27 Apr 2023
ITALIAN NATIONAL TOURIST BOARD LATEST NEWS FOR SPRING - SUMMER 2023
From May through to September 2023, there are a number of food and wine festivals, opera and music events you won't want to miss, as well as new hotel and restaurant openings in Italy. Find out more below:
FOOD AND WINE EVENTS
Treviso, Valdobbiadene, Conegliano, Cartizze – 21st April – 7th May
This exciting annual event takes place in the heart of the Prosecco wine area and will lead the visitors in a journey of discovery of all aspects of this delicious wine production process. Special packages are on offer which would include stay in hotels, agriturismi and B&Bs of the area, restaurants and visit to wineries. Special events such as shows, exhibitions and visits to historic villas of the area have also been organised.
FESTIVAL DEL BRODETTO AND FISH SOUP
Fano, Marche – 1st - 4th June
For fish lovers the festival of “Brodetto” and fish soups is a not-to-be-missed event, where in an "International Competition of Brodetto”, well known chefs from all over Italy and abroad will discuss about culinary themes and special recipes for fish stews and soups. This all happens in the city of Fano (ancient and noble Fanum Fortunae), an enchanting seaside resort and a marina, with an old town centre rich in art of different eras: Roman, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque.
Nemi, Lazio – 4th June
This annual event is held in the town of Nemi, located in the hills south of Rome, Italy. The festival is famous as it celebrates the typical agricultural product of the area: the Nemi strawberry, a small but very fragrant variety of strawberry. During the festival, Nemi strawberries are the absolute protagonist and are used in many of the local culinary specialties. From strawberry cake, strawberry ice cream, strawberry fruit salad to fresh strawberry smoothies.
Forlimpopoli/Forli-Cesena – 24th June – 2nd July
The desire to seek out new tastes is created in Forlimpopoli – the hometown of 'the father of Italian cuisine' Pellegrino Artusi. The festival features workshops, tastings and talks on food culture. However, the festival is not just about eating – it is also a time to reflect upon the cultural, social and economic role of food in the company of scholars, enthusiasts and academics.
ARIA DI FESTA, SAN DANIELE HAM FAIR
Friuli Venezia Giulia – 30th June – 3rd July
For the thirty-seventh year Aria Di Festa returns for four days full of tasting experiences, music, events and performances in San Daniele del Friuli. Allowing visitors to discover this magical place with its unique prosciutto and superb wines.
STRAGUSTO, STREET FOOD FESTIVAL
Trapani, Sicily – 26th – 30th July
A festival of street food that shines the light of the old markets, a concentration of flavours, smells, colours, voices, overwhelms the old town of Trapani. This and much more is Stragusto, the event celebrating the street food of the Mediterranean, held in the Fish Market Square, which is strikingly beautiful and unique. Many are the specialties that characterise the gourmet itinerary of the event include Panelle, Arancine, Sfincione, Rascadura, Focaccia, Panini Aà Meusa, Dolci, typical Trapanese food and more.
Various regions in Italy – 28th July – 30th August
Calici di Stelle 2023, the event organised by the Movimento Turismo del Vino and the Associazione Città del Vino, will be held in the vineyards and villages of Italy with hundreds of wineries and numerous cultural initiatives. You can also experience walks among the rows, tastings, picnics, music, entertainment, all with a single denominator - the magic of the starry sky and the moonlight. Wine will join the stars in the most evocative locations of Italy between cultural initiatives and moments of conviviality.
MANGIALONGA, WALKING AND FOOD IN PIEDMONT
La Morra, Langhe – 27th August
A festival not to be missed! Mangialonga is a non-competitive walk in the wonderful hills and vineyards of La Morra, in the renowned wine-producing area of the Langhe in Piedmont. The Mangialonga is a festive and gourmet appointment to join friends and taste the typical products of the Langhe and prestige wines. The 4km trail crosses beautiful landscapes which combine with local culinary delicacies to make it a unique event with people coming from all over the world.
Parma, Langhirano – 1st – 3rd September
Each year this annual celebration brings over 100,000 visitors to the area, who then indulge in consuming more than 1,000 different types of ham. One of the main attractions of the festival is the “Open Doors” tradition of the ham factories, which offers visitors a unique chance to discover that the 10 million Parma Hams produced each year by the 164 companies of the Parma Ham Consortium, that are still made today like they were two thousand years ago, using only two ingredients: the prized Italian pig leg and a pinch of sea salt.
DIAMANTE CHILI PEPPER FESTIVAL
Diamante, Calabria – 6th – 10th September
Peperoncino Festival in Diamante is dedicated to the typical Chili pepper of Calabria: food, debates, and meetings concerning His Majesty, the chili pepper. The festival was created by the journalist Enzo Monaco in 1992, the year of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the Americas. Diamante, a small town near Cosenza, hosts this five-day event dedicated to this inevitable product of the cuisine in Calabria region - the peperoncino. Visitors will also be able to learn about the history of the Chili pepper and to discover all of its 500 varieties.
San Vito lo Capo, Sicily – 15th – 24th September
San Vito lo Capo, a stunning seaside location in western Sicily has been hosting this event since 1998, and it has been an enormous success. Chefs from all over Sicily, Italy and other countries on the Mediterranean come to San Vito to participate in the competition that celebrates the best and most creative Cous Cous dish. Every evening there is a show with music, dance, songs and tastings of delicious Cous Cous.
Bra, Piedmont – 15th – 18th September
Every second year, during the third weekend of September, the little medieval town of Bra in Piedmont, Italy is transformed into a place of hedonistic delight for cheese lovers from all over the world. The Bra Cheese festival is organised by Slow Food and is devoted to showcasing everything to do with cheese. The emphasis of the show is to draw attention to Slow Foods ideas of preserving biodiversity and returning to Artisanal food. In the case of cheese making, quality cheeses are lovingly hand-made, using age-old methods and raw milk.
MUSIC AND OPERA EVENTS
CARACALLA – ROME OPERA SUMMER FESTIVAL
Caracalla's Thermal Baths in Rome – 30th May – 10th August
The open-air setting of the majestic Caracalla's Thermal Baths offers a unique backdrop to one of the best loved summer opera festivals in Italy – The Caracalla Festival 2023. This year's programme spans more than 50 evenings from 30 May until 10 August, with the new Teatro del Portico space reserved for cinema, jazz and theatre, alongside the Teatro Grande arena. The summer festival kicks off on 30th May with a series of pop concerts, beginning with Zucchero (30-31 May, 2-4 June); Fiorella Mannoia and Danilo Rea on 1 June; Venditti-De Gregori on 5, 7, 8 and 15 June; Andrea Bocelli on 10 June; Negramaro on 13, 14 and 16 June; and Massimo Ranieri on 24 July. Operas performances include Verdi's La Traviata and Rigoletto.
Ravenna – 7th June – 23rd July
The city of Ravenna, once the capital of the Western Roman Empire, hosts a summer music festival each year in its many theatres and churches. The Byzantine basilicas, cloisters and piazzas provide a superb backdrop combining art and music. The Ravenna Festival attracts the finest artists and opera companies in the world and this edition will include apart from opera and classical music also dance, jazz, films and exhibitions.
100TH ARENA DI VERONA OPERA FESTIVAL 2023
Verona – 16th June – 9th September
Celebrating its centenary year in 2023, Verona's internationally renowned opera festival – which began in 1913 but was interrupted by two world wars – ranks as one of the most outstanding in the world. Staged in the monumental Roman amphitheatre known as the Arena di Verona – “the true home of open-air performances” – the festival has hosted many of the world's greatest opera singers and some of the most awe-inspiring sets in the classical music world. As dusk falls and the candles are lit, we will take our seats for three operatic masterpieces. Operas performed this year will be: Verdi's Aida, La Traviata, Rigoletto, Nabucco and Puccini's Tosca and Madama Butterfly, Bizet's Carmen and Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
Spoleto – 23rd June – 9th July
The festival was founded in 1958, in Spoleto, by the Italian American composer and librettist Gian Carlo Menotti. He chose Spoleto due to the beautiful historical centre of the town, for the presence of the two theatre's, Teatro Nuovo and Teatro Caio Melisso and for Piazza del Duomo, a beautiful open-air theatre suitable for an event of such magnitude. The 2023 edition of the event will be the 66th edition of the Festival dei Due Mondi.
FESTIVAL COMO CITTÀ DELLA MUSICA
Lake Como - 29th June – 16th July
Since 2008, Festival Como Città della Musica takes place on Lake Como, the water being the symbol of a vital culture that flows, connects and grows. It involves the whole town from the Arena of Teatro Sociale of Como to the wonderful neoclassical Villas by the lake, passing by cloisters and courts, medieval towers (such as the famous Torre del Baradello) and hidden gardens - like the beautiful park of Villa del Grumello from sunrise to night-time. All art genres, from dance to musicals, opera to jazz concerts are all represented.
SUED-TIROL JAZZ FESTIVAL ALTO ADIGE
South Tyrol – 30th June – 9th July
One of the most important music festivals Europe-wide is taking place over ten days with the finest jazz music performed by internationally acclaimed musicians in various venues in four of South Tyrol major towns. It is the most varied concert comprising a mixture of the traditional and the modern will take place in the refined atmosphere of South Tyrol's castles and manor houses, also in towns and squares in the balmy summer air. The rich program includes over 70 artists of national and international fame.
Riva del Garda – 3rd – 8th July
This is a music festival of the highest-level entertaining of the audience with performances and events which represent a fundamental meeting point for young musicians from around the world. The event puts the spotlight on artists of diverse origins from classical music to dance and includes a competition dedicated to the musician Riccardo Zandonai.
Perugia – 7th – 16th July
From the moment of its birth in 1973, Umbria Jazz was clearly different from the other Italian jazz festivals. While jazz was usually to be heard in small clubs and occasionally in theatres and concert halls, Umbria Jazz took the music into the historic town squares of Umbria to audiences of up to twenty thousand young people and every concert was free. The music of the New World was performed in the setting of Umbria's medieval towns and spectacular scenery and it was this unusual combination which gave the festival its special appeal.
Ravello – 8th July – 3rd September
Ravello Music Festival is one of the oldest and most renowned music festivals in Italy. The festival, this year in its 70th edition, led the city to be known as the “City of Music”. In the 1930s, Naples San Carlo Orchestra performed in Ravello several times, focusing on Wagner-themed music programs. One of these concerts was attended by the Royal Family of Piedmont. To show them its gratitude, the city of Ravello decided to dedicate the Belvedere located between the hotels Sasso e Palumbo to the Princess of Piedmont. The idea of a music festival became reality only twenty years later. To this day, Belvedere di Villa Ruffolo, the main stage at the edge of a cliff, is still the most well-known location of Ravello Festival.
Stresa, 14th July – 8th September
The Stresa Festival is one the most important festivals on Lake Maggiore dedicated to music and new forms of art such as theatre, dance and multimedia projections of original video sets. The Stresa Festival offers a unique experience as the public attends shows where music is the key element, inserted in historical places of great charm open specifically for the festival.
Torre Del Lago - 14th July – 26th August
Puccini Festival started in 1930 and since it is held continually from mid-July to mid-August. The festival takes place in a little village (11,000 residents) Torre Del Lago near Viareggio in the Lucca region of Tuscany. This marvellous opera festival hosts more than 40,000 spectators in an open air arena located a few steps from Villa Mausoleum, the house where Giacomo Puccini lived and worked. Operas performed this year will be: La Boheme, Turandot, Madama Butterfly and Il Tabarro.
CLAZZ INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL
Arcidosso, Mount Amiata in Tuscany – 17th – 31st July
Clazz, a new music festival at the intersection of classical and jazz idioms, offers a one-of-a-kind experience. Set in the historic centre of Arcidosso, Italy and situated in the heart of Tuscany, Clazz International Music Festival features a fully integrated musical journey for attendees. While some musicians will come to focus on their classical repertoire, others will be more inclined to harness their improvisational abilities.
Macerata - 20th July – 19th August
Carmen by Georges Bizet, Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti and La traviata by Giuseppe Verdi are the three operatic titles chosen by the superintendent Flavio Cavalli and the artistic director Paolo Pinamonti for the 2023 festival. For five weekends, from 20 July to 19 August, the Sferisterio will once again host these masterpieces together with a series of symphonic and dance events.
Lajatico, Tuscany – 27th – 29th July
The Theatre of Silence is a natural amphitheatre created in the beautiful setting of the Lajatico hills, created by the will of Arch. Alberto Bartalini and Maestro Andrea Bocelli. A “silent” project, in a space that for almost a whole year remains intact in its perfect harmony, living for a few days with national and international characters of the bel canto, music and dance. A small landscape jewel of the Volterra hinterland in the heart of Tuscany.
Senigallia, Marche - 29th July – 6th August
The Summer Jamboree is the biggest and most well-known festival of its kind in Europe and the largest festival of its genre in the world for its number of annual recorded visitors. An international crossroads where enthusiasts of the music and culture of the American 40s-50s era can meet old and new friends alike, together with a fun-loving public in search of colourful, good carefree times and that little something extra than your average beach holiday.
