Mapping SIENA

Latest news: Sienna Miller will attend the Siena film festival (she would have to with that name, wouldn't she?) for the premiere of Rachid Bouchareb's "Just Like A Woman".  Wednesday 3rd October, 9pm -  Hotel NH EXCELSIOR, piazza La Lizza. Entree is for FREE, but come early to be sure to get a seat.   The Terra di Siena Film Festival is in its 16th edition. Being much smaller than the Venice or Rome film festivals, Terra di Siena nevertheless manages to bring important world premieres and an impressive flock of Hollywood stars to the city of the Palio. Past editions saw stars like Colin Firth (who's married to an Italian) and Susan Sarandon participating. Telling from the festival's website, it seems that the 2012 edition may even bring to Siena the presence of Robert Redford. San Galgano abbey: location of the festival's opening ceremony

ù Simone Vallerotondo playing Santiago de Murcia These are busy times in Siena. Culturally speaking. With the SIENAFESTIVAL in full swing (e.g. with the baroque concert of Simone Vallerotondo) and the presence of Sienna Miller during the TERRA DI SIENA film festival announced, the rest of the city doesn't sleep.

The visual arts meeting Siena's botanical garden Let's get this party started! Three of Siena's art and music festivals joined forces to launch what now is simply called SIENA FESTIVAL . Contemporaneamente Barocco , Voci di Fonte and  Teatri in Scatola are the names of the former festivals, which have decided to unite Siena in one big cultural happening at the beginning of autumn.  From the 22nd of September to the 13th of October, Siena will be home to a series of events , all centering around music, dance, theater and the visual arts. 

Tuscan countryside: Olive grove and vegetable garden in one Siena isn't just about medieval art and the Palio horse race. The city is a treasure trove for anybody interested in food. Tuscan food and wine that is. The province of Siena produces some of Italy's best wines (think Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Classico and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano). And the farms surrounding Siena are home to carefully looked after olive groves and vegetable gardens. 

The memorial plaque for Ettore Bastianini in the contrada pantera in Siena Forget Daniel Craig aka James Bond escaping onto Siena's piazza del Campo during Palio. The life of Siena born baritone Ettore Bastianini would make for a much more exciting script for a big Hollywood production. The opera star was born in Siena in 1922 as an illegitimate child. As a teenager he started working for a baker who loved to sing whilst kneading the dough. It didn't take long before Ettore sang along and his beautiful voice was discovered and his education fostered by the Amm anati, one of Siena's artistic families of the time.  Starting his career as a rather successful bass singer, Ettore decided to retrain for a year so as to become a baritone. In spite of a difficult start in the new register, it didn't take long before Bastianini took the world, sharing the stage  with singers like  Maria Callas and Giuseppe di Stefano  at the  New York met or Milan's Scala (for an

For a change the stARTers series organized by the Siena Art Institute won't host a visual artist but a poet. Visiting artist in Siena this September,  Jo Shapcott is still fresh from her experience at the Poetry Parnassus, an event organised alongside the Olympic Games in London.