ItalyUpdate

The five-day Medieval Festival at Gubbio (Umbria) offers a new look at the period erroneously known as the "Dark Ages", which were, in fact, the foundation of European civilization. The Festival, into its fourth edition, has fast become a point of reference for all those interested in an era often misrepresented as an age of ignorance and superstition.

Not to be missed: the major exhibition of 14th century masterpieces of Umbria art on show until the 4 November 2018. The seventy paintings, sculptures and miniatures, many with dazzling gold leaf decorations are spread over four different venues:

According to a report published by Milanese communications and public relations company Klaus Devi & Co., weddings are becoming a boom business in Italy with couples from abroad. This year, wealthy foreign couples will spend a total of 700 million to make their special day really special.

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.