Tuscan's Sagras

Sagra is the Italian word for Food Festival. What can you expect to find when you go? Normally it is a group of locals in the Pro Loco (which means local promotional agency) who get together and prepare a menu with a theme. The money earned in these events is dedicated to buying things for the town folk or setting up parks and play area for the children.
So what does this mean for the average tourist? You will forever see florescent colored posters in the Tuscan countryside talking about Sagra, Sagra, Sagra.You're probably curious - but who knows what you will find when you actually walk into the town. For starters, if it is well known sagra on the regional level, you are very likely to compete with the locals for a place at a table. Tourist don't usually venture in this area - and they definitely miss out on a good meal at excellent prices all for a good cause. Not to mention the peak at a part of the "real" Toscana.

Also commonly defined as a local festival, very often involving food, and frequently a historical pageant and sporting events: when the sporting event is a historical recreation as well, such as a joust or a horse race in costume or armour.
In most cases there is a lunch and a dinner menu - but it helps if you can read the poster for the times (you don't need to know Italian for that)

When you arrive you will find a menu tacked to the wall, you place an order at the cash register, then pay and they give you a ticket. You are then ushered into a large general eating area where everyone shares the tables - and the food starts coming out!

It is charactized by the friendly environment with home cooked food. You will often children and young adults serving and cleaning tables while their Moms, Dads and Grandparents in the kitchen washing, peeling, frying and dishing it up.

You will normally find menus which highlight either a special ingredient or a special recipe from that area - like truffles, fritelle, olive oil, tortelli and much much more. In a land where food and religion are on the same level - you will find that the number of choices will overwhelm you.

More useful information can be found at Italia Mia guide to Italy and its products

Siena's Palio

Distinct Italian flair with the colourful costumes, horses in fancy dress and the detail to protocol makes this a true call back to yesteryear - there is nothing like listening to the drums and trumpets in the narrow city streets as they echo off of the medieval buildings, watching the colourful pageant of nobility, flag throwers and military men march down the stone paved roads.

Though one must admit the tourist attraction in Tuscany that these events draw - the origins of the modern day re enactments in Tuscany are more closely tied to local pride then anything else. Tuscan cat calls, cheers, chants and a wild display of colour in favour of their local Tuscan champion, they parade into the grand square and proceed to re enact a game of strength and skill, one can almost hear the calls and yells of the public...well almost is an understatement. The Italians take these competitions as serious as they do their soccer matches!


Perhaps one of the more famous - but not the only one for sure - is the re-enactment takes place in the famous square in Siena, Tuscany. Held twice during the year in Siena, once in May and the second in July, you will find a one of a kind horse race. The entire square in Siena is covered in sand and the route is well marked. Make a note on your Tuscan calendar of the main phases of the Palio, there are four days of celebration.

It's important to know that only ten of seventeen contrade run each time and that their participation is decided by a draw, which takes place at least twenty days prior to each Palio. The contrade is the way Siena has divided its town up into competing factions. Each with their own flag, colors and church - where most of them take the horse itself in for the blessing.

At the end of the Parade, a burst of canon fire announces the jockey's exit from the Entrone. Each jockey is given a whip made of ox tendon with which he may incite the horse and block his opponents during the race. They then draw close to the starting point, where two hemp ropes have been stretched across to allow the jockeys to line up between them. The entrance order is decided by luck: in fact, there is a special bottle-type mechanism, with a neck-piece grafted into an oval container, once the bottle is turned over, the balls randomly line up along the neck-piece, in this way deciding on the order of the start. This procedure is carried out three times so that the starter is able to use the two reserve starts if the first one is not possible.



Nine contrade are called to line up between the ropes according to the order of the draw, while the tenth take a run-up (only when he decides on the right moment) in the way deciding the moment of the start. At that point, the starter lowers the front rope and opens the race.

If the start is invalid, a cracker is let off to stop the horses which will then have to return to the starting point. The horses have to circle the track three times, for around 1000 metres and the first one to finish is the glorious victor, approved by the three winning's judges.

Even a horse, without its jockey, can carry its contrada to victory.

Elba Island Tuscany

Napoleon, should have considered himself lucky to have been exiled to such a pretty spot as the Isola D' Elba. Arriving in May 1814 he escaped within the year and went on to meet his Waterloo. Nowadays tourism has firmly supplanted iron-ore mining, for centuries Elba's main earner. Over a million visitors a year willingly allow themselves to de marooned here. They came to swim in Elba's glorious blue waters, lie on the beaches and eat fine food others are drawn by Elba's mountainous terrain, which offers challenging treks and staggering views.

Although Elba is the largest, most visited and most heavily populated Island of the Tuscan Archipelago, eat majors just measures just 28km long and 19 km across at its widest point. The Island 15 km southwest of the ferry port in Piombino is well equipped for visitors, with plenty of hotels and campsites. The main town are Portoferraio on the north side and Marina di Campo in the south.

If you can avoid August when the Island get unpleasantly crowed and reservations are essential.

If you are here for an active time pick up the multilingual tourist office leaflet "Lo Sport Emerge dal Mare". It ha s useful map and lists walking and cycling trails, thusfor scuba diving, wind surfing and other water activities.

Most people opt for the ferry boat, but there is a small airport. (0565 976011) @ LA PILA, just outside Marina di Campo.
Elba Fly (0565 91961) www.elbafly.it They fly from Pisa and Milan.

Boats are run by Moby (199 303040) and Toremar (199 123199) unless it is a Summer weekend or the month of Augut when queues can form simply by a ticket at the port. From 6 to 9,50 Euros per person, and 20 to 49 Euros per car (according to season) Toremar also operate a passenger only hydrofoil service 10 Euro 40 min from Piombino to Portoferraio.

More info on Elba here: Isola d'Elba