Guest post by Rebecca Winke, Brigolante Guest Apartments near Assisi:
If you're planning on ringing in the new year in Umbria's "green heart"-or haven't yet decided how to celebrate-here are five ways to begin 2011 with a bang. Whatever you do, don't forget to eat a heaping plate of lentils during your New Year's Eve feast: each coin-shaped legume represents good fortune over the coming twelve months!
1. Friends and fireworks: The most common way to toast to the new year in Umbria is by heading to a main piazza to exchange good wishes with locals and watch the traditional fireworks. Many towns, including Assisi, Perugia, and Todi, have open-air concerts beginning around 10 pm until after midnight. If you love fireworks but could do without the crowds, search out a high point overlooking the Umbrian valley to see them being set off all along the plain at midnight. The Rocca Maggiore above Assisi, Perugia's Giardini Carducci, and the pretty town of Montefalco are all good vantage points.
2. A swinging New Year: For music lovers, two superb festivals--Umbria Jazz Winter in Orvieto and the Umbria Gospel Festival in Passignano on Lake Trasimeno--have special New Year's Eve dinners with live jazz and gospel music planned for the night of the 31st.
3. Putting on the Ritz: Luxury hotels Villa Monte Solare outside Perugia and Le Tre Vaselle (site in Italian only) in Torgiano are both offering elegant New Year weekend packages, including gala gourmet dinners, visits to their wine museum (Le Tre Vaselle) or historic villa (Monte Solare) and pampering at their in-house spas.
4. Cook up a storm: If you are hankering to learn the secrets of one of the most beloved cuisines in the world, Let's Cook in Umbria Cooking School has organized a special New Year cooking weekend with classes demonstrating how to prepare some of Umbria's traditional dishes, meals with menus highlighting local fare, and excursions to hilltowns across the region.
5. Dance the night away: Cut the rug to your heart's content with a weekend of tango at Scuola di Tango Argentino (site in Italian only) near Orvieto: three days of seminars, lessons, and milonga with a festive New Year's Eve dinner. For those who prefer the less staid world of salsa and bachata, The Barr dance club in Bastia Umbra (near Assisi) will have a live Dj spinning the hottest Caribbean hits until dawn. Bialamos!
More Umbria holiday events: Christmas in Umbria
We’ll be there – New Year’s Jazz in Orvieto is a don’t-miss for us! http://www.musicetc.us/Umbriafirstpage.html
In addition to the couple of official dinner events on New Year’s Eve, many of the restaurants have jazzy special dinners too. We always enjoy Zeppelin, and Chef Lorenzo Pollegrini has put together an amazing menu for this year.
Another good idea is to have a look at http://www.todoinumbria.com/ they give a lot of other things to do and are updated regularly, if you are not in Umbria in the winter it will serve in the summer.