The Italian Job Rally has begun. Based on the cult classic 1969 film - remade in 2003 - the Italian Job Rally was conceived in 1989 in a Brighton restaurant by Mini fanatic Freddie St George. He and friends decided it would be fun to motor down to Italy in his beloved old vehicle and make some money for children's charities along the way. Some 15 years later, this annual event has become a classic in its own right, raising millions of pounds. The great thing is, anybody can be a part of it, and, if your eyes can leave the road, you get to see a fascinating swathe of northern Italy.Trento, the provincial capital of Trentino, lies at the heart of the Adige valley, close to the Dolomites and Lake Garda. The story of this ministry, complete with accurate depictions of early medical methods, is recorded in an entirely frescoed room in the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala, a labyrinthine building that was still a working hospital until recently. Painstaking restoration has revealed arresting frescoes by Domenico di Bartolo and contemporaries. Tableaux include the dream of the mother of the hospital's founder, Sevore, in which she sees abandoned babies climbing a rope ladder to the Virgin.
A seven-day pass to the Palazzo Pubblico, Santa Maria della Scala, the Baptistry and other star turns is a bargain at €16 (£11).Best shoppingNannini, Banchi di Sopra 24, has the best panforte, Siena's fruit and nut cake, and cantucci and ricciarelli, tough, nutty biscuits for dunking. Fine art souvenirs such as calendars and stationery cost a fraction of comparable products at home. The Fortress has a reputable enoteca: look for good deals on red Brunello. The Wednesday-morning market at La Lizza attracts shoppers from miles around. The antiques market at Piazza del Mercato is on the third Sunday of the month.Best nightspotOwls like to congregate in the caf?of the Piazza del Mercato, the via Pantaneto and the Piazza del Sale. The Caf?el Corso opposite Nannini will still serve a slug of coffee at 3am.
In the summer, classical concerts attract world-class artists. The music school is in the Palazzo Chigi Saracini, open to visitors, for the first time in 200 years, until 15 June.How to get thereRyanair flies from Stansted to Rome Ciampino from an advertised £1.99; trains and buses from Rome to Siena take around two hours and cost from £15 return.. Visitors are encouraged to leave the Campo and go "urban trekking" up and down the three hills on which the city is built, for vistas that include beautiful Chiantishire.Best cultural attractionAn orphanage and hospital opposite the Duomo has cared for the sick and poor since the 15th century. The nearby Pinacoteca houses the city's exceptional collection of painting from the 15th-century onwards. At the Museo delle Opera del Duomo, the Duccio Maest?s the star attraction.
