Tourists have known for a long time now that when visiting St. Peter’s Basilica, they have to dress appropriately: men should not turn up dressed in shorts and tank tops and for the women, short skirts and bare shoulders are a no-no.

But, it seems that this week, the Vatican Swiss Guards have extended the dress code to the entire Vatican City State, sending women scurrying to buy shawls and scarves from nearby hawkers, whilst the men had to wonder off to shops to buy long trousers. Some were less fortunate and were refused entry altogether.

Vatican visitors were obviously upset at the crackdown on “inappropriate clothing” in the Vatican City at a time when the Catholic Church itself is battling scandals and cover-ups over paedophile priests.

If you’re planning a visit to the Vatican on your Rome holiday, remember that the summer heat is no excuse for turning up in shorts!

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To the many designer fashion fans out there, Summer sales are on at the Castel Romano Designer Outlet in Rome.

According to Castel Romano, from July 3 to August 13, there are more sales, more savings, more shopping pleasure, all in one place!

And to make sure that shoppers have more time for shopping, the summer opening hours for the Centre are 10.00 to 21.00 from Mondays to Sundays. In addition, during this weekend, July 10 & 11, the Centre will open an hour earlier from 9:00 to 21:00.

And, Getting to Castel Romano is also much easier these days.

Happy Shopping!

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The island of Murano in Venice is world famous for its Murano glass and most visitors to Venice come away with at least a piece or two of Murano glass products as a souvenir of their Venice holidays.

Murano glass has been hand crafted by highly skilled Venetian artisans for more than 1,000 years and is highly regarded for its light weight and its wide range of attractive colours.

You don’t have to make a trip to Murano to buy its world-famous glass products. An encounter with these colourful glass is unavoidable.  All around Venice there are shops selling colourful glass pendants, glass jewelry, paperweights, ornaments, etc.

Like most visitors to Venice, I’ve bought pendants, necklaces and trinklets, etc. for friends and family during my trips to Venice. The question I now ask myself is – Were those beautiful Murano glass that I bought as gifts really from Murano?

According to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report this week, Italian police have seized 11 million fake Murano glass objects that were being sold in stores in Venice as artisan Murano glass, even though most of them were made in China.

“Between glasses, keychains, small masks, necklaces, pendants and other similar products, the seized items were worth almost 13 million euros (16 million dollars),” the head of Venice’s Financial Police General Walter Manzon told AFP.”

According to the AFP report, Mr. Manzon believes about half of the glass products sold in and around
Venice under the Murano brand are not even made in Italy.

Three Italian companies were busted for the importation and sale of the products from China – two of these from the island of Murano itself. The companies would place Murano labels on the fake objects or mix them with legitimate goods.

The governor of Venice’s Veneto region, Luca Zaia said that the fraud perpetuated exploits cheap labour in countries like China and practises unfair competition.

So, Bravo to the Italian police and the Governor of Venice for their efforts to stamp out the fake products. How disheartening to bring home a souvenir from Venice only to find out later on that it was actually made in China!

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All it takes is the Shroud and the city of Turin will be inundated by over a million visitors from next Saturday.  Controversial it may be, but the  Shroud still holds allure for many Christians.

The Shroud of Turin which rarely goes on public display will be put on exhibition from April 10 – May 23, 2010 at the Turin’s Cathedral in Piazza San Giovanni.

Shroud of Turin -1898 Exhibition Poster

The viewing of the Holy Shroud is free of charge, but organizers require visitors to make reservations so that time slots can be allocated for more orderly visits. Over a million people have already booked and although the popular time slots are already taken, it’s still possible to book. Visitors without a reservation are able to enter the Cathedral but without a booking they will not be allowed near the Shroud and can only have a glimpse of the relic from a distance.

During the exhibition period, there’ll be mass celebrated in the cathedral as well as many other activities for pilgrims.  See www.sindone.org.

For information about booking a visit, see:
www.piemonteitalia.eu/prenotazione/frontoffice/ingresso.do

Exhibition

Shroud of Turin
Turin Cathedral
Piazza San Giovanni

Dates: April 10 – May 23, 2010

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If you love Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata, here’s a chance to be a part of the opera at the Palazzo Barbarigo-Minotto in Venice, a splendid 15th century palace facing the Grand Canal.

At the “Musica a Palazzo: La Traviata”, the palace is not decorated like a theatre, but instead the performers and audience move from room to room for the different scenes – the first act starts in the central hall and the audience are seated where Violetta’s party guests sit.

There are no stage lights or special effects and instead the opera relies on the palace’s natural settings, with candle lights and table lamps creating the intimate atmosphere.  The performances also rely very much on interaction with the audience. Although a contemporary interpretation, the production is said to closely mirror Verdi’s own thoughts on dramatic opera.

When it comes to operas, I tend to like the traditional, but attending Verdi’s La Traviata in a Venetian palazzo must be quite an experience. After all, Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata has strong connections with Venice where it premiered on March 6, 1853 at the Gran Teatro La Fenice.

La Traviata is on at Palazzo Barbarigo-Minotto and you can book tickets online with our partner Classictic.

You can also book Classical Concerts and Operas throughout Europe here.

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Venice Carnevale 2010 kicks off on Saturday, February 6th and goes on right through to February 16th. Under the theme ‘Sensation: 6 Senses for 6 Siesteri’, there are daily events in San Marco, Cannaregio, Castello, San Polo, Santa Croce and Isole.

