Every year Venice sees thousands visitors attracted by two events of great importance taking place in the month of May: the “Festa della Sensa” and “La Vogalonga”.

The Sensa Festival was celebrated by the Venetian Republic on the day of Christ’s Ascension that in Venetian dialect is “Sensa”.

The festival commemorates two important events in the life of the Venetian Republic: the first event dates back to 9^th May 1000, when Doge Pietro II Orseolo gave aid to the inhabitants of Dalmatia, who were under the Slav menace.

The event “I profumi di Boboli” – whose meaning is “Boboli Perfumes” – will come back in the most beautiful garden in Florence, Boboli Gardens. It is an itinerary among the perfumed essences taking place from 17^th to 20^th May 2012.

This is the only event in Boboli Gardens offering the chance to sell products. The location of “I Profumi” is the Orto della Botanica Inferiore; originally, the choice of this place was due to a building used as Speziera, where you could find all kinds of spices, but unfortunately it was destroyed in 18^th century.

The old perfurmers and herbalists went to Boboli Speziera to gather all special flowers in the garden and to distil perfumes and balsams with healing properties.

Two international events of great importance will be held in the Italian capital, Rome: the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and the Compeed Golden Gala.

In May, tennis and athletics stars will meet in Rome to take part in two of the most awaited sport competitions.

The Internazionali BNL d’Italia will take place at the Park of the Foro Italico, an exclusive location in the world for its beauty, from 12^th to 20^th May 2012 and they will be organized, like in 2011, with the formula “combined events”, which means that during the same day ladies and men performances will alternate.

The Fish Festival of Camogli, a small Ligurian village in the province of Genoa, is one of the best-beloved gastronomic events in Liguria.

The event takes place every second Sunday of May and this year it will be held on 13^th May 2012, St. Fortunato’s Day, fishermen’s patron, in Piazza Colombo, near the little seaport of Camogli.

This is its 61^st edition and, as a matter of fact, it boasts of a long tradition: in 1952 some inhabitants of Camogli spontaneously decided to give as a present fried fish to visitors.

Ever since it became a nice tradition involving every year all the inhabitants of Camogli, people of fishermen.

The festival symbol is the frying pan, made of steel, with a Guinness World Record size,

Those who are fond of fashion accessories can’t miss Chibidue exhibition in Milan from 11^th to 14^th May 2012 at Fiera Milano City.

Chibidue is one of the biggest trade fairs specialized in costume jewellery, fashion and hair  accessories, an extraordinary exhibition putting on display all the accessories that fascinate women’s world: bijoux, bags, belts, foulards/neckerchiefs, hats, watches, sunglasses, keychains, gloves and many other products.

There is also a wide range of fabrics and particular materials, like ceramic, used for jewels, leather, straw and many other natural materials like wood, coral and amber.

The appointment with the biggest bookshop in Italy comes back: the 25^th edition of the International Book Fair will take place in Turin from 10^th to 14^th May 2012 at Lingotto Fiere, a masterpiece of industrial archaeology.

The International Book Fair turns into a showcase for both big and small publishers to make themselves know to the audience. This is the place where who is fond of reading books can get in touch with every kind of book, from the latest news, e-books, audio-books, multimedia books up to antique manuscripts, rare books and the most odd titles.

There are about 1,200 exhibitors, over 50 of which for the first time

One of the most awaited concerts in Italy is coming: the May Day Concert in Rome, as usual, will see hundreds of young people coming from all over Italy to watch the musical festival organized by the Italian trade unions CGIL, CSL and UIL on the occasion of the International Workers’ Day.

The concert will take place in Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano from 3.05 p.m. to midnight: emerging bands and singers will be the first to go on stage and from 4 p.m. onwards it will be other guests’ turn.

The 2012 edition will be introduced by the actor Francesco Pannofino and

  Imperia, the 7^th edition of Video Festival Imperia (International Festival of    Cinematographic    Digital Art) is going to start from 24^th to 28^th April 2012. Each year it  becomes more and more  a centre of national and international attraction for professionals  from all over the world: the  number of participants increases, there are nearly 700 works from  51 countries. This testifies  how much the festival is growing thanks to the richness and the  variety of performances.

 With every passing year, the importance of Imperia and its festival has continued to grow: for  three consecutive years UNESCO has mentioned Imperia festival as one of the 13 most  important festivals in the world for “Diffusion and preservation of cultural diversity”.

With the new 2012 advertising campaign, “In the City of Beauty, you recognise angels from their hands”, the International Handicrafts Trade Fair starts off in Florence: from 21st to 29th April 2012, the Fortezza da Basso turns into the “City of Beauty”, where handicraftsmen coming from all over Italy and over 50 foreign countries will exhibit their own exclusive products.

That is how the Fair becomes the place of meeting of experienced craftsmen, young talents and their own audience to promote high-quality handicrafts of different production sectors, from clothing and accessory up to furnishing, jewellery, gifts and fancy goods, as well as wine and food.

Edition 2012 of Milan International Furniture Exhibition is ready to start again: from tomorrow 17th to 22nd April, the exhibition will be open only to exhibitors, whereas on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd it will be also open to visitors.

A real international benchmark for launching and promoting the best home furnishing and design brands. As usual, the exhibition will be held at Fiera Milano in Rho. Opening hours is scheduled from 8.30 am to 7 pm for exhibitors and from 9.30 am to 6.30 pm for visitors.

Once again, the Salone del Mobile will present thousands high-quality products conceived for markets of the whole world, setting Milan as the international capital of furniture and design.

Furniture and design objects for kitchens and bathrooms: