The next Italian week-end will be entirely dedicated to art and culture. Yes, because on 29^th and 30^th September Italy will take part to the European Heritage Days, this year with the name “Le grandi strade della cultura: un valore per l’Europa” (“The wide roads of culture: a treasure for all Europe”).

Therefore, to make Italians and tourists happy, during this week-end all the art places, as museums, archaeological sites, and art galleries will open their doors to the public, with free entrance. People will also have the chance to enjoy the organization of many exhibitions, concerts, conferences and guided artistic itineraries.

European Heritage Days are a perfect and unique opportunity to know and explore with no limits all the treasures of our country, discovering historical and artistic details, which make the Italian artistic heritage one of the richest in the world. For two special days, Italians and tourists from every corner of the world will have the opportunity to visit thousands of art places and to see artworks which for the first time will be admired by the public.

In this edition of European heritage Days, special attention will be given to ancient churches and buildings of our country, which are the most important proof of 20^th century’s Italian art history, and which have been remained in the shadow for too much time.

In fact,

The autumn in Milan is divided into two parts, between a ‘goodbye’ and a ‘welcome’ to two of the most important events in our country: the ‘Milano Film Festival’ and ‘Comiconvention’.

Yes, because on the 21st September the ‘Milano Film Festival‘ will come to end, one of the most important cinematic events in Italy. The Festival, which every year gathers together hundreds of cinematography fans and experts in the wonderful Milan, is famous most of all for the great involvement of many movie directors, authors and works from numerous countries in the world.The manifestation is made up of several sections, each one dedicated to an important piece of the cinema world. There’s the ‘Concorso Lungometraggi’ (‘Full-lenght Movies Competition’), which presents 10 movies from 9 different countries, all works of young authors; the ‘Concorso Cortometraggi’ (‘Short-Movies Competition’) with 48 short movies from 23 countries; and in addition, there’s “Retrospettiva” (“Retrospective”), which is certainly one of the most charming appointments of Milano Film Festival. This year it’s entitled “The Imaginarium of Dr. Gilliam”, and shows an unmissable retrospective on Terry Gilliam’s visions. But the “Milano Film Festival” is not only cinema… the cinematic event infact will be flanked by Musica‘ (‘Music’), a series of concerts of every kind of music which are oriented towards most of all the youngest ones, making in this way the Festival a place to meet and know new friends.

So, we are talking about meetings, youth and parties… and these are just the same keywords of the other great event which will take place in Milan and will open the next Autumn season: Comiconvention!

As well as last year the legendary Novegro summer festival – Beer Festival, will take place starting from Friday 27 June to Sunday 13 July with a wonderful program: It will be possible to taste every kind of beer, to take part in beer tasting courses, concerts, cabaret shows, the awesome disco night and the entertainment for the children will be organized. Everything is happening in the new green area of the Novegro Exposition Park (Milan – Italy).

The protagonist of the festival will be the “beer“, principally the hand crafted one from a lot of European countries, with the opportunity to take part in free tasting courses organized by the Beer Tasting Association (every night ‘til 9.30 pm) and the chance of tasting beers with palatable food of any sort dedicated area, opened since 6.30 pm to 2 am.
The entertainment program is set up with the following concerts

“Disney on Ice” comes to Italy, the great show on ice which has as protagonists the most famous and beloved personages of fantasy.

This year “Disney on Ice” celebrates its 100th birthday and for the occasion it decided to involve in celebrations also the hearty Italian audience. Infact Minnie, Mickey Mouse, the Disney princesses and many other personages, arrive at “Palalottomatica” (the major sport palace in Rome) between 23 and 27 April, giving as a gift their audience a wonderful show on ice.

Adults and kids will be called to jump in the world of fairytales which for this occasion come back to life, and which, between music and dance, inscribe on ice a magic dreaming atmosphere.

The great Disney on Ice Musical is an event not to miss and it’s an occasion to persuade children in believing in fairytales, and also to persuade us that we weren’t wrong to believe it when we were children!

