ItalyUpdate

UNDER THE LIGHTHOUSE IN NAPLES

During the weekend between the 28^th July - 2^nd August, the long neglected Lighthouse on the San Vincenzo Wharf at Naples will be the focus of a packed festival of music, recitals, dance and other forms of the performing arts.

The lighthouse is a 24m-high cylindrical tower, faced externally with deep red maiolica tiles, dating back to 1487. It is a distinctive landmark in Naples harbour. with a lantern beam extending over 47 kms and is operated by the Italian Navy.

Normally, the St. Vincent wharf is not open to the public, but the Naples city council is keen to promote it as part of their policy to revive many symbolic parts of the city in view of the Napoli 100 celebrations and the projected Americas Cup in Naples in 2027.

Info: comune.napoli.it/molosanvincenzo.it

With this last “news” we close for the summer break.

All Best Wishes for a peaceful and relaxing summer to all our readers

www.Italyupdate.it

THE CROSSBOW THAT WENT INTO SPACE

Sansepolcro, a small medieval town near Arezzo (Tuscany) has announced that its annual crossbow contest will he held this year between the 1^st and 13^th September 2026. One of Italy's most spectacular historic revocation events, the tournament between skilled marksmen handling the deadliest weapons prior to the advent of firearms is accompanied by grand pageantry, costumed processions, a recreated renaissance market, and demonstrations by the local flag-throwing group who claim to base their movements on the geometrical figures used by the town's most famous son – the great rennaissance artist Piero della Francesca.

The Crossbow contest between Sansepolcro and nearby Gubbio is documented from 1594 and is probably much older. Sansepolcro's Crossbow Society is very active and has its headquarters and museum inside a medieval house believed to have belonged to Piero della Francesca. The small, narrow rooms of the Museum display costumes, flags (including a silk banner dating from 1700), as well as crossbows ranging from the soldier's small portable weapons to gigantic models for long distance shots from battlements.

One very special exhibit is the “Petra de Burgo”, a crossbow which was carried on board the Shuttle Mission “Endeavour” in May 2011 by the astronaut Roberto Vittori, of the European Space Agency (ESA), who had family connections with the area.

Info: info@balestrierisansepolcro.it

MILAN'S POST ADOPTS CARGOBIKES

A newcomer to the Milanese scene, the bright yellow cargo e-bikes recently brought into service by the Italian postal service in Milan's cramped canal district known as La Naviglia are making their mark.

Following the example of several other European countries, where the cargo bike in its various versions is regularly used, both by the institutions and the public, the Poste Italiano (Italian Postal Service), after an experimental trial in Apulia, has introduced the electric-powered transporter bikes for delivery services in Italy's foremost business capital, with noticeable benefits for the environment.

The postal cargo e-bike can carry a load of a maximum of 100 kgs and travels at a sedate 25 k/ph.

The project has EU backing and is piloted bythe MOST Centre for Sustainable Mobility, one of Italy's most important research and innovation programmes, involving 25 universities and 24 major companies.

Info: https://www.centronazionalemost.it/eg

GUBBIO: EXPLORING TRACES OF THE JURASSIC ERA

The Geo-Logica event (“The Montains of St. Francis”) on the 18^th-19^th July 2026 in Gubbio (Umbria) concentrates on some of the area's unique geological features, such as the fascinating Gola di Bottaccione (Bottaccione Gorge) that winds round the foot of Mt Ingino, the mountain mentioned by Dante in “Il Paradiso”.

The weekend offers free guided excursions through the ravine by geologists and botanists who can illustrate the rare limestone stratifications dating back to the Jurassic era and demonstrate the rich variety of plant life and flora growing on the cliff sides.

The Gola is also known as the Iridium Gorge due to the deposits of this extremely rare mineral, recognized as the world's most corrosive -resistant material and believed to have been deposited aeons ago by a meteorite that struck the Earth.

In the Middle Ages, the people of Gubbio built a dam and an aqueduct at the head of the gorge to collect the water of the River Camignano, traces of which are still visible today.

M. STENHOUSE

GEO-LOGICA , the Mountains of ST. FRANCIS of ASSISI

Info: www.geo-logica.it info@geo-logica,it

FAI: VOTING LISTS OPEN FOR ITALY'S HERITAGE

Voting has opened online for this year's list of Italian natural and man-made monuments requiring protection, safeguarding and eventual restoration, published by the FAI Foundation (Fondo Ambiente Italiano) Italy's leading heritage and conservation

organization,

Every year, the Foundation publishes a list of candidates chosen by the public that require and merit special protection and care. The list is not confined to crumbling palaces, castles, religious buildings, aristocratic gardens and neglected beauty spots, but covers a wide range of sites and areas of special historic and/or artistic interest.

This year's list includes two outsiders: the historic Airship Hanger at Siracusa, Sicily. In reinforced cement, it was considered an example of pioneering architecture when it was built at the beginning of last century and - in total contrast – the towering 300-year old Nottoria Oak tree of Norcia, considered to be Umbria's - if not Italy's - oldest tree.

The public is invited to vote online for the candidate of their choice. Those that attract most votes will enter the list of FAI protected sites and properties.

Founded in 1975 and modelled on the UK National Trust organization, FAI now has over 300,000 members and cares directly for 72 properties, 56 of which are open to the public and with 16 presently under restoration.

M.STENHOUSE

Info: https://fondoambiente.it

LAMPEDUSA'S GATEWAY TO EUROPE

A particularly poignant moment during Pope Leone XIV's recent visit to the Island of Lampedusa (Sicily), was his gesture of stepping through “The Doorway to Europe”, a towering archway standing on the promontory representing the first visible sign of Italy for immigrant boats coming across the Mediterranean from north Africa.

The five-metre high sculpture, unveiled in 2008, is the work of Mimmo Paladino, one of the founders of the Italian Transavantguard Movement. Representing a massive open doorway, it is built of galvanized iron and dazzles in the sunlight thanks to its facings of refracted ceramic tiles that dazzle like a beacon in the sunlight.

Conceived as a tribute to the memory of the thousands of immigrants who have lost their lives in the sea crossing from North Africa to Europe, it was commissioned by the AVANI Foundation, which funded most of the total cost of 150,000 euros, with the support of the Italian non-governmental charity organization Alternativa Giovani of Lampedusa.

M.STENHOUSE

Info: Tel. +39.092297.1302 https://www.alternativagiovani.it

THE GARDEN THAT INSPIRED SALVADOR DALI

The closing event of the Tuscia Film Festival (10th- 17^th July 2026) will take place on the 18^th July in the evocative Park of the Monsters at Bomarzo (Viterbo, Lazio) – a mysterious garden, also known as the Sacred Wood, full of gigantic sculptures and esoteric symbolism created by Prince Pier Francesco Orsini in the 16^th century.

The Park, abandoned after his death, lay overgrown and forgotten for four centuries till is was taken over by the Bettini family, who restored it and made it available to the public. One of the most famous visitors was the artist Salvador Dali who came to see it in 1938 and filmed a documentary with the pioneering Italian Instituto Luce.

Info: Tel.+39.0761.924029 www.sacrobosco.eu info@parcodeimostri.com

HERCULANEUM BURNT SCROLLS DECIPHERING

Over 1,800 charred papyrus scrolls were recovered from the ruins of Herculaneum, the ancient Roman city on the coast near Pompeii. They came from the library of the luxury villa believed to have belonged to Lucius Calpurnio Pisone Cesanino, who was also the father-in-law of Julius Caesar.

The unique cache of scrolls was first discovered in 1752, but those that archaeologists tried to open were all irremediably damaged and their contents lost. The surviving scrolls are careful preserved to the National Library of Naples, available only to carefully vetted experts.

However modern scientific methods, using sophisticated and non-invasive analysis technologies, are slowly revealing some of their secrets.

The papyri deciphered to date concentrate on philosophical subjects, shedding valuable new insights on the history of some of the most important philosophical movements in Ancient Greece, such as the Stoic School, and the figure of its founder Zeno of Citius, the alleged History of the Pythagorean School and the Epicurean School.

The meticulous work of the GreekSchools project is ongoing in collaboration with the University of Pisa and the CNR (National Research Council, Italy's largest public research institution).

Source: The Smithsonian Magazine https://www.smithsonianmag.com

ROME CONVERTING COACHES TO TAXIS

The city of Rome is phasing out the characteristic horse-drawn carriages, known as “Botticelli” that offer tourists rides round the historic centre. Animal welfare organizations have been campaigning for some years to have the service eliminated, saying the modern traffic situation is too stressful for the animals. The service is also considered anachronistic with only 16 coachmen still plying the traditional trade.

As a solution, the city council is offering taxi licences to those who agree to give up their animals and negotiations are ongoing with an international car manufacturer to provide them with cars for the job.

The horses will be put up for adoption in the hope that they will be able to live out their lives in a natural environment.

The welfare of the working horses in Rome has been an issue for some time, partly triggered off by a film written and directed by celebrated Italian actor Alberto Sordi. Entitled “Nestore, the Last Trip” in which he portrayed the drama of an elderly coachman who has to go into a home and cant find anyone prepared to take his old companion, Nestore, the Horse. Alas, the film ends tragically, with Nestore carted off forcibly to the slaughter house. Until his death, Sordi continued to rescue old horses from a similar fate.

Info: www.horseprotection.it - a charity that also runs a programme for distance adoption

GOLDEN EAGLE RETURNS TO ROME

Park rangers in the Parco Naturale Regionale dei Monte Lucretili (Regional Nature Reserve of the Lucretili Mountains) are celebrating the birth of a new resident. For the second year running a couple of rare golden eagles have successfully hatched out an offspring. The eagles had disappeared from the area for many years and the pair who eventually took up residence on the highest peak – the 1,368 m Monte Pellachia – unsuccessfully tried to fill their empty nest for four years. Finally, their efforts have been rewarded. A couple of successful hatchings is considered a fair guarantee that the eagles are there to stay.

The Golden Eagle was the symbol of power for the Ancient Romans, linked to Jupiter, king of the gods. It featured on the standards of the Roman legions and stood for strength, honour and the spirit of the empire.

The Lucretili Mountains are part of the sub-Apennine range and are situated less than 60 kms east of Rome.

Info: Tel. +39.0774.637027 https://www.parcolucretili.it