ItalyUpdate

The fishermen's village of Cetara on the Amalfi Coast holds its picturesque Lampara Festival  on the night of the 18^th July 2015. The lampare are the traditional fishing boats with lanterns that illuminate the dark sea and attract the fish for a practice that the local fishermen have been carrying on for centuries.

The Salesian Society, founded by Catholic priest Giovanni Bosco soon after the Unification of Italy in order to educate poor children from the slums of Turin, is to have its special celebrative day at EXPO Milano on the 12^th July 2015. This year, in fact, marks the bicentenary of the birth of the saint, who was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1934.

The EXPO Don Bosco Day will be presented by the 10^th

The famous botanical gardens of Castle Trauttmansdorff at Merano (Alto Adige) welcomed their fifth million visitor on the 24^th June 2015 since they opened to the public on the 16^th June 2001. The gardens have now become the biggest tourist attraction in the region, drawing visitors from some 90 different countries.

Historic churches, castles and theatres of Lake Trasimeno host international chamber orchestras, solist musicians and singers during the eleventh Trasimeno Music Festival between the 4^th - 10^th July 2015, under the direction of Canadian concert pianist Angela Hewitt.

The medieval hilltown of Murlo (Siena, Tuscany) launches its first Bluetrusco Festival on the 3^rd July 2015, with an intriguing mix of jazz and Etruscanology. The event takes the form of a journey with the Etruscans of yesterday and today, according to Murlo Town Council, who are organizing the festival with the support of the Siena Museums Foundation (Fondazione Musei Senesi), 

The luxury 5-star San Pietro Hotel is a well-known landmark on the Amalfi Coast. Perched on a rocky promontory overlooking the town of Positano, it is celebrated as being one of the most beautiful hotels in the world. However, not content to rest on its laurels, the Carlino family, owners of the San Pietro, have embarked on an ambitious programme of renovation and restyling to create six new suites.

Rome's Villa Torlonia hosts a fascinating tribute to the famous women dancers of the Belle Epoque by the artist Maria Cristina Crespo in the whimsical Casina delle Civette (Little Owl House) in the villa grounds. The exhibition, entitled Il Giardino delle Muse Danzanti (the Garden of the Dancing Muses) displays the ceramic heads of eight mythical performers such as Mata Hari, Isadora Duncan and Ida Rubenstein in the form of vases containing the flowers that were symbols of the craftsmen and artists of the Liberty movement.

The International Festival of art and food is on till the 27^th June 2015 in the historic centre of the town of Montegranaro, near Fermi (Marche), famous for its production of high quality shoes. This is a mega-event, involving over a hundred different street performances featuring professional artistes from Italy, Belgium, France, Finland, Holland, Slovenia, Spain, Cile, Argentine, Uruguay, Kenya, the UK and the USA, many of whom are part of the EU OPEN-STREET project.

Hot competition to construct the tallest Lego tower in the world is underway during EXPO Milano. Up till the 21^st June adults and children can collaborate in the attempt to beat the Budapest Tower that won the last world record in 2014 with a tower that soared up to 34.76 metres.

With important appointments coming up such as the Extraordinary Church Holy Year (2015-16) and the possibility of hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics, Rome is awakening from a long lethargy and announces plans to complete long-overdue projects. These include the futuristic Nuvola (Cloud) conference centre by architect  Massimilian Fuksas, the Aquarium and the Ponte dei Congressi (Conference Bridge), all in the modern EUR district.