ItalyUpdate

One of Venices most famous and venerable hotels, the deluxe 5 star Gritti Palace, has reopened after 15 months renovation, which included the installation of a spa.

The prestigious Enoteca Italia of Siena combines wine, Etruscan lore and romance for a unique St. Valentine celebration while the Wine Gallery hosts the exhibition: Vino tra Mito e Storia (Wine between Myth and History) with some 100 Etruscan antiquities displayed.

Visitors can once more admire the celebrated cycles of frescoes by Raphael in the Heliodorus Room of the Vatican Museum, curator Antonio Paolucci announced recently as the last scaffolding came down to reveal the depiction of the meeting of Pope Leo the Great with Attila, restored to its original glory.

The city of Rome is reviving its Carnival season 2013 to rival the famous Carnival of Venice. Sparked off on the 2 February with a lively procession of horse riders, fire-eaters, acrobats and costumed players parading down the central Via del Corso to Piazza del Popolo, the event was a revocation of the once-celebrated and magnificent Rome Carnivals of the 18-19 century. pomp by the numerous Chinese community.

Two towns in the province of Genoa (Liguria) will be holding special St. Valentine events. The San Valentino Innamorati (St. Valentine Lovers) festival at the painted port of Camogli offers a week of romance (9-17 February 2013)  with special hotel and B&B prices and menus in the local restaurants.

The major exhibition of the works of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso at Milans Palazzo Reale, which opened on the 20 September 2012 and ended on the 27 January 2013, was the most visited exhibition in Italy, with an average 4,325 visitors per day and a total 558,000 presences.

On the 9-10 th February, the town of Fontanella (Parma) celebrates, for the third year running, an often-forgotten made-in-Italy gastronomic speciality the choice meat that comes from local Piedmont beef cattle.

With the latest edition to its sculpture collection, inspired by local mythology centred on the Roman goddess Diana, the small town of Nemi possesses a unique heritage of open air bronze statuary. The works have all been donated to the town by the eminent Roman artist Luciano Mastrolorenzi.

The prestigious Hertziana Library near the Spanish Steps in Rome has now re-opened after a lengthy restoration project lasting over ten years.

According to a study published by the Osservatorio Nazionale Spese Pubblica e Turismo Sostenibile (National Watchdog on public expenditure and sustainable tourism), Milan is the leading Italian city respecting these criteria.