ItalyUpdate

National Geographic Italia has announced the winners of its 2018 Photographic Competition. First prize absolute has been awarded to Padua photographer Marino Bilato for his striking shot of a line up of lions in Tanzania.

The most unusual (and daring) film to be launched this season in Italian cinemas is "Il Primo Re" (the First King). It tells the story of Romulus and Remus, the mythical twins accredited with the foundation of Rome. These figures, portrayed by ancient Roman writers as super heroes, appear in the film in a more realistic version of leaders of a primitive tribe of rapacious nomads living two thousand seven hundred years ago.

 

The 2019 Chinese New Year is to have a special celebration in Rome and Milan. Between the

2–10 February the high fashion boutiques around Piazza di Spagna (Rome) and Via Montenapoleone (Milan) will have special window displays on Chinese themes as a tribute to visitors from China.

The MSC cruise ship company launches its latest liner, Bellissima, at Southampton (UK) on the 2 March 2019. A mega party programme will accompany the MSC Bellissima baptism, with Sofia Loren cutting the ribbon and entertainment provided by the world-famous Cirque du Soleil.

The historic Caseificio Il Fiorino (Il Fiorino Dairy) of Roccalbenga (Tuscany) continues to reap top awards in the classifications of the world's best cheeses. For the past few years, the family business on the slopes of Mount Amiata has notched prestigious prizes in international contests.

2019 marks the Quincentenary of the death of the Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci and the spotlight turns on a largely unknown work that has been hidden away since 1975. "Portrait of a Lady with a Fur", which belongs at present to a family in Germany, is believed to have been painted by the Maestro while he was in Milan between 1495 and 1499.

CAGLI CENSORED MURAL SEES THE LIGHT

 

After the unexpected discovery a few months ago of a series of Futurist frescos by Giacomo Balla in a former Rome nightclub, a forgotten Cagli wall painting is also regaining lost limelight. The huge mural, which occupies an entire wall of the Rome National Academy of Dance, risked being destroyed during the Fascist regime and was only preserved because a group of the artist's friends erected a fake wall to hide it.

Italian researchers have announced the identification of a cache of fossilized bones discovered at Saltrio, near Varese (Lombardia) in 1996 by an amateur paleontologist, Angelo Zanella. Tests have confirmed that they belong to a ceratosauro that lived some two hundred million years ago.

The unique collection of Roman Baroque art from Palazzo Chigi, Ariccia (Rome) will be the starring cultural event celebrating the centenary of the foundation of the First Republic of Armenia on the 18 February 2019. The exhibition will be held in the National Gallery of Yerevan as part of the European Year of Cultural Heritage.

A warm sunny day on Epiphany sent Romans in their droves to the nearby beaches of Ostia and Torvaianica to enjoy the almost summer-like conditions. Epiphany is celebrated all over Italy with the arrival of "La Befana", an old witch who leaves gifts and sweets inside the children's stockings.