Calcata is an ancient hilltop village that is about 45 minutes from Soriano, near Rome. What makes this village so special is that in the 1930's, it was condemned, and became a ghost town. However, in the 60's hippies and artists began to squat here, and over time it developed into a thriving artist colony of sorts. There are currently about 60 local residents of the village, who have restored it over the years and opened restaurants, cafes, and art galleries.

The town swtill carries with it the vibe that set it on its current path. The art galleries are very non-traditional, the cafes serve mostly vegetarian fare, and the people are without question the modern version of the hippies of the 60's. In fact, the vive is very similar to that of Sedona, Arizona, except that it has an Italian flavor to it.

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7 months, 17 tours, 56 cooking classes, 144 guests and over 35,000 miles of Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio are behind us.  That was the 2008 season for us at DiscoverSoriano.  As with last year, after coming back to the US, I have gone into video mode.  Here is the first video I have made since coming back, which essentially sums up the season:

What a wild ride it was.   It was a lot of fun, and a lot of work…. but always very rewarding.  Most of all, we made a ton of new friends and had the opportunity to share something we love with so many new people.

Some new stuff in 2008…

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DiscoverSoriano.com is a proud sponsor of this year's Jazz Festival in Soriano. We hope you will come and see us! We'll be filming a great deal of the festival this year in High Definition, as well as conducting numerous interviews.

This is the preliminary schedule for the 2008 Jazz festival in Soriano. Most performances begin around 9:00 PM in Soriano's main Piazza. Some performances will take place in the City Hall Courtyard. Keep in mind that more events are likely to be added to the schedule as time drawn near. Additionally, performances end at midnight as the Rotezzia Pub in Soriano (Located in Catacombs below the main Piazza) opens up for all-night Jam Sessions.

2008 Jazz Festival Schedule
July 19	Gege Telesforo Jazz All Stars
July 21	Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant Performances
July 22	Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant Performances
July 23	Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant Performances
July 24	Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant Performances
July 25	Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant Performances
July 26	Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant Performances
July 27	Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant Performances
July 28	Rosciglione and Munari present the Tuscia in Jazz Master 2008 Class
July 29	Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Finals
July 30	Rick Margitza
July 31	Flavio Boltro & Francisco Mela
Aug 1	Kenny Barron Trio
Aug 2	Jazz All Night (White Night) An all-night festival scheduled to last until 5AM -- Stages are erected all over town for multiple simultaneus performances throughout the night. Town stores, bars and restaurants remain open all night.
Aug 2	Tony Monaco, Ray Mantilla, Flavio Boltro
Aug 3	Tuscia in Jazz Masters/Teachers Jam
Aug 6	Fabrizio Bosso & DEA Trio
Aug 7	Shawnn Monriera Italian Quartet
Aug 8	Tuscia in Jazz Band play Formichella Sound
Aug 9	Sould New Sound

 

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Let's face it... when I am in the US, this blog runs pretty dry. After all, a blog about Italy doesn't do too well when you are sitting at a computer in Florida. Well, that is soon to change.

On May 12, I'll be heading over again, and this time I will be there for 5 months straight. No back and forth this year like I have done the last few years. But the news gets a little better... I'm heading over there with some new high-tech toys for the blog (and the rest of the site).

I'll be bringing a new Canon Vixia HF-10 High Definition camera, as well as a new Gateway P-171XL FX with a full compliment of video editing software.

My intention is to get pretty serious with the videos this summer. I'll be doing very in depth video blogs for all of the towns we visit on tours, as well as all of the festivals and events. Considering that we already have 14 tours booked, there will be a great deal of material, so stay tuned.

See you soon!

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This year wasn't my first time seeing the Chestnut Festival, but through the years, I have never made it to the Palio.  

First things first, What on earth is a ‘Palio' ?  Those who have heard the term generally know of it it in connection with the famous ‘Palio di Siena', which is a horse race.  But Palio is really  a term that can be used for any kind of competition in Italy.  The word Palio itself refers to a large banner that acts as a trophy for the winner of whatever competion is being held.  In other words, the Palio is the prize, not the contest.

Soriano's Palio, unlike that of Siena, is not a horse race.  Instead it is a half-day event that is made up of an archery competition and a jousting competition.  It is one of the main events in Soriano nel Cimino's Sagra delle Castagne (Chestnut Festival).

During the festival, the twon divides into 4 ‘contrade' districts, each with their cavalier and archer that will compete in the Palio.

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Ask around Soriano about ‘Fosso Mulino’ (River Mill) and you will get mostly blank stares. So it is no surprise that after all of these years I had no idea that it existed. Very few people do.

One day I was out with my friend (and our contractor) Andrea D’Alessio. He asked me if I had ever been to the waterfalls. My immediate answer was YES! There is a place in Soriano with some beautiful waterfalls that few know about, and I had been there. In fact, years ago I was telling Paola about them, and she didn’t believe me until I showed her.

Anyhow, Andrea didn’t believe that I had been to ‘The waterfalls’, so he asked me to describe them. As I did, he laughed and simply explained that there were other, more breathtaking, waterfalls in Soriano. So he took me. He explained that not only was this a beautiful fork of the Tiber with awesome waterfalls, but there were the ruins of a 13th century Olive Mill. Cool!

We drove just past the Viterbo-Orte Superstrada, right at the Soriano-Bomarzo exit, and hung a left. We drove down a road which is well known as a hangout for some extremely vile looking prostitutes (another story there) and parked along a little dirt road. After exiting the car, we went down a small trail into what appeared to be complete nothingness.

At one point, I noticed beneath my feet there was some ancient concrete road, which was ribbed. Andrea explained that this was the path the mules used to cart the olives down, and the oil up.

Next I found myself in a tunnel of sorts, created by massive rocks around me, and extending about 200 feet down the hill. All the while, this ancient road ran beneath my feet.
After exiting the tunnel, immediately to my right was the river. As I walked toward it, I was struck by an absolutely beautiful set of waterfalls as I saw the water that had literally carved its passage through this ancient volcanic rock over millions of years. To say it was stunning would be an understatement.

We walked around as I cursed my lack of a spare battery for my camera. It had a little juice left in it, so I took what video I could. How could I never have known about this place?
As we crossed back to our entry point, there was an old structure in ruin. Andrea told me to look to my feet. There, sitting in the middle of this little forest was an ancient olive mill wheel.

We then entered the structure, and a few more wheels were just lying there haphazardly. Wow! What a great experience to see all of this in such an untouched state.

Such was my morning visit to what I now know of as ‘Fosso Mulino’. You won’t find it in any tour books, and you won’t find any ‘professional’ guides that can show it to you. It is just one of those hidden treasures, like Corviano, that you just have to be with the right person to see.

I’m pretty sure I will make this a tour stop with my groups that are into nature and hiking.

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Things got quite busy since my last post. We had a wave of guests come to Soriano, and the annual chestnut festival ( Sagra delle Castagne ) began, which really kept me running, camera in hand.

The folks in Soriano's tourism office were kind enough to issue me an all-access press pass for all of the events, so I have tons of content (both video and photo) from the last few weeks that will take form in blog articles over the next few weeks.

So now that I am back in the US and getting over my jet lag, I'll begin...

The Flag Throwers ( Sbandieratori ) of Soriano nel Cimino

Soriano is, for the most part, divided into four districts (Contrade). When the chestnut festival begins, these districts compete in many events (Archers, Cavaliers, Parades, Medieval dinners, etc.). Additionally, each district brings a distinct group with a specific talent. For example, Soriano's swordsmen are from the ‘Rocca' district. The ‘Trinita' district brings a group of heavily trained Flag Throwers.

To be completely honest, they never impressed me in the past. I always thought it was a total non-event. I mean, big deal, right? But I hadn't seen the Flag Throwers from Soriano in years, and I was covering the festival, so I really should check it out. In fact, I actually considered if I wanted to waste my camera's battery life on the event for fear that I might end up missing something interesting later into the evening.

The event was about to begin, and I took my place in the Piazza... thinking there must be something better to do. Then I heard the drums coming from Via Santa Maria (Trinita's home street). Suddenly I saw a massive group of drummers, trumpeters, and flag throwers march into Piazza behind the Trinita Flag Carrier. Their costumes were breathtaking! Their choreography was mesmerizing! Even the drums were absolutely stunning! When the row of trumpets began to play, my jaw dropped in utter awe.

This was not the Flag Throwing group I remembered. In the past it was a small group of guys that put on a nice, but largely unspectacular performance. Wow, have they changed. Someone with great skill and vision has clearly taken over in this group. I would argue that it was the most spectacular event I saw during the festival. Maybe because my expectations were so low going in, or maybe they are just that great now.

Unfortunately, the video that accompanies this article doesn't do them justice. It doesn't even come close to capturing the grandeur of the group, nor does it reproduce even a fraction of the awesome sound they produce. Not knowing what to expect, my camera missed many of the best moments of the performance. 

Next time I have an opportunity to film them, I will try to better convey how truly awesome this group was.

