Read the rest at TravelEden.com.

Corpus Domini parade, Orvieto, Umbria

Far from peaking here, February marks the first month in a busy Tuscan festival calendar. If I was planning to attend one a month, my year might look something like this.

March

Head down to Pitigliano, in the Maremma, for the Torciata di San Giuseppe, on the 19th. A torchlit parade along ancient Etruscan tufa paths concludes with the burning of a wicker man in the town square to welcome spring. More information from the Pitigliano tourist office.

April

Aside from the obvious Holy Week and Pasqua celebrations all over Tuscany, I’d pop over the border to Umbria for Coloriamo I Cieli, a balloon and kite festival held around Castiglione del Lago on the western shore of Lago Trasimeno.

May

Ascension Day in Florence sees the annual Festa del Grillo (the Cricket Festival) in the Parco del Cascine, alongside the Arno. Though it’s not quite the same since the city banned the use of real crickets in 1999, it remains one of the city’s traditional family days out.

June

Tuscany goes festa-mad in June, and among plenty of choice I’d probably make for Pisa for San Ranieri. On the evening of the 16th, a whole stretch of the Arno is lit up with 70,000 candles, the luminara, followed by fireworks before midnight. More information from Pisa’s tourist office.

July

There’s only one place to head in July: to Siena, for the Palio. The day itself can be unpleasantly packed, so I’d adopt one of two strategies. Either go for the costumed practice days in the run-up to the main event on the 2nd (they usually begin on June 29th). Or head into Siena on the day after and book yourselves a hotel inside the winning contrada (Siena’s tourist office will help on that one). You’re guaranteed dress-suit parades, traditional songs, impromptu celebrations and all the rest of it, as the winners rub everyone else’s noses in it—all night, every night.

August

Instead of Siena’s second (and marginally more important) Palio, on the 16th, high summer would probably take me to Montepulciano. The Bravio delle Botti, an uphill giant-barrel-pushing race between the town’s quarters, takes place on the penultimate Sunday. Which doesn’t sound like much, unless you’ve ever tried to walk up that hill in August.

September

As summer comes to an end, it’s time to toast the harvest at the Rassegna del Chianti Classico, in Greve-in-Chianti. Buy a glass in the square and wander the stalls sloshing sipping away. A number of wine-themed excursions and events cluster round the Rassegna in early September.

October

It’s back to southern Tuscany in late October for Montalcino’s Sagra del Tordo. If you’ve even wondered what spit-roast songbirds taste like, washed down with Tuscany’s finest red wine (Brunello), now’s your chance to find out.

Things (thankfully) start to slow down from November. By now, I’m thinking I’ve probably earned the rest.

The brand-new, luxurious Town House Palazzo Vecchietti opened its doors in January, in a spot handy for the cafes of Piazza della Repubblica or the designer shops of Via de’ Tornabuoni. Giambologna renovated the palazzo in the 1580s; prices are as you’d expect for an inn with such a pedigree. (UPDATE: There’s more on the Vecchietti here.)

Seriously upscale visitors to Florence have another reason to be cheerful: the frescoed Renaissance Palazzo della Gherardesca has morphed into the Four Seasons Firenze after a lengthy restoration. It’s on Borgo Pinti, just a little outside the heart of the action.

For a quieter hotel experience, the Palazzo Seneca in Norcia (Umbria) has had a boutique-style revamp and now offers a wellness spa and fine local cuisine. Norcia, the birthplace of St. Benedict, is home to Umbria’s famous black truffle, and sits on the edge of the Monti Sibillini national park.

Finally, if you’re looking for a villa in Tuscany and have a decent budget to play with, the Conde Nast Traveler blog has some sound advice for places to begin your research online. Budget travellers, especially anyone banking in sterling, might want to re-check my Budget Guide to Tuscany that The Times ran last summer. You’ll find some fine accommodation alternatives.

When it comes to Tuscan lodging, you don’t have to be rich to book round here, but it sure helps.

There’s much more help with planning a visit to Todi on the comune tourism page (in English). The tourist office is on 075/8945416.

They [the With Your Family series] have … all of the family friendly travel information you require. They give star ratings for attractions plus recommended ages (and I’m impressed by the fact that they have suggestions right from babies through to teenagers). There are highlights and must-see attractions. There are accommodation options for families from ultra-expensive through to economical (for which they provide price guidelines not just $$$ or $). I love the special icons they have – find, moment, value, overrated and green. Plus they include reviews of playgrounds and parks which are very important to families!

That’s all true. There are some great books in the series. I’ve found Rhonda Carrier’s companion guides to Brittany and Normandy especially handy. For Frommer’s Tuscany and Umbria With Your Family, we considered every single one of those factors when researching and writing the book. Much of my (grown-up) research was then road-tested by unforgiving under-5s. It’s gratifying that family travellers are finding it a useful tool in planning a trip to Tuscany and Umbria. I’m always pleased to hear from readers. Your feedback can help make any future new edition, of this and my other books, even better. Thanks.

To celebrate, time-permitting, more new material and updates on Tuscany will appear here soon. I promise.

More on the announcement here:

The winning Frommer’s title written by authors Donald Strachan and Stephen Keeling was singled out for the quality of its research, writing and opening up a new area in Italian tourism.

Driving directions are here.