On the 7th of  December, even the frenetic Milan stops every year to celebrate its patron saint: Saint Ambrose, who was its bishop in Medioeval times.

This is a real “holy” event, not only for its religious nature, but especially because the citizens of Milan are really envolved in it! In particular they woudn’t miss for any reason the “Oh Bej Oh Bej” fair, which traditionally takes place exactly in the period of the patron saint’s celebrations, and this year from 5th to 8th of December.

This is one of the most ancient events in Milan. The legend tells that its strange name “Oh Bej Oh Bej” comes from children’s astonished exclamations (the expression, in fact, means something like “Oh how great, how great!”), amazed by the wonderful presents given to the city by the Pope Pio IV in 1510 . The fair is still the reign of surprises for children and for adults as well, thanks to more than 400 stalls full of every kind of objects and to an overwhelming atmosphere of feast.

Traditionally, here people buy Christmas decorations, eat hot chestnuts and drink “vin brulè” (hot spiced wine), perfect against the ice-cold of Milan.

In the past, the fair was settled in the sorroundings of the medioeval Basilica of Saint Ambrose, one of the most ancient churches in Milan, which was erected in 379.
Some years ago the location of the event was changed, because of the overcrowding of the alleys near to the church, which was dangerous for visitors. Now it takes place inside

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:

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.

For the first time, the work of Edward Hopper (1882-1967), one of the most appreciated and successfull American artists of the 19th century, is  on view in Italy!
From 14th October 2009 to 31st January 2010, the Royal Palace in Milan dedicates a very interesting exhibition to him: 160 works on display, from his best-known paintings (such as Pennsylvania Coal Town, A Woman in the Sun e Second Story Sunlight – chosen for the official poster), to never exhibited ones, as Girlie Show.

Special attention is also dedicated to his preparatory drawings, each one shown near the corresponding final painting; a strategy for catching audience’s attention on artist’s way of working, in which preliminary sketches were a key stage. Visitors will also have the opportunity to marvel at one of his ledgers, also known as Artist’s ledger Books,

Technological evolution of Italian companies starts once again from Smau, in Milan.

 

From 21^st to 23^rd October 2009, at FieraMilanocity – pavilions 3 and 4, the “Salone Macchine Automazione Ufficio” (“Office Automation Trade Fair”) will take place, the most important national event dedicated to the development of Information and Communication Technologies and their applications in everyday business.

 

This important trade fair provides the opportunity to bring together and compare the newest proposals presented by the ICT companies and

Comics and its fans will be the protagonists of the Autumnal season in Lucca and Milan, with two important events dedicated to the world of comics.

 

In fact, from October 29^th to November 1^st, inside the walls and in the picturesque squares of the stunning city of the Versilia area, the internationally renowned Lucca Comics & Games starts again. For more than 40 years, such an appointment gathers fans and people involved in the work (last year the presences were 130,000), attracted by the exhibition market and most of all by the several collateral events and projects.

 

So much that this year the organizers decided to give it the official name of “International Festival of Comics, Games and Illustrations” and to celebrate such a transformation with the title “The Evolution of the Species”.

 

Actually, the event’s programme schedules several initiatives, as well as the festival dates and locations are noticeably increasing. On October 17^th, the real exhibition will start in the historical location of the Doge’s Palace.

 

The historical centre, with many new stages, also this year will be the events’ fulcrum. Here you will find the Self Area, dedicated to the self-made comics, a space in the interests of free creativity and invention. The Music & Comics will draw the attention of visitors with all-involving happenings, with a competition in partnership with Mediaset (where winners will produce the theme song of a television cartoon), and most of all with the crucial moment of the Festival, Cosplay, where the fans take part to a funny parade in their favorite comics heroes’ clothing and walk the runaway on Music & Comics’ stage.

 

In addition, the Japan Area , conceived in order to host the more and more beloved Nippon comics, which this year has been turned into the Japan Palace (in the halls of the Real Collegio), where the culture of the Far East will be celebrated with Japanese language courses, courses of writing and traditional handicraft, and with many exhibitions according to the subject.

 

And also international guests, street writing, a pavilion dedicated to the kids television and another one dedicated to the games and their increasingly global diffusion, from the tables of the fans to the movies and videogames from all over the world.

 

So…It’s impossible to get bored here!

 

But in the case it is not enough for you, on November 14^th and 15^th you will have the chance to go to Milan for the special event called Fumettopoli, the other fantastic international exhibition market which takes place many times a year and that this year is at its 33^rd edition.

 

Here the location is more limited but the programme is as much rich. In the halls of the Ata Hotel Executive (in front of the Garibaldi station) many brand new and historical comics will be shared and sold, but also records, cds, dvds, household and gift items and various other things.

 

For comics’ lovers or just for all curious people, this will be an Autumn rich of appointments!

 

For further information about this and other events in Lucca and Milan, please visit our websites http://www.aboutversilia.com/ and http://www.aboutmilan.com/

No plans for the weekend?

Well, if your answer is “no”, then we’ll suggest you something unique to do.

This weekend in fact, on Saturday 26^th and Sunday 27^th September 2009, there will be a fully cultural event: as usual, also this year all the European countries will celebrate the European Heritage Days, which were conceived in 1991 by the European Council in order to encourage and promote the cultural dialogue and exchange between European countries.

As every year, MiBAC participates in the event with the slogan “Italy, the treasure of Europe” and organizes throughout Italy several initiatives intended to increase the value of Italian culture and heritage, with the aim to share all this great richness with other European countries.

In fact, throughout the country, many events and activities will take place in order to increase the national heritage value: over 1000 sites will be open to the public with free entrance, extraordinary openings, art exhibitions, concerts, shows and

From September 11^th to 20^th 2009, Milano Film Festival comes back in the cosmopolitan city of Milan with its 14^th edition.

This acclaimed event was born in 1996 as a short film festival-competition for the young Milanese filmakers only, giving in this way the chance to put under the spotlight marginal works; however, in 2000 it set up the first international feature film competition.

This year, the 14^th edition presents a calendar rich of events, and it schedules the opening of two different international competition:

Forma, the International Center for Photography in Milan, will host until 6^th September a very original exhibition entitled “Nippon Kōbō”, which means “Japanese Laboratory”.

In other words, we are dealing with a homage to the Japanese world and to its particular photographic art.

The exhibition’s aim is to show the evolution of the Japanese photography by highlighting the variety of themes, the wide range of languages and most of all one of the most characteristic features of the Japanese culture: the relationship with the surrounding environment poised between ecstatic contemplation and irretrievable pain.

On this occasion, the notable Milan’s center for photography has selected 130

Until September 15^th, Milan‘s Royal Palace of art and culture placed in Piazza Duomo, will host for the first time in Italy, the unique art exhibition “Chase Art Collection”.

We are talking about an American art collection, which gathers works created by renowned artists, such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons and many others.

A unique collection, which was born in 1959 from an idea of