RAVELLO FESTIVAL

Ravello – June 26th - September 27th 2009
www.ravellofestival.com

The aim of the Ravello Festival is to generate a special atmosphere which caresses the spirit. The ingredients it can count on are the serene landscape on all sides, the balmy climate, the highly evocative monuments and the courtesy. The Ravello Festival seeks to enable a style of life based on introspection, creative idleness, ethics and aesthetics. The 2009 edition has a rich array of opportunities, and the thread that links these opportunities together, showing them off but without any sense of constriction, is the topic of Courage, this year’s Wagnerian Leitmotiv.

PUCCINI FESTIVAL

Torre del Lago – June 15th / August 16th, 2009
www.puccinifestival.it

Torre del Lago, home of the Puccini Festival, lies between the Lake of Massaciuccoli and the Tyrrhenian Sea, 11 miles from Lucca and Pisa. The Festival welcomes thousands spectators every year to its open-air theatre, near the Villa Mausoleum where Giacomo Puccini lived and worked. Torre del Lago is a favourite destination of opera lovers and tourists who wish to visit the places where the most beloved composer of the 20th century lived. The Puccini Festival was born in 1930 following Puccini’s wishes. The author of La Bohème and Madama Butterfly, expressed his wish to see his creatures come to life in the extraordinary natural stage offered by the Massaciuccoli Lake.

VERDI FESTIVAL

Teatro Regio di Parma –October 1/29 2009
www.teatroregioparma.org

Around 10th October, the Maestro’s birthday, when the city and its surroundings, steeped in the autumnal colours and scents of the Verdi homeland deeply touch our collective imagination, this is the moment when the Festival comes to life: the days vibrate with music, opera guides comparing singers from the present and the glorious past, conferences, readings from the masterpieces of literature which inspired the opera libretti, exhibitions, shows, a range of productions for every level of musical expertise, theatre, dance and avant-garde visual arts. The Festival is set in theatres, opera-houses and the most picturesque locations in Parma and the land of Verdi.

ART EXHIBITIONS & EVENTS

RAFFAELLO & URBINO

Urbino - Palazzo Ducale - April 4th- July 12th 2009
www.raffaelloeurbino.it

The exhibition, that will be taking place from the 4th of April to the 12th of July in the Trono room and in the apartment of the Duchess of the Ducale Palace, house of the National Gallery of the Marche, aims to bring to light the formative years of Raffaello and the great expressive culture found in the Urbinese court and above all the influence of his father in his education. There will be some of Raffaello’s greatest works on display, 20 paintings and 19 original drawings.

JULIUS CEASAR, THE MAN, THE CONQUESTS, THE MYTH

Chiostro del Bramante
Until 3 may 09
www.chiostrodelbramante.it

For the first time ever, in the suggestive surroundings of the Chiostro del Bramante, this show is wholly dedicated to the image of the first absolute protagonist of ancient Rome. Julius Caesar (around 100-44 b.c.), was the first “dictator”, the undisputed artisan of the greatness of the future Roman Empire. Historical accounts are abundant with information, from the time he appeared on the political stage of Urbe and to later, as the fearless commander of the Roman army, with which he enjoyed sensational victories and new territorial annexations greatly expanding Roman control of the Mediterranean area.

TURIN BIENNALE - “DEMOCRACY”
Turin – April 22nd / 26th, 2009
www.italia150.it
An international cultural event in its first edition, the Biennale offers reflections about democracy through lectures, discussions and readings in an effort to allow an open debate between the scientific community and the community at large, in an open-workshop for citizens and schools. This event is the first of many planned to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Italy’s Unification in 2011.

MIKE KELLEY – EDUCATIONAL COMPLEX ONWARDS, 1995-2008
Museion- Bolzano – Until April 19
www.museion.it

The exhibition is the most important anthology of Mike Kelley ever realized in Europe since 1997 and the first ever for Italy. Educational Complex is the main installation of this exhibition.

