ItalyUpdate

Italy's 10 Geoparks received UNESCO recognition at the recent 38^th Plenary Session of the UNESCO meeting in Paris. The geoparks organization was launched some years ago in order to meet the need to recognize, at an international level, sites of geological interest.

A market-fair of the best of Tuscan organic produce takes place in Florence between the 17^th -28^th  November 2015. The show is the last in a series of initiatives linked to Expo 2015 promoted by the local Chamber of Commerce and various producers' associations.

^{The on-going restoration of Piero Della Francesca's majestic masterpiece The Resurrection of Christ continues to produce surprises as work continues. The Resurrection, thought to have been executed around the 1460s, when the artist was working in nearby Arezzo, is frescoed on the wall of the Civic Museum in the town of Sansepolcro (Tuscany) and continues to be visible throughout the restoration period.}

^{The annual competition to nominate the most beautiful Italian garden of the year saw dual wiunners in this edition: the laurels went to both the Villa Medici in Rome, seat of the historic French Academy, and the Ninfa Gardens in the countryside some 80 kms south of Rome.  The winners were chosen from over one thousand candidates.}

Italy came out tops as the country that best offers authentic experiences to visitors, according to a survey by TripBarometer conducted among 61,000 international travellers.

Italy's Ministry of Heritage and Cultural Activities (MIBAC) has requested that the Old Appian Way be listed among UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The ancient Roman road, built over 2,300 years ago, runs through four Italian regions, linking Rome with Brindisi on the Adriatic coast.

Visitors who missed the first weekend of the annual truffle fair at San Giovanni d'Asso (Tuscany) can catch up on the busy programme of events during the second weekend - 14-15 November 2015.

The latest suggestion on how to control the booming wild boar population in rural Italy comes from Italian researcher Giovanna Massa, working at the UK Animal and Plant Health Agency. Contraceptives are to be introduced for a trial period into food supplies scattered round the Maremma National Park, Tuscany.

In expectation of millions of pilgrims attracted to Rome for Pope Francis' Extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy (due to begin on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception 8^th December 2015) Rome is embarking on a last minute rush of preparations.

As the great six month-long EXPO MILANO 2015 festival draws to a close on the 31^st October, organizers are rubbing their hands with glee. Despite initial gloomy predictions, the event has been an unqualified success, with ticket sales well exceeding the initial  target of 20 million (achieving over

460 million, according to latest figures )

The exposition hosted over 2,000 events, 113 national days, some 50,000 business-to-business encounters and an infinite number of cookery exhibitions and food presentations.