In 2000 the Rimini Dixieland Jazz Band organized a traditional jazz-concert at the end of the summer-season: this event is considered the establishment of the International Traditional and Swing Jazz Festival, the event that takes  place every year in Rimini.

Many of the finest bands and musicians have taken part at this festival.
The big stage, placed in the square dedicated at Federico Fellini, will house the ninth edition of the Rimini Jazz International Festival.

Rimini Jazz 2009 will take place from the 23rd to the 27th of June, with big names of the traditional Jazz and Swing as actors coming from Italy, USA and the Netherlands.
Big sized orchestras, small Jazz combos, All-Star line-ups and Marching Band in the true tradition of New Orleans, ready to start the coming summer season events of the Romagna shore.

This is an Italian style chicken recipe with Parmesan cheese that I found on Southern Food.

Ingredients:

* 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (halves)
* 3 large eggs, beaten
* 1 cup Parmesan cheese
* 1 cup fine dry Italian bread crumbs
* 1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
* 1/4 cup butter

Preparation:

Wash chicken and pat dry. Dip chicken into eggs. Combine cheese and bread crumbs. Coat chicken thoroughly with crumb mixture. Place on greased baking sheet. Drizzle with salad dressing and place pats of butter on each piece of chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

The Mille Miglia (Thousand Miles) is an open-road endurance race that has been taking place in Italy since 1927.
Since 1977 the name was revived as the Mille Miglia Storica, a parade for pre-1957 cars that takes several days.

Every May, Brescia becomes the meeting place for the rich, famous and passionate as they prepare to do battle over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of Italian roads.

This edition of the race will start on May 14th in Brescia, will pass by Florence, Siena, Rome, Ferrara, San Marino and many other cities, coming back in Brescia in few days.

The history of the Mille Miglia is traced in all its glory at the Mille Miglia Museum in Brescia. This collection is a must for all amateurs of the automobile and its history and includes a fine collection of books and photographic works.

The Mille Miglia has the reputation of being the “the most beautiful road race in the world”, don’t miss it!

Info taken from wikipedia.

Once in life everybody should go to Rome, and see all the greate artworks in the city…

If you are planning some days in Rome, here you will have some good advices for yur stay, the things to do and the places to visit!

Let’s have a brief description of one of its precious artwork, the Vatican Museum Setting, The Sistine Chapel.

“The frescoes that we are contemplating here introduce us into the world of the contents of the Revelation. The truths of our faith speak to us here from all ses. From them human genius took its inspiration undertaking to clothe them in forms of incomparable beauty” . With these words pronounced in the Homily during the Holy Mass celebrated on 8 April 1994, on the occasion of the completion of the restoration of the Last Judgement, the Holy Father John Paul II wished to place emphasis on the sacredness of the place in which the paintings, like the images of a book, serve to render the truths expressed in the Holy Scriptures more understandable.

The Sistine Chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere (pontiff from 1471 to 1484) who had the old Cappella Magna restored between 1477 and 1480. The 15th century decoration of the walls includes: the false drapes, the Stories of Moses (south and entrance walls) and of Christ (north and entrance walls) and the portraits of the Popes (north and south and entrance walls).

It was executed by a team of painters made up initially of Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli, assisted by their respective shops and by some closer assistants among whom Biagio di Antonio, Bartolomeo della Gatta and Luca Signorelli stand out. On the Ceiling Pier Matteo d’Amelia painted a starry sky.

The work on the frescoes began in 1481 and was concluded in 1482. This is also the date of the following works in marble: the screen, the choir stalls (where the choristers took their places), and the pontifical coat of arms over the entrance door. On 15 August 1483, Sixtus IV consecrated the new chapel dedicating it to Our Lady of the Assumption. Julius II della Rovere (pontiff from 1503 to 1513), nephew of Sixtus IV, decided to partly alter the decoration, entrusting the work in 1508 to Michelangelo Buonarroti, who painted the Ceiling and, on the upper part of the walls, the lunettes. The work was finished in October 1512 and on the Feast of All Saints (1 November), Julius II inaugurated the Sistine Chapel with a solemn Mass. The nine central panels show the Stories of Genesis, from the Creation to the Fall of man, to the Flood and the subsequent rebirth of mankind with the family of Noah.

For a short stay in Rome, try Rome Cheap Accommodation a Bed and Breackfast in Rome near the major touristic attraction and the strategic points of interests of the Eternale City…

HAve a good stay in Rome and Rome Cheap Accommodation!

Versione Italiana

Each year, on Labour Day there is a huge free concert in San Giovanni in Laterano square in Rome.
More than 700 artists line up the 1st of May for a turn on that stage.
This year Vasco Rossi, Giorgia, Caparezza, Nomadi, Bandabardò, Edoardo Bennato and a lot of other Italian artists will perform for free on that stage

In 2007 there were approximately 700.000 people attending the event.
The First of May concert (Concerto del Primomaggio) began in 1989 and quickly became a popular event, heavily covered by TV and the press. To get a good view of the stage you have to arrive early in San Giovanni Square.

If you want to prepare true Sicilian Cannoli, just follow this recipe! (found on epicrious)

Ingredients

For cannoli shells

* 1 cup all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting
* 3 tablespoons sugar
* 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 lb cold lard
* 2 tablespoons sweet Marsala wine
* 1 large egg, separated
* About 3 cups vegetable oil

For filling

* 1 lb fresh ricotta (2 cups)
* 2 oz soft mild goat cheese
* 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
* 1 tablespoon minced candied orange peel
* 1/2 teaspoon orange-flower water (also called orange-blossom water)
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/3 cup shelled unsalted pistachios (not dyed red), chopped
* 2 oz bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped (1/2 cup)

* Special equipment: a pasta maker; a 4- to 4 1/4-inch round cookie cutter; a deep-fat thermometer; 6 (roughly 5 5/8- by 5/8-inch) metal cannoli tubes; 2 heavy-duty oven mitts; a pastry bag fitted with a 3/4-inch plain tip
* Garnish: confectioners sugar

Preparation

Make dough for shells:
Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Add 2 tablespoons lard and blend in with your fingertips until combined. Add wine and yolk and stir until a dough forms.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 7 minutes. Form dough into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then let stand at room temperature 1 hour.