GIORGIO MORANDI
Mambo – Bologna – Until April 12
www.mambo-bologna.org

Retrospective dedicated to one of the great Italian painters of the twentieth century, considered one of the greatest engravers of the century.

CALDER
Palazzo delle Esposizioni – Roma, until May 10
www.palazzoesposizioni.it

Comprehensive review of the work of Alexander Calder. More than one hundred works from important public collections and partly from the Calder Foundation, from the famous "Mobile" to "wire sculpture" and beyond. Also shown are paintings on canvas and paper.

GIOTTO
Complesso del Vittoriano – Roma, Until June 28
www.turismoroma.it

Symbol of Medieval art in the West, Giotto was also famous among his contemporaries. The formal innovations he introduced in the artistic field determined a marked change of direction from the figurative tradition of Italian Byzantine art typical of the thirteenth century. The exhibition aims to achieve an analytical reconstruction of the situation of Italian art between the last quarter of XIII century and the first half of XIV following Giotto in his travels around Italy and analyzing his innovative artistic solutions.

HIROSHIGE
Roma, Museo del Corso - March 9/ May 31
www.museodelcorso.it

In the period between 1750 and 1850 there was the culmination of Ukiyo-e art. The prodigious genius of Hokusai is expressed in 30,000 innovative prints leaving a mark indelible in Japanese Art. Hiroshige, although not as innovative Hokusai, managed to transmit in a direct way all the sensations induced by the Japanese landscape.

ALBERTO BURRI
Perugia, Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria - April 4/ July 26
www.gallerianazionaleumbria.it

The paintings of Alberto Burri were produced over a period of about 50 years. His initial period as a figurative painter was very short and ended in 1947 when he began experimenting painting on sacks, pieces of wood and iron and ultimately plastic, always with a great sense for space and colour.

OTHER EVENTS

FAI SPRING DAYS
All Italian Regions participate in this event – March 28th-29th, 2009
www.fondoambiente.it
Buildings, churches, public gardens usually closed to the public will exceptionally open their doors to reveal their world of secrets and marvels.

MARATHON OF ROME
March 22
www.maratonadiroma.it
Since the early years of the twentieth century the roads and squares of the Eternal City have seen some of the really mythical moments of the whole history of racing on foot. It is an event that unites spirit and passion with alternative routes for non-professionals.

CENTENARY OF GIRO D’ITALIA 2009
May 9/31
www.gazzetta.it
The Giro d'Italia, which celebrates its first hundred years, dates back to May 13 1909. Lance Armstrong is the undisputed star of the international Tour. The 37 year old Texan champion and cancer survivor has won the Tour de France 7 times in succession and will compete in his first Giro d'Italia race.

MILLE MIGLIA
May 9/10
www.1000miglia.eu
The most beautiful vintage cars in the world chosen to participate in the race each year are selected under rigorous guidelines. The new edition presented by ATI foresees events like “la Notte Bianca” (“the White Night") with the involvement of at least 300 artists, and "World Mosaic", an event closely linked to the "Mille Miglia Community." The 2009 edition plans a departure from Brescia, journeying through Ferrara, Urbino, San Marino, Rome with a stopover at Castel Sant'Angelo.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL
Roma –May 27
www.uefa.com
The Finals of the UEFA Champions League will take place in Rome on 27 May at the Stadio Olimpico. The new logo chosen by UEFA combines the actual trophy with a “laurel wreath” crown, symbol of victory in ancient Rome. Tickets will be on sale in February, while the event will see a participation of a TV audience composed of more than 150 million spectators from over 230 nations.