 

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I remember my mother telling me about her move to Southern California, and how excited she was the first time she picked an orange off a tree and ate it right there.  I was thinking, like... ok, big deal... you need to get out more!  But then again, she was from New York, and I had been born and raised in L.A.  After all, I had never seen an apple tree...  In fact, at 42 years, I still have never seen an apple tree.  Maybe I'm the one that needs to get out more.

That said, if you are reading this from Napa Valley (Hi Jac and Ami), this post might have you thinking I've been locked in a cage most of my life.  Well, that cage was walled by the confines of the 101, 405 and 118 freeways in the San Fernando Valley, and I can't stop saying to myself: ‘Dude!  I, like, fully made WINE yesterday'. 

OK, I'm going to admit that it wasn't my first time.  The first time was about 13 years ago when I happened to be here in Soriano nel Cimino during the harvest, and I helped my father in law with his private yield. 

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I love Football (Go USC!) & Baseball (Go Dodgers!).. I'm an American after all.  But I have never been able to sink my heart into Soccer. So having spent all of these years in Italy, I've never been to a serious professional Soccer match.  I've been to the small ones, but never ‘Stadium Sized' games.  That changed yesterday.

I'll write this article aimed at people that are not up to speed in the world of European Soccer, so I ask those of you that are in the know to be patient with me.

I was invited to go to a match between AS Roma (Rome) and Juventus (Turin).  They are the Italian Soccer equivalent of the Yankees vs. the Red Sox, with Juventus being the Yankees.  You know, the team that has a huge following all over the country (and the world), not just mainly in their home town.  It was held at Rome's Olympic Stadium.

I was far more focused on the experience than the game itself.  After all, I could care less if ‘Totti must die' or not.  Still, I was there with a group of six die hard Juventus fans, who graciously shared a ‘nearly impossible to procure' ticket to the game.  Many envious people felt the ‘golden ticket' had been wasted on me.  That said, for my own personal safety I was a Juventus fan yesterday.

 

The experience began with the walk up to the stadium.  Vendors abound were selling flags, shirts, banners, towels, etc. proclaiming that ‘Juve must die' and ‘Juve I hate you', etc.  Juve is short for Juventus, in the same way that we say ‘SC' for ‘USC'.  There was no pro-Juventus paraphernalia to be found.  In fact, I noted that none of the fans wore anything pro-Juventus.  Odd, considering what a huge following they had all over the country.

After a bit, we arrived at security check #1.  Then #2, then #3.  Then a caged fortress-like area where we inserted our tickets.  Then yet another security check.  Each person was individually patted down, made to empty their pockets and bags, then checked again, and again at a series of checkpoints.  Nothing was allowed in.  There were literally thousands of police in full riot gear everywhere you looked, forming lines, ready for the worst.  I think I would have an easier time getting into the White House than the Soccer game yesterday.

 

The moment we walked through the gates, I witnessed people opening their bags and getting shirts, hats, flags, etc. out.  All Black and White... Juventus colors.  They had been afraid to wear their gear outside of the protection of the ‘Juventus Section' of the stadium.

As we walked into the stadium, I quickly learned that all of the security was outside.  It was pure chaos as we attempted to find our seats... until I learned that seat assignments have no meaning.  Everyone just crowded in wherever they could.  Aisles, stairs, etc. were all fair play for seats.

As we tried to make our way to a place where we could see the game, I suddenly heard a roar of screaming and felt the pressure of thousands of people pouncing around me, pushing me (and everyone) violently to one direction.  As I looked up, completely confused, I saw a chair flying over the big fence into the stands where I was. Thousands of people were rushing away from the area... into me.  Then another... and another.... Bottles, small objects, etc.  It was mayhem.  I noted that everyone on the other side of the fence was wearing Red and Yellow, while those on my side were wearing black and white.  I was within 20 feet of the giant divider between Juventus fans and Roma fans.  THANK GOD FOR THE MASSIVE BARRIER!

 

Riot Police stormed the area and calmed things down, after a fashion.  We continued to slowly make our way to a better place in the stadium.  Pushing and shoving to move foot by foot was the order of the day.

Once we were settled in our chosen location, one thing became utterly clear.  I was in that spot for the duration.  The stairway was completely blocked by fans and there was no way to move away from my two square feet of stadium floor.  I had skipped lunch earlier, thinking I would get a bite at the game.  HA!  A couple hours earlier I passed up an opportunity to go to th

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For those of you that will be coming to Soriano for the Chestnut Festival, I thought I would post a video that shows a few of the highlights.  This video is a promotional piece by Soriano nel Cimino's Medieval Swordsmen.  While they perform at many festivals all over the world, being from Soriano, they perform at each and every festival in the town.

This video concentrates on them, but many of the video clips are taken during the Chestnut Festival (Sagra delle Castagne) over the years.   Enjoy!

 

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