Italy New Years Eve Traditions and Celebrations

Italy New Years Tradition and Celebration

Sex ban for fireworks fans in Italy

Naples, Italy - Men in Naples will have to make do without sex if they insist on going out to play with fireworks this New Year's Eve.

That's the tough love message from Se Spari, Niente Sesso (No Sex for Fireworks), a group that claims to have signed up hundreds of women supporters in recent days.

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Italy New Years Celebrations and Festivities: Prosecco or Champagne Toast?

New Years Eve in Italy is a day of family gatherings, celebration, and festivities filled with food, drink, and lots of music, dancing and singing among family and friends. From Milan to Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples, and all the town and villages in Italy you may hear the sound of fireworks and the pop of…Prosecco.

Although Champagne is the reigning king of the New Year’s Eve pop, Italy’s Prosecco makers from the Veneto region feel they have finally arrived to the party as well.

Prosecco arrived in the United States around 1984, and since then has enjoyed exponential growth. The United States has become the biggest importer of the sparking wine from steep-hilled villages surrounding Conegliano and Valdobbiadene in Italy’s Veneto region. Today, about 60 percent of all prosecco — some eight million cases — comes from producers outside the traditional prosecco-growing region of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, a cluster of villages about a half-hour’s drive north of Venice. The newcomers are not held to the same strict production standards as the traditional producers, which are tightly governed under Italian wine laws.

With its fresh flavor, pleasing bubbles and gentle price tag — it typically sells for $10 to $20 a bottle — prosecco has gained many fans worldwide. Global sales have been growing by double-digit percentages for 10 years, to more than 150 million bottles last year. And with consumers in an economizing mood this holiday season, prosecco is an increasingly popular alternative to Champagne, which has been soaring in price.

A host of producers elsewhere in Italy and as far away as Brazil are trying to cash in on the drink’s newfound popularity. Because prosecco is the name of a grape, like chardonnay or cabernet, anyone can use the name.

The region’s turn of fortunes, though, is relatively recent. Although prosecco grapes have been cultivated here for three centuries, in the early days they were made mostly into still wine for local consumption. The vines shared the steep hillsides with more valuable cows and sheep.
It was only after a new method for producing sparkling wine became widespread in the mid-1900s that things began to change.

Champagne and other sparkling wines typically get their bubbles when they are fermented a second time, with added sugar and yeast. The yeast feeds on the sugar and converts into alcohol and carbon dioxide. When the bottle is opened, the escaping gas gives the wine its bubbles and characteristic “pop.”

Champagne re-ferments in bottles, an expensive and labor-intensive process. But the new production methods allowed prosecco makers to re-ferment their wine in large tanks, a process that kept prices down. That, and prosecco’s light, delicate flavor and low alcohol content, made it an especially versatile wine.

IN Italy, prosecco is enjoyed year-round — and practically around the clock. “The only moment we don’t drink it is for breakfast,” Mr. Giustiniani says.

That approachability has helped propel the popularity of prosecco — in the 1960s throughout Italy, in the ’80s in Germany and neighboring countries and in the ’90s in the United States, which today is prosecco’s No. 1 market outside of Italy.

THE threat of foreign-brand prosecco has prompted northern Italian producers, of both D.O.C. and I.G.T. prosecco, to work together to protect their turf. They say they believe that their proposal will raise quality and prevent others from calling their products prosecco.

The plan would create a broad new D.O.C. designation to govern the hundreds of I.G.T. prosecco producers that have sprung up across eight northern Italian provinces in the plains from Treviso to Trieste. The producers would have to comply with strict quality controls, including lower yields per hectare and stronger oversight.

The region of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, meanwhile, would be elevated to Italy’s highest designation for wine regions, known as D.O.C.G.

The key is to link prosecco to its traditional home.

“We don’t want to end up with something like pinot grigio,” says Primo Franco, owner of the Nino Franco winery in Valdobbiadene, referring to another white wine grape from the Veneto region that today is grown around the world.

Because prosecco is also the name of a northern Italian village where the grape is believed to have originated, the consortium can make an argument, too, that prosecco is a place name that can be protected just like Chianti, Champagne and others.

By bringing all of northern Italy’s prosecco makers into the fold, the winemakers hope to do more than give prosecco a territorial identity. They also want the muscle power to meet growing demand and achieve their goal of matching or even besting Champagne, which today produces some 300 million bottles a year. About 150 million bottles of Italian prosecco are produced a year.

So this New Year’s Eve the happy people living around Conegliano-Valdobbiadene will be smiling and toasting the New Year and their new growth plans to double production to match and hopefully overtake Champagne’s 300 million bottles sold annually.

Butcher of Panzano Dario Cecchini - Antica Macelleria Cecchini

Dario Cecchini is known as the Butcher of Panzano, which is located in Chianti near Greve, in beautiful Tuscany.

The Cecchini family in Panzano have been the butcher's of Panzano for 600 years. For six centuries and continuing today under Dario "the Magnifico" Cecchini the Antica Macelleria Cecchini has butchered meet for the world's most famous and fed the most famous in its restaurant.

It is said Dante Aligheri loved to eat here and Leonardo da Vinci was inspired to paint the Mona Lisa after eating the meat butchered by the Cecchini family.

In his book Heat, Bill Buford observed Dario Cecchini is not just a butcher he is a Museum of Tuscany.

WebVisionItaly visited the Macelleria Cecchini and ate a very nice 'pranzo' on the Tuscan hill side. The weather was gorgeous in October and so while we give thanks and enjoy Christmas traditions with family and prepare for the New Year festivals we must include one Italy's great family traditions - Dario the Magnifico - Butcher of Panzano - in our thoughts this Christmas. Preparing wonderful lamb, Bistec Fiorentina etc etc.

Dario prepares cuts of meat in the greatest of Tuscan traditions, which date back to before the Renaissance and Medici family recipes written in books, to when recipes were shared orally from one Tuscan generation to the next. Dario learned to cut by mentoring with a family friend of his own father the butcher after he passed away. When in Chianti a visit to Dario Cecchini's Macelleria and a meal in the restaurant is a must see in Tuscany.

Click to view WebVionItaly's video interview with Dario Cecchini - Butcher of Panzano.

Umbria Jazz Winter

One hour north of Rome in Orvieto, an easy less than hour train from Rome's Termini Station, is preparing to launch the 16th edition of Umbria Jazz Winter, which runs from Dec. 30 to Jan. 4.

This is the sister jazz festival to Umbria Jazz Perugia, which is an annual event in the college town.

For the 2008/2009 Umbria Winter Jazz headliners include Vaneese Thomas, Stefano Bollani and the Lionel Loueke Trio.

Visit WebVisionITaly for more video about Umbria Jazz.

Rome New Years Eve

New Years Rome and Italy 2008/2009 - NYE Rome 2009

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Pope's Urbi et Orbi 2008 - To the City to the World

Pope Benedict XVI waved to faithful during the "Urbi et Orbi" (to the City and to the World) message in St. Peter's square at the Vatican. The Pope addressed the economic gloom in his Christmas message.

Benedict XVI warned that the world was headed toward ruin if selfishness prevails over solidarity during tough times for both rich and poor nations.

'If people look only to their own interests, our world will certainly fall apart.'

Benedict dedicated part of his message to Africa, singling out Zimbabwe, where hunger is deepening and cholera is raging. He said that people there were 'trapped for too long in a political and social crisis which, sadly, keeps worsening'.

Suffering also continues in the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo and in Darfur, Sudan, the Pope added.

And in Somalia, people are weighed down with 'interminable sufferings' as 'the tragic consequences of the lack of stability and peace,' he said.

Benedict said Roman Catholics had to 'do everything in our power to put an end to the suffering of these children'.

In the past year the Pope has repeatedly addressed the issue of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy, but did not raise it in his Christmas homily.

Bless you my child: The Pope urged the world to stop abuse against children across the world during his Midnight Mass address

Benedict apologized for sexual abuse of minors by clergy and met victims during a July trip to Australia. He also met victims in the U.S. in April.

Pope Benedict said he hoped Christmas would bring hope to those suffering from war, terrorism, injustice and poverty and appealed for peace in Israel.

In his 'Urbi et Orbi' (to the city and the world) Christmas Day message, the Pope also turned his thoughts to some of the world's wealthiest countries, which have been hard hit by the world financial crisis.

'In each of these places may the light of Christmas shine forth and encourage all people to do their part in a spirit of authentic solidarity,' he said from the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica to tens of thousands of people below.

'If people look only to their own interests, our world will certainly fall apart.'

He acknowledged that 'an increasingly uncertain future is regarded with apprehension, even in affluent nations'.

In his greeting to Italians, he called for solidarity during a 'considerable economic crisis' that economists forecast could plunge Italy into its longest recession since World War Two.

Rome Christmas - St. Peter's Square Nativity Scene Presepi Vatican

Rome Christmas Nativity scene in St. Peter's Square. Click here for more Italy Christmas video. Vatican Presepi, traditional Christmas tree, and a message from the Pope makes 2008 the authentic Christmas.

Rome Walking Map: Rome's Fashion Boutiques Shopping Guide Walking Map

Rome Italy: Shopping Guide Walking Map to Rome's Fashion Boutiques


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Map to Rome's fashion boutiques, a Rome insiders guide to shopping in Rome. Visit the Made in Italy brands around Via Condotti, Via del Governo Vecchio and Via dei Coronari.

To plan your vacation to Rome click for Rome holidays. Italian Tourism has the best Italy pre-cruise tour and Italy post-cruise tour Italy vacation packages. Italian tourism also specializes in Italy cruise tours from Rome. For a Italy cruise from Rome click Rome cruise.

Italian food producers and shops offer new way to fight Mafia

ROME, Italy -- Of all the ways to fight the Mafia, having pasta for dinner isn't usually one of them. But now, that's exactly what Italians can do to help beat organized crime.

A shop in central Rome is offering an array of ''anti-Mafia'' food -- including pasta, wine, olive oil, chick peas, and tomato sauce -- all produced on land recently seized from the Sicilian Mafia and handed over to farmers.

''We have transformed the fight against the Mafia,'' said Antonio Dell'Olio, an anti-Mafia activist who helps promote the shop's goods. ''I can eat anti-Mafia. Anti-Mafia is in my own life.''

Italian law allows authorities to assign property confiscated from organized crime groups to cooperatives, social workers, and volunteers.

In the Sicilian capital of Palermo, a consortium called Libera Terra, or ''Free Land,'' turned agricultural fields formerly devoted to illegal activities into a profitable and legal business.

The label on the food produced there even advertises ''the lawful taste of Sicily.''

The Libera Terra consortium produces the food on the same land once controlled by Toto Riina, a top Mafia boss jailed for a string of murders in the 1990s. That land is in Corleone, the Sicilian town whose name became famous in the Godfather movies.

Click for more Italian food producers and shops offer new way to fight Mafia.

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Quake shakes Italy near Parma

An earthquake of 5.1 magnitude struck northern Italy on Tuesday near the city of Parma. No damage or injuries were reported. The quake shook the area for about 20 seconds.

The earthquake was unusually strong for northern Italy and was felt from the financial capital Milan to Florence to Trieste.

Startled Italians jammed telephone lines after the quake and train service was briefly interrupted on some lines, local media reported.

The US Geological Survey, which estimated the earthquake's magnitude at a slightly higher 5.3, said it struck at a depth of 28.9km. It ranks quakes in this range as moderate.

For more news and information about Italy visit WebVisionItaly.com

Rome - Culture, Museum, Things to Do January 2009

Roma Gospel Festival
20 - 31 Dec 2008 (annual)
Auditorium Parco della Musica
The Auditorium Parco della Musica hosts the Roma Gospel Festival, a 10-day blues event directed by Mario Ciampà and featuring some of the best spiritual and gospel music groups from the USA… More

New Year's Eve in Rome
31 Dec 2008 - 1 Jan 2009 (annual)
Piazza del Popolo
New Year's Eve in Rome takes place all over the city's squares, although Piazza del Popolo is where celebrations are bigger and better with fireworks, rock and classical music concerts lasting… More

One Hundred Nativity Scenes
27 Nov 2008 - 6 Jan 2009 (annual)
Sala del Bramante
One Hundred Nativity Scenes is an annual Christmas crib exhibition, held at the Sala del Bramante within the famous Piazza del Popolo in Rome. More

Christmas at the Auditorium
6 Dec 2008 - 6 Jan 2009 (annual)
Auditorium Parco della Musica
Rome's Auditorium Parco della Musica organises Christmas at the Auditorium, a month-long celebration of music, puppet shows, gastronomy labs, a market and other family-oriented events. More

Piazza Navona Christmas Market
26 Nov 2008 - 6 Jan 2009 (annual)
Piazza Navona
Rome's Piazza Navona hosts a traditional Christmas market, complete with Santa Claus, nativity scenes and stalls selling Christmas goodies, including endless representations, in all shapes and… More

Blessing of the Animals
Jan 2009 (annual)
Chiesa di Sant'Eusebio
Cat-chasing, unmarried fornication and keeping neighbours up at night certainly won't earn Rex a place in doggie heaven. Bring him to Rome's St Eusebio Church during the Feast of St Anthony… More

Roman Purim
27 Jan 2009 (annual)
Rome
Roman Purim, a Roman-Jewish holiday also called "Lead Mo'ed", celebrates with prayers a miraculous event that took place in 1793 (5553 in the Hebrew calendar). In the evening, Rome's Jewish… More

http://www.whatsonwhen.com/sisp/index.htm?fx=event.search&loc_id=134454&cat_id=2229

Strike Strands Rome Air Travelers

Holiday travelers are scrambling to find flights out of Rome's Leonardo Da Vinci airport thanks to latest round of labour unrest at Italian airline Alitalia.

The baggage handlers and maintenance staff walked off the job Monday to protest negotiations with CAI, the group of investors that plans to relaunch a smaller, more efficient Alitalia next month.

The strike is now in its second day, which which has grounded about 150 flights in two days. Workers at the ground services unit at Fiumicino airport walked off their jobs on Monday to hold union talks about their futures when an Italian business consortium known as CAI relaunches the troubled carrier next year

The walkout stranded holiday travelers, many of whom were still sleeping on airport benches or standing on long lines Tuesday morning waiting for flights out.

Alitalia went bankrupt earlier this year. Its most valuable assets were bought by the business consortium CAI, a group of Italian businessman who own much if Italy's industry, which plans to merge the airline with a domestic rival AirOne.

The airline's bankruptcy commissioner posted an advertisement in newspapers, including the Financial Times, on Tuesday announcing the sale of 46 Alitalia planes and asking for expressions of interest by Jan 29.

For more about Italy visit WebVisionItaly.com, the only television network about Italy in English.

Galileo's library recreated - Volumes that formed his personal collection on show

December 23 (WebVisionItaly.com) - In celebration of Galileo Galilei's (Galileo) invention of the telescope in 1608, 400 years ago, Florence has an exhibit of the books from Galileo's personal library, the books that shaped Galileo's mind.

The National Library of Florence is showcasing 70 volumes that were once part of the personal collection of Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). The exhibit runs at the National Library of Florence until February 28. ''The material on display was selected from the Galileo collection stored in our library,'' explained library director Antonia Idea Fontana. ''They were the source of his research and bear witness to his successes but also show the polemics, the legal arguments and the trials linked to his work''.

Galileo was born in Tuscany and was known as the first Renaissance Man because of his studies of the humanites and varous subjects including astronomy, science, and mathematics.

Galilieo's library of books not only included scientific treatises but also copies of Dante's Divine Comedy, the romantic epic poem Orlando Furioso and works by Petrarch.

In addition to Galileo's library of books, the show also features a number of Galileo's scientific sketches, as well as original ideas and notes he jotted down while reading the various volumes. ''While this is not the first time these books have been displayed, the idea of reconstructing Galileo's personal library is completely new,'' added Fontana.

Galileo's telescope led to much trouble for the Tuscan visionary. With his powerful lens, the only one on earth at the time, Galileo studied the heavens. His discovery of three of Jupiter's moons and his observation of Venus's phases helped him rationalize that the sun was at the centre of the universe, rather than the Earth, as was commonly believed at the time.

Church opposition to Galileo's sun-centred model flared up immediately in 1612 and would dog Galileo for the rest of his life. An exhibition at the Museum of the History of Science in Florence until the end of December explores this discovery, showing the only two surviving telescopes created by Galileo, as well as dozens of original documents and instruments.

Beckham Watch

David and his beautiful wife Victoria were at Da Giannino, L'angolo d'Abruzzo Saturday night. Seems the Beckhams are slipping right into Italian high quality low key lifestyle in Italy.


Click for pix and more

For more on Italy click WebVisionItaly.com

Rome Restaurant-Trattoria in Rome's Centro Storico-Map to Restaurants in Rome

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Map of Rome - updates happening all the time. Bookmark this blog page so you may check back often for new restuarants, caffes, shopping, and things to do in Rome.

Beckham "on Loan" from Galaxy in Italy for Medical

December 20, 2008

Beckham "on Loan" from Galaxy in Italy for Medical

Milan (WebVisionItaly.com) - David Beckham arrived today in Italy at Milan's Malpensa airport for his scheduled medical with AC Milan.

Upon arriving at Malpensa Airport outside Milan Beckham said, ""I'm honoured to be here and to play with for one of the most successful clubs in the world....

I've played for the biggest club in England, the biggest club in Spain and now I want to play for the biggest club in Italy." He then headed to the AC Milan training center.

Beckham is due to be officially presented on Saturday while he watches Milan's clash with Udinese.

Beckham could begin playing with AC Milan January 11 for Milan at AS Roma, but he will only be available until March 8 when his loan period ends and he will return to Los Angeles Galaxy for the star

t of the new Major League Soccer season in the US.

"We've overcome problems that were infinitely bigger than when we buy a player," he said of the loan deal.

Beckhm and AC Milan will begin winter training December 29 in Dubai.

After the physical it was announced the former Manchester United player captain and Real Madrid midfielder David Beckham will wear the number 32 jersey for his new club AC Milan.

Italy's poor to eat contraband caviar on Christmas

Italy's poor will eat caviar on Christmas

December 20, 2008

ROME (AP) — Some homeless people in Italy will be savoring beluga caviar this Christmas, thanks to officials who seized 88 pounds (40 kilograms) of the contraband delicacy from smugglers.

The caviar has been given to Italian charities to be served alongside the traditional foods they feed the poor on Christmas — like lentils, pasta and cake — officials said Saturday.

Italy and many other countries ban beluga caviar — often the most expensive variety — in hopes of saving the dwindling population of sturgeon who produce the salty eggs.....

Giordano Bruno by Ingrid D. Rowland

'Giordano Bruno' by Ingrid D. Rowland excerpts printed in the New York Times.

Giordano Bruno statue stands today in Campo de' Fiori.

Florence Christmas Market

Florence Christmas Market by WebVisionItaly.com

December 19, 2008

Guide Books about Tuscany, Umbria, The Marches

2008 WebVisionItaly.com Editor's choice 2008 Top Guide Books about Tuscany, Umbria, The Marches:

The Green Guide Tuscany-Michelin

Tuscany & Umbria Best-Loved Driving Tours-Frommer's (2002)

Umbria-Blue Guide

Umbria-Touring Guide of Italy

The Marches-Touring Club of Italy

Tuscany, Umbria and The Marches- Cadogan guides

Ancient Artifacts Recovered in Rome

ROME - (WebVisionItaly.com) Italian authorities report seizing a rare 9th century three-faced marble head of the Greek goddess Hecate from a store in Rome's historic center after it was stolen by thieves last year.

The ancient artifact was recovered in Rome by Italian Police.

The bust of Hecate, the Greek goddess linked to witchcraft and the afterlife who is usually depicted with three heads, was found in a store near Rome's Campo de' Fiori square.

It had been missing since June 2007, when thieves made off with it from a Roman house after drugging the owner's family with sedatives.

Italy has carried out a drive to trace stolen artifacts, especially those from archaeological sites.

Delta Airlines: Detroit - Rome

Delta Airlines Detroit Rome
Delta putting pressure to Colaninno's Alitalia CAI investor group - Toronto and Mid West Routes?

ATLANTA, Dec 16, 2008 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX)-- Delta Air Lines' customers can now book convenient nonstop flights between Detroit Metro Airport and Rome's Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport for service beginning on June 4, 2009*.

The flight will make travel to the Eternal City more accessible through Detroit's 115 easy connections and will complement Delta's existing nonstop daily service between Rome and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and twice daily nonstop from New York's John F. Kennedy-JFK International Airport.

"...Delta is pleased to add nonstop connections for customers in Detroit and across the United States to Rome -- Italy's leading destination," said Bob Cortelyou, Delta's senior vice president-Network Planning. "We have strategically scheduled flight times between our Detroit hub and Rome to ensure optimal connections."

Delta's subsidiary Northwest will operate the service in cooperation with Northwest's joint venture partner, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, using Airbus 330 aircraft with 298 seats -- 34 in business class and 264 in economy. The airline's A330s are equipped with World Business Class lie-flat seats featuring a privacy canopy, 60 inches of space between seats, and personal laptop computer power. Customers traveling in both the A330's business and economy cabins enjoy on-demand in-flight entertainment with a wide selection of movies, games and on-board shopping.

For more about Italy visit www.WebVisionItaly.com.

Delta Air Lines to Begin Nonstop Service Between Detroit and Rome, Italy

Delta Airlines Detroit Rome
Delta putting pressure to Colaninno's Alitalia CAI investor group - Toronto and Mid West Routes?

ATLANTA, Dec 16, 2008 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX)-- Delta Air Lines' customers can now book convenient nonstop flights between Detroit Metro Airport and Rome's Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport for service beginning on June 4, 2009*.

The flight will make travel to the Eternal City more accessible through Detroit's 115 easy connections and will complement Delta's existing nonstop daily service between Rome and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and twice daily nonstop from New York's John F. Kennedy-JFK International Airport.

"...Delta is pleased to add nonstop connections for customers in Detroit and across the United States to Rome -- Italy's leading destination," said Bob Cortelyou, Delta's senior vice president-Network Planning. "We have strategically scheduled flight times between our Detroit hub and Rome to ensure optimal connections."

Delta's subsidiary Northwest will operate the service in cooperation with Northwest's joint venture partner, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, using Airbus 330 aircraft with 298 seats -- 34 in business class and 264 in economy. The airline's A330s are equipped with World Business Class lie-flat seats featuring a privacy canopy, 60 inches of space between seats, and personal laptop computer power. Customers traveling in both the A330's business and economy cabins enjoy on-demand in-flight entertainment with a wide selection of movies, games and on-board shopping.

For more about Italy visit www.WebVisionItaly.com.

Giro d'Italia 2009 Route Announced

Giro d'Italia route announced

The 2009 Giro d'Italia will start with a team time trial in Venice and finish with an individual time trial in Rome, organisers have said.

The route for the race, which celebrates its centenary this year, was unveiled on this weekend in Venice. The cycling event will take place from 9-31 May and include five mountain stages and a time trial on the Ligurian coast.

The race usually finishes in Milan, but for the centennial event it will reach its climax in the capital. Milan will host the finish of the ninth stage and Mount Vesuvius in Naples will be the site of a mountain stage two days before the finish in Rome. The route will also pass through several points connected with the Giro's history, and cover many of Italy's biggest cities - Venice, Milan, Florence, Bologna and Naples. It will also venture into the French Alps during the 10th stage, which will begin and finish in Italy.

This year's winner Alberto Contador announced in October that he would not be taking part in next year's event but former winners Ivan Basso, Danilo Di Luca, Damiano Cunego and Gilberto Simoni are set to race again.

The only question remains is will Lance Armstrong bike race in 2009? Planning on travel to Italy, check the Giro out May and June 2009 on your 2009 spring holiday in Italy.

Giro d'Italia 2009 route announced.

Giro d'Italia route announced

The 2009 Giro d'Italia will start with a team time trial in Venice and finish with an individual time trial in Rome, organisers have said.

The route for the race, which celebrates its centenary this year, was unveiled on this weekend in Venice. The cycling event will take place from 9-31 May and include five mountain stages and a time trial on the Ligurian coast.

The race usually finishes in Milan, but for the centennial event it will reach its climax in the capital. Milan will host the finish of the ninth stage and Mount Vesuvius in Naples will be the site of a mountain stage two days before the finish in Rome. The route will also pass through several points connected with the Giro's history, and cover many of Italy's biggest cities - Venice, Milan, Florence, Bologna and Naples. It will also venture into the French Alps during the 10th stage, which will begin and finish in Italy.

This year's winner Alberto Contador announced in October that he would not be taking part in next year's event but former winners Ivan Basso, Danilo Di Luca, Damiano Cunego and Gilberto Simoni are set to race again.

The only question remains is will Lance Armstrong bike race in 2009? Planning on travel to Italy, check the Giro out May and June 2009 on your 2009 spring holiday in Italy.

Rome Flooding: Acqua Alta High Water Returns?

ROME, Dec. 15 - Rome was spared major damage Saturday when flood waters peaked without bursting the banks of the Tiber River.

Monday, however, Civil protection officials in Italy say they are concerned a major storm in the region today could prompt more dangerous flooding.

The Italian news agency ANSA said as the third major pre-winter storm ravaged parts of Italy Monday, concern over increased flooding along the Aniene River increased.

The Aniene temporarily overflowed during earlier inclement weather, leaving several of Rome's streets flooded.

The river's level dropped during the weekend but the renewed storm had that level rising steadily Monday...

Parmigiano Reggiano Bailout

Parmigiano Reggiano, Italy's King of Cheese, is in trouble. Robust in flavor and crumbly, it is a classic of Italy's artisan food traditions, made by hand by 430 craft producers around the city of Parma. But , press reports almost a third of producers say they face bankruptcy. Italy's Minister of Agriculture, Luca Zaia is promising to buy 100,000 Parmigiano Reggiano cheeses, and also 100,000 of its less costly competitor, Grana Padano.

Is this Italy's big cheese bailout?

The government will munch up 3 per cent of production at an estimated cost of €50m (£44.7m) and distributing it to the needy. Each 35kg wheel of Parmigiano costs between €8 and €8.50 to make, but the wholesale price has declined for the past four years even as the cost of milk and energy has soared.

"We just need a bit of time to reorganize ourselves," said Giorgio Apostoli of Coldiretti, Italy's agriculture lobby. "This is a historic product with an ancient tradition. There ought to be policies to safeguard those who produce it."

But Professor Giuliano Noci, of the Milan Polytechnic, said a better solution would be for the government to "launch a sustained marketing campaign in the emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia and India, to educate consumers to appreciate the quality" of the cheese.

Click for more video about Parma Italy.

Fast train launched between Italian cities

Sunday 14th December, 2008

A new high-speed train link has been launched between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Bologna.

The fast train will cut travel time and will be extended to Rome next year.

Italy’s three other fast train routes will be complemented by the new service, which begins on Sunday.

When the Rome leg is completed, travel time between Milan, Italy's financial center, and Rome will be cut to three-and-a-half hours.

For more about Italy travel visit WebVisionItaly.com

Just in time for Christmas: A Holy Tour of Italy

Trafalgar Tours, one of the largest and best-regarded group tour companies in the world, has announced a new, 10-day trip focused on Italy's sizable religious heritage called "A Journey though Christian Italy." It visits Rome, Assisi, Siena, Florence, Padova, and Venice, paying respect to Saints Francis, Clare, Anthony, Catherine, and Mark--along with visits to the major tourists sights and museums as well (Sistine Chapel, Uffizi Galleries, etc.).

The price starts at $1,995 (for June 16, July 14, and Aug. 25 departures; Sept. 8 costs $2,095; Sept. 22 and Oct. 6 cost $2,195), which covers all transportation, first-class hotels, tour guides, museum and sight entry tickets, and breakfasts, along with two lunches and two dinners. Sadly, the price does not include airfare. (I suggest checking rates at airfare aggregator Momondo.com and consolidator AutoEurope/1800FlyEruope.)

A few notes on the phenomenon of religious tourism. Regardless of your personal religious beliefs, one fact is immutable: the earliest tourists were all either traders/merchants or pilgrims. The medieval version of the Grand Tour was to travel to various churches, basilicas, and holy spots, paying your respects, attending services, and casting your eyes upon 101 different miraculous holy relics along the way.

Many people still visit Italy primarily for the religious aspects--Assisi isn't that consistently popular (and crowded) just for the Giotto frescoes, you know. One that that has surprised me when bumping into pilgrims--either in groups or individually, at sights or when staying at convents and monasteries--is that most of them aren't even Catholic. Protestants eager to see the foundations of the Christian church flock to Italy as well.

Italy Christmas - Verona

Italy Christmas the Festa di Santa Lucia, Verona Italy

Rome Christmas

Rome Christmas by WebVisionItaly.com brings viewers to Piazza Navona for the annual Rome Christmas tradition the Piazza Navona fair. Lights, families, cotton candy, good energy enjoy Christmas in Piazza Navona Rome Italy.

Italy Christmas-Presepi Naples Italy

Presepi Nativity scenes Via San Gregorio Armeno Naples Italy

Air-car packages to Italy from $557

Auto Europe is offering a fantastically priced deal to Italy that bundles together airfare and a rental car. (Just go to the site and click on "Specials.")

Rates start at $557 per person for round-trip airfare and three days with a rental car to fly into Florence or Venice from Boston or New York ($619 from Miami or Chicago). $557 is also the price from Boston to Milan; for some odd reason, the price jumps to $579 for flights to Rome from New York and Boston, $647 for flights to Rome from Miami and Chicago.

Those are the prices for winter travel (Dec. 26, 2008 to Mar. 31, 2009; rates go up by more than 50% in spring), and don't include fuel surcharges of $264 to $330 (other government fees, taxes, and surcharges can add up to an additional $195.)

By the way, three days with a car is perfect for a trip of a week or two. Figure you'd be better off getting around by train to link the big cities, and rally only need a car for exploring hilltowns and vineyards and such. So on a typical 8-day trip (leave Friday night, return the following Sunday), you could fly to Rome, spend three days there, then take the train to Florence and spend two days there, then pick up your rental car to spend the last three days driving back through the hilltowns of Tuscany and Umbria on your way to Rome's airport to depart. Perfect.

Googlus mapus for ancient Rome

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to ancient Rome! You've seen it on the History Channel, and now you, too, can fly through the eerily abandoned streets of a clearly computer-generated Ancient Rome thanks to Google Earth: earth.google.com/rome

In conjunction with Rome Reborn, the folks at Google Earth have recreated a 3-D map of ancient Rome more or less how it appeared in the year 320 AD. Coolest bit: you can even fly into some of the buildings, like the Basilica Giulia law courts in the Roman Forum.

(Note this is not one of those things you can just see on Google's site using your Web browser; you have to download the separate Google Earth application--which if you don't already have, is amazingly cool and free. It's what the Evening News and CNN and such now use to zoom in on trouble spots in the news).

Italy prepares for a trains versus planes smackdown

The Economist reports that, not only are low-cost carriers like Ryanair and easyJet giving the eternally-in-peril Alitalia a run for its money on some domestic air routes (more on that in a moment), but that the trains are shaping up to be an even better option on long hauls.

A new high-speed track on the Bologna-Milan line will cut 30 minutes off the travel time; by the end of 2009, a similar project should be finished for Bologna-Florence, slashing travel time from 60 to 30 minutes.

Planes still sound faster, right. Well remember: A 90 minute flight actually eats up approximately five hours of your time (give yourself an hour on each end to get to and from the airports, check in at least an hour early for your flight, and pad that with another 30 minutes for luggage retrieval, missed airport trains, and the wise decision to arrive at the airport a wee bit early).

Still, you can't argue with low prices from no-frills airlines--and air connections are a lot faster than trains for going from, say, Milan down to Apulia or Sicily.

The article cites only easyJet's new route connecting Rome's Fiumicino airport with Milan's Malpensa airport, but know that easyJet also flies from Rome to Bari and Palermo, and from Milan to Naples, Apulia (Bari, Brindisi), Sicily (Palermo, Catania), Lamezia, and Sardegna (Cagliari and Olbia).

Meanwhile, Ryanair--which is making a strong bid to oust Alitalia from its own market--now flies from Milan to Rome, Apulia (Bari, Brindisi), Sicily (Palermo, Trapani), Lamezia, and Sardegna (Cagliari, and Alghero); from Rome to Milan, Venice, Trapani, and Sardegna (Cagliari, Alghero); from Bologna to Apulia (Bari, Brindisi), Lamezia, and Sicily (Trapani); and from Pisa to Bari, Lamezia, Sicily (Palermo, Trapani), and Sardegna (Caglieri, Alghero).

Also in the article: more news on the announced rival to the Italian state railways that is aiming to provide high-speed service between Rome, Milan Turin/Torino), and Venice in 2011.

Alitalia leaves the nest: Italian Business Men New Guardians

ROME, Dec 12 (Reuters) - An Italian investor consortium buying Alitalia formally took possession of the airline's assets on Friday in another step towards closing the long-awaited deal, said Roberto Colaninno, president of the CAI investor group.

CAI's purchase of Alitalia is said to be 427 million euros ($567 million).

CAI, a group of Italian businessmen, takes control after opposition from employees and others failed....

The Anpav and Avia unions representing flight attendants agreed on Friday to join the major unions in backing the deal, though CAI had effectively ignored their protests so far and begun individually hiring pilots and flight staff.

CAI on Thursday said it had also finalised the purchase of smaller airline Air One, whose operations will be folded into those of Alitalia as part of the bid to relaunch it. ($1=.7537 euros) (Editing by Greg Mahlich)

CAI purche of Alitalia for $600 million is far less than the $1.5 billion reported in press. Maybe the CAI group assumed $1 billion in debt.

Either way, nice that Alitalia will be restructured and readied to compete against the world class Gulf State airlines funded by sovereign wealth funds.

Tren Italia Vs. Alitalia: Are Italy's Business Men Going to Really Compete on Rome Milan Route?

ROME, Dec 11 (Reuters) - A high-speed train service between Rome and Milan will cut travel time by 25 percent to three hours next year....

The railways aims to corner 60 percent of the market for travel by any method over the route over the next two years, the head of Italy's state railways Ferrovie dello Stato CEO Mauro Moretti told Italian television.

The train service announcement comes the same day a group of Italian businessmen take over national airline Alitalia, which runs a Rome-Milan air route Ciampino to Linate...

(Writing by Deepa Babington; Editing by David Holmes)

Question: Tren Italia Vs. Alitalia: Are Italy's Business Men Going to Compete on Rome Milan Route by train vs by plane?

Venice Italy Books

Harry's Bar, The Life and Times of the Legendary Venice Landmark by Arrigo Cipriani (1996)

A Thousand Days in Venice, an Unexpected Romance by Marlena De Blasi (2002)

Venice Lion City,The Religion of Empire by Garry Wilis (2001)

The Perfect House, A Journey with the Renaissance Master Andrea Palladio by Witold Rybczynski (2003)

Palladian Days, Finding a New Life in a Venetian Country House by Sally Gable with Carl I. Gable (2005)

Venetian Dreaming by Paula Weideger (2002)

Vaporetto 13 by Robert Girardi (novel 1997)

Venetian Stories by Jane Turner Rylands (2003)

My Venice by Harold Brodkey (1998)

Venice Observed by Mary McCarthy (1963)

A Venetian Affair by Andrea di Robilant (2003)

Venetian Stories by Jane Turner Rylands (2003)


Guide Books Venice


Strolling Through Venice : The Definitive Walking Guidebook to “La Serenissima" by John Freely [various]

A Sentimental Guide to Venice by Diego Valero

Access Florence, Venice, Milan by Richard Saul Wurman


For Venice video click WebVisionItaly.com.

Rare artifacts uncovered in Roman baths dig

Rare artifacts uncovered in Roman baths dig
Wed Dec 10, 2008 11:53pm IST

By Deepa Babington

ROME (Reuters Life!) - Excavations at an ancient Roman villa and bath complex in the outskirts of Rome have unearthed a wealth of surprisingly well-preserved artifacts, including the marble head of a Greek god, archaeologists said on Wednesday.

"It's very unusual to find such well-preserved remains in Rome because most of the sites have usually been plundered already and the artifacts stolen," Dora Cirone, an archaeologist on the dig, said at a news conference to announce the findings.

"Luckily, much of the remains here were found buried below floor level, and no one had laid their hands on it."




Of note:

• The site is Villa delle Vignacce, near Ciampino airport southwest of Rome;
• First explored by archaeologists in 1780 who found statues that are now in the Vatican museum;
• excavations began two years ago, revealing residence attached to thermal bath complex dating to 1st century A.D.;
• archaeologists said they had also uncovered artifacts including: fragments of columns, floor slabs and the head of a marble statue believed to represent either the Greek divinity of Zeus Serapide or Asclepius, the god of medicine and healing;
• Discovery of special importance is colored-glass mosaic of leaves and vegetation lining the inside of a vault.

For more on well preserved ancient artifact sites to see authentic ancient Roman lifestyle click Campania TV and Naples TV on WebVisionItaly.com, the only Internet video about Italy.

Rome Video: Caffes of Rome

Caffes of Rome video brought to you by the Italian Broadcasting Company Italy travel video, visit www.WebVisionItaly.com, the only English telly network TV about Rome in English.

Caffes of Rome were made famous by Fellini but of course the Roman intellecuals and political class has been cooking up ideas in caffes since the early 1800s in Rome.

Click WebVisionItaly's Rome channel.

Rome, Florence Venice all with high water - 'acqua alta'

(ANSA) - Rome, December 11 - Torrential rain throughout the night created havoc in the Italian capital and by Thursday morning city officials were telling residents to keep their movements ''to the minimum possible''...

The downpours were part of a vast storm front sweeping the country which has already dumped heavy snow in the northern mountains and isolated almost all the islands off the western coasts...

Venice this morning was flooded yet again with the 'acqua alta' (high water) 105cm above normal during the morning high tide. The phenomenon is expected to return with the evening high tide with waters possibly running as much as 130cm above normal.

The Tiber River and is tributaries were all close to overflowing north of Rome as were other rivers north of the capital, including the Arno in Florence....

Italy Books: General Interest Books about Italy Book List

General Interest

Italy, A Love Story - Women write about Italian Experiences by Camille Cusumano (2005)

Spezzatura, 50 Ways Italian Genius Shaped the World by Peter D’Epiro and Mary Desmond Pinkowish (2001)

Speaking the Language like a Native by Aubrey Menen (1962)

Italy Out of Hand, A Capricious Tour by Barbara Hodgson (2005)

Sophia Living and Loving: Her Own Story by AE Hotchner (1978)

Route 66 A.D.- On the Trail of Ancient Rome by Tony Perrottet (2002)

Una Storia Segreta, The Secret History of Italian American Evacuation and Interment during World War II by Lawerence Di Stasi (2001)

The Proud Italians, Our Great Civilizers by Carl Pescosolido and Pamela Gleason (1995)

An Italian Journey by Jean Giono (1953)

Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino (1956)

Baudolino (a novel) by Uberto Eco (2000)

The Last Italian, Portrait of a People by William Murray (1991)

The Giro d'Italia by Dino Buzzati (1981; 1999)

Italian Journey's by WD Howells (1867; 1999)

50 Ways Italian Genius Shaped the World by Peter D'Epiro and Mary Desmond Pinkowish (2001)

Dances With Luigi, A Grandson's Search for His Italian Roots by Paul E. Paolicelli (2000)

Italian Pride 101 Reasons to be Proud You're Italian by Federico and Stephen Moramarco (2000)

Marcus Aurelius,The Emperor's Handbook by C Scot Hicks and David Hicks (2002)

Saint Augustine by Gary Wills (1999)

The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant (2003)

Infinite Variety, The Life & Legend of the Marchesa Casati by Scot Ryersson and Michael Orlando Yaccarino (1999)

The Italian American Reader by Bill Tonelli (2003)

Touring Italy-Touring Club Italy

Italy out of Hand-Barbara Hodgson(2005)

Mission Italy-Richard Gardner(2005)

Italy-Travelers’ Tales- various authors
(2001, 1998)

Straddling The Borders - The year I grew up in Italy by Martha E. Cummings (1999)

Books about Tuscany, Umbria, The Marches

Books about Tuscany, Umbria, The Marches

Vanilla Beans & Brodo, Real Life in the Hills of Tuscany by Isabella Dusi (2001)

Bel Vino, a Year of Sundrenched Pleasure Among the Vines of Tuscany by Isabella Dusi (2004)

Francis of Assisi, A Revolutionary Life by Adrian House (2000)

A Tuscan Childhood by Kinta Beevor (1993)

After Hannibal by Barry Unsworth (novel 1997)

Valley in Italy, The Many Seasons of a Villa in Umbria by Lisa St Aubin De Teran (1994)

The Collected Traveler Central Italy Tuscan & Umbria Anthology by Barrie Kerper (2000)

The Umbrian Cities of Italy by JW &AM Cruickshank (1907)

Pietro's Book,The Story of a Tuscan Peasant by Pietro Pinti & Jenny Bawtree (2003)

Pasquale's Nose, Idle Days in an Italian Town by Michael Rips (2001)

A Vineyard in Tuscany, A Wine Lover’s Dream by Ferenc Mate (2007

The Hills Of Tuscany, A New Life in an Old Land by Ferenc Mate (1998)

A Thousand Days in Tuscany by Marlena De Blasi (2004)

Bella Tuscany,The Sweet Life in Italy by Frances Mayes (1999)

A Garden in Lucca, Finding Paradise in Tuscany by Paul Gervais (

A Companion to Lucca by Andreas Prindl (2000)

In Maremma, Life and the House in Southern Tuscany by David Leavitt and Mark Mitchell (2001)

Notes from an Italian Garden by Joan Marble (2000)

Living in a Foreign Language, A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy by Michael Tucker (2007)

Mother Tongue, An American Life in Italy by Wallis Wilde Menozzi (1997)

Straddling the Borders, The Year I Grew Up in Italy by Martha T. Cummings (1999)

Books about Italy: Contemporary Italian Politics

Contemporary Italian Politics

The World From Italy, Football, Food and Politics by George Negus (2002)

A History of Contemporary Italy, Society and Politics 1943-1988 by Paul Ginsborg (2003)

Italy and Its Discontents, Family, Civil Society, State: 1980-2001 by Paul Ginsborg (2003)

The View From Vesuvius, Italian Culture and the Southern Question by Nelson Moe (2002)

An Italian in America by Beppe Severgnini (1995)

The Italian Way, Aspects of Behavior, Attitudes and Customs of the Italians by Mario Costantino Lawrence Gambella (1996)

The Crisis of the Italian State: From the Origins of the Cold War to the Fall of Berlusconi and Beyond by Patrick McCarthy (1997)

The New Italians by Charles Richards (1994, 1995)

The Italians, A Full-Length Portrait Featuring their Manners and Morals by Luigi Barzini (1964)

Book about Florence

Book about Florence

The Monster of Florence, a True Story by Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi (2008)

Heat...apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford (2006)

Cafe Life Florence: A Guidebook to The Cafes & Bars Of The Renaissance Treasure by Joe Wolff (2005)

The Food Lover's Guide to Florence: With Culinary Excursions in Tuscany by Emily Wise Miller (2007)

The Civilized Shopper's Guide to Florence by Louise Fili (2007)

The Renaissance by Paul Johnson (2000)

Florence, A Delicate Case by David Leavitt (2002)

Brunelleschi's Dome, How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King (2000)

Leon Battista Alberti, Master Builder of the Italian Renaissance by Anthony Grafton (2000)

Il Gigante, Michelangelo, Florence and the David by Anton Gill (2002)

Dante by RWB Lewis (2001)

Dante In Love, The World’s Greatest Poem and How It Made History by Harriet Rubin (2004)

Giovanni Boccaccio Famous Women edited and translated by Virginia Brown (2001)

Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel (1999)

Niccolo's Smile, A biography of Machiavelli by Maurizio Viroli (1998)

A Room With a View by EM Forster (1908)


Florence Guide Book:

Access Florence Venice Milan by Richard Saul Wurman

Book about Rome: Rome, The Eternal City

The Smiles of Rome by Susan Cahill (2005)

Cafe Life Rome by Joe Wolff (2002)

A Thousand Bells at Noon-A Roman's Guide to the Streets and Pleasures of His Native City by G. Franco Romagnoli (2002)

Roma-The Smart Travelers Guide to the Eternal City by Paul Hofmann (1993)

The Seasons of Rome-A Journal by Paul Hofmann (1997)

City of the Soul-A Walk in Rome by William Murray (2002)

As The Romans Do-The Delights, Drama, and Daily Diversions of Life in the Eternal City by Alan Epstein (2000)

Playing Away-Roman Holidays by Michael Mewshaw (1988)

The Vatican's Women, Female Influence at the Holy See by Paul Hofmann (2000)

Rome Antics by David Maculay

Notes From A Roman Terrace by Joan Marble (2003)

Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King (2003)

Basilica, the Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter’s by R. A. Scotti (2006)

Cicero-The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician by Anthony Everitt (2001)



Rome Guides:

Top 10 Guide to Rome by Sharri Whiting

Rome City Map by Dorling Kindersley Travel Guides

Trattorias of Rome, Florence and Venice by Maureen B Fant

Rome Insideout by The Map Group

Great Sleeps Italy, Florence, Rome, Venice by Sandra Gustafson (2002)

Access Rome by Richard Saul Wurman

Where do the Italians Live in Italy?

Italians are gravitating towards 14 urban areas in the country to make their homes, Censis observed in its study on lifestyle trends.

According to the report, six out of ten Italians, or 36.4 million people, now live in these areas, which make up 17% of the country's surface area. Censis identified the mosty popular areas:

• Lombardy and Veneto,
• six cities (Turin, Rome, Verona, Naples, Palermo and Cagliari),
• four coastal strips (Liguria, the upper and lower Adriatic coasts and the eastern coast of Sicily) and
• two other 'territorial belts' in Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany.

Book about Rome: Rome From Its Founding to the Present Day: a Quartet

Rome From Its Founding to the Present Day: a Quartet

Editor’s comment: Do read these books on Rome in the order presented. Enjoy them as you would a good grappa, slowly. Warning: once you start reading you will be unable to stop. And you will be unable to control the urge to go to Rome and wander about Ancient-Christian-Renaissance Rome as the Romans do.

1-Roma, the Novel of Ancient Rome by Steven Saylor (2007) -
Tells the story of Rome’s first thousand years, 1000 BC to 1BC, from the salt gatherers at the mouth of the Tiber to Caesar Augustus.

2-Lavinia by Ursula K. LeGuin (2008) –
Simply a masterpiece. Tells the story of Lavinia, princess of Latium, who, with pious Aeneas, is destined to found Rome. Their descendants ruled for 15 generations.

3-The Aeneid by Virgil (29-19 BC), Translation, Robert Fagles; Introduction, Bernard Knox (2006) –
Modern verse translation of the ancient Roman epic of goddess-born Aeneas, who, following his fate, fled from the burning Troy and founded Rome.

4-The Secrets of Rome, Love and Death in the Eternal City by Corrado Augias (2007) –
The 15 chapters cover 2700 years of Roman life. Fascinating tales presented in an interesting fashion: “The Most Beautiful Lady of Rome” tells the story of Lucretia Borgia; “The Other Michelangelo,” of Caravaggio.