Cinigiano

The stone hamlet of Cinigiano crowns one of the rolling hills of the Maremma area of Tuscany and still maintains an old-fashioned, rural way of life. During the year there are numerous events, the most important include Calici di Stelle, wine tasting and live music on the streets of the town, on the day of St. Lawrence (August, 10), and the Festa dell'Uva or wine harvest festival. The Festa dell'Uva takes place every year on the first October weekend.

Montalcino

Sagra del Tordo

The famous festival Sagra del Tordo and the Torneo di Apertura are two colourful festivals held each year in Montalcino.
The contrade or neighborhoods that gave rise to the town of Montalcino relive their past and their secular tradition through the reenactment of the Sagra del Tordo. From Piazza Cavour, a historical procession with figurants in 14th-century costumes parades through the streets of the village, decorated with the colours of the four quarters.

Figuranti in costumi trecenteschi, Montalcino, corteo storico della Sagra del Tordo [1]

The Festival of the Thrush, taking place on the last Sunday of October, is the biggest and most important festival for Montalcino in which the entire population is involved. The Sagra del Tordo is a traditional celebration in honour of the thrush that populated the hill in ancient times. The bushes around Montalcino were populated by a great number of birds. In Roman times the thrush in particular were so numerous that the Gaius Mecenate, the smart adviser of the Emperor Augustus, organized a profitable trade, buying them from local hunters and selling at high prices to the rich and gluttonous Romans.