A few of the major Day One events include:

• Hot Chocolate in Costume
  Enjoy hot chocolate, cakes and sweets in the magnificent lounge of the Hotel Danieli, originally the 14th century palace of Doge Dandolo’s family. Dress is costume, but don’t worry if you don’t have any. During carnivale time, atelier C.C.I. will be located in the Hotel Danieli to assist you with their range of costumes, masks, hats, wigs and accessories from as early as the 16th century.
• Moon Masquerade at the Luna Hotel Baglioni
  An event by the Luna Hotel Baglioni. The evening starts with cocktails and canapés and while enjoying cocktails, guests will be treated to a performance of “Il Trovatore”. This is followed by a buffet dinner, music and dancing.
• Gala Dinner and Ball Carnival Dream at the Dandolo Palace (Hotel Monaco & Gran Canal)
• The Serenissima Gran Ball in the 14th century Palazzo Pesaro Papafava
• Carnival Opening Ceremony at 21:00 at the Piazza San Marco. This is a free event.
• Diner Dansante “Le Menuet” – another event by the Hotel Danieli.

Venice Carnevale

Origin of Carnevale

With all the partying, feasting and revelry around Venice, it’s easy to forget that carnevale has its main roots in the religious calendar and starts two Fridays before the eve of Ash Wednesday annually.  Some believe that ‘carne vale’ has its origins in Latin, meaning ‘farewell to meat’, while others believe it is the Italian phrase ‘carne levare’, meaning ‘to remove meat’. Whichever belief, the idea was that carnevale was a way of using up rich foods and meat just before Lent. During the forty days of fasting in Lent no rich foods, fats, dairy, meat or sugar should be consumed, and no parties or other celebrations could take place. So in preparation for the solemn Lent period, the whole community would get together, have a huge party and drink and be merry!

If you’re planning on experiencing Carnevale and haven’t yet booked your accommodation, don’t leave it to the last minute. Most of the popular grand canal hotels may already booked out but you’ll still be able to find rooms elsewhere.

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18 shopping days to Christmas and we know that Rome’s Castel Romano outlet is still a popular shopping destination for locals and visitors who are looking for some designer clothing for their Christmas stockings.

If, like me, you’re always having to have your new clothing altered because the sleeves are too long or you’re not quite the shape the designers require you to be, the good news is that there is now a new tailoring service at Castel Romano that can adjust your new garments.

Castel Romano Outlet, Rome

The Piccola Sartoria tailoring service is located on the first floor, close to the playground area. The shop is open from Monday to Saturday, from 10:00 to 20:00 and closed on Sundays.

With this new service, you’ll be able to wear your newly acquired clothing during your Christmas holidays and look glam.

STAN the 13 metre T-Rex skeleton is still at Castel Romano to keep the children entertained whilst you enjoy your Christmas shopping!

Getting to Castel Romano is easy with the Castel Romano shuttle.

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The Florence Shopping Tour to Prada and the Mall Fashion Outlets is very popular with designer outlet shopping addicts who are visiting Florence but many have asked about departure times for planning purposes.

According to the operators, tour departure times are as follows:

Sat                        – 8:45 am (until 15 Nov 2009)

Mon, Tue and Fri  – 1:15 pm (until 15 Nov 2009)

Tue and Fri           – 1:15pm (16 Nov 2009 to 15 Mar 2010)

Note:  The departure times are accurate to the best of our knowledge but we cannot guarantee its accuracy.

Tip : For planning purposes, we suggest booking in advance so that your tour time can be confirmed to you early or try to be flexible with your schedule on your shopping day.

The first stop on this shopping tour is the Prada outlet where you will stay for approximately 1.5 hours. Your tour then proceeds to the famous Mall (for approximately 2.5 hours), where you will find a score of prestigious high fashion outlets.

And, just to make you drool, these are some of the names you’ll find at the Mall:   Alexander McQueen, Armani Jeans, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Emanuel Ungaro, Ermenegildo Zegna, Fendi, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, La Perla, Marni, Salvatore Ferragamo, Sergio Rossi, Stella McCartney, Tod’s, Valentino, Yohji Yamamoto, Yves Saint Laurent, etc.

For more information on this designer outlet shopping tour and booking information, SEE HERE.

More on Designer Outlets….

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It may have taken two attempts to get it started, but Rome now has a bike-sharing scheme that seems to be working.

At 19 key points in the Eternal City, you’ll see bicycle stands with rows of smart-looking green bicycles.  ATAC Roma, the government transit authority that runs the buses and Metro, now runs this service.  Tourists, as well as locals, are eligible to rent these bikes, adding to Rome’s transport options.

If you’re good with bikes, this is a cheap and environmental way to cruise around the city.  Hopefully the Rome bike-sharing scheme will be as successful as the one in Paris and other European cities.

Read more about Rome bike-sharing HERE.

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If you’re tired of pasta and pizza and want something different, head for Dar Filettaro a Santa Barbara where its filletti di baccala is famous amongst Romans and visitors alike.

Filletti di baccala or salted codfish in batter is the speciality of this restaurant, but just in case you’re thinking of fish and chips, you won’t find any chips here.

On weekends, the queues are huge, so be prepared to wait for your table.

To find out more about Dar Filettaro’s famous fried codfish, read our post HERE.

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