GUIDE What to do and see when you’re not sailing this summer

What to do this summer on a boat besides sailing?
Our country is teeming with villages, sea-view festivals, pieds dans l’eau restaurants, festivals, museums, events and cultural gatherings.
We have scouted for you some opportunities to make your vacation unforgettable. Wherever you are!

On the ground | Having fun – discovering – tasting – learning

Trivial but dutiful incipit.
We live in the most beautiful country in the world, with 7,500 kilometers of coastline: we would be fools not to take advantage of what it offers us, especially in summer, by boat.
While it is great to sail and drop anchor in breathtaking coves, there are plenty of opportunities to make your vacation unique: once you get ashore (by tender if you are in a roadstead or by gangplank if you are in a marina) a world opens up to explore.
Between restaurants, villages, festivals, concerts, food and wine tastings, and museums, you are spoiled for choice.
So much so that to compile this list of 20 “places to be” cost us no small effort!
And we do not rule out a second installment in the next issue… You just have to take a cue from our recommendations.
If you are lucky enough to spend with boat in one of the indicated places in the right period, you will have a great time.
We guarantee it!

TRIESTE LOVES JAZZ

Where: Trieste (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) When: August-September For those in one of Italy’s iconic sailing cities-home of the historic Barcolana-there is a fine event dedicated to jazz.
The concert program goes on throughout the summer in four different locations, all near the beautiful Piazza Unità d’Italia that opens onto the sea.
Prominent among the succession of national and international guests is – on July 21 – the Moonwalk Duet’s tribute to Michael Jackson, which takes place in the Garden of the Sartorio Museum at 9 p.m.
Info: triestelovesjazz.com

GEM ISLAND FESTIVAL

Where: Elba Island (Livorno, Tuscany) When: Until Aug. 31 If you’re on Elba by boat and you like to eat and drink well, you’ve come to the right place.
The island hosts the GEM (an acronym for Gastronomy, Enology & Mixology Festival) and is transformed into an open-air cocktail bar, with tasty events, musical gatherings, lectures and workshops.
Among the many scheduled initiatives is a contest that awards prizes for the most voted cocktail made by Elba’s best bartenders.
On the festival’s website you will find all the competing cocktail bars, typical restaurants with their proposals, gourmet venues, the events calendar, and the best opportunities to explore the island among excursions by bike, on foot or by kayak.
You can also download a no-cost card to access discounts and free drinks!
Info: www.gemisland.it

WITH THEIR FEET IN THE SAND

Where: Guido 1946 Rimini (Emilia-Romagna) When: All summer long!
Started in 1946 as a small kiosk serving simple food to chalet patrons, Guido has grown into one of the best seafood restaurants on the Adriatic Riviera.
It was awarded its first Michelin Star in 2008, and hasn’t left it since that year.
Here you can eat the great classics of the area (revisited, that is) and appreciate the wine cellar with more than 4,000 different labels.
For seafood lovers, the advice is to try all the different cooking options, from grilled to marinara via fried, on the Benvenuti a Rimini menu.
Info: restaurantguido.co.uk

PAESTUM ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK

Where: Paestum (Salerno, Campania) When: All summer long!
Moor at Marina di Agropoli, and with a bus or train in less than 20 minutes you’ll be at the Paestum Archaeological Park, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.
Three Doric temples (Hera, Neptune and Ceres, built between the 4th and 6th centuries AD) await you at one of Italy’s most fascinating sites, where you will truly “enter the house of the gods.”
Tickets at the Paestum Archaeological Park cost 15 euros (only 2 euros for those under 25!) and are also valid, for three days, for admission to the Velia Archaeological Area, in the nearby town of Ascea, in the middle of Cilento.
Info: museopaestum.cultura.gov.it

THE BEST TIELLA IN ITALY

Where: Antico Forno Giordano, Gaeta (Latina, Lazio) When: All summer long!
Many people point to the tiella (Gaeta’s typical stuffed focaccia) from Antico Forno Giordano as the best in town This is enough for a stop at the bakery to enjoy tiella with different kinds of fillings: the most popular are the classic ones of octopus or escarole with olives, but there are other delicious variations such as squid, anchovies, onions, cod and even mussels.
Info: Antico Forno Giordano, +39 0771460603

STATE COMEDY SUMMER FEST

Where: Policoro (Matera, Basilicata) When: Aug. 2 In the Baronial Castle of Policoro, a FAI-protected property not far from Policoro Marina, a festival dedicated to comedy is being held this year.
Taking turns on stage will be several Italian “stand up comedians” or (as they used to be called) one-man comedians.
The pass for the entire festival (including tasting and entrance to the Amaro Lucano museum) costs 65 euros.
Info: clappit.com

VENICE EFFECT

Where: Livorno (Tuscany) When: July 31-August 4 Leaving the boat in the port of Livorno, you find yourself in Venice. How is this possible? Thanks to Effetto Venezia, the event that has been transforming the Venice New Venice neighborhood with its canals into a colorful pout-pourrie of events, street performers, exhibitions, stalls, concerts since 1986.
Some names of artists on the bill?
Noa, the famous Israeli singer-songwriter, Tunisian artist Ziad Trabelsi & Carthage Mosaik and Eugenio Bennato.
All after enjoying an excellent cacciucco in a small restaurant in the center (we recommend “Le Volte” at the port, www.ristorantelevoltelivorno.com).
Info: www.livorno-effettovenezia.it

