ItalyUpdate

The opening of the long-awaited Metro C line in Rome was greeted by a festive crowd of passengers keen to be the first to travel on the new transport system which connects the Roman countryside with the city centre.

A proposal to recreate the arena of the Colosseum is stirring up a hot debate among Italy's archaeologists and conservationists. The idea was put forward by Roma3 university professor Daniele Manacorda and has been welcomed by Italy's Culture and Heritage Minister Dario Franceschini, as well as archaeologist Andrea Carandini, President of the Fondo Ambiente Italiano FAI (Italian Conservation Foundation).

The historic Moretti Caselli stained glass laboratory of Perugia is holding a special exhibition of six newly restored cartoons and photographic plates from the studio's collection until the 18^th November 2014.

 

The Sistine Chapel, jewel of the Vatican, has been equipped with a new lighting system that will help preserve the frescoed walls and ceilings by the great renaissance artists Michaelangelo, Botticelli and Perugino.

Two fun weekends in the famous Crete Senesi are planned for the 8^{th _} 9^th and 15^th -16^th November 2014 as part of the 29^th edition of the White Truffle Fair at the town of San Giovanni d'Asso. For the event, the vintage steam train Trenonatura (Nature Train) will be available for tours along the old Ascanio-Monte Antico railway line, closed twenty years ago.

Postignano, a former abandoned hill village in the Monti Sibillini National Park of Umbria, has gained the UNESCO Award of Merit in the recent La Fabbrica del Paesaggio (Constructing the Landscapeť) contest, sponsored by the Italian Federations of UNESCO clubs and associations.

Villa Medici, the French Academy in Rome, is showing an unusual side of Rome in its new exhibition Roma dei Bassifondi (Rome's Underworld).

 

In an exhibition in Rome between the 24^th - 26^th October, visitors can admire the craft products created by former drug addicts in the San Partignano recovery centre at Coriano, Rimini (Marche). The collection, entitled “Barrique, the Third Life of Wood”, is based on the re-use of old wine barrels from the San Patrignano Community wine cellar, converted and re-designed to make decorative articles and furniture.

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Eight months of controlling and analysizing samples of earth from the so-called Terra dei Fuochi (Land of Fire) have produced surprising and encouraging results. The Casertano area north east of Naples, infamous as an illegal dumping ground controlled by the local Camorra criminal organization, is not as polluted as previously feared.

Against stiff competition from five other Italian cities, Matera (Basilicata) has won the bid to become European Capital of Culture for 2019. The jury, composed of thirteen members (six Italians and 7 of other nationalities) selected the City of Stones by seven votes to six.