ItalyUpdate

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.

The Urban Trekking organization is celebrating Halloween, on Friday 31 st October 2008, in 33 Italian towns with guided night ghost hunts through spots that have historical, literary or traditional associations with the dark arts and the occult.....

Bees were the stars of the New Slow Food Presidia Project in Italy in this years edition of Terra Madre (Mother Earth) at the Turin Salone Internazionale del Gusto (23 rd till 27 th October 2008).

Vicenza, birthplace of Andrea Palladio, has organized a major tribute to the great 16 th century architect to mark the 500 th anniversary of his birth.

MILAN-BOLOGNA AT HIGH SPEED

The inauguration of the long-awaited high speed train service between Milan and Bologna is set for the 13  November 2008. The high speed service means that journey between the two northern cities will be cut to 65 minutes, while travelling time between Rome and Milan can be reduced to a mere 3 and a half hours.

During test runs, the new ETR 500 trains reached speeds of 355 km/h  

Up till the 23rd November, modern art lovers will have the chance to view an unusual installation, entitled Deep Garden, just off the Venetian lagoon opposite the Giardini Pubblici.

Italys biggest annual food and wine fair, the Salone Internazionale del Gusto, will be held in Turins Lingotto Fiere exhibition halls between the 23 rd to 27 th October 2008.....