ItalyUpdate

Working holidays on the land for international students is not a new idea. This summer, however, the Island of Ventotene in the Pontine archipelagus (Lazio) is offering young people an opportunity to sojourn gratis on one of Italy's most unspoiled islands, in return for a few hours work each day alongside local farmers.

The hilly Langhe-Roero and Monferrato regions of Piemonte have been added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, giving Italy the grand total of fifty nominations of more than any other country. The region covers some 100 sq kms with twenty-nine historic towns and villages in six areas of the provinces of Alessandria, Asti and Cuneo.

The Veny Valley and the towns of Courmayeur and Saint-Didier will welcome some 350 artistes from Italy, Scotland, Wales, Poland, France and Canada between the 3^rd -6^th July 2014 for the 18^th Great Celtic International Festival of music, art and culture.

The Aricino-Nemorense branch of the Italian Archeoclub recently organized a historic re-enactment of the ancient Festival of the Latin Peoples (Feriae Latinae) on Monte Cavo, the highest point of the extinct volcano some 20 kms south of Rome.

Summer is the time of Festivals. The Puccini Festival  the only festival entirely dedicated to the celebrated Italian composer - has been running for sixty years at the small town where the maestro created some of his best loved operas, like Tosca, Madame Butterfly, La Fanciulla del West, La Rondine and the Trittico.

The luxury hotel group Soft Living Places of Versilia has launched online a 3 minute video advising Russian tourists on how to behave when staying in Italian grand hotels.

This year's edition of the Globo d'Oro (Golden Globe) awarded to Italian cinema by the Foreign Press association in Italy had famous actress Claudia Cardinale as the star of the evening. Cardinale was assigned the prestigious prize for her career. The prize-giving ceremony was held in the seat of the French Ambassador to Rome, Palazzo Farnese, and was attended by a great number of Italian film producers, directors, scenographers and music composers, as well as actors and actresses and journalists.

A secret bomb shelter built by Mussolini in the heart of Mt. Soratte, 45 kms north of Rome, is now open for guided tours. The labyrinth of tunnels, which extends over four kms, was created as a complete underground city, with independent water supply, drains, electric generator, heating and supplies storage to allow two months survival for some hundred top government officials in the event of devastating bomb attacks on the capital.

Lungomare Caracciolo, Naples' elegant sea front promenade, will be the venue for the Caputo Napoli Pizza Village during the first week of September 2014, when 45 historic Neapolitan pizzerias will set up shop to serve an estimated 450,000 visitors over six action-packed days.

170 wine cellars with a total 386 wines of Italy's South gather at the Resort Masseria Caselli of Carovigno (Brindisi) between the 4-9^th June for the 9^th edition of Radici del Sud, the foremost southern Italy showcase of the wines of Puglia, Basilicata, Campania and Calabria, made from autochthonous vines.