Wine tasting

On Sunday, March 1st at Quanto Basta, near San Lorenzo, there will be the third Edition of ViniGiusti 2009 with the particular attention of Guido Ricciarelli.
In this edition you will find Tuscan and abroad etiquettes of the finest wines selected by excellent guides and publications.
From 12,30pm to 5pm there will be a rich lunch buffet
At 5,30pm there will be a round table
At 6,30pm professional tasting (invitation only)
From 5pm to 9,30pm buffet dinner
At 9,30pm the announce of the winner ViniGiusti 2009

Original Sound movies in Florence

Yesterday I went to the Odeon Cinema to see original sound movie Milk, with the Oscar winner Sean Penn. The cinema was crowdy! I really liked the movie and the story.

Here is the program of Original Sound movies in Florence:

MARCH ‘09 Cinema Odeon CineHall – Via Sassetti, Florence Italy

Mo 2 Rachel Getting MarriedJonathan Demme (USA – 114’) by
- 1 NOMINATION OSCAR 2009 - Venice Film Festival –
with italian subtitles
with Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mather Zickel, Bill Irwin, Anna Deavere Smith
SHOWS: 4.00 – 6.10 – 8.20 – 10.30 p.m.

Tu 3 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by David Fincher (USA – 160’)
-WINNER 3 OSCAR 2009
with Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond, Jason Flemyng.
SHOWS : 5.00 – 9.00 pm

Th 5 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by David Fincher (USA – 160’)
-WINNER 3 OSCAR 2009
with Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond, Jason Flemyng.
SHOWS : 5.00 – 9.00 pm

Mo 9 Revolutionary Road by Sam Mendes (USA /UK - 119’)
- WINNER BEST DRAMATIC ACTRESS GOLDEN GLOBE 2009 Kate Winslet -
with Leonardo Di Caprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates, Zoe Kazan, Kathryn Hahn
SHOWS : 3.45 – 6.10 – 8.20 -10.30

Tu 10 Pink Panther 2 (USA – 90’) by Harald Zwart -Berlin film Festival-
with Steve Martin, Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer, Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina.
SHOWS: 4.30 – 6.30 – 8.30 -10.30 p.m.

Th 12 Frost/Nixon by Ron Howard (USA – 122’)
5 NOMINATIONS OSCAR 2009 INCLUDING BEST FILM and BEST DIRECTOR
- 5 GOLDEN GLOBE 2009 NOMINATIONS -
with Kevin Bacon, Sam Rockwell, Michael Sheen, Frank Langella, Patty McCormack
SHOWS ONLY: 8.20 – 10.30 p.m.

Mo 16 The Reader (USA/GERMANY-124’) by Stephen Daldry - Berlin film Festival-
- WINNER OSCAR 2009 BEST ACTRESS Kate Winslet - With Italian Subtitless
with Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, David Kross, Lena Olin, Bruno Ganz.
SHOWS: 3.45 – 6.10 – 8.20 -10.30

Tu 17 Watchman (G.B./USA/CANADA – 163’) by Zack Snyder -With Italian Subtitles-
with Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley,
Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
SHOWS: 5.00 – 9.00 p.m

Wen. 18 SPECIAL EVENT : Ken Loach will be at the Odeon to presents “It’s a free World”
(G.B. 2007) SHOW at 8.30 p.m

Th 19 Slumdog Millionaire by Danny Boyle (UK/USA 120’)
-WINNER 8 OSCAR 2009 INCLUDING BEST FILM AND BEST DIRECTOR
-WINNER 4 GOLDEN GLOBE 2009 -
with Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Irfan Khan -With Italian Subtitles-
SHOWS : 4.00 – 6.10 – 8.20 – 10.30 pm

From 20 to 27 march Odeon Cinehall will host
The 7th Festival of Korean Cinema in Italy

Mo 30 The Wrestler (USA – 109’) by Darren Aronofsky - With Italian subtitles –
- WINNER BEST FILM VENICE FILM FESTIVAL 2008 –
2 NOMINATIONS OSCAR 2009
with Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Mark Margolis, Todd Barry.
SHOWS: : 4.00 – 6.10 – 8.20 – 10.30 pm

Tu 31 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by David Fincher (USA – 160’)
- WINNER 3 OSCAR 2009 -
with Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond, Jason Flemyng.
SHOWS : 5.00 – 9.00 pm

