Are you ready? Come to Venice and show ff your best mask!

Carnival 2012 is ready to begin. Tomorrow 4th February many dances, masks, parades and theatre performances will liven up Venice!

This year the theme of the carnival will be the theatre: “Life as a Theatre!”. So, several theatre performances and many more theatre-related initiatives will be held during this carnival edition.

On 4th February, the Great toast at the fountain of wine, and a beautiful theatre performance, “A Venezia la vita è Teatro” (“In Venice, life is theatre”). In addition, skating rinks will be open to the public in Piazza Ferretto and Campo San Paolo in Venice.

On Sunday 12th, there will be the famous and traditional “Angel Flight”, the exciting flight of a secret guest star, who from the top of San Marco bell tower will fly above the square, landing in the centre of the square. He or she will wear an amazing mask in honour of the carnival.

In addition, this year Venice Carnival will celebrate and remember the significance of the environmental protection, thanks to a special initiative by Ecolamp, the cooperative devoted to the separate collection of rubbish and waste disposal.

From 4th to 21st February will mount a stage – “Teatro della Luce e del Riciclo” – in Campo San Paolo, proposing games and shows dedicated to environment.

For more detailed information about Venice please visit the guide About Venice.

Book your hotel in Venice with About Venice!

Find out more about Venice Carnival.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, adults and children, are you ready? Carnival time has come and Viareggio is ready to party with you as usual.

As widely known, Viareggio Carnival is the most popular and entertaining Italian carnival in Europe, rich in masks, coloured dances and parades, floats and district night celebrations that every year get more and more irreverent.

Once again, this year the carnival will begin

Liguria gets ready for receiving its thousands visitors with the most beautiful Christmas markets in the large enlightened squares and the most striking villages on the coast.

As usual, Manarola, one of the villages of Cinque Terre, will host its famous luminous nativity scene, the greatest in the world.

From 8th December 2011 to 2nd February 2012 you will have the chance to visit this extraordinary nativity scene set up on the hill Tre Croci: 250 full-size personages will offer a fantastic scenario from the sea and the earth: many little luminous

This year spend your Christmas in Tuscany. You’ll find many events, concerts, initiatives for adults and children, Christmas markets and special festivals in all the cities and villages of the region.

Multicoloured, decorated, enlightened cities. Thousands lights warming city streets, shops windows and children hearts. Shopping, gifts, cards to Santa, Christmas songs and huge Christmas trees located in the largest squares of the cities, such as in Piazza della Repubblica in Florence.

As usual, Florence will welcome you with many amazing Christmas events and traditional handicraft markets. Don’t miss the fabulous Weihnachtsmarkt, the German Christmas market,

If in this period you’re in Milan or you’re planning to spend your Christmas holidays in the capital of fashion and shopping addicts, then now you have three reasons more.

Why? First: Fiera Oh Bej Oh Bej, a typical Milan festival with hundreds of stalls; second: Artigianato in Fiera (Handicrafts and handmade products from all over the world), and third, Fiera del Libro Usato, a market with hundreds stalls selling second-hand books.

Milan is going to celebrate its famous and most loved Fiera degli Oh Bej Oh Bej from 7th to 10th December. A thousand stalls offering

Are you ready for spending a special Christmas in Italy?

If you’re in the neighbourhood of Turin (Northern Region of Piedmont), you will have the opportunity to visit the yearly Christmas Market, which this year will be held in Piazza Borgo Dora from 2nd to 23rd December 2011.

So, come on! Let’s go shopping for this Christmas! Find your Christmas gifts in this striking local market taking place in the “Cortile del Maglio” and Piazza Borgo Dora.

Over 140 exhibitors coming from all Italian regions and abroad,

St Mary of Health Day is celebrated every year on 21st November, in honor of Madonna of Health, to which the Basilica placed on Canal Grande is dedicated. It is a catholic event celebrated by Venetians and consists in a votive pilgrimage to the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute (Basilica of St Mary of Health), which was built in late 17th century for celebrating the end of a terrible period of pestilence.

In 1630 Venice experienced an unusually devastating outbreak of plague. As a votive offering for the city’s

Once again, one of the most beautiful cities in the world gets ready for 28th edition of its marathon, which will take place on 27th November with an itinerary of 42,195 km.

In years, such a great Florence event has become more and more important and popular in Italy and the world, so much that it became the 2nd greatest marathon in Italy and last year it reached a new record of registered participants: 10,200 runners coming from 62 different countries.

Florence Marathon is one of the main road events in Tuscany and one of the first 20 marathons in the world for participants and quality.

The Firenze Marathon Expo comes back this year also: an important benchmark for athletes, audience and firms, where the competition packs and the numbers for taking part in the marathon will be assigned. Here it will be also possible to taste delicious Tuscan products and find vouchers of many agreed restaurants offering a special price, as well as many other activities.

Last but not least, the new itinerary of this edition! This year the start won’t take place in Piazzale Michelangelo as in last editions, but in Lungarno Pecori Giraldi, for making the marathon even more technique and exciting. This modification will give benefits to the athletes, by avoiding the height difference and creating a marathon taking place in plain only.

After the start, the athletes will go toward the beautiful green Cascine park, before crossing the historical centre and going towards the arrival in Santa Croce Square. Start and arrival will be very close, near to the most important monuments and artworks of Florence.

After the marathon, there will be as usual the “Marathon Party”, a party open to all the athletes and their friends. An excellent dinner with Tuscan products and typical Florence dishes, much music, shows and dance.

Children also have the chance to enjoy and run in the city streets! There will be once again the Ginky Family Run: the non-competitive run for the families, 2,5 km long with start and arrival in Piazza Santa Croce. The itinerary will be the following: via Magliabecchi, Corso dei Tintori, via dei Neri, via della Ninna, Piazza Signoria, via Vacchereccia, via Por Santa Maria, Lungarno degli Archibugieri, Piazza del Pesce, Lungarno de’ Medici, Piazza dei Giudici, Lungarno Diaz, Lungarno alle Grazie, Piazza Cavalleggeri, and finally come back in Piazza Santa Croce.

For having more detailed information about Florence, click on this online travel guide to Florence.

Halloween night is coming!

Get ready for the most frightful night in the year in the best way. Many Italian cities are planning to give parties and masked balls for 31st October to remind macabre atmospheres of ghosts wandering on earth.

This typically American party has become popular in Italy in the last years, with a bigger success every year. Don’t lose the chance to spend this night at best. There are lots of opportunities to spend a mysterious and frightful night both for adults and children, let’s see some!

Milan gets ready for the “witches’ night”

From 28th October to 1st November 2011, the Lucca Comics & Games 2011 will be held in the Tuscan city of Lucca, the international fair of comics.

This year the edition will welcome guests like David Llyoid, Manuele Fior, Davide Reviati and the Japanese Jiro Taniguchi.

Scott Farrar wil be the special guest of this edition, one of the greatest artist and special effects maker (in his career he took part in 40 Holliwood films,