ItalyUpdate

 Naples celebrated San Carlo opera house is to undergo a vast three-year restyling operation.

 

For a taste of gracious living in Umbria, Italy Green Heart, the charming Relais Todini near Todi (Perugia) offers 8 luxury rooms and 4 suites in a country mansion dating back to the 14 th century and owned by the Todini family.

 

<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><A href="http://images.google.it/imgres?imgurl=http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/images/country/italy-map.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/italy-country-profile.html&usg=__HSZDGastaMOO9iipI_h1n4KRvH4=&h=378&w=352&sz=48&hl=it&start=6&um=1&tbnid=V3_KVd0-sxvyDM:&tbnh=122&tbnw=114&prev=/images%3Fq%3DITALIAN%2BFAMILY%2Bgoogle%2Bimmagini%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dit%26rls%3DRNWE,RNWE:2005-16,RNWE:it"><IMG style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px solid" height=122 src="http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:V3_KVd0-sxvyDM:http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/images/country/italy-map.jpg" width=114></A></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB">According to a survey published by Swedish furniture stores IKEA, 86.8% of Italians are satisfied with their family life. 69.6% declared that they enjoy being with their families and 64.4% appreciate sharing the ups and downs of everyday life with family members.</SPAN></P>

On the 28 th November, Donatellos famous bronze statue of David will once more be on view to the public after a long and complex restoration.

Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, is staging a unique tribute to two great Medici women who had enormous influence on the course of events in their times.

Throughout November and December 2008, the province of Lucca, Tuscany, is staging a programme of events to celebrate the 150° anniversary of the birth of its famous son, the composer, Giacomo Puccini, born in the town of Lucca in 1858.

 

Verona historic town theatre, which first opened in 1846,  has found a novel way to finance necessary roof repairs.

 

The 18 th century Villa Pisani at Stra, near Venice, has been nominated The Most Beautiful Park in Italy for 2008.

 

Throughout November and December, the town of Bisceglie, near Bari, Puglia, invites visitors to come and enjoy its olive oil harvest.

 

With the grapes safely harvested after an exceptionally long, dry and sunny autumn, Italian wine producers are hopeful of a high quality year. Predictions for the various regions expect production to be increased in Lazio, Campania and Puglia (+10%), Abruzzo (+15%) and Sicily (+40%) compared with 2007, while rather less quantity will be produced in Tuscany, Piedmont and Fruili Venezia Giulia (-5%) and Lombardy (-10%). The greatest importer of Italian wines in 2007 was the United States, followed by Germany, Britain and Switzerland.