APRIL ’09 Cinema Odeon CineHall – Via Sassetti, Florence, Italy

Th 2 The International (USA/GERMANY/G.B. – 118’) by Tom Tykwer
- Berlin Film Festival Opening film -
with Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Ulrich Thomsen, James Rebhorn
SHOWS: : 3.45 – 6.10 – 8.20 -10.30

Mo 6 The International (USA/GERMANY/G.B. – 118’) by Tom Tykwer
- Berlin Film Festival Opening film -
with Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Ulrich Thomsen, James Rebhorn
SHOWS: : 3.45 – 6.10 – 8.20 -10.30

Tu 7 The Reader (USA/GERMANY-124’) by Stephen Daldry - Berlin film Festival-
- WINNER OSCAR 2009 BEST ACTRESS Kate Winslet -With Italian Subtitless-
with Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, David Kross, Lena Olin, Bruno Ganz.
SHOWS: : 3.45 – 6.10 – 8.20 -10.30

Th 9 Easy Virtue (G.B. – 96’) by Stephan Elliott -With Italian subtitles -
whit Jessica Biel, Colin Firth, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Barnes, Kimberley Nixon.
SHOWS: : 4.30 – 6.30 – 8.30 -10.30

Tu 14 Eden a l’Ouest ( FRANCE/ ITALY/GREECE- 111’) by Costantin Costa Gravas
- Berlin Film Festival -
with Riccardo Scamarcio, Juliane Köhler, Ulrich Tukur, Anny Duperey, Antoine Monot Jr.
- ORIGINAL FRENCH VERSION -
SHOWS: : 4.00 – 6.10 – 8.20 – 10.30 pm

Th 16 Valkyrie (USA/GERMANY – 120’) byBryan Singer
with Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson - With Italian subtitles –
SHOWS : : 3.45 – 6.10 – 8.20 -10.30

Mo 20 Gran Torino (USA - 116’) by Clint Eastwood -With Italian Subtitels -
with Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, Christopher Carley, Austin Douglas Smith.
SHOWS : : 3.45 – 6.10 – 8.20 -10.30

Tu 21 Frozen River (USA – 97’) by Courtney Hunt
-2 NOMINATIONS OSCAR 2009-
with Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott, Mark Boone Junior, Michael O'Keefe,
SHOWS: : 4.30 – 6.30 – 8.30 -10.30

Th 23 Milk by Gus Van Sant (USA – 128’)
-WINNER 2 OSCAR 2009 BEST ACTOR SEAN PENN and BEST ORIGINAL
SCREENPLAY
with Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, James Franco, Victor Garber.
SHOWS: 5.00 – 8.00 – 10.30 pm -with italian subtitles-

Mo 27 What Just happened ? (USA – 107’) by Barry Levinson
with Robert De Niro, Sean Penn, Catherine Keener, John Turturro, Robin Wright Penn,
Stanley Tucci, Kristen Stewart, Michael Wincott, Bruce Willis
SHOWS: 4.00 – 6.10 – 8.20 – 10.30 pm

Tu 28 Marley &Me (USA – 120’) byDavid Frankel
with Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Eric Dane, Kathleen Turner, Alan Arkin.
SHOWS: : 3.45 – 6.10 – 8.20 -10.30

Th 30 Duplicity (USA- )by Tony Gilroy
with Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Billy Bob Thornton, Tom Wilkinson
-With Italian Subtiles -
SHOWS: : 3.45 – 6.10 – 8.20 -10.30

Tickets and Club Card : A regular ticket costs Euro 7,50 but you can buy the Club Card which gives you a 40% discount for 8 admissions of your choice. The card costs Euro 38,00 and expires at 31st of July 2009. It admits up to two people at a time (i.e. 2 admissions). It can be purchased at the Odeon Cinema box office.

What's on in Florence in March

In few days a brand new exhibit will start at Palazzo Strozzi, in the center of Florence.

Palazzo Strozzi will host a great exhibition sponsored by the Ministry for Cultural Heritaged and Region of Tuscany, that is dedicated to Galileo Galilei, the man who led to the current conception of the universe.
The exhibition reconstructs the history of the Cosmos, as designed and shown extending the Scientific Revolution, in the context of social and cultural events that have characterized the Mediterranean and European civilization. An exciting journey that starts with the visions and mystical poetry prior to the Greeks, passing through the vital contribution of astronomy and Arab lands to the revolutionary theory of Copernicus shot from Galileo and Kepler, which contributed significantly the affirmation of the final new concept of the universe.

This fascinating history is illustrated dramatically from scientific instruments of exceptional beauty and ingenuity, celestial atlases, drawings, paintings, sculptures, archaeological finds and precious illuminated manuscripts from the most prestigious museums and libraries around the world. All this is explained and supported by extraordinary operating cosmological models made for the occasion. Multimedia applications and suggestive movies explore the key issues.
A special section is reserved for the original telescope of Galileo came up to us (preserved in the Museum of the History of Science in Florence).
English text available.

Galileo. Images of the universe from antiquity to the telescope
March 13 - August 30, 2009
Information: +39 055 2645155
Exhibition hours: Daily 9 a.m - 8 p.m
Thursday 9 a.m - 11 p.m
Last admission to the exhibition 1 hour before closing
Tickets
Full € 10,00, Reduced € 8,50 € 8,00 € 7,50
Bookings
T. +39 055 2469600
prenotazioni@cscsigma.it

Almuerzo mexican food in Florence

We know Mexican food because of the Tex Mex cuisine that we are used to have but Mexico is so big that it has not only one gastronomic tradition but many. March 1st at 1pm the club restaurant “Il Barone” in via Romana 123/red proposes a tasting of the Mexican tradition prepared with original ingredients and original methods.

The buffet menu is as follow:
Quesadillas de flor de calabaza
tortillas stuffed with zucchini flowers
Quesadillas de papa y chorizo
tortillas stuffed with potatoes and chilly sausages
Quesadillas de rajas with cream
tortillas stuffed with chili and cream
Pozole rojo
Corn traditional soup with meat and chili
Capirotada
Dessert with sugar cane syrup and dry fruit

There will be an introduction before the tasting, please be punctual. The lunch is € 15,00 euro and they will serve to open a social gastronomic network called KeBuono.

For info and reservation: flavitie@gmail.com - cell. 348.0704616

Florentine carnival parties 2009

Besides the huge floats and parade in Viareggio, on th Tuscan coast, also in Florence there are Carnival events and celebrations.

On Mardi gras (February, the 24th) at Rifrullo a big carnival show with 3 prizes for the best masks: a massage, a bottle of Champagne and a brunch for two. The party will start at 7.30 pm with the formula "eat as much as you can" for just 10 euros (one cocktail included).
Two days before (February, the 22nd), on the streets of Florence there will be the annual "Florentine carnival in the world" a big multiracial parade of people coming from 26 different countries of Africa, Asia, America and Europe. They will pass through the center of Florence dressed in their native costumes. For the seventh year in a row, Florence celebrates Carnival in all its traditions from around the world. The procession begins in Piazza Ognissanti and finishes in Piazza della Signoria with performances of music and dance.
On the same day at Calenzano, a small city close to Florence, there will an historical parade with tournaments and games.

If you come to Florence in this period don't miss to taste the "schiacciata alla fiorentina": it's a cake made just for this period. It's delicious!

Tuscan tasting in an acient theater

In a nice historical street of Florence there is an amazing B&B ran by a beautiful Italian couple, Cristina and Giuseppe. This Bed and Breakfast is called Florence Grand Tour and on February 13th 2009 in association with De Gustibus, they open their space for a special Florentine night with an aperitif tasting of Tuscan delicatessen: pecorino cheese, ham and salami, crostini (toasted bread with different kind of sauces). The peculiarity of this amazing place is a little theater of 1700 that’s inside the B&B.

The meeting is at 6,45pm until 10pm.
The cost is €15,00 for De Gustibus member, 18 euro for the “new comers”
Only some spaces are still available for info: tommaso@de-gustibus.it

Street art at Theater Puccini

Starting from February 5th in the foyer of the Puccini Theater there is a very interesting show called “Crossing clouds” with the drawings of Diego della Posta who will be at the opening which starts at 7pm.

During the opening of the exhibition there will be a rich buffet offered by the famous restaurant Acqua al due; the show will be open every day, but on Sundays, from 3,30pm to 7pm with a free entrance.
Comics, balloons, clouds: these ephemerals, unreal but powerful images are the fulcrum of the exhibition proposed by the Puccini Artexpo.

