ItalyUpdate

Wine with a difference! The new white, Gorgona, produced by detainees on the old prison island of Gorgona off the coast of Tuscany and sponsored by the famous wine cellar, the Marchesi dďż˝ Frescobaldi, is now available in selected wine shops.

The penal colony, dating from 1869, is the last island prison left in Italy. It holds 47 prisoners, who have been condemned to long prison sentences for serious crimes. However, they have been selected, thanks to good conduct and positive psychological evaluation, to serve the last few years of their imprisonment on the island, where they can undertake outdoor agricultural work in relative freedom.

The wine project was born a couple of years ago, thanks to a Sicilian prisoner who recognized the potential of the neglected and withering vines on the island and suggested restoring them to the prison governor, Maria Grazia Giampiccolo.

The necessary funding and equipment was provided by Lamberto Frescobaldi, vice-president of the Marchesi  Frescobaldi winery.

This year's first harvest has produced some 2,700 bottles of Gorgona, produced from native Italian ansonica and vermentino grapes.

Info: www.frescobaldi.it/mondofrescobaldi

On the 10 August 2013 glasses will be raised all over Italy to toast the bicentenary of the birth of the great Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi.  Organized by the Movimento Turismo Vino and the Città del Vino (Cities of Wine) movements, the poetically named Calici di Stelle (Wine Glasses of Stars) event involves hundreds of piazzas and wine cellars all over Italy.

In Italy, you never have to go very far to find wine or music, but on the 3-4 August 2013 you can enjoy them together at Grottaglie (Taranto, Puglia). Via Crispi, the historic street where the famous ceramic workshops of Grottaglie are clustered, will be the hub of the two-day event where visitors can taste the native wines made from autochthonous grape vines primitivo and negroamaro.

The resorts of the Adriatic coast are famous for whooping it up in the summer and Senigallia (Marche) is no exception. This year's Summer Jamboree (now in its 14 th edition) highlights the Music and Culture of the USA in the '40s and '50s. Guest star, and for the first time in Italy, is the king of the rock n' roll twang guitar, Duane Eddy, who will perform on the 3 August 2013.

The heroic little island of Lampedusa, which, with little outside help, has coped for years with the flood of illegal immigrants arriving from north Africa, launches its fifth LampedusaInFestival between the 19-23 July 2013.

The perfectly preserved medieval Castle of Monteriggione (Tuscany) will provide a memorable natural setting for Verdi's evergreen opera La Traviata on the 2 August 2013. There will be no conventional stage but instead the singers will move around the central court and alleyways, along the castle walls and towers and on the steps of the church.

Between the 10 July-2 August 2013, Siena (Tuscany) puts on a dazzling show of evening entertainment against the splendid backdrop of Piazza Duomo.

A good combination! Jazz and mountains for those who prefer the cool wide spaces to the beach. The Meranojazz Festival takes place between the 9-13 July 2013 in Castel Kallmunz park, in the centre of the town.

The town of Carmagnola (Piemonte) sees off summer in style with its annual Sweet Pepper Festival, held between the 30 August-8 September 2013. The Festival is a major event, with a ten-day programme of music, cabaret, treasure hunts, vegetable sculptures, vintage tractor gatherings  and the Piazza dei Sapori - the Fair proper with 185 stands in a vast area dedicated to gastronomy.

The Adriatic coast from Comacchio, Ravenna, Cesenatico, Rimini to Cattolica, ever popular with lovers of sea, sand and fun, launched its 2013 summer season on the 5 July.