italian language originated in Tuscany.
Jacopo da Lentini is the father of the sonnet.

“Autumn flavours”, food festivals in Italy. CHESTNUTS & APPLES FESTIVALS

Autumn is the period of great specialities from our land: new wine, apples, honey, boletus mushrooms, chestnuts, pumpkins, etc.
Autumn is time of harvests and food festivals to celebrate and praise fruits of our lands and to say goodbye to summer and to fields’ labours.

Every region in Italy celebrates its own food through festivals that last for days. Let’s go and visit just some of them:

APPLES FESTIVALS

• Aosta Valley - Feta di Pomme in Gressan (first week of October);
• Aosta Valley - Melevallée in Antey-Saint-André (second week of October).

CHESTNUTS FESTIVALS

• Aosta Valley – Fenis (October 9th and 10th);
• Aosta Valley - Pont-Saint-Martin ( October 18th);
• Aosta Valley - Perloz (from 12th to 15th November);
• Friuli-Venezia Giulia – Montenars near Udine (October 3rd and 4th);
• Emilia-Romagna – Pontenure near Piacenza (October 3rd and 4th);
• Umbria - Sante Marie near L’Aquila (October 30th);
• Tuscany - Borgo di Rivalto near Pisa (October 11th);
• Latium - Porta Saracena di Segni (From 22nd to 25th October);
• Campania – Melfi (October 18th and 19th).

APPLES: Read the strudel recipe. One of the most famous cakes made with apples
CHESTNUTS : Here a great recipe with chestnuts from the Tuscan tradition!

What is real Italian food after all? – Some good suggestions for Americans loving food “Italian-style”

In many big American centres such as NY, Washington, Los Angeles or Chicago there are just a few Italian restaurants that really worthy to be called Italian. In my opinion the great majority of them are not Italian at all but run by people who have never been in Italy before!

Italian pizza margherita for example is not a round piece of greasy bread topped with red-purple sauce and lot of different kind of cheeses. Italian-American food is loaded with too many toppings, sauces, a strange kind of cheese called parmesan and many “typical Italian dishes” that can be found in America are not even mentioned in any Italian cookery book.

As for example many Americans imagine the most famous plate of pasta as spaghetti with meat ball sauce.

But unfortunately no ones eat spaghetti with meat ball sauce! Of course there are many meat recipes that require laborious and hours long preparation (meat sauce in Italian is called ragù) but there are so many different pasta recipes that the meat ones are not even the most famous.

Have you ever heard about spaghetti alla carbonara or spaghetti alla chitarra? Every single region and city in Italy has its own pasta recipes. And they are really proud of them! Bucatini all’amatriciana (Latium); Pizzoccheri from Valtellina (Lonbardy), Trofie with pesto (Liguria), Orecchiette with turnip tops (Apulia), Lasagne alla bolognese and tortellini (Emilia-Romagna), Spaghetti mari e monti (Marches), and so on. To not mention the amazing number of forms, shapes and sizes of pasta that are suitable for hundreds of different of toppings and recipes.

This is the strength of Italian cuisine! Healthy food with tasty and different toppings. And remember… Italian cuisine is not just pasta and pizza!

Religion in Italy: some curiosities

• St Peter, one of the twelve Apostles, was the first of two hundred and sixty-five Popes.
• The Shroud of Turin is believed by many to be the burial cloth of none other than Jesus Christ.
• St. Francis of Assissi and Saint Caterina of Siena are the patron saints of Italy.
• The Roman Catholic Church is based in Italy.
• Most of Italian are Roman Catholic
• There are almost 3000 sanctuaries in Italy
• There are 12 days of National feast in Italy 9 of whom have religious meanings: (Family feast – jan1, Epiphany – jan6, Easter and Easter Monday, Assumption or August holiday – Aug15, All saints – Nov1, Immaculate Conception – Dec8, Christmas – Dec25, St. Stephen’s day – Dec26).
  

National day of mourning in Italy - six troops were killed in Afghanistan

Today, September 21st 2009 is proclaimed national day of mourning in Italy to pay honour to the six yourg men who died last week in Afghanistan during a suicide bomb attack to a NATO convoy. Five of them were belonging to the 186th Folgore parachute regiment while one was in the air force.
This morning the solemn mass was celebrated in Rome at 11 am and to the ceremony participated the high office of State.
Talebans claimed responsibility for the attack. Now Italy is seriously thinking weather is better or not to recall the Italian troops home from Afghanistan.

Read other Italian news in English

Cool Italian soft drinks

CHINOTTO

The chinotto is a small bitter citrus fruit from a "myrtle-leaved" orange tree .
The tree grows to a height of 3m and can be found in Liguria, Tuscany, Sicily and Calabria.

Its appearance is similar to that of Coca-Cola. It tastes bitter and sweet at the same time. It is most commonly consumed before meals as an aperitif.



LIMONATA

It is a sparkling lemon beverage with 12% real lemon juice. A refreshing and very popular beverage in Italy.


Ingredients:
water,
lemon juice from concentrate,
sugar,
carbon dioxide,
natural flavors,
l-ascorbic acid

Nutrition Facts:
calories 180,
total fat 0,
sodium 0,
total carbs 45g,
sugars 45g,
protein 0

Is summer over in Italy?

After a warm and sunny Sunday Northern Italian people woke up this morning with a wet and cold surprise. An unceasing rain that continued all the night long has considerably lowered the temperature. Jumpers and shoes have replaced short sleeves and sandals, while sunglasses have been replaced by umbrellas. In the South temperatures are still mild and pleasant. Here the medium temperature during the day will be around 23–25°C (73-77°F) for the next few days so, if you are planning a vacation in Southern Italy don’t worry and enjoy the last sunny days.

If you are planning to visit the north like Venice, Milan, Cinque Terre, weather is rather critical and I suggest you a medium season jacket, and a few jumpers. Don’t leave home all your summer stuff. If sun comes out it will be incredibly hot. The weather in Italy could be like this for another month so be prepared and enjoy your staying!

Famous Italian People

• Napoleon spent his first exile on the Italian island of Elba.
• Leonardo da Vinci (1452- 1519) the famous Renaissance painter was also an architect, sculptor, engineer and scientist.
• Michelangelo (1475-1564) painted the Sistine Chapel and was also a sculptor and architect.
• Galileo Galilei, the great mathematician and astronomer was born in Pisa in 1564.
• Famous Italian explorers include Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo and Amerigo Vespucci.
• Enrico Fermi, was part of a University of Chicago team who created the first sustainable nuclear reaction.
• Italy is the birthplace of Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) – the most famous designer of musical instruments, most famous for his (priceless) violins.
• Archimedes, one of the world's most famous mathematicians, was born in Sicily.
• Alessandro Volta (1745–1827), electricity pioneer, eponym of the volt, inventor of the electric battery
• Giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European to discover the Atlantic coast of what is today the United States of America
• Amerigo Vespucci, (1454–1512), discovered other parts of America and gave his name to the new continent. Discovered the Amazon river in South America.
• Alessandro Manzoni (1785–1873) writer, considered the father of modern Italian language
• Jacopo da Lentini father of the sonnet.
• Andrea Bocelli was born in Lajatico, Tuscany in 1958 and he is a great tenor. He completely lost his sight at the age of 12 but his passion for music was growing too strong to be defeated by this deficiency.
• Rocco Siffredi is one of the most famous porn actors in the world as well as director and producer of pornographic movies. At 40 he had already starred in more than 1.300 movies!
• Valentino Rossi was born in 1979 in Urbino, Marches and despite his young age he is still the greatest motorcycle races in the world after ages!

HISTORICAL and curious FACTS about Italy

• The Romans actually mastered plumbing. They started using copper piping and valves.
• A famous Italian legend says that the brothers Romulus and Remus founders of Rome were raised in a cave by a she-wolf!
• The famous city of Pompei was buried after the volcano Mount Versuvius erupted in AD79. Many objects that were preserved as well as many people turned into rocks by the incandescent lava.
• The Roman army was undoubtedly the best in the ancient world.
• The first Roman Emperor was Augustus Octavian, who came to power in 27 BC.
• The Roman Empire fell in 476 AD, after its last emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was forced to abdicate by barbarian invaders.
• A Roman Centurion commanded 100 men.
• A Roman Legion was made up of 6,000 men.
• Italy became a united country in 1861.
• The first king of Rome was its legendary founder, Romulus.
• Rome was founded in 753 BC.
• Before Rome became a republic and an empire, it had seven kings.
• The symbol SPQR can be found on many ancient buildings in Rome. It means "the senate and people of Rome."
• The Seven Hills of Rome are Aventine, Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal, and Viminal.
• Spartacus the slave, fought as a gladiator in the Roman Colosseum. He miraculously escaped, then went on to lead a rebellion but was eventually killed in battle in 71BC.
• During the fourteenth century the Bubonic Plague, even known as the "Black Death", killed one-third of the Italian population.
• The Alps mountain range is part of Italy's northern border and protected the peninsula from invasion for centuries.
• The official language is Italian, but German and French are also spoken in some regions.

Find other historical facts on the Italian portal

Curious things about Italian GEOGRAPHY

• Italy is shaped like a boot!
• Rome is the capital with a population of 3 million!
• Italy is surrounded by 5 seas: Ligurian, Tyrrhenian, Mediterranean, Ionian and Adriatic
• Italy has two large islands, Sicily and Sardinia, as well as a number of smaller islands.
• Italy's north has warm summers and cool winters. Italy's south has hot summers and mild winters.
• Even though Lago Maggiore means “Larger Lake”, the largest lake in Italy is Garda Lake
• Italy is slightly larger than Arizona.
• Italy borders Austria, France, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, and Switzerland.
• The longest river in Italy is the Po.
• Italy is home to two microstates, San Marino and Vatican City.
• Italy has 16 regions and 4 autonomous regions.
• Barely a third of Italy's land is arable and suitable for farming.
• Over 75% of Italy is mountainous or hilly.
• With over 5 million people, Rome is Italy's largest city.
• Italy has a population of over 58 million.
• Italians refer to their country as Italia.
• Next to Rome, Milan is the second-largest city in Italy.
• Naples is the largest city in southern Italy.
• Rome's nickname is "The Eternal City".

TOURISM IN ITALY: some curiosities

• Italy has around 40 million visitors per year and it is the 4th most visited country in the world!
• Sixty percent of the world’s art treasures are in Italy.
• Italy boasts over 3,000 museums.
• There are more hotel rooms in Italy than any other Country in Europe.
• There are almost 2,000 Information points in Italy.
• 1/3 of the world heritage sites are in Italy (UNESCO).
• There are more than 100 amusement parks in Italy.
  
• The second largest Egyptian museum is set in Turin. The largest one is in El Cairo.
• The Venetian lagoon is composed of 54 islands. The number is not the definitive one as the Lagoon morphological composition changes continuously. Four Islands (Ammiana, Costanziaco, San Marco in Boccalama and Vigilia) disappeared centuries ago.
• A famous Italian legend says that the brothers Romulus and Remus founders of Rome were raised in a cave by a she-wolf!
• The symbol SPQR can be found on many ancient buildings in Rome. It means "the senate and people of Rome."
• “Pizza con i pepperoni” in Italian means Pizza with sweet pepper. If you are looking for a Pepperoni Pizza you must ask for “Pizza con salamino piccante”!
• Everyday 3,000 Euro get thrown into the Trevi Fountain in Rome.
• Even though Lago Maggiore means “Larger lake”, the largest lake in Italy is Garda Lake.
• The majority of Italian-American immigrants came from Naples, Sicily and southern Italy.

FOOD & DRINK: some curiosities

• Italians eat 25 kg (66 pounds) of pasta and 60 litres (26 gallons) of wine a year!
• Naples introduced the world to pizza!
• The average Italian eats around a half pound of bread a day.
• Italy's national dish is pasta.
• “Pizza con i peperoni” in Italian it means Pizza with sweet pepper. If you look for a Pepperoni Pizza you must ask for “Pizza con salamino piccante”!
• The most famous liqueur in Italy in Grappa, a spirit made from distillation of the residue of a wine press.
• Italians season salads with olive oil, vinegar and salt.
• The real cappuccino is made with espresso and milk foam.
• There are something like 300 kind of pasta different in shapes and sizes.
• Sardinia has one of the most singular and astonishing dishes called “Il toro del Ciabattino” (Shoemaker's bull).

ITALIAN INVENTIONS

• Italy is famous for its sports cars (Ferrari, Lamborghini), and for the great Vespa motor scooter.
• Archimedes, one of the world's most famous mathematicians, was born in Sicily.
• Eyeglasses are an Italian invention.
• The piano and the typewriter hail from Italy.
• Italy's contributions to science include the barometer, thermometer, electric battery and nitro-glycerine.
• The ice cream cone is an Italian invention.
• The bell was invented in the 5th century by San Paolino.
• Anaesthesia was invented in 1200 in Italy.
• The first ambulance was invented in Florence in 1244 and was hauled by horses.
• Leon Battista Alberti invented the dark chamber in 1450.
• Genoese invented Jeans using old sails.
• Genoa is besides the birthplace of lottery. It was invented in 1576.
• In 1678 Alessandro Capra invented the first speedometer for coaches.
• Mercalli intensity scale, which measures earthquakes intensity was invented in 1860 and takes the name from its creator.
• Guglielmo Marconi invaded the whole world with his great inventions: between the second half of 1800 and the beginning of 1900 he invented ether, wireless telegraph and radio set.
• In 1902 Schiapparelli explained the phenomenon of the falling stars.
  
• In 1903 was invented the espresso coffee machine.
• The first highway is Italian and it is the Milano-Laghi built in 1925.
• The most ancient tunnel was built during the Roman Empire on the Furlo mountain pass.
• Corradino d’Ascanio, the inventor of Vespa motorbike, built the first helicopter which managed to fly for 8 minutes!
• Italians are even the two most ancient banks in the world: Monte dei Paschi di Siena was founded in 1472 and it is still one of the most important Italian banks. The second was founded one year later and it was the Cassa del Monte di Modena.

September on Garda Lake

Fair on Puegnago del Garda
from: 04/09/2009 to: 07/09/2009
Puegnago sul Garda, Garda Lake, Brescia, Lombardy

Fair dedicated to the gastronomic specialities of Garda Lake

Corsa Matta – Crazy run
05/09/2009
Riva del Gara, Garda Lake, Trento, Trentino Alto Adige

From 7pm in Riva del Garda will take place the most crazy run of the year. In a distance of 17 km the non competitive marathon runs along Garda shores. The meeting point is Viale Roma close to the Roman baths at 6pm. The participation fee is 8 €
For additional info call +39 0464 556646