ItalyUpdate

This month, Rome opens two interesting new sites. The Underground Basilica of Porta Maggiore, known as "the most mysterious basilica of Rome", is now available for guided visits after a long period of closure for restoration work.

"E Dimmi Che Non Vuoi Morire" (Tell Me You Don't Want to Die") is the somewhat startling title of the exhibition focussed on the myth of Niobe, currently running in the Temple of Hercules the Victor at Tivoli, Lazio.

The exhibition is part of the anniversary celebrations of the death of the great Latin poet Ovid, author of "Metamorphoses" where the tragic legend of Niobe, who loses all twelve of her children under the pitiless arrows of Apollo and Diana, is recounted.

The autumn opens with the annual Craft Fair of Mogoro, Oristano, in Sardinia, featuring the arts of eighty-eight craftspeople from all over Italy exhibiting exclusive creations in wood, ceramics, metal, glass, jewellery, basketry, weaving, and embroidery and so on.

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The historic Castle of Polpenazze del Garda (Bs) stages its annual Biofesta, one of the Lombardy region's most important festivals dedicated to organic produce, on the 3-6 August 2018.

Italy came out tops as the most attractive tourist destination in the world, according to the latest poll commissioned by the Italian National Tourist Authority (ENIT) in 18 different countries, citing Italian quality of life, ingenuity and creativity.

The survey, carried out by the international research institute IPSOS, put Italy in the leading position as "the destination the majority of people would choose as a prize for a holiday abroad."

The Foundation Carla Fendi, the principal partner of the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds, brought an exclusive touch to the Festival closing ceremony by assigning the Foundation's Prize for Science to 2013 Nobel Prize winners Peter Higgs and Francois Englert and to the Director General of the CERN Institute (European Centre for Nucleur Research) Fabiola Gianotti, for their contributions in the field of physics.

A new exploratory dig just outside the Colosseum perimeter turned up an unexpected cache. Archaeologists found over two hundred Roman coins dating from the 5th century DC along with a large number of perfectly preserved bronze dice.

The Italian post office has issued a commemorative stamp, commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Development, in honour of Carpenè-Malvolti, the founder of Prosecco, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.

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The annual Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds, known for its avant-guard performances and ground-breaking presentations, has fulfilled expectations again this year with a new operatic hit – The Minotaur by Roman composer Silvia Colasanti.