Wake Up Everybody

Cortona has put on her party dress- the quintieri streets lined with each neighborhoods colorful banners, and on Via Nazionale, daisy wreaths adorn the arches of the vicoli. Easter has past as well as the 25th April Liberation Day/Saint Mark's feast day. The May 1st  holiday is upon us and everyone in Cortona seems ready for La Bella Stagione to begin.Santa Margherita's feast day will be celebrated this weekend with the first of the re-enactment of the ceremony and fanfare associated with the Salimbeni-Casali wedding of the 1300's.

Le Rondine (swifts and swallows) have returned and the trees and fields are filled with blooms. The weather is temperamental as can be expected. Leading all to speculate on the fate of the oil crop this year, after a dismal disappointment in last year's harvest. There is also speculation about the return of visitors as well.

 There is an atmosphere of anticipation, "How are your reservations?" "When are the tourists coming?" "Do you think it's going to be a good year this year?" These are common questions we hear from some of our friends and neighbors in town. Some are, of course,  interested because their livelihood is entwined with the arrival of visitors. Others however look forward to the new life that arrives with people from the world outside the walls. Our pensioners fill the benches in the Piazza della Repubblica where they have front row seats to a stimulating, ever changing show. The romantic weddings on town hall steps, the guided tours which stop to  take in the beauty and monuments of  il Comune- and the Loggia above, the rambunctious groups of scholars visiting Cortona for a field trip are all parts of the theater of life in the piazza. A source of pride for the residents as they watch the reactions of visitors to the beauty of their hometown, as the tourists make happy memories of Cortona which  plants seeds  of the same pride and kinship in the hearts of visitors to the town.

Il Buon Giorno si vede dal mattino...

Monday morning homemade croissants- all other days fresh from Pasticceria Banchelli

Besides the wonderful history, sites, artwork and nature, I believe that one of the biggests draws for a visitor coming to Italy would be the food and wine.  The very fine wines of the Val d'Orcia- Brunello of Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano are always high on the lists of things to be tasted when a traveller arrives in Tuscany. The Florentine 2 lb t-bone chianina beefsteak, ribollita  bread and vegetable soup (even in sweltering summer heat) are almost always sought after as a  culinary experience not be missed. It's wonderful that travellers are becoming more aware of the fact that some of the most rewarding travel experiences are due to the fact that things are not like home. It is not just doing the things you do normally with a change of scenery.

Many feel that the ueber-cool thing to do is to do everything "like  Italians" to have the most authentic experience while you are on your trip - while scoffing at things that "tourists" do. I agree wholeheartedly that moving in the circles that locals do definitely creates a unique experience which can enrich anyone's trip. 

Easter Brunch at Casa Chilenne always includes homemade Ciaramiglia

When it comes to breakfast, the Italian way is a bit different than other places in the world. It is many times broken up into a few coffee breaks spaced throughout the morning. A quick coffee upon rising at home, or  tea and a few pieces of melba toast or cookies, then a dash out the door towards the workplace or school. A pastry and capuccino at the local bar before starting work or school and then a scheduled mid -morning pause at about 10 am or so for a small sandwich or pizzetta, or another pastry and cup of coffee. Breakfast in the Italian tradition is great for people watching and observing  local behaviour at the coffee bar, however, many foreign guests find it to be a bit lacking in substance.
The exception to this would be Cortonese easter breakfast which features umbran cheese bread, tuscanissimo Ciaccia con la ciccia, hard boiled blessed chicken eggs, salami ,  and local egg-brioche style cake/bread with candied fruit and anise called Ciaramiglia.and of course the tradiional dove shaped brioche bread called La Colomba, a yeasted egg bread, studded with almonds and  candied orange peel , glazed with an almond  meringue icing 

When we started the bed and breakfast, we made a conscious decision that we would definitely serve our breakfast on site. We planned our restoration with a breakfast room and kitchen to this purpose. We researched the best local roasted coffee (Moka Più from Arezzo, in our opinion) and made it a priority to offer fresh-baked pastry from Cortona's historic Pasticceria Banchelli daily (except Mondays when they close or bake just for themselves) as well as a homemade sweets,  high quality yogurts, cereals,  local cold-cuts and cheeses and be sure to have fresh fruit available each day.  We also offer more than 20 varieties of Twinings' collection of teas and infusions as well as hot chocolate and orzo barley coffee for non coffee drinkers.  Most of the people around us said, "Why do you bother doing that? Everyone else just gives people a voucher to go to the bar."

Although it makes perfect sense from an economical point of view; no need for breakfast staff, supplies, linens or dedicating a space to breakfast, no waking up at 6:30 each morning and setting tables each night -the concept of having a bed and breakfast meant just that to us. Not a bed and coupon or voucher-for us bed and breakfast means only that. A stay with us should be special and breakfast should be a time to relax and start the day off right.

Cinnamon rolls

Yeasted Waffles with seasonal fruit

We can serve the coffee gulp and dasher as well as the leisurely breakfast lover. We've extended our breakfast menu to include eggs and bacon cooked to order as well as American style waffles and real cultured buttermilk pancakes on request, served with seasonal toppings or with the classic topping of real, organic Canadian maple syrup. We were pleased to find that our guests appreciated this option, both those native to countries where these dishes are common fare at breakfast time as well as travellers who had fond memories of enjoying them while on vacation in the UK or Canada or the USA. Most surprising are the guests who have spent time working or studying in the US, UK or Canada and plan a stay with us specifically to enjoy the morning ritual of a  leisurely, fresh cooked breakfast and share this experience with friends or family who have never experienced  it.  What better way to slow down the pace and  thoroughly enjoy one's holiday?

scrambled eggs and bacon

Cortona's in the Mix !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehebTQrDrg4

The video above is the result of a project created for the Cortona Mix Festival which involved our city choir as well as children from the elementary school participating in a presentation of Verdi's "Aida".

Whether or not one wants to consider the end result a success or failure in quality,  it is most exciting that the project exists in itself.
This is a perfect example of the positive potential of this festival and the impact and involvement it can have on our community. To see the enthusiam of young and old reconnecting to the rich musical gift created by Verdi and appreciated throughout the world is refreshing and exciting.  Globalization of music can many times cause an overshadowing of domestic music and musicians now days in Italy-young people many times favor foreign music sung in languages they may not understand and shun their national products.

Tonight will be the screening of "Metropolis" in Piazza Signorelli with musical accompaniment performed by the Orchestra Regionale Toscana. Events which will please a wide range of participants and priced right for many pockets instead of a select few. This is exciting...

After much anticipation there will be a first viewing of "The Genius of a Place" a film produced by Sarah Marder and her colleagues at OLO Farm of Milano. This film uses Cortona as a case study and addresses among other questions, "Is there a way to make tourism sustainable?" After years of hard work, the film seems to be in the final editing phases and a preview has been promised for August 2.

The biggest surprise of the festival is the surprise concert appearance of our homegrown internationally famous, Lorenzo Cherubini---better know as Jovanotti , in a closing show on August 4th.

The Feltrinelli bookstore is open for business at the MAEC-  and as a side note, the travel photography festival,  Cortona on the Move has just inaugurated this, its 3rd year. 

Cortona is definitely in the Mix---a provocative protagonist, inviting all to tickle their fantasy to the world of possibility when art meets enthusiam.

Let the Games Begin!

June 1-9, will be the next series of festivities to celebrate a historic event from 1397, the marriage between the nobleman Francesco Casali of Cortona to Antonia Salimbeni, member of the prestigious family of Siena responsible for founding the oldest operating bank in the world (Monte dei Paschi di Siena founded in 1472).

The "New World" where I was born was not discovered until 20 years later, or so it was drummed into my head in grammar school!

When I look out the bed and breakfast windows at Via Nazionale, I cannot fathom how many people have streamed by this building. Since at least the 1600's people have observed this street from our windows!  And before then? It is still called  la "Rugapiana" today, the "flat street", as it is a natural promenade along the "decumano" or main East-West road following the Roman tradition of urban planning. Cortona can trace its origins as a civic center under the Etruscans to at least 750 BC, with traces of Umbran settlements on Via Dardano as early as 900 BC!

It is no wonder that there is such a sense of civic pride which seems to have spread to many of our young people as well. The reinactment of this historical event comes alive with the bugles and drums of our historic musical group and animated by the colorful flags which are tossed and juggled by the flag throwers. Traditionally, these musicians and flag throwers were young men, but our Cortona group seems to have many female members now who seem to dominate in number, shine in skill. Locals as well as many "new locals" from the large expat community participate in the celebrations. The enthusiam is contagious. Even our Daisy can't resist getting in the act!