Posts Tagged ‘festival’

SugarPulp Festival

From 29th September to 2nd October will be held in Padua “SUGARPULP“, a festival of noir writing that has its roots in the wilds of North-Eastern Italian. The homeland becomes itself an important “character” in the novel, in the novella, in the story, and it is not only a simple frame. But the Festival goes even further, giving space to expressive forms similar to the novel as the comic to celebrate the ability of visual impact thanks to the power of the drawings.

Masters and newcomers of the genre will find themselves in Padua for what promises to be one of the biggest events of the season: a four-day full immersion – the preview will take place on 19th September – of meetings, panel discussions, screenings and concerts. More than 30 events to enliven the city, painting it with shades of noir, pulp and thriller. The first Sugarpulp Festival, which will have as its heart the Centro Culturale San Gaetano, one of the greatest cultural centres of Europe, thanks to many synergies on the area, managed to bring in Padua an authors cast of international standing such as Jeffery Deaver, Joe R. Lansdale, Victor Gischler, Massimo Carlotto, Tim Willocks and Jan Wallentin.

The so-called “Big Six” will be joined to six international comic stars: Alberto Ponticelli, Alessandro Vitti, Matteo Scalera, Elia Bonetti, Davide Furno, Andrea Mutti.

Admission to events is free.

Find out where to sleep in Padua, click here!

Coriano, near Rimini, Italy

In Coriano near Rimini, Italy, from the 21 to the 28 November there is this year’s edition of the town’s Olive Oil and Autumn Products Festival. A visit to this celebration of slow food in the picturesque town of Coriano would make a great idea for a weekend break for fans of Italian food.

During Coriano’s Olive Oil and Autumnal Products Festival the town’s streets will be lined with stalls where visitors can sample extra virgin olive oil, and buy a few bottles to take home too. Olive lovers will be able to try fresh olives from the countryside around Coriano. Other locally produced products which you will not find in the average supermarket include truffle honey, tasty local cheeses and, of course, wine. The epicurean highlight of the Coriano autumn food festival is this year’s wine production – vin Nouveau – which is Vino Novello in Italian.

To go with the wine, visitors will also be able to try olive oil based recipes from the past, a Coriano’s residents will be cooking up dishes made by their ancestors to help attract attention to long forgotton recipies from the area’s rich cullinary history. There may well be some interesting gatronomic disoveries to be made at the Coriano food festival.

As well as locally produced slow foods to try and to take home, items made by local craftsmen who specialaise in copper, wrought iron, pottery, and wood can be viewed and purchased too. Coriano’s festival will provide those with Christmas in mind with plenty of Christmas present inspiration.

In addition to the olive oil, the food, the wine, and craftsmen produced goods, there will be shows for young and old, with dancing, and traditional folk music, all of which will help to ensure Coriano’s olive oil fair is a lively event.

Should you like to go along and see what’s happening in Coriano, then you’ll probably need somewhere stay, in which case, you could start by looking at this selection of attractive bed and breakfasts, apartments and guest houses in the Emilia Romagna area of Italy.

Note that Low cost airline Ryan Air flies to nearby Rimini airport from London’s Stansted airport – with flights, at the time of writing, departing on Tuesdays and Thursdays and returning on Sunday afternoons. Coriano is around 15 minutes away from Rimini airport by car.

If you do go to Coriano, don’t forget your camera!

Murta Pumpkins

Not far from Genoa is the village of Murta, a sleepy little place which has come to be known as the “land of the pumpkins” owing to the residents’ ability not only to grow perfectly formed pumpkins, but also to know what makes a good pumpkin. To celebrate all things pumpkin, Murta holds an annual pumpkin festival.

This year’s the event is held over two weekends – that of the 13th and 14th of November, and the following weekend, the 20th and 21st November.

The Murta pumpkin festival forms part of the village’s homage to its patron – Saint Martino. During the pumpkin festival the green surroundings of Murta are complimented by the orange hues of all manner of pumpkins. Prizes are awarded to those who bring the best pumpkin and there are also displays of flowers on show.

Lots of pumpkin based cuisine is also on offer and visitors will be able to try all manner of pumpkin based recipes, such as sweet pumpkin based starters. As visitors will no doubt note, a surprising number of dishes can be cooked up using the humble pumpkin as a basis.

Now in its 24th year, the Murta pumpkin festival is a novel event which is well worth seeing, if for no other reason than to see pumpkins in a whole new light. Did you know that it was Christopher Columbus who first introduced the pumpkin to Italy? No? Well, if this pumpkin fact fascinates you, spend a day in Murta and learn all about pumpkins. The Murta pumpkin fair will make a fun day out for young and old alike.

Just down the road is Genoa too, a city full of character with its port-side alleyways (don’t go there after dark!), huge aquarium, plus plenty of shops and places to eat.

Why not do a spot of Christmas shopping on Saturday and head off to Murta on Sunday?

The hilly countryside around Genoa is green and peaceful, making this area of Italy ideal for a quiet weekend getaway. Genoa also has its own airport and direct flights are available from London in the UK. Flights from Munich also land in Genoa too. Hiring a car is a good idea, as without one, Murta is not easy to reach.

For accommodation, take a look at Caffelletto’s selection of places to stay in the Genoa area.