ItalyUpdate

For many years, a great number of Italy's remote borghi (historic villages) have suffered from a constant decline in population, as their young people move away to find work and better  prospects. These villages are usually in spectacular natural surroundings and have beautiful old churches and monumental buildings.

 The Cruise Roma, flagship of the Naples Grimaldi shipping line, will repeat its book lovers' trip, Una Nave di Libri, (A Ship full of Books) between the 20-25 April 2019.  This is the tenth edition of the ever popular event, in which passengers can indulge in literary pursuits.

From the 22 March 2019, the Serapium, the luxury private apartments of the Emperor Hadrian at his Villa in Tivoli, will be open to the public for the first time, after a lengthy restoration project.

The famous Agrigento (Sicily) Festival of Almond Blossom (1-10 March 2019) that heralds the arrival of spring in the Valley of the Temples celebrates its 74^th edition this year. The Festival, instituted to promote peace and unity, features folklore groups from all over the world and programmes a series of international Children's Days with special events.

A unique opportunity to view Mario Schifano's cycle of "The Etruscans" surrounded by the ancient works of art of that lost people! The Villa Giulia Etruscan Museum (Rome) is holding a special exhibition  to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of the celebrated Italian contemporary artist.

Russian fashion comes to Rome on the 23 February 2019 when the Maisons "made in Russia" of Elena Schwabauer and Ninel Novikova will present their creations during the first Miss Russia and C.S.I. (Commonwealth of Independent States) beauty contest organized by the Cultural Association "Amici della Grande Russia, Eventi Roma" (Friends of Russia) and the O.M.P.S.E.C.O. (the International Institute of Oriental Culture).

 In this year's annual contest organized by FAI, the Italian Foundation for the Environment (the Italian National Trust) to find members'  favourite monuments or beauty spots in need of conservation put Monte Pisano top of the list.

Over 2.2 million people voted in this ninth edition of the Place of the Heart, which showed a swing towards nature conservation. The 1200 hectare Monte Pisano di Calci e Vicopisano territory (Pisa) was devastated by fire last September leaving the mountainside bare. Fortunately, the adjacent 14^th century Certosa of Calci was miraculously spared.

The runner-up was the badly polluted River Oreto of Palermo, followed by the ancient Porretto Terme spa (near Bologna). The list of places and monuments to be saved ran into hundreds, demonstrating the lively interest Italians all over the country take in their local cultural heritage.

The latest report on food and wine tourism (Rapporto sul Turismo Enogastronomico Italiano 2019) confirms the positive trend in this field. According to research carried out by Prof Roberta Garibaldi of the University of Bergamo 45% of Italian tourists have taken a food-motivated trip over the last three years, with an increase of 48% over the previous year.

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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.