Pesaro – 11th – 23rd August
Rossini Opera Festival has taken place in Pesaro – Rossini's birthplace and UNESCO Creative City of Music since 1980. It is the only festival entirely dedicated to the Italian composer. Famous and lesser-known operas and concerts are performed in the Adriatic coastal town, reviving the musical heritage connected with Gioachino Rossini. Rossini Opera Festival is one of the most important events in regard to Italian opera, thanks to its constant innovation and the use of young performers. Operas performed this year will be among others Viaggio a Reims, Adelaide di Borgogna e Petit Messe Solemnelle.
Salento, 26th August
The Night of the Taranta is festival focused on the traditional popular music of the Salento taking place in Melpignano, where people dance till dawn. According to popular traditions, the bite of “taranta” (the tarantula spider) provokes a form of hysteric behaviour characterised by excitability and restlessness. The victims of the spider (tarantulees) have to engage in frenzied dancing to prevent death from tarantism. This peculiar kind of dance, called the tarantella, is accompanied with a particular genre of music (Pizzica) and is considered a cure for the tarantism. To find the right rhythm that could be able to heal the victim, several musical instruments are involved, one of them is the tambourine. Every year nearly 300.000 tourists come to Salento to take part in the “Notte della Taranta”.
Turin, 1st – 30th September
MITO Settembre Musica is an annual festival filled with grand musical events from new music trail, venues and internationally renowned artists and musicians are the key actors of each edition. The festival's renowned quality, its capacity for spreading music culture by creating involvement, its outreach to audiences of all ages and social classes, make this an event to cherish. MITO Settembre Musica 2023 returns to Turin again this year for the new edition of the classical music festival. The event, which takes place simultaneously in the cities of Turin and Milan, will once again be the protagonist of the month of September 2023, uniting the two cities with a busy calendar of concerts in different places.
NEW HOTEL AND RESTAURANT OPENINGS
Narbolia, Oristano
The hotel is opening at the end of May 2023 in one of the most beautiful and wildest parts of Sardinia. It has a completely new approach to the usual 5-star offering, since it created an experiential booklet for its guests to explore, reconnect and recharge. These activities are all accompanied by local expert storytellers that will show the most ancestral and magical side of the island. The new luxury to the most discerning clients is to be part of unique experiences, seek a more authentic connection with places, getting under the skin of a place in a deeper way and Is Arenas is attempting to do so.
Cagliari
Housed in a beautiful historic palace, Hotel Palazzo Tirso Cagliari – MGallery is a stylish 5-star hotel in the center of Cagliari. Authentic architectural jewel dating back to the 1920s, the entire building has recently been renovated. The enchanting Liberty-style façade exudes elegance, while its airy and modern interior welcomes guests into a timeless dimension.
Taormina
Palazzo Vecchio is an elegant 5-star boutique hotel with restaurant in one of the most beautiful cities in Sicily. The 34 rooms in the hotel are designed in a simply and characteristic Florentine style and is located in the center of Florence.
NEW PALAZZO VELABRO – LUXURY SUITES
Rome
The seven-room Palazzo Velabro is perfectly placed to celebrate ancient and modern Rome. Located close to the Tiber Island where Rome is said to have originated, the hotel sits inside an 18th-century mansion that has been remodelled by architect Luigi Moretti. His unique stamp is still seen in every curve of the wall, now highlighted by touches of sage green, brick pink and cobalt blue. Rounding out this experience is traditional cuisine, a cinema and an outdoor terrace with views of the Roman Forum.
RE-OPENING OF HOTEL PROMESSI SPOSI ON LAKE COMO (4* plus)
Como
Located on the lakeside, Hotel Promessi Sposi enjoys beautiful views of Lake Como and of the surrounding mountains. This friendly establishment offers comfortable accommodation in a relaxing spot of Malgrate, 1.5 km from the centre of Lecco.
NEW RESTAURANT AT PALAZZO DI VARIGNANA
Near Bologna
The authentic vintage coach, dating back to 1921, the prototype of the royal train, after decades of neglect, has come back to life evoking its splendor and atmosphere. A unique artistic jewel, embellished by the meticulous gold leaf decorations and the splendid pictorial intervention of Giovanni Bressana, an internationally renowned artist. The refined and elegant cuisine accompanies guests on an original culinary journey that, through the menu, celebrates the historical period and the routes of the Royal Train, starting with a skillful search for excellent raw materials.
ENDS
