WELCOME TO SANREMO, CITY OF FLOWERS

City of music

 The streets are alive with the sound of music all through the summer in Sanremo

The Sanremo Music Festival in February may be Italy's biggest mega-star event on the calendar, but the town truly excels in summer with a host of concerts, many of which are out of doors, in different venues throughout this lovely seaside resort.

From the Red Music Festival at the end of July to Rock in the Casbah and classical concerts that make up the Pigna Music Festival, there is something for everyone.

For August the delightful old town of Pigna, with its narrow alleyways dating back centuries, holds a concert every Sunday evening at 9.30pm in the Piazza San Constanzo. This is also the venue for Rock in the Casbah. This month sees two pianists accompanied by a trio from the Sanremo Symphony Orchestra on the 7th; a recital by Pamela Villoresi on the 13th; an original jazz concert with Luciano Vavolo on the 20th; and finally a medley of popular American songs sung by Anna Maria Castelli.

Big stars come out

A treat is in store for those who love gipsy-style folk music that makes you dance when Goran Bregovic and his Wedding & Funeral Band take to the stage in Piazza Colombo on August 6.

Sanremo's famous casino continues its musical events on the roof in the open air. They include the world-renowned Gipsy Kings on the 18th. Sanremo is the only stop in Italy for them on their current world tour.

Fifty year celebration

This year the International Jazz Festival of Sanremo celebrates 50 years with a programme of concerts starting August 18 through to the 28th in different venues. Dixieland band parades, Latin, contemporary and traditional jazz concerts, and a chance to actually meet and talk to the musicians at the Villa Ormond are just some of the treats on offer - for details see the events listings left.

And finally there are the bars. Every summer bars and restaurants organise their own musical soirées. For more details, contact the tourist office or just turn up in Sanremo and keep your ears open - there is so much going on this August.

Simply delicious!

Nothing beats a Ligurian-style, deceptively simple meal and Sanremo is full of little restaurants and trattorias, such as Cantine Sanremesi, via Palazzo 7, or Da Rocco at via Marsaglia 9-11. Both are very small so on market days it may be advisable to reserve a table before going shopping.

Traditional foods include torta di verdura, a pie made from chard, pumpkin or courgettes and rice, and dishes made with anchovies, such as pizza sardenaira, or in a soup, or fried. Trombetta - long, curly and firm fleshed courgettes fried in butter - and stuffed courgette flowers are a speciality as is farinata, the sturdy chickpea pancake of the Italian Riviera. Olive oil made from the local sweet taggiasca olives, rabbit and a wide range of wild mushrooms are regulars on the menus.

Seafood of all sorts is also traditional - fish, shellfish, squid and octopus, and dried cod, known as brandacujun.

For something sweet, look out for the bags of baci di Sanremo which are rich chocolate and hazelnut biscuits with a chocolate cream filling - simply delicious!