ItalyUpdate

VENICE NEW BRIDGE OPENED

A new bridge over the Grand Canal, Venice, was opened quietly last week. The bridge, name Constitution Bridge to mark the 60 anniversary of the Italian constitution, was given a down-key inauguration ceremony due to controversy over the elevated cost of the project, designed by Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava, as well as criticisms raised in some quarters regarding the structural design and the lack of disability access.

Hotel Lichtenstern (Bolzano)

The family-run Hotel Lichtenstern nestles among woods and green meadows in the uplands of Renon above Bolzano (Alto Adige region) with magnificent views towards the towering pinnacles of the Dolomites.....

The Adriatic seaside resort and fishing port of Senigallia (Marche region) hosts the great Bread Festival Pane Nostrum between the 18 and 21  September.

The 1,700-year old Obelisk of Axum has finally returned home from Italy after years of controversy and setbacks.

Matilde di Canossa, the medieval iron countess who is famous for helping the papacy in the power struggle with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, is being celebrated in a series of exhibitions and events being staged in the province of Mantova up till the 11 th January 2009.

Vittorio Sgarbi, mayor of the little town of Salemi in eastern Sicily, has announced that he will offer dilapidated historic properties at the symbolic price of 1 euro to anyone prepared to restore them.

One of the best known peculiarities of Italian life is the spirit of campanilismo of a lifetime sense of strong attachment to ones place of birth, symbolized by the local church bell-tower or campanile  

One of Italys historic noble wines, the Aglianico dei Vulture of the Basilicata region, will be at the centre of the Wine Festival to be held in Melfi between the 5 th to 7 th September. ...

To honour the 500 th Centenary of the birth of the great Italian architect Andrea Palladio, the city of Vicenza is organizing a series of tours of the Veneto villas, palaces and public buildings constructed by him.

Thousands of street performers (commonly known as buskers) will be thronging the historic piazzas around the castle and the cathedral of Ferrara for the annual Buskers Festival, running from the 22 nd to 31 st August....