Make filling while dough stands:
Beat together ricotta, goat cheese, confectioners sugar, orange peel, orange-flower water, and cinnamon in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed 1 minute (do not overbeat). Fold in nuts and chocolate until combined and chill.

Make shells:
Set smooth rollers of pasta maker at widest setting. Unwrap dough and cut in half, then lightly flour 1 piece (keep remaining half covered with plastic wrap). Flatten floured dough into an oval and feed through rollers. Turn dial down 2 notches and feed dough through rollers again. Continue to feed dough through rollers, making space between rollers narrower by 2 notches each time, until narrowest setting is used.

Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Transfer rolled dough to a lightly floured surface and cut out 4 or 5 rounds with floured cutter. Transfer rounds to baking sheet and keep covered with more plastic wrap. Roll out remaining dough and cut rounds in same manner. Gather scraps and let stand 10 minutes. Roll out scraps and cut in same manner.

Heat remaining lard with 1 1/4 inches oil in a 4-quart heavy pot over moderate heat until it registers 350°F on thermometer.

Meanwhile, lightly oil cannoli tubes. Lightly beat egg white, then brush bottom edge of 1 dough round with egg white. Wrap dough around a tube, overlapping ends (egg-white edge should go on top), then press edges together to seal. Make 5 more shells in same manner (keep remaining rounds covered with plastic).

Fry dough on tubes 1 at a time, turning with metal tongs, until 1 shade darker, about 45 seconds. Wearing oven mitts, clamp end of hot tubes, 1 at a time, with tongs and, holding tube vertically, allow shell to slide off tube onto paper towels, gently shaking tube and wiggling shell as needed to loosen. (If you allow shell to cool it will stick to tube and shatter when you try to remove it.) Transfer shells to paper towels to drain and cool tubes before reusing. Wrap remaining dough around tubes and fry in same manner.

Spoon filling into pastry bag and pipe some into 1 end of a cannoli shell, filling shell halfway, then pipe into other end. Repeat with remaining shells.

Margherita Pizza is a simple, delicious, classic Italian pizza.
This recipe for gluten free Margherita Pizza is made with crisp gluten free pizza crust, good quality mozzarella cheese, fresh sliced Roma tomatoes, pesto sauce and fresh basil bursting with flavor and fragrant aroma. It’s a real treat!

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

* 2 12-inch parbaked gluten free pizza crusts (recipe below)
* 1 cup good quality gluten free pizza sauce (see tips)
* 2 thinly sliced medium Roma tomatoes, remove seeds and blot slices with a paper towel
* 2 tablespoons pesto sauce
* 1/4 cup fresh basil, cut in thin strips
* 8 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese
* 2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
* 1/2 - 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste (optional)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450°

1. Divide ingredients evenly between the two pizza crusts.
2. Ladle sauce over crusts, add pesto and spread evenly over crusts with a spoon.
3. Place sliced tomatoes and strips of fresh basil over sauces.
4. Add sliced cheese, parmesan and crushed red pepper flakes.
5. Bake on a cookie cooling rack or a preheated pizza stone for 7-10 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and golden.

Source: Gluten free cooking

If you are planning a weekend or an holyday in Florence here you’ll find a very useful idea of a particular place to visit, a very beautiful leather shop where all the items are produce according with the most ancient techniques for leather production.
Near Ponte Vecchio, in the very heart of the city of Florence, there is this small shop, a place where tradition and innovation have been developed respecting the medieval leather tanning methods and pursuing the most recent and innovative styles for leather clothing and leather accessories.

Davide Cerasi leather Factory is a typical Tuscany and Italian leather shop: the leather jackets are avaliable also custom-made, the leather handbags and accessories are produced only with the best chamois and lamb skin selections.

The leather that Davide Cerasi uses for his production is only the so well known leather typically used for the production of gloves, because of its softenss.

So this shop is a place where you can find leather clothing and accessories for eveybody of all ages, for men, women and kids.
For an unforgettable Italian leather wear have a look in to Davide Cerasi leather Factory, very near to the most famous Florntine places to visit.

Versione Italiana

This is an Italian Pasta Salad Gluten-Free recipe that I found on celiac.com

Ingredients:

1 package of gluten-free rotelli pasta
1 package grape tomatoes, halved
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
¼ pound of deli salami, cubed
Chopped Fresh Basil
½ chopped red pepper
2 chopped green onions
Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Wisk together dressing ingredients, then pour over salad and pasta. You can add black olives and artichoke hearts if desired.

Great projects, great displays and great crowds will provide the basic ingredients for the key event par excellence at global level in the home furnishing sector: the Salone Internazionale del Mobile (International furniture exhibition).

An unmissable event: from 22 to 27 April 2009 at Fieramilano in Milan.

The Salone Internazionale del Mobile is at its 48th edition. Together with the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition and Euroluce, the International Lighting Exhibition, presents a wide range of proposals showing 360° of domestic furnishing solutions both in terms of typology and of style, not to mention the trend setters of tomorrow.

Also the SaloneSatellite will be held again this year, with its line-up of creative young talent at the service of businesses.

Everyone will have the chance to visit the exhibitions on Sunday 26th of April.

Sources: Cosmit and Fieramilano