ItalyUpdate

 The Pascal Institute of Naples, specialising in cancer research, has launched an unorthodox fund-raising calendar involving its doctors and specialists, who appear on its pages posing as magicians and fortune-tellers.

 

Epiphany (6th January) is traditionally the day when Italian children receive gifts from a kindly old witch known as the Befana (a corruption of the word Epifania).

  

  BUON  NATALE  E  FELICE  ANNO  NUOVO

 MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

 For the past four Christmas, the Wishing Tree has greeted passengers and visitors to Rome Termini Station. The tree started off as an ordinary Xmas Tree  one of several that decorate the foyer and entrance hall of the city main railway station, but then, quite spontaneously, people began to pin scribbled notes on to the lower branches. First, it was mainly children, with their lists of wishes for Babbo Natale (Santa Claus), but now the tree is submerged with the hopes and wishes of passengers of all ages and nationalities. Some are from students begging Babbo Natale to help them pass their exams or to find a job, while lovelorn teenagers pray for divine intercession to make Roberto notice me or convince Giulia to come back to meť. Others, on a more serious note, beg for good health or to be healed from an illness. A grandmother prays that her grandchildren will always be safe and well and there is even someone who hopes for a good government.The Wishing Tree seemed to us an appropriate symbol to convey our personal wishes to all our readers for good health, tranquillity and prosperity  - in short, every conceivable good thing  for this Christmas and the coming New Year.

Signed: Julia Davidson, Margaret Stenhouse, Harry Reid, Antonio Rigillo and all our editorial staff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

0ne of the few remaining examples of the unique circular walled gardens of the Sicilian island of Pantelleria has been saved for posterity by Donna Fugata, one of Sicily top winegrowers.

Italy is synonymous with the fine arts and its world-famous painting and sculpture galleries. Lesser well-known are the numerous museums dedicated to its rich industrial and crafts heritage. The Italian Touring Club has recently published a guide book entitled Turismo Industriale in Italia, listing a vast variety of museums large and small documenting this fundamental aspect of Italian life.

Some examples of places of interest include: the Galleria Ferrari, Maranello, near Modena, resplendent with its mythical racing car models, trophies and photographs, as well as the Alfa Romeo Historic Museum at Arese (Milan) exhibiting some of the companys finest cars dating from 1910 to the present day, the Guglielmo Tabacchi Safila Gallery at Padua, specialised in examples of spectacles and optical instruments from the Middle Ages onwards, the shoe paradise of the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum, Palazzo Spini Feroni, Florence, with over 10,000 pairs of shoes designed and produced by the celbrated footwear manufacturer and cocktail king Martini & Rossis Museum at Pessione di Chieri, near Turin.

Other industrial gems include the National Railway Museum (Naples), the Barilla pasta manufacturers historic archive (Parma), the Fiat Archive and Historical Centre (Turin), the Olivetti typewriter and calculator Historic Archive (Ivrea) and the Alessi Museum with a display of its innovative designs in household objects (Crusinallo di Omegna, near Verbania).  

For information: www.museimpresa.com

 Naples celebrated San Carlo opera house is to undergo a vast three-year restyling operation.

 

For a taste of gracious living in Umbria, Italy Green Heart, the charming Relais Todini near Todi (Perugia) offers 8 luxury rooms and 4 suites in a country mansion dating back to the 14 th century and owned by the Todini family.

 

<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><A href="http://images.google.it/imgres?imgurl=http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/images/country/italy-map.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/italy-country-profile.html&usg=__HSZDGastaMOO9iipI_h1n4KRvH4=&h=378&w=352&sz=48&hl=it&start=6&um=1&tbnid=V3_KVd0-sxvyDM:&tbnh=122&tbnw=114&prev=/images%3Fq%3DITALIAN%2BFAMILY%2Bgoogle%2Bimmagini%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dit%26rls%3DRNWE,RNWE:2005-16,RNWE:it"><IMG style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px solid" height=122 src="http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:V3_KVd0-sxvyDM:http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/images/country/italy-map.jpg" width=114></A></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB">According to a survey published by Swedish furniture stores IKEA, 86.8% of Italians are satisfied with their family life. 69.6% declared that they enjoy being with their families and 64.4% appreciate sharing the ups and downs of everyday life with family members.</SPAN></P>

On the 28 th November, Donatellos famous bronze statue of David will once more be on view to the public after a long and complex restoration.