EASTER CELEBRATIONS

THE EXPLOSION OF THE CART
Florence - Easter Sunday – 12 April
Tradition says that during the first Crusade of 1096 the Florentine knight Pazzo de 'Pazzi was the first man who planted the banner of the Cross on battlements of Jerusalem and as a gift he received some fragments of the Holy Sepulchre. Upon his return to Florence the stones were used to start the Sacred Fire of Holy Saturday, and were paraded through the city as homage to it in a richly decorated chariot. Nowadays, on Easter Sunday a large wagon is pulled by white oxen in a procession in the streets of the centre of Florence to the front of the cathedral.


LA SEMANA SANTA IN ALGHERO (SARDINIA)
Alghero – Easter Week - 7 / April 12
Alghero celebrates Holy Week according to the rites of an ancient Spanish tradition dating back to 1501. The celebrations will open on Tuesday with the "Dimas Sant 'with the procession of Sorrowful Mysteries, on Thursday "Dijous Sant" the Via Crucis is held, on Friday "Divendres Sant" there is the rite of “desclavamant ", the taking down of the body of Christ from the cross and the deposition. The “Dissabte Sant “, Saturday is the holy day of the vigil until Easter Sunday, when the Risen Christ will meet the Virgin among doves and fireworks.

"SACRED REPRESENTATION OF GOOD FRIDAY"
Valmontone - Rome
The procession on Good Friday, has taken a typically theatrical role with performances drawing inspiration from medieval times. The "Sacred Representation "of Valmontone refers to this style and is over a century old. The actors recite texts based on the Holy Scriptures. The story starts from the New Testament, continues with the reconstruction of the Nativity and follows the events of Christ's life. The Via Crucis and deposition from the Cross concludes the procession.

A HOLY WEEK IN SULMONA (ABRUZZO)
Sulmona - L'Aquila - 10 April
Sulmona celebrate Good Friday with a procession that starts in the evening at the Baroque Church of Annunziata and returns late at night at the Church of the Trinity. On Easter Sunday, the procession of the Confrati (friars) takes place, starting from the medieval Church of Santa Maria della Tomba, this is to represent in different acts the meeting of the Virgin Mary with the risen Christ. A flight of doves closes the ceremony and then the Easter feast begins. From the flight of doves people can predict how good the harvest season will be for the city.

THE RITES OF PASSION IN BARILE (BASILICATA)
Barile - Potenza - April 12
In Barile, the Via Crucis is interpreted with great intensity by its actors. Along the route of the Way of the Cross there are several stages built to represent the various episodes of the Passion of Christ. Alongside the authentic re-constructions of the Gospel stories, there suddenly also appear fantasy figures related to our ancestral fears. The "Negro" representing a stranger, the "Gypsy" character a dark symbol of wealth that hides evil and danger are very important figures of popular collective atonement.

RITES AND PROCESSION OF THE SICILIAN EASTER TRADITION

Modica - Ragusa - "MARONNE vasa vasa" - 12April
The Easter morning in Modica, a spectacular procession takes place with two parades that walk along the streets of Ragusa with statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary.

Adrano-Catania - "The Devils" - 12April
On Easter Sunday in Adrano a representation called "The Devil" takes place every year. This is a folklore event were Good and Evil are represented; the Devils are led by Lucifer on one side and Paradise on the other. This representation is focused on the triumph of Good and of Light in the world.

Prizzi-Palermo - "The abballu de li diavuli" ,12 apirle
"The Abballu de daivuli" is a representation of horrendous masks of zinc dressed with red robes, the devils, which run thourgh the village on Easter Sunday trying to trap as many souls as possible until the afternoon, when after the meeting of the Virgin Mary with the Risen Christ the devils will be harnessed and carried by angels to the Virgin Mary.

Trapani - "The Procession of the Mysteries" 10 - 11 April
The Procession of the Mysteries is held in Trapani from 2pm of Good Friday and continues for almost twenty-four hours until the Saturday. It is the longest religious event in Italy and one of the oldest. This event consists of the transport of 20 groups of statues (Sacred Mysteries) representing the various stages of the Via Crucis through the city. The statues were made between the 17th and 18th century.