May 22, 2026
Cathay Pacific is boosting its flights to Italy to five for the coming winter season.
Flights that satisfy the demand for a return to air travel
The Hong Kong airline will in fact operate five flights a week to Milan Malpensa airport on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. This is an important milestone for the airline, which in the last two years has restored its network and direct connections to and from Italy, increasingly satisfying market demand for a return to travel.
Skytrax named Cathay Pacific one of the World’s Five Best Airlines
In the second quarter of 2024 the Cathay group reached 80% of the passenger flights operated before the pandemic and expects to reach 100 % by the first quarter of 2025 as new flights and destinations are progressively introduced to the network. In recent days Cathay Pacific returned to the top five airlines in the world at the latest Skytrax World Airline Awards 2024, during which the carrier was also honored as World's Best Economy Class and World's Cleanest Airline.
Comfort and pampering in all classes
Cathay Pacific’s premium in-flight experience guarantees comfort and high-quality in all classes: Business Class passengers can enjoy the comfort of their reclining - or fully reclined - seats wrapped in ultra-soft 400-thread-count Bamford bedding, and enjoy the products in Bamford's amenity kit including the moisturizers with pure, natural ingredients that deeply nourish, soothe and protect the skin during the flight. Travellers in Premium Economy are greeted by reclining seats, more legroom and a comfortable headrest, as well as a sustainable amenity kit with accessories that make the most of the long-haul flight. In Economy, travellers fly comfortably thanks to the best ergonomically designed seats.
Published in Transportation
The new Nh Collection Genova Marina has just completed a major restyling.
Inspired by the colours of the sea
The welcoming and refined design in shades of blue and pastel colours, inspired by the colours of the sea of the city that hosts it, was chosen to evoke the panorama of Genoa's Old Port, redeveloped by Renzo Piano, and overlooked by the hotel. The four-storey building, with slate roofs and the washed-out reddish plaster typical of Ligurian architecture, floats on the water and is supported on special stilts for a hundred metres, overlooking the picturesque Gulf of Genoa.
The 140 rooms have a maritime feel
The restyling involved the 140 rooms and was inspired by the city’s nautical style and maritime atmosphere, with walls and bedheads in both blue and light blue tones, recalling the colours of Genoa’s harbour and the nuances of the sea, while the pastel pink and beige tones evoke the colour of the sunsets and the fine sand of Liguria.
The Il Gozzo restaurant has a view of Genoa’s Lanterna
All the rooms overlook the sea, and the small terraces give the hotel the typical shape of a cruise ship where, at the stern, there is the main entrance. At the bow there is the Il Gozzo restaurant, which overlooks the sea with a panoramic view of the Lanterna which is the symbol of the city and has been indicating the route to sailors since 1543.
Published in Hospitality
Orvieto is an ancient Etruscan hill city, perched on top of a volcanic massif, and with many strange and wonderful stories to tell.
A “high and strange” city, said one Medieval traveller
The first view one has of Orvieto is from afar when it appears in the distