Mimosa in bloomLa Festa della Donna, or International Women's Day is celebrated on 8th March. It began in 1908 to commemorate the 129 women who died in a fire in a factory in Chicago in that year, and also commemorates two other international events: a strike by women garment workers on 8 March 1857 in New York, which led to the foundation of the first women's union in the US, and a strike by Russian women on the same day in 1917.

Olive oil samples at VerdeOro, Rosignano MarittimoIngredients for a perfect Sunday afternoon:  bright sunshine, a medieval Tuscan village, abundant samples of new Tuscan olive oil and corpulent local wine, and a brilliant street orchestra!

What more could you want? The annual event dedicated to the new Olive Oil in Rosignano Marittimo -  just 32km south of Livorno, perched on high overlooking the coast and the sea below - is called VerdeOro, or ‘green gold’. It offered all these ingredients and turned out to be a really enjoyable occasion for adults and children alike.