CASTIGLION DEL LAGO - April FESTA DEL TULIPANO allegorical wagons covered with tulip’s petals.
• ASSISI:
National Antique Show
April - May
Italy's finest antique dealers participate in Assisi Antiquariato at Umbria Fiere, just outside Assisi. Because of the high quality of the items on display, the show has become the spring rendezvous for antique dealers and amateurs alike.
• NARNI:
Corsa all'Anello in Narni
April - May
La Corsa all'Anello (ring race) is an ancient tradition, dating back to 1371, in which young men on horseback representing the three districts of Narni (Fraporta, Mezule and Santa Maria) compete by trying to run their lances through a suspended ring.
• GUBBIO:
Corsa dei Ceri
May
• Every year an incredible spectacle takes place in the little town of Gubbio. Three teams of 18-20 fit men assemble amidst complex ritual procedures and much revelry in order to race carrying three heavy wooden statues on palanques up through the city to the cathedral on top of Monte Ingino.
• Crossbow Tournament - Palio della Balestra
Final Sunday of every May
Every year at the end of May the crossbow experts of Gubbio and Sansepolcro meet in a fierce contest of skill and accuracy. The first records of the contest date from the middle of the 15th century and the three winners take home prizes, in the form of gold, silver and bronze crossbows. There is also a historical parade.
• FLORENCE:
International Arts and Crafts
April - May
Tradition and innovation come together each year at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence for one of the most important European arts and crafts fairs. This fair in now in its 69th year and usually attracts around 200,000 visitors.
• Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
May
The oldest music festival in Italy, and one of the most famous, the Maggio Musicale in Florence was founded in 1933. In addition to its opera productions, it plays host to international orchestras, ballet and opera companies, with a line-up few other festivals can rival.
• Festival of the Cricket
May
Are you down on your luck? Has your lucky star turned into a black hole? Don't worry, help is at hand - for just a few euros you can be the owner of your very own "lucky cricket in a cage". Thousands of them are sold every year at the annual Florentine Festa del Grillo (Cricket Festival), held on the Day of Ascension in Florence's Parco delle Cascine.
• International Iris Show
May
In May every year gardeners from all over the world flock to Florence's Piazzale Michelangelo, as the renowned Giardino dell'Iris opens its gates to the public and hosts the annual international iris competition.
• Artigianato e Palazzo
May Artigianato e Palazzo is a three-day fair in Florence that displays the arts and crafts of traditional artisans from all over Italy, held in the beautiful gardens of the Palazzo Corsini. During the fair the artisans prepare their stands as open-air workshops, where they demonstrate their skills in pottery, the making of straw hats and willow baskets, glass cutting, the various techniques of restoring a tapestry or a precious piece of furniture, and more. The great success of this exhibition is due to the fact that it is not just a fair or bazaar, but a continuous demonstration of the skills of each craftsman.
Guided tours of the garden are conducted throughout the three days and an open-air restaurant serves traditional Tuscan food, snacks and drinks from morning to sunset.
Address: 117, Via della Scala (300 metres south-west from the Novella Train Station)
• Florence Dance Festival Fiesole July - August
This popular dance festival attracts a number of international companies who perform in the open-air venue of the Roman Amphitheater of Fiesole
More to come .
• PERUGIA:
Umbria Jazz Festival
July
From morning to evening, without any continuity, in the historic center of Perugia, dozens of concerts will take place with musical offers covering the entire music kinds to meet the tastes of a public always more heterogeneous. Perugia will become, once again, a meeting point for thousands of music lovers, coming from all over Italy but also from Europe and the United States.
•
Eurochocolate - Chocolate Revolution
October
The new edition of Eurochocolate, Chocolate Revolution, features a week of chocolate antics, music and competitions taking place throughout the city of Perugia, home town of the famed bitter-sweet chocolate and hazelnut blend, Bacio Perugina.
• SPOLETO:
July
Festival dei Due Mondi Spoleto Festival Dei Due Mondi 29 June – 15 July 2012
Situated in the green heart of Umbria, Spoleto is taken over by a whirlwind of artistic activity during its annual festival: enjoy quality classical music, theatre, ballet, visual arts and cinema in a beautiful, romantic city that invites leisurely strolls at dusk. .
