The Tourism Office of Lake Como indicated positive tourism data for the third quarter of 2007 for the beautiful region of Como lake and its surroundings. Room occupancy was greater than the regional figure, 49% compared to 46% in June; 62% compared to 59% in July and 67% compared to 63% in August. The data were provided by the Chamber of Commerce of Como and indicate an increase in bookings for the last quarter as well. The lengthening of the season due to global warming positively influenced tourism figures for the fall since Italy is considered too hot to visit in the summer. The positive increase during the fall of 2007 compared to the 2006 figues can be contributed to more Italians and especially to international visitors. Foreigners have increased 14% on average in respect the visitor nights
There is a new exhibition at the Palazzo Pitti gallery in Florence on the works of Francesco Furini, who was the master of the 17th century in Florence and also the master of Classicism. This event at the Pitti Palace is the first international exhibition dedicated to the artist of the 17th century Florence. Furini is known for depicting a unique form of timeless beauty with the classical nude. Many frescos, drawings and a small group of 38 paintings will be on display on loan from many well-known Italian and foreign museums. The exhibition is open until April 26th 2008. Visit Florence during the exhibition
There is a new exhibition at the Modern Art Museum in Bologna through February 3rd. The works of 4 contemporary Italian and international artists are on display: Adam Chodzko, Eva Marisandi, Diego Perron and Bojan Sarcevic. The exhibit focuses on experimentation with new. The works are displayed in a former bakery and force visitors to interact with the environment.
www.mambo-bologna.org
January 25 to February 5, 2008. This famous 2-week event takes place every year in the historical city center of Venice. For almost 200 years during the carnival season Venice turns into a festive city of extravagant parties, celebrations and revelry. Locals and visitors alike participate in masquerades and elaborate parties to celebrate the closing days of winter along the Gran Canal. The Venetian districts of Santa Croce, Cannaregio, Castello, San Marco, Dorso Duro and San Paulo will be filled with costumes, music, performances and dance. Famous parties are usually sold out a year in advance. For more on the Venice Carnival
Open Jan 26 to July 20, 2008. There is a new exhibition at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice with a title “Rome e i Barbari”. The event displays the Roman Empire’s most difficult age when barbaric people of different cultures and traditions from the steppes of Asia and Eastern Europe gradually began to dominate the Western world, attacking Rome from the North eventually leading to the fall of the empire. The 6-month-long exhibition has a vast collection of archeological finds that cover the history of the conflict of these cultures. Open from January to July 2008
According to the data of the Ufficio Italiano Cambi, foreign travellers in Italy spent 25,264 million euros in the third quarter of 2007, an increase of 1.7% from the the same period last year. There were 56,346 foreign travellers in Italy between January and September 2007, for a 5.9% increase with respect to the figure registered by the UIC at the end of the first nine months of 2006. However, there were 292,244 overnights (289,810 in the first nine months of 2006).
The major of Rome, Italy has an ambitious tourism objective for his capital: to surpass 30 million overnights. While speaking at a meeting organised by the Rome hotel Association he outlined his plan to reach more than 30 million overnights by 2011 in the hotel and non-hotel sectors”. It is more reasonable to believe that the year will end with a 10.82% increase. “Transforming the image of the Capital helped us to reach impressive results: we have re-opened everything that we could reopen, from the Auditorium to the new Fair, to public parks and historic villas – he added -. The next objective is to re-launch Rome as an important convention and business tourism city” The question is whether overcrowded and over-polluted Rome can handle this extra invasion of tourists