Travel Italy: Vacation Packages, Tips, Tours of Italy

The hill-top town of Montepulciano, in the surroundings of Siena, Tuscany, hosts the “Bravio delle Botti” Festival last week of August.
The climax of the festival is the barrel rolling contest with contenders — eight neighbourhood teams — rolling empty wine barrels through the narrow streets of the town.

The origin of Bravio delle Botti dates back to the 17th century. It is a historic festival offering a week of ceremonies, shows and tastings of local specialties.

Also, as Montepulciano is located in a major wine-growing zone, it offers the opportunity to sample the excellent wines this area of Tuscany produces.

When: August 21 - 29, 2010 (annual);
where: Montepulciano (Tuscany)
Here you have the festival programme.

The town of Torre del Lago, located 5 kilometres away from the magnificent beach resort of Viareggio (Tuscan Riviera) and 18 kilometres from Pisa, hosts the annual Opera festival “Puccini Festival” from July 16 through August 22, 2010.

The festival draws crowds of Opera lovers and tourists who wish to visit the places where the most beloved composer of the 20th century lived.

The venue, Torre del Lago’s Puccini Teatro all’Aperto — open-air theatre — is located just a few steps from Villa Puccini, the Villa Mausoleum where the beloved composer  lived, worked and is buried. Here you have the festival program.

Where: Torre del Lago (4km from Tuscan Riviera, 18km from Pisa)
When: July 16 through August 22, 2010 (annual).

The Opera Festival, annual lyrical festival of Tuscany, offers a series of performances from June through July in Florence and Siena.

The locations for the 2010 Opera Festival include The Boboli Gardens, possibly the world’s greatest example of Italian-style garden, located in the ancient heart of Florence and the San Galgano Abbey, splendid ruins of a Middle Ages Abbey, located in the surroundings of Siena.

When: June 7 - July 31, 2010 (annual)
Where: Boboli Gardens (Florence) and San Galgano Abbey (Chiusdino - Siena)

Festival details and programme can be found at festivalopera.it.

The summer sales season kicked off in some of the cities in Italy. On July 10 you will have shopping sales season ongoing throughout Italy.
Below is the starting date of summer sales season in Italy for each of the regions. Keep in mind, earlier is better to grab the best deals.

Lombardy (Milan): July 3; Lazio (Rome): July 3; Tuscany (Florence, Siena etc…): July 10; Umbria (Perugia, Assisi etc…): July 7; Veneto (Venice, Padova etc..): July 3; Campania (Naples, Capri, Amalfi Coast…): July 2; Liguria (Genoa, Ligurian Riviera, Cinque Terre…): July 9; Emilia Romagna (Bologna): July 7; Piedmont (Turin): July 3; Sicily: July 10; Sardinia: July 3; Marche: July 7; Apulia: July 2; Friuli Venezia Giulia: June 15; Trentino Alto Adige: July 15; Valle d’Aosta: July 10; Molise: July 10; Abruzzo (L’Aquila): July 10; Basilicata: July 2; Calabria: July 3.

If you are visiting Rome or Tuscany or Umbria, we suggest to visit a couple of fashion malls featuring hundreds of designer stores all in one place. There you can get the best bargains when it comes to shopping designer items.

Below are the links to the handiest fashion malls in Rome and Tuscany (see the stores you find there and how to get there).
“Castel Romano Designer Outlet” is located in the surroundings of Rome (15km away from city center); “Valdichiana Outlet Village” is a very handy one for those who are visiting Tuscany or Umbria.

Milano Food Week is a festival celebrating the pleasures of the good food and drink.
Held in Milan — the 2010 edition goes from June 5 through 13 — it features a large variety of tastings as well as workshops and cultural events centered on the “pleasures of the table” theme.

“EatMI” section is dedicated to a selection of regional foods, “CoffeeMI” to the traditional Espresso, “PanMI” to all things baked, as “ILoveCooking” is about practical skills in the kitchen.

When: Jun 5 - 13, 2010 (annual)
Where: Milan (main venue: Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II)
For details about the program and the venues, please visit http://milanofoodweek.com .