*The prize covers exclusively the cost of the course. Accommodation and travelling are not included.
+ The winners may select a course between 11 June 2012 and 28 September 2012

To visit wine cellars, you can also check the websites of Consortium of Brunello, Consortium of Chianti Classico, and Consortium of Nobile of Montepulciano. 

There are wine tasting tours that include dinner and entertainment at medieval castles and villas in candle light and serve excellent variety of wines and food.  These dinners are served with local wines such as Chianti Classico, Grappa, and Chardonnay. 

Tuscany
Photo by Giampaolo Macorig

Wine tasting at “Residenza il Colle”, Tuscany  
photo by Riccardo Consiglio

Famous wine brands

The best Tuscan wines are Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino, Chianti Classico, Chianti, Carmignano, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Rossi di Montepulciano, Antinori, Vin Santo del Chianti Classico, Fonterutoli, Felsina, Fontodi, Castello di Brolio, Isole e Olena etc. 

Wine tasting at “Residenza il Colle”, Tuscany  
photo by Hannah Oppenhiem

Tuscan Wine Tour Companies

The following sites are a good source for wine tours in Tuscany.  Each offer different variety of choices in their tours:

www.tuscanwinesociety.com/
www.italyandwine.net
www.ariannandfriends.com
www.lebaccanti.com/
www.tuscanyshoretrips.com/
www.viandando.it/
www.tuscanwinetours.net/

Wine Cellar in Tuscany, Photo by monti2008

Ferrari 360, Ferrari Museum, Italy    
photo by Ditec: An Automatic World

Ferrari factory

Maranello is also the hometown of the Ferrari factory which is near the museum on Via Abetone Inferiore.  Guided tour of the factory is only possible for dealers and Ferrari customers.  However, a normal visitor can see the entrance hall that’s open to the public.  Current production and Formula One cars are exhibited there.  On Via Musso the public can also see the cars and prototypes that are taken out for test drives. 

Ferrari’s racing department and test tracks

On Via Ascari Ferrari’s racing department is located.  It is called Scuderia Ferrari and public is not allowed, but is worth a photo as your souvenir!  The Pista di Fiorano and the Fiorano are test tracks that are used for Formula One and also for prototypes.  Enzo Ferrari (founder)’s previous home is located inside the Fiorano track.  

Maranello has many memorabilia shops, especially the ones located near the factory.  Official products can be bought in the museum too. 

Galleria Ferrari’s address is Via Dino Ferrari, 43, 41053 Maranello (Modena).  
Official website is www.ferrari.com/English/Pages/Home.aspx

Ferrari Grand Prix, Ferrari Museum, Italy
photo by Ditec: An Automatic World

Making a budget plan helps you in handling money well.  Expenses to be included are rent, meals, books, supplies, entertainment, excursions, and emergency fund.  While you are studying in Italy, there are some good ways that will help you keep your costs down.  For example, walk when you can, shop and cook your meals rather than eating out often, share an apartment and your room with other students, plan ahead for your trips and save on train tickets (Eurostar tickets are cheaper when you buy in advance).  Remember to record your expenses and review it weekly to make sure you are following your budget plan. 

 Photo by Gap Travel Europe

International Student ID card

This student card saves you a lot of money while travelling abroad.  You can get discounts on train, plane, ferry tickets and hotels.  You can also use it when you exchange foreign currency.  You can purchase this card via www.isic.org/   

Bus Passes

Transportation in Italy is quite good.  Trains are on time and buses are mostly on time.  Get a monthly bus pass or a metro pass saves money.  Taxi costs are expensive and so it is worth getting monthly passes for transportation.  Walking is common in the city’s center and so walking short distances is another option. 

Safety of your passport and visa

Your visa documents and passport are very important while you’re abroad.  So, keep these safely and carry a copy of these with you at all times.  Copy of passport, your university ID and/or international student ID card are good to keep with you.

Photo by APIstudyabroad

The International Rome Film Festival is a major fun event for those who love the cinema!  This event is a huge party with international movie premiers, competitions, exhibitions, music, and fashion.  Awards are given to best film, best actor and best actress.  It’s a place of great fun for stargazers and film lovers!  This year’s festival takes place in the Auditorium Parco della Musica.  