Before Rome, the musical will reach first the city of Milan (9 and 13 April – Palasharp), and then, Turin (16 and 20 April – Mazda Palace), therefore if you don’t want renounce to an evening of music and entertainment, and you desire to have all the information about the cities which will host the musical, visit our websites about Rome, Turin and Milan.

Don’t hesitate to go and see the musical…. you can live in a magic fairytale once only!

Until 6th April in “Palazzo Reale” of Milan an original exhibition will take place, and it’s entirely dedicated to the pictorial production of women, “L’Arte delle Donne dal Rinascimento al Surrealismo” (“Women’s Art from Renaissance to Surrealism”).

Infact this time tourists will not see artworks whose subjects are women, or rather not only…. because all exhibited pictures are painted by female painters, artists who deeply etched on Art History from Renaissance to Surrealism.

The exhibition’s aim is to highlight and to give the woman role a new value in the field of art, by proposing a scenery of the most important feminine artworks which belong to the last five centuries.

On next 6th April the most expected sport event by the runners of our country comes back: ‘Stramilano 2008‘.

‘StraMilano’ is the most famous extracity in Italy, an event which, from 1972, gives as a gift to the city of Milan an entirely day dedicated to sport, to health, to solidarity, and to entertainment.

This year StraMilano is scheduled on 6th April, and once again, it will include professional and amateurs athletes who come from all over the world. StraMilano is dedicated to everyone, with no age, sex or “speed” discrimination.

Infact, the marathon, for its participants, divides itself into three! Right, because during the day of 6th April there will be three different itineraries which will go through the city: ‘StraMilano of 50,000′, ‘StraMilano Agonistica Internazionale’ (International Agonistic Stramilano) and ‘Stramilanina’ (The little StraMilano).

‘StraMilano of 50,000‘ is the no-competion run which took place along

“Milano dell’acqua” (“Milan & Waters”) is the name of a particular and suggestive event which takes place in these days in Milan and is born to value and appreciate the landscape and the history around the city of Milan, sometimes unknown by its own inhabitants.

The event has started on 14th February and is divided into a list of appointments which will give foreigners and people from Milan the opportunity to discover the territorial waters of the city through an unusual and suggestive itinerary, from the city Aquarium, to the Navigli and covered water channels of the city.

There will be 20 appointments which will lead all the participants in the historic, artistic and cultural reconstruction of the hidden part of Milan, certainly the most beautiful and interesting one.

Among many cultural projects, there are also lots of events for kids, and for all the participants there’s a brochure of the route full of images of the most beautiful water places.

“Milano dell’acqua” is part of the project “Cento Milano” (“One Hundred Milan”) and, as expected, it represents the fourth event, which will be followed in May by

“Italy is a country where inefficiency in the field of study is largely widespread, and most of all, too much expensive”

This is the general idea which Erasmus students have about Italian system. Infact, according to a survey made by “Studenti Magazine” (“Students Magazine”) and by the association “Erasmus Student network Italia”, tested on about 1500 guys who come from 28 different countries and who chose to study in about 27 Italian cities, these students are deeply disappointed by Italian welcome.

As the students sustain, the “Belpaese” disappoints all their expectations.

Therefore, we are talking about high cost of living, accomodations in ruin, and about a Italy which speak just a little bit of “bad English”… but

The “Leonardo da Vinci Italian School” for next Christmas has decided to dedicate to its students a “Special Christmas Course”.
This is particular course because it gives them not only the possibility of learning to speak Italian, but also to live a typical Italian Christmas, by coming in contact with the most popular Italian traditions during Christmas time.

In Italy Christmas time goes from the 8th of December to the 6th of Genuary, and it is characterized by many strange and particular traditions which make this feast unique.

In this period, in fact, all the Italian people decorate their houses in a special way: they are dedicated to the preparation of the typical Presepe Napoletano’s but especially they spend a lot of time by preparing

The city of Milan welcomes its annual appointment with Comiconvention, famous comics Fair which celebrates this year its XVIII° edition.

On 29th and 30th of September the comics’ protagonists will appear inside the Quark Centro Congressi.

Started in 1990, Comiconvention celebrates this year its 18th birthday.
It represents one of the most expected events for comics fans and collectors, who every year rush here to admire and take rare and unique pieces.