As we can all feel on our skin, temperatures are really high during this season: the Italian word estate comes from the Latin word aestas, derived from aestuare, meaning ‘to flare up, to burst into flame’! So this Italian word perfectly describes the phenomenon before, during and after the month in which the sun transits to the constellation of Leo. Only evenings are liveable, and perhaps passing under jasmine or honeysuckle vines, we will be intoxicated by their intense perfume, a feast for the senses.
Speaking of evenings, once again concerts are returning to Perugia with Umbria Jazz 2022 between 8 and 17 July when the streets will be alive with music of every description and people who rush to hear voices and instruments on every corner of the city. Then, when it is barely over in Perugia, the music moves to the lake and the Trasimeno Blues Festival from 19 to 24 July: indescribable sunsets on the lake with a background of mordant notes and sounds of soul music.
Meanwhile, there is both food and drink to savour: everywhere there are festivals given over to wonderful dishes or basic ingredients of traditional Umbrian cuisine. Everything feels good, just to be outdoors and enjoy the hint of a gentle breeze that arises at a certain moment during the evening to help us enjoy the pleasure of being alive!
August might be a good time to head to Corciano to see what that small town has to offer us from the cultural point of view: 15th-century costumes or concerts or theatre or whatever else comes out of the magic calendar of this lively village, a few kilometers from Perugia.
Then, on 26 August, the singer-songwriter Giovanni Truppi performs at Trevi and the romantic Mario Biondi with his deep and warm voice will sing at Gubbio.
In short, let us welcome the long, hot summer just as the sunflower does, flowering in July and August: solidly planted on the ground, buzzing with bees and bumblebees and totally bathed in light.