George Clooney and Elisabetta Canalis, 2009 Rome Film Festival
Photo by connectionsprep

Truffle fairs in Italy – October and November

The most popular autumn food in Italy is the truffles and Italy celebrates this with major fairs and festivals.  The biggest truffle festivals are in Tuscany, Piedmont, Umbria, Le Marche, and Emilia Romagna.  These fairs have many delicious dishes made with white truffle (tartufo bianco).  

Photo by Lauren Gallina

Eurochocolate Festival:  October 15^th – 24^th

Wonderful festival for chocolate lovers!  It takes place in Perugia which is famous for Baci chocolates.  This is one of the most popular chocolate festivals in Europe where you can sample goodies made throughout Europe and from all over the world!!  There are cooking classes, chocolate carving demonstrations, exhibitions, and generous free tasting.  There are over 700 booths offering a variety of drinks, desserts, pastries, cakes – all made with delicious chocolates.  There are also cooking competitions with top chefs and Eurochocolate awards.  Perugia can be easily reached by train directly from Florence and Rome.  It is beautiful place to walk around and burn off the calories while enjoying this fascinating medieval hill town. 

Sailing Race (Barcolana Regatta) – 2nd week of October

This is a huge sailing race in the Mediterranean Sea! It takes place in the Gulf of Trieste and all kinds of boats gather for races. There are also night races that are illuminated and beautiful to watch. In the large boat race there are over 2000 people who participate. Don’t miss this fun event which is also filled with music, food and wine!

Photo by micny259

Other events in October include the Mostra Mercato Internazionale dell ‘Antiquariato (Florence) that is a major biennial antiques fair and the Amici della Musica (Florence) which is a wonderful concert season.

Photo by Fiorinaldo

Caravaggio is one of the most important Italian painters from the early 17^th century known for Tenebrist (dramatic illumination) paintings.  It is a technique that uses major contrast between light and dark with a dark background.  A major exhibition of Caravaggio and his followers is now in Florence until October 17^th 2010 at the Uffizi Gallery and the Palatine Gallery (Pitti Palace).  These famous artworks are a must-see!  More than a 100 works of Caravaggio and his followers are shown to commemorate the 4^th centennial of Caravaggio’s death.    

Caravaggio’s Sacrifice of Isaac     Photo by carulmare

Famous Paintings at the exhibit
Important paintings in this exhibition include The Sacrifice of Isaac, Bacchus, Medusa, the Knight of Malta, the Tooth Puller and the Sleeping Cupid.  A well-known follower of Caravaggio is Artemisia Gentileschi who was one of the few famous female artists from the Baroque period.  Her paintings are shown at both the galleries as well.  Other tenebrist works include paintings of Ribera, Gerrit van Honthorst, etc.  The video room at the Palatine Gallery shows the restoration process on some of these paintings.  This process is fascinating to see. 

Pitti Palace, Florence, Italy

An important part of the exhibit at the Palatine gallery is the display of many self-portraits of famous painters – these are borrowed from the Vasari corridor.  This is a great opportunity to see these paintings as well.  This gallery also has permanent works of Raphael, Rubens, Titian, Reni, Allori and other great masterworks.

Tickets can be bought directly at the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace or from the following site:  
http://www.tickitaly.com/tickets/pitti-palatine-modern-tickets.php

Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy       Photo by pynomoscato

International Call Centers
Using international call centers to call your home country is the easiest way to speak to your family as soon as you arrive in Italy.  Many call centers are located in the center of every major city in Italy.  Cost to the U.S.A. is usually .10 cents per minute.  The prefix to call the USA is 001+area code+number. 

Cell Phones

If you plan on being in Italy for several months, it is better to buy a cell phone.  Telephone calls are expensive in Italy.  You should compare different service providers and then decide which one is reasonable for you.  Cell phone providers are Vodafone, Tim, and Wind.  A good benefit about cell phones in Italy is that incoming calls are free!  Only outgoing calls are charged.  The provider will also give you a good rate to call your home country depending on the kind of program you choose.
Once you buy a cell phone, you will need to purchase a ‘ricarica’ card of your chosen provider in order to have minutes to make phone calls.  These cards range from costing 5 euro to 50 euro and you can buy these at any Tabacchi shop.
 
USA 800 numbers:  The 800 numbers in the U.S. cannot be reached from the call center or cell phones.  You can only call 800 numbers by using an American phone card via a pay phone in Italy.   

