ItalyUpdate

Tourists to Italy will rejoice to hear that Italian railways have inaugurated the long-awaited rail service between Fiumicino Airport, Rome, and Venice, with stops at Florence, Bologna and Padua. Operated by the fast train Frecciargento (Silver Arrow), the new line offers air passengers direct connections with the above five major Italian cities. Hitherto, travellers had to change trains at Rome Termini station in order to proceed to any of the other destinations.

The famous winter sports resort of Merano (Trentino-Alto Adige) has commissioned twenty world-famous creatives to design the Christmas trees that embellish its most important and attractive squares and streets. Entitled Merano Christmas Trees Collection 2014

Italy abounds in imaginative and tasteful conversions of historic buildings and the Palazzo del Gusto (Palace of Taste) of Orvieto (Umbria) is an outstanding example of a renaissance convent transformed into a modern temple of wine, food and culture. The building has a long history. Formerly the Monastery of St. John, it was a Roman sanctuary dedicated to Jove prior to that and also a Roman theatre.

Work to connect Rome's third Metro C line to the Basilica of St. John Lateran has uncovered a vast ancient Roman reservoir 21 metres below the modern city. Archaeologists claim that this is the biggest water deposit from the Imperial Roman period ever found, with a capacity of four million litres of water. The basin measures 70 m long by 35 m wide and covers a quarter of a hectare.

Up till the 14^th December 2014, the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena Consortium offers tastings and samples at the 39^th edition of the Modena Motorshow. With an expected influx of some 500,000 visitors, including over a thousand international members of the press, the consortium showcases its celebrated gastronomic IGP product, exported to 120 countries worldwide.

The La-Vis Trentino Wine Producers' Cooperative, in collaboration with the SIMEST organization has launched the Canaletto project to promote quality Italian wines in North America, the Far East and Russia. SIMEST is controlled by the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti banking organization that assists and sustains Italian companies in the global market,

 

The Celtica Winter Nights on the 7^th December 2014 concludes the 18^th edition of the lively Celtica Valle D'Aosta Festival, offering participants an evening of typical events with a Celtic flavour, including Celtic harp music, Irish dancing, a documentary entitled: Celtica Valle d'Aosta:

Italy's national airline Alitalia - Etihad has redecorated two of its Airbus A330-200 with the colours and logo of the Milan EXPO 2015 in honour of the event. Organizers say they expect some twenty million visitors for the six-month world fair, running between 1^st May and 31^st October 2015, a third of whom arriving by plane.

Siena's 6^th edition of the lively Mercato del Campo will reflect the theme of the Italian Pavilion at the Milan EXPO 2015: Feed the Planet with an installation performed by the EstroSi group of artists during the two days of the event. Entitled Mangiamondo (Eat the World) the work will evolve before the visitors' eyes in the Piazza del Campo.

The islands of Lampedusa and Linosa have launched a special website dedicated to winter tourism to the islands, giving details of special offers on flights, ferries and accommodation.