You can now have a look at "Rome from the Sky" taking the new elevator to the rooftop terrace of the Vittoriano, the monument to King Victor Emmanuel II where you can shoot wonderful photos over Rome and have a coffee in the rooftop cafetaria, enjoying an amazing 360-degree view.
More and more Italian art cities go on-line Many cities now offer the possibility to skip the long lines by booking your tickets on-line:
For Rome's Vatican museums, visit their webpage For tickets for Florence's Uffizi Gallery (Renaissance art) and Accademia, book here.
Veniceconnected.com is a new initiative by the City of Venice to help visitors book services, such as transportation, museums and car parkings more easily and at a lower rate (if booked sufficiently in advance). Click here for more information.
For transport and reductions at museums and major events in Rome, buy your Roma PASSon-line.
Rome: new, spectacular rooftop terrace
Fashionistas can now swap luxury items in Treviso store The northern Italian city of Treviso now has its own luxury swap store - a premiere in Italy - where elite clients can trade in their jewelry, shoes or bags. Store owners Ilaria Bramezza and Francesca Ladisa have designed a system whereby each item brought in by clients is given a number of stars between 1 and 10. Clients can then exchange their item for one or more other pieces on display in the three-level store, worth the same number of stars. The store owners take a commission on each swap, starting at 20 euros for a one-star piece up to 44 euros for a 5-star piece. (Sources: ANSA.it and La Tribuna di Treviso).
Address: "Luxury Swapping", vicolo Campana 3 (Piazza Rinaldi), Treviso
Slow Spring 2010 Celebrating Nature in Emiglia-Romagna Po Delta Park
April 1 - 11th,special events in Cervia town in nature
April 1 - May 30, 9 weeks discovering Po Delta Park
April 30 - May 2nd, International Po Delta Birdwatching and Nature Tourism Fair.
Vinitaly, Verona, 8 - 12 april The 44th edition of the largest international exhibition dedicated to wine seeks to provide an injection of optimism in a sector that in any case is already proving to have it sights beyond the current difficulties on the market. Investments, promotion and company services are the recipe of VeronaFiere. More information>>
Inca culture in Brescia until June 27, 2010 For the first time an exhibition dedicated to the Inca culture is being held in Italy, in the Museo di Santa Giulia in Brescia. More than 250 finds from the most important Peruvian museums are on display, showing the history of the pre-columbian civilization, with a focus on their relationship with nature.
Caravaggio Exhibitions throughout Italy in 2010 Italy will be celebrating Caravaggio in 2010, commemorating the 400th anniversary of his death. A first tribute to the painter will be running in Rome's Borghese Gallery until January 24, comparing the work of 20th-century British artist Francis Bacon to that of the 16th-century Italian master. More information>>
The Scuderie del Quirinale Museum, will feature a selection of 40 of Caravaggio's original works from February 18 on.The Uffizi Gallery and Palazzo Pitti in Florence will be hosting a joint event in May, entitled 'Caravaggio e i Caravaggeschi', which will examine the master's and his successors' works. More exhibitions will be organized throughout Italy in 2010.
Frommer's Italy 2010 (Frommer's Complete)
by Darwin Porter (Author), Danforth Prince (Author) More information:
Welcome to YourGuideToItaly.com, the information source for tourists to Italy, Italian Americans and Italians abroad, expatriates moving to or living in Italy, italian language students, and Italophiles from all over the world.
Site Index A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
Homepage
and drop by on a regular basis to know what's new
Italy is divided into 20 different regions (of which 5 enjoy a special status of autonomy), each with their own history, cultural and culinary traditions. Read more about the regions of Italy.
Since Antiquity, Italy has always been a center of knowlegde and culture, as attested by the many historic monuments and galleries, as well as the fact that 9 out of the 20 world's oldest universities are Italian (Bologna, Modena, Padua, Naples, Sienna, Rome, Perugia, Camerino, Pisa). Bologna is also the oldest university in the Western world.
Another fascinating aspect about Italy are the many contrasts you encounter in this country. While being the cradle of modern western civilization, it is also politically one of the youngest nations in Europe, as it did not exist as a unified country until 1861. Read more about the history of Italy.
Italy was a charter member of NATO and as a founding member of the European Economic Community (EEC) has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification. Italy is also part of the G8 (the Group of Eight), a forum for world's major industrialized (and most powerful) democracies.
Emblem of the Italian Republic: a white star (symbol of Italy since the Risorgimento), a wheel (symbol of labor and progress), an oak branch (strength and dignity of the Italian people) and an olive brach (pursuit of peace by the Italian Nation).
Italy has also produced some of the internationally most renowned names in fashion (Prada, Gucci, Versace), design
and technology (Pirelli, Ferrari and Fiat, just to name a few), yet at its heart it remains highly traditional and attached to its customs and agricultural heritage. B&B in the cities of art and farm stays or Agritourism are a good way to get a glimpse of that other side of Italy.
Some also see a strong contrast in the seemingly very conformist way Italians dress and follow the diktats of fashion, as opposed to what seems a desorganized and choatic italian public life.
Photos of the YourGuidetoItaly.com banner (from left to right): (on campus) Sean Locke, (red deckchair) Valentina Jori, (chianti botlle) Donald Gruener, (Vitruvian man) Jodie Coston, (coliseum), Roberto A Sanchez, (Fiat 500) Luca di Filippo. Photo of 'Rialto bridge' by S. Greg Panosian. Fashionista photo by Ivan Chenko.