The street art in Italy has not a happy life even if there are evidences that it has some kind of dignity, like the painting of the façade of the Sant’Antonio Abate in Pisa church painted by the artist Keith Haring twenty years ago.

IRPINIA’S FLAVOURS AT GRAND HOTEL MINERVA

IRPINIA’S FLAVOURS AT GRAND HOTEL MINERVA – FLORENCE

Thursday 5th, Friday 6th and Saturday 7th of February, from 19.30 till 22.30 at I Chiostri Restaurant, the chefs of the Restaurant “Taberna Vugli” from San Stefano di Sole – Avellino will prepare for all lovers of the good cuisine, a wide range of specialties from Irpinia’s regional cuisine.
Choices for all tastes in the piccola carte and in the two tasting menus -also containing fish-made dishes- (1 starter, 1 soup, 1 first course, 1 second course, a wide assortment of sweets at 35€ or 2 starters -1 soup - 1 first course, 1 fish second course and 1 meat course + selection of heavenly seweets 40€)
Here are some proposals from the menu: to begin with, Codefish with salad, Curly endive pie stuffed with Cetarese tuna fish eggs or Pepaina with vinegar (a type of pepper) stuffed with cooked wine must. To continue with, there is the Minestra Maritata (traditional “marriage soup”, wild greens wedded with white beans), Lentils and Montella chestnuts, Gragnano fusilli with Genovese sauce, Noodles with pork-cheek sauce, Irpine hazelnuts and broccoli.
Among the meat courses Cappello del prete alla pizzaiola, La Maialata di casa Vulgi, Guinea Fowl with lentils and Irpinian truffle or Baccalà alla pertecaregna con peperone crusco.
Dulcis in fundo: Babas (sponge cake steeped in rum syrup), Lemon Zeppoline with ricotta cream, Soft Mostacciolo cake and Caprese with ricotta and pears.

Reservations are welcomed. For information and reservations: Grand Hotel Minerva Piazza Santa Maria Novella Firenze 055 27230 info@grandhotelminerva.com

www.concertohotels.com

Discovering tastes in history in Tuscany

Week-end March 20-22 - Discovering tastes in history

Antico Podere Marciano, in occasion of its seasonal opening for 2009, offers a promotional week-end with a special evening devoted to the history of Italian gastronomy. The promotion includes:
Friday, March 20th, arrival and check-in, accommodation in double bedroom
Saturday, March 21st, breakfast, free day, special dinner: Discovering tastes in history, banquets of the Pope court at the end of the 16^th century
Sunday, March 22nd, breakfast, check-out
Price: 145,00 € per person
Superior bedrooms will be assigned to early bookings.
Discovering tastes in history, banquets of the Pope court at the end of the 16^th century. This special evening is the first of a series of appointments devoted to ancient culinary culture. Dishes of Bartolomeo Scappi will be prepared, one of the greatest Chefs of all the times, known as the Michelangelo of the kitchen.
Scappi in the 16th century cooked for Kings and Popes (on one occasion he prepared a 780 courses banquet for Carlos V, king of Spain) and left exhaustive evidence of his banquets, menus and recipes which is a beautiful 'Affresco' full of flavours and tastes that may sometimes be recognized as the roots of our gastronomy, thus being intriguing, and surprisingly modern.
Menu for Saturday March, 21st:
Tartallette di rape con agliata di amandole
(turnip tarts with garlic and almond sauce)
Minestra di zucche nostrali in giorno di quaresima
(pumpkin soup in Lent time)
Gigotto di castrato arrosto con sapore di finocchi selvatici
(roasted lamb in wild fennel herbs)
Frittelle di salvia e zafferano con salsa di mele
(sage and saffron cake with apple sauce)
Before the dinner, a brief presentation of the gastronomy of the 16^th century will be given.

Opened to the public in 2004, Antico Podere Marciano is the result of a comprehensive and very careful restoration of an ancient rural house. he landscape seen from its wide terraces seems as if it were lifted straight off a Tuscan postcard – gently sloping hills dotted with cypresses, castles and stone farm houses surrounded by vineyards spread out into the distance, where you can also see the outlined spires of the famous towers of San Gimignano. Located in the hills of the Chianti region, near Castellina-in-Chianti, Antico Podere Marciano looks directly out over the spectacular panorama of the Val d’Elsa. For info: info@poderemarciano.it