GALATA MUSEUM OF THE SEA

Where: Genoa (Liguria) When: All summer long!
A stone’s throw from Genoa’s Old Port is one of the most important sea museums in the Mediterranean.
The Galata (open Monday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.) houses, in addition to a full-scale reproduction of a Genoese galley, several interactive rooms in which to understand what it meant, in different eras, to go to sea.
From the era of the Maritime Republics to the era of ocean liners.
With the cumulative ticket (17 euros) you also board the submarine Nazario Sauro moored in front of the museum.
Info: galatamuseodelmare.it

ORTIGIA SOUND

Where: Ortigia, Syracuse (Sicily) When: Aug. 1-4 There is no better opportunity to experience the beautiful island of Ortigia (that’s how the oldest part of Syracuse is known) than to participate in one of Italy’s best electronic summer festivals, Ortigia Sound.
As the sun sets on the horizon, the stages come alive with the rhythms of artists from around the world, mixing traditional Mediterranean rhythms with new trends in contemporary music.
The full pass for three days costs 126 euros, but it’s worth it!
Info: www.ortigiasound.com

STARRED DINNER AT THE PELICAN

Where: Porto Ercole (Grosseto, Tuscany) When: All summer long!
Are you boating in the Argentario and want to treat yourself to a star-studded dinner?
You must try (by making a reservation) the restaurant at Hotel Pellicano, led by the imaginative chef Michelino Gioia (one Michelin star).
Endless wine cellar (1,700 labels!) and some mouth-watering dishes: blue lobster with three selections of carrots; lemon risotto, raw and cooked scampi with Japanese basil green sauce topping and stracciata di bufala; scallop with lightly smoked potato puff, smith apple sauce and Maremma potato chips with wine reduction and piglet galletta. Do you need anything else? Info: www.hotelilpellicano.com

CALABRIA MOVIE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

Where: Crotone (Calabria) When: Aug. 1-4 Lovers of independent cinema, in Crotone you will find bread for your teeth with the fifth edition of the Calabria Movie International Short Film Festival, the festival dedicated to short films and young filmmakers.
A billboard full of events and open-air screenings in the city in the heart of Magna Graecia.
Info: calabriamovie.it

FEAST OF SAINT BASS

Where: Termoli (Campobasso, Molise) When: Aug. 3-Aug. 5 Every year at the beginning of August in the town of Termoli, the patron saint Saint Basso is celebrated with a procession that involves the whole town.
The highlight is undoubtedly the procession in the sea, with the statue of the saint – placed on the fishing boat chosen by fate – being carried out to sea accompanied by the fleet of other fishing boats and motorboats loaded with the faithful.
The sea route takes place between Rio Vivo and St. Anthony’s beaches.
Info: municipality.termoli.cb.it

TWO STEPS INTO THE ITALIAN ALCATRAZ

Where: Asinara (Porto Torres, Sassari, Sardinia) When: All summer long!
In Sardinia you can moor at a former maximum security prison, now one of the most beautiful islands in the area.
Established in 1885 and decommissioned in 1998, the prison housed by Asinara was one of the safest in the world, with only one escape attempt in over 100 years.
Today the entire island-National Park since 2002-is an incredible and highly valued nature destination, to be explored by diving in the sea and walking on land.
Info: parcoasinara.org

LISTEN

Where: Ascoli Piceno (Marche) When: August 10-21 If you are passing through the Riviera delle Palme, the center of which is San Benedetto del Tronto, you cannot miss this event.
One of the most popular “street foods” throughout Italy is at home in these parts: it is the Ascolana olive, which originates right in the city of Ascoli Piceno, a short distance from the sea.
This D.O.P. product – a stuffed and fried olive – is celebrated at its best during the event held every year, where you can taste it in its different variations.
Info: ascoliva.it

FEAST OF THE WHITE MADONNA

Where: Portovenere (La Spezia, Liguria) When: Aug. 17 Are you moored in Portovenere’s small marina (lucky you!), at nearby Marina di Fezzano, or perhaps at anchorage in Le Grazie?
Mark a date.
Every year, on August 17, Portovenere celebrates its patron saint with the spectacular Festa della Madonna Bianca.
The entire seaside village is lit up with more than 2,000 candle lights, torches, and lanterns, while the sea is illuminated by boats that gather at dusk under the church of San Pietro and in the Byron grotto.
From the sea it is a unique spectacle!
Info: discoverportovenere.com

NIGHT OF THE TARANTA – CONCERTONE

Where: Melpignano (Lecce, Puglia) When: Aug. 24 An evening that fans of the genre will surely be familiar with, dedicated to the “pizzica” or “tarantella,” one of the most popular folk dances in central and southern Italy.
Every year in August there is a Concertone (this year it will be in Melpignano, 20 minutes from Otranto), but the taranta is the star of Salento’s August on numerous other dates and locations.
Info: lanottedellataranta.it

SEAFARING MUSEUM

Where: Cesenatico (Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna) When: All summer long!
Cesenatico’s unique Maritime Museum features a floating section embellished with the works of naval model maker Luigi Vanetti.
In this unique area of the museum, Vanetti has reproduced the port-canal designed by Leonardo Da Vinci with all the boats in use in the Upper Adriatic between the late 1800s and early 1900s. Info: museomarineria.it