Public Telephones

In order to use a pay phone in Italy, you must first buy a phone card ‘scheda telefonica’ at a tabacci shop.  Tear off the corner of the card that is marked.  Then insert this card in the pay phone.  You will see as you speak how much time you have left for the call. 
Warning:  Do not use the 800 numbers posted on the public phone booth asking for your credit card number!  Their rates are extremely high and sometimes they might continue charging your credit card fraudulently.  Best way to avoid this situation is to use Italian pay phones only with the ‘scheda telefonica’ prepaid phone card.

Photos courtesy of Accademia Italiana Skopje and Majestic Moose

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to sekritgf for these wonderful scenes from Under the Tuscan Sun

You can visit the following lovely places that were film locations for many famous American movies:

• The Twilight Saga: New Moon – Montepulciano, Italy
• Hannibal – Florence and Sadinia
• Angels and Demons – Vatican city, Rome- the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Piazza del Popolo
• The Talented Mr. Ripley – Venice, Anzio, Palermo, Naples, Ischia, and Positano
• The Passion of the Christ – city of Matera in the Basilicata region
• Under the Tuscan Sun – Florence, Arezzo, Montepulciano, and Cortona
• The English Patient – Monastery in Sant’Anna Camprena near Pienza, Tuscany
• The Godfather – Sicilian towns of Savoca and Forza d’Agro outside of Taormina

Upcoming films that are scheduled to be filmed in Italy soon are The Monster of Florence and Mel Gibson’s The Magnificent (on Lorenzo de Medici).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Calcio Storico Fiorentino is a popular italian game that’s a combination of football and soccer and it is played in costume.  It originated back in the 16^th century in Italy where aristocrats dressed up in nice colorful costumes and played this game.  Calcio was a form of military training exercise which later became one the most popular games in Italy.  It is played in piazza Santa Croce in front of the Basilica di Santa Croce and includes ceremony of flags and great celebratory music!!   

The calcio players can kick, shoulder charge, and punch opponents.  The Florentines in the 16^th century played this game as a celebration before Lent.  This sport later became known as “giuoco del calcio fiorentino” – Florentine kick game.  This year the teams which represent different zones in Florence are:  White for Santo Spirito, Blue for Santa Croce and Red for Santa Maria Novella. 

Calcio Storico takes place annually during the third week of June for three days ending on the festival of St. John’s day, the Patron Saint of Florence.  The crowded audience includes many tourists and Florentine fans.  The game day ends with an extravagant celebration with fireworks that can be seen from the bridges by the Arno River.

Photos courtesy of  TomStardust

Music has always been an important part of Florence’s rich artistic culture and tradition.  Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is a music and arts festival held in Florence during the months of April, May and June.  The opera performances are at Teatro Communale and Teatro della Pergola.  The classical concerts are conducted by Zubin Mehta and by the Orchestra Regionale Toscano.  There are also dance and ballet performances.  Many famous conductors (Vittorio Gui, Bruno Walter, Zubin Mehta), singers (Maria Callas) and composers (Mascagni, Strauss, Stravinsky) have performed at Teatro Communale in Florence.  Maggio Musicale is one of the most exciting musical events in Italy and many visit Florence to enjoy this wonderful music festival!!

Pistoia Blues

Pistoia Blues is an international blues festival held every July in the piazza Duomo in Pistoia.  This is one of the most famous blues festivals in Europe.  Many great artists such as Frank Zappa, Jimmy Page, B.B. King, Santana, Bob Dylan and Deep Purple have performed at this festival.  This year Pistoia Blues is from July 14^th – 18^th. 

Umbria Jazz Festival

The Umbria Jazz Festival is one of the most important jazz festivals in Europe and in the world.  It takes place in the beautiful city of Perugia where people from all over the world come to enjoy this great festival!  Many famous musicians who have performed here include Gato Barbieri, B.B. King, Sting, Eric Clapton, James Brown, George Benson and Tony Bennett.  This festival is filled with international jazz music and other world music too.  This year the Umbria Jazz Festival will be held July 9^th – 18^th and performers include Mark Knopfler, Pat Matheny, Chick Corea, Sonny Rollins, The Manhattan Transfer, Melody Gardot, Enrico Rava and Stefano Bollani.  This is a must-see fun event!!

Photos courtesy of emmepa, Evan Shay, and desta