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March on in Tuscany; A countdown to Spring!

Wine tasting and bottling!

(March 1st – 2nd)

On the 1st and 2nd of March you can witness the bottling of the wine at one of our favourite vineyards. It’s a great experience to see the wine producers finally getting to bottle their wine and reap the benefits of all their hard work throughout the year.

The event takes place in the beautiful countryside of the Pisan hills in an area known as the wine route. We suggest combining a wine tasting tour and rustic Tuscan lunch to the authentic experience!

Free entrance into all State museums and archaeological parks

(March 4)

Sunday 4th of March marks the 1st Sunday of the month, a day when all the state museums open their doors for free! This includes The Uffizi and The Accademia in Florence along with many more museums and Archaeological parks all over Tuscany. Make sure you go early as the queues are long and remember if you are not here in March you can visit for free any time of the year as long as it’s the first Sunday of the month!

International Women’s Day

(March 8th)

International women’s day is a global event celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world.

The tradition here in Italy is to give a sprig of Mimosa blossom to a woman close to your heart in celebration of this special day. The Mimosa tree itself will be in full bloom and florists will be displaying huge bunches of bright yellow blossoms spilling out into the streets.  

It’s a day when you will witness sons, husbands, and lovers scurrying around the streets clutching the brightly dancing flowers prepared as a simple posy or abundant bouquet of flowers.

Meanwhile the women, especially the younger ones will be getting ready for a night on the town. Many of the restaurants, bars, and clubs will be hosting women only events!

Camellia Festival

(March 10-11, 17-18, 24-25, 31, April 1-2)

A beautiful an interesting event full of colour, perfumes and nature trails. I have just rephrased the following sentence The event known as the  Antique Camelia’s of Lucca will celebrate 28th year in March this year. The event takes place in and around the pretty little hamlets of Pieve di Compito and San Andrea di Compito, close to our Villa Roocello at Colle di Compito and not too far from our other properties.

Here you can visit some of the most beautiful and historic homes in the area and see some of the oldest Camellias in Europe. The plants were brought here from the Far East by prosperous merchants from Lucca back in the 18th Century. Extraordinarily, these beautiful plants spread across the region due to the perfect microclimate in Tuscany.   

A must see for visitors is the incredible ‘Camelietum’ a sanctuary where you can witness 600 species of this ancient flower. The event also offers, concerts, and tastings of local products. 

For more details visit the official website.

It’s New Year in Pisa!!!

(March 25th)

If you are coming to visit us during the end of March be prepared to jump forward a few months because the city of Pisa celebrates the coming of the New Year 2019!

Steeped in history and tradition the New Years celebration of Pisa dates back to the 10th Century, when the powerful Maritime Republic of Pisa decided to fix the date of New Year’s Day on March 25th!

Wrapped in religious and mysterious reasoning the date links to the annunciation of the Virgin Mary 9 months before the birth of Jesus on December 25th. The Pisan calendar continued  up until November 20th, 1749 and was changed by the Grand Duke of Tuscany who declared the year 1750 would begin on January 1st.

The tradition of the Pisan New Year was revived in modern times during the 80’s and follows a mystical occurrence which is linked to a type of solar clock which signifies the start of the new year. At 12 midday on March 25th, a ray of sunshine enters Pisa’s Cathedral through a small round window on the southern wall. The ray of light hits a shelf which sits above a pillar next to the magnificent pulpit of Giovanni Pisano. The shelf is supported by a small marble egg which symbolises the life, birth, and the endless story of Pisa. Once the sun illuminates this small shelf Pisa’s New Year begins!

Anyone can witness this phenomenon but make sure you get there early! The event is preceded with a historical parade of drummers and flag throwers dressed in Medieval costume. The parade starts from beautiful Knights square (Piazza dei Cavalieri) and follows a route right past the famous Leaning Tower.

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