Colosseum to get major clean-up Restoration, illumination project to kick off this year
The Colosseum is to be restored, protected and lit up permanently in a project starting later this year. The 2,000-year-old symbol of Rome will be cleared of decades of grime, said Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno. The grungy and precarious state of the...
Italian screenwriter gets Oscar nod Alessandro Camon among three Italian nominations
Italian screenwriter Alessandro Camon received an Oscar nod Tuesday for anti-war drama The Messenger, one of three Italian...
Florence fetes macabre wax model
Work by 17th-century abbot on show after restoration
A gruesome scene showing a group of decomposing syphilis victims by Italy's greatest 17th-century wax artist has gone on show in Florence for the first time after a painstaking restoration. The work by Sicilian abbot Gaetano Zumbo (1656-1701)...
Floral magic over centuries of art
New show stars
Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Caravaggio, Monet works
An exhibition celebrating the allure of stunning floral creations over three centuries of art opens Sunday in this eastern Italian town. The San Domenico Museum in Forli...
Muccino producing Pavarotti biopic TV film ''won't be documentary'', producer says
Italian director Gabriele Muccino is to produce a two-part TV movie on Italian opera legend Luciano Pavarotti, one of Muccino's co-producers said Tuesday. Pavarotti's widow Nicoletta Mantovani is working with screenwriter Ivana Massetti to make sure...
The “Vucciria” by Guttuso
on show in Messina
The Vucciria, painted by Renato Guttuso in 1974, and kept at the Steri, head of the rector’s office of the University of Palermo, will be shown in Messina at the Vittorio Emanuele Theatre on the next 13 of...
Venice plea to Bruni for Louvre painting
French First Lady asked to help get Veronese back
A Venice heritage association is appealing to French First Lady Carla Bruni to persuade the Louvre to return the most famous painting looted by Napoleon from the lagoon city. The Progetto Nordest (PNE) is the latest in a string of local bodies to ask...
Milan celebrates Japanese art Palazzo Reale showcases 100 masterpieces
Three centuries of Japanese art and culture are showcased in an ambitious new exhibition at Milan's Palazzo Reale, with some...
the story of the month
“... Welcome to Palermo, Sir!!”
(by Gianni D'Amico) There were only a few minutes left to 10 in the morning on that tremendous Friday 2 June 1944. The sun was high and, under my naked feet, the pavement already manifested its arrogant heat. I was there, I had...
archaeology
Found in Germany
a 6th century goblet stolen
from the Salinas
Museum of Palermo
The Italian police for the protection of the cultural heritage found, in Germany, an important archaeological piece stolen in...
'Nero's dining room found'. Room rotated on wooden platform to follow movement of Earth
A 'rotating room' built by Roman Emperor Nero to please his dinner guests has been unearthed, Italian archaeologists say. Excavations in the Domus Aurea ('Golden House') on the Palatine Hill have revealed remains of a room experts think is the...
exhibitions
Arts guide: exhibits in Italy
The following is a city-by-city guide to some of Italy's art exhibitions: BRESCIA - Museo di Santa Giulia: Inca, Origins and Mysteries of the Civilisation of Gold; 250...
Macchiaioli stars back in spotlight
A passion for the outdoors and a trend in small-scale paintings are explored in an exhibition here looking at Macchiaioli...
Dada and Surrealism in Rome
One of the largest exhibitions ever staged on Dadaism and Surrealism has opened its doors in the Italian capital, with over 500 artworks from around the world. The show at the...
philately
A fantastic issue: two postage stamps on the VII centenary of Marco Polo’s birth
To commemorate the VII Centenary of Marco Polo’s birth, the Administration of Posts and Telecommunications of Italy...
cinema
Paris fetes Fellini
The French capital is paying tribute to Italian cinema legend Federico Fellini with a series of initiatives marking the 50th anniversary of...