ItalyUpdate

The historic Festival of Two Worlds, created by the late musician Giancarlo Menotti in 1958, opens this year on the 28 June 2013, starring world famous dancers Alessandra Ferri, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Willelm Dafoe, theatrical works by Pinter and Gombrowicz and conductor James Conlon directing the Philharmonic Orchestra della Scala.

The Calabrian town of Riace, famous for the recovery of two magnificent ancient bronze statues from the sea bed, highlights the themes of migration, integration, environmental preservation and local culture in its annual Riaceln Festival (26-30 June 2013), now in its fourth edition.

Eataly, the showcase of  Italian gastronomy, is celebrating the first anniversary of the opening of its food palace in Rome, with a mega 10-day party that involves, among other events, an international Street Food party and a gigantic birthday cake.

Part of the third series of the highly successful TV Borgia saga is to be filmed in three castles of the ancient Duchy of Parma and Piacenza. Meanwhile, casting directors are looking for some 400 extras for crowd scenes, mostly men between 18 and 50, preferably with long hair and/or a beard.

Musica in Castello 2013 is the title given to a wide spectrum of musical events staged throughout the summer in palaces, noble villas and other historic venues in 20 municipalities spread over the provinces of Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia and Modena.

Traffic congestion is one of the worst blights of Italy's art cities and local authorities have on the whole been slow to tackle the problem. There are, however, some happy exceptions. The splendidly preserved medieval town of Perugia (Umbria) began to introduce a courageous and revolutionary public transport system twenty years ago, starting with the construction of a series of underground escalators  tunelling down through the depths of the Paolina Castle rock and, in 2008, adding the Minimetro, a nifty monorail link between the Pian di Massiano plain and the town centre  some 160 mt. above.

The somewhat oddly-named Caffeina Festival, now in its VII edition, lights up Viterbo's medieval San Pellegrino district between the 27 June-7 July 2013. The Festival attracts some 400,000 visitors each year, thanks to its rich calendar of 30 daily events that include readings by authors, open air debates, music and cinema.

The 50^th anniversary of the Hollywood colossal Cleopatra which was filmed at the Rome studios of Cinecittà between 1961-1963 is being celebrated in the capital with a programme of events, including open air projections of the film at the archaeological Piazza di Torre Argentina site.

On the 2 June 2013 in coincidence with Italy's annual Celebration of the Republic, the various museums of science and natural history in the territory of Siena get together in the Siena Orto Botanico (Botanical Gardens) to illustrate their activities and initiatives.

Leading Italian entrepreneur Adriano Olivetti is being honoured with a two-day event at Ancona on the 31 May-1June 2013. Entitled: L'impresa del Volto Umano (Business Enerprise with a Human Face) a series of seminars, performances and debates will highlight the legacy left by Olivetti, who organized his factory on the principles of efficiency and respect for his work force.