ItalyUpdate

The 17^th century church of the Cappuccini monks on Rome's Via Veneto has re-opened after two years of restoration. The church has always been a favourite with tourists  especially those with children  because of its macabre crypt decorated with  the skulls and bones of four thousand brothers who died between 1528 and 1870.

Alto Adige is one of Italy's most popular regions for agriturismo (farm holidays), with 1,600 members belonging to the Unione Agricoltori e Coltivatori Diretti Sudtirolesi (Farmers' Union of the South Tirol/Alto Adige) grouped under the Red Rooster logo.

Rome's Sapienza University is to reopen its historic Science Museum collections to the public one Saturday every month.

Italian coffee giant Kimbo is branching into a new gastronomic venture that should prove a hit this summer of the Kimbo Icecream Cup, the first expresso coffee ice-cream flavoured with 100% top quality arabica beans, in cooperation with Italian icecream manufacturers Algida.

Where better to celebrate the Easter holiday than in one or other of the thousand most beautiful Parchi e Giardini Italiani (Italian Parks and Gardens)? Most of them are at their most splendid at this time of year and organize events for the whole family, such as egg hunts, entertainment or simply strolls among blossom trees, floral displays and landscaped woodland.

The enterprising Franciscan Brothers of the Roman church of San Francesco a Ripa in Trastevere have managed in little over a month to raise $128.500 to restore the cell where St. Francis of Assisi stayed when he came to visit Pope Innocent III between 1209 and 1223.

Following the success of the exhibition in the Scuderie del Quirinali, Rome, dedicated to the great Roman Emperor Augustus, Rome continues the celebration of his bi-millenium throughout the rest of this year with a full programme of exhibitions and special events, to be held in the Ara Pacis museum and Trajan's Market.

The Design Lab of the San Patrignano community centre of Coriano (Rimini) shows three new collections of hand crafted furniture and design objects at this year's Milan Furniture Fair, which runs till the 13^th April 2014.

The success of the recent exhibition of Etruscan antiquities from Cerveteri (Lazio) in the prestigious Louvre-Lens Museum, France, has boosted international interest in the ancient Etruscan Necropolis that lies just outside the town. The Necropolis, known as the Banditaccia, has been a UNESCO heritage site since 2004. An authentic City of the Dead, it was in use for some eight centuries, preserving evidence of strata upon strata of civilization from the Iron Age to the Roman era.

Sure of the fact that few people can resist the charms of reading their horoscopes, the deluxe Hotel Plaza e de Russie of Viareggio has introduced a new facility that is sure to meet the approval, or - at least - arouse the curiosity of guests. With the assistance of astrologist Salvatore Madonna each rooms has been given a zodiac sign, based on its individual characteristics.