Well, it is no recent discovery that nature has always been a refuge, a source of emotion and a place to recharge. The challenge of demonstrating the truth of this statement among poets, recluses and sportspeople of every type would take so long that we won’t even try to write about it. The fact is that when Spring, the bella stagione, returns, the call of the wild is so exhilarating and deep as to make us seek adventure.
So, if the Grande parco della Città della domenica has re-opened for the children with animals, stories and excursions (from 16 March to 1 May 2024) and those who attend the Festa del tulipano e di primavera at Castiglione del Lago (from 25 April to 1 May 2024) will relish the colours, who knows who will climb the Ponte tibetano (Tibetan bridge) joining Sellano to the hamlet of Montesanto! Inaugurated a short time ago, it is suspended at a height of 175 metres for a distance of 517 metres above the Umbrian Apennines and should give an adrenaline rush to whoever tries it.
A challenge for hikers and sports enthusiasts, it would seem, but the bridge is also open to families in a setting made up of places famous for their very tranquillity. It represents a contradiction that provokes reflection, especially about how different human beings are from one another if their individual temperaments cause them to look for totally opposite sensations in the same places.
Moving on to the arts though: on 18 and 19 May 2024, Buongiorno ceramica, the popular festival of Italian ceramics, returns to Deruta again. Between ancient traditions and new aesthetics, this will be the chance to visit museums, shops, studios, workshops and kilns with creative activities even for children.
At teatro Giancarlo Menotti di Spoleto, an international dance competition, Concorso internazionale di danza, will take place between 29 aprile and 4 maggio 2024. So Spoleto will become the destination of dancers arriving from all over the world given the renown of this event, famous for the quality of the examining jury and now in its thirtieth edition. The competition will conclude with the presentation of the winners at the closing Gran Galà on 4 May in the same theatre.
So, all that is remains is to choose the kind of entertainment we are looking for on the lovely Umbrian territory that soon again will be covered in green and in the colours of our local crops while it opens its own source of both traditional crafts and high art.