Only one month to Christmas… time to searching for presents!

Probably you don’t know that the perfect occasion to find out a lot of interesting ideas is “L’artigiano in Fiera”, one of the most successful trade fair in Milan. The event, arrived at its 14th edition, will take place from 5 to 13 of December in a new location, the Fieramilano exhibition center at Rho.

“L’artigiano in Fiera” is the most important international event dedicated to craft manufacturing, and it aims to celebrate and revives a traditional way of working: centered on the worker, on a personal and creative production, on the attention for the details of the final object.

This means beauty and quality of all the products exhibited, even if they are of many different kinds: clothing and accessories, furniture and furnishing accessories, and even typical wine and food products will be on show!

The exhibition is divided into 3 main areas, on the basis of a geographic pattern:

For only few days will still be possible to enjoy the wonderful and legendary creations of one of the best Venetian master of glass art.
The exhibition “Luciano Gaspari and the Glass”, began in May, will be open until November 29th, in the Glass Museum of Murano, a fascinating little island of the Venetian lagoon, a sort of “homeland” of this material.

Luciano Gaspari (1913-2007), born in Venice into a family of decorators, entered the world of glass production during the 30s. It was a crucial moment for the glass department: traditional craftsmen were seeking to respond to changing times and tastes, renewing their way of working and focusing on design. Soon, they began to produce true masterpieces, and the idea that of glassworks as “individual works of art” began to make headway.

Gaspari was one of the protagonists of this evolution. He was able to combine his great technical skills in working glass, which gave him the possibility to exploit the potentialities of the material in the best way, and a prodigious fantasy, applied on forms and colours. Results are impressive:

Tuscany can boast of several records, especially one: this region was the first in the world to abolish the capital punishment. In fact on November 30^th 1796, the enlightened Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo banished confiscation, torture and death penalty through a single law.

Since 2001, Tuscany has been celebrating this historical occurrence with an official feast, which even schedules a holiday for the schools of the ancient Grand Duchy and a program rich of events spread on all the regional area.

This initiative aims not only to remind and celebrate a defining moment of modern history, but in particular to reflect on the present and the future of the whole mankind. It’s important to notice, in fact, that the capital punishment is still applied in many countries in the world, and that Italian State is fighting for its abolition with an international moratorium at UN.

Hence this topic is a living matter, together with other related issues as democracy, peace, equality and justice all over the world.

Tuscany Feast so deals with values which are not only strictly related to death penalty, but also to other current problems, such as dialogue among different cultures and inclusion, sexual equality and deaths on-the-job. For this reason, during the event, congresses, lectures and official meetings are scheduled, to which

You should visit the most beautiful Italian cities… with running shoes on! After Venice Marathon, which took place some weeks ago, now it’s time for the Florence Marathon, whreas the Marathon of Milan will “change season” this year, and will be organized in spring.

On Sunday, November 29th, 10,000 athletes are expected at the beginning of the 42 km Florentine race, a sport event whose importance and popularity are exponentially growing year by year.
It is not by chance that noteworthy top-runners participate in the 2009 edition of this competition, included in the calendar of the official international races. For example, the Italian athletes Danilo Goffi and Denis Curzi, seeking for a call for the 2010 European Athletics Championship in Barcelona, for whom this marathon will be a really important showcase to show their skills.

An outstanding stage not only for the qualitative level of the competition, but in particular for the fascinating course and the beautiful locations along which it offers. For example, just think about the starting point: the natural terrace of Piazzale Michelangelo,

If you’re planning a tourist week-end in Venice, November 21^st will be the perfect day for you!

As every year in fact, on this date, the “Festa della Madonna della Salute“ (“Feast of our Lady of Good Health”) is celebrated, an ancient Venetian tradition which dates back even to the middle of the 17^th century.

During that period, a terrible plague was raging and quite completely destroying the population of Serenissima. The despair was total. Hence, the city decided to seek the Virgin Mary’s help, solemnly vowing to built the most magnificent temple ever existed if the scourge had ended.

Not even a month after, the plague was over, and Venice respected its promise. The Church of Our Lady of Health was built, designed by the architect Baldassare Longhena,

Among the several different identities and attitudes that Milan displays, the “artistic” one is becoming more and more relevant, as a consequence of some ongoing initiatives in the city. An example of this wave is MINT, an International Trade Fair dedicated to Antiques, Modern and Contemporary Art. Its 2009 edition takes place from 12th to 15th November at Indro Montanelli’s gardens (via Palestro).

The strength of this show in Milan is the very high quality of the works displayed. This years, 45 exhibitors will participate, all of them carefully selected to be adimitted. They make this fair a true “boutique” in the global market of art works!

The other key feature of MINT is the choice to exhibit different kinds of objects (as jewels, carpets, paintings, books, pictures, glasses, textiles, installations…), coming form different historical periods. Or better, the combination of antique trade and modern collections is the central point of the exhibition, thought for a specific kind of buyers: ecletic art lovers, people who like mixing together different languages and styles, specialists who appreciate originality and quality, beauty and luxury.

Turin has the pleasure to present the 16^th edition of Artissima, the International Fair of Contemporary Art, which will take place from 6^th to 8^th November 2009 in the area of Lingotto Fiere.

This extraordinary exhibition represents one of the more prestigious events dedicated to future horizons of present art and to its experiments. It’s an unfailing occasion for both simple lovers and expert collectors. The fair provides the opportunity to meet artists coming from all over the world, to think about the present changes in the field of art, to convey young emerging authors and art galleries of the new generation. Here names and trends that tomorrow will matter are chosen, here “the present future” of art is planned.

The newest artistic expressions are presented to visitors divided into several sections:

A brand new event in Pisa: The House of Mirrors, from 5^th to 7^th November 2009, at Stazione Leopolda.

It’s an innovative and alternative art exhibition, which displays a series of works inspired by the same subject: the picture of a human face, selected by the organization team through a photographic contest. Starting from this common matrix, each one of the participants produced a unique creation, a personal work of art, resulting from his own techniques, inspirations and emotions.

From artist to artist, also the language used can change, and the possibilities are as many as the number of sections in which the exhibition is divided into: Sculpture, Painting, Computer Art, Comics, Video, Tales, Poetry.

Finally, a global message – that is at the same time the founding idea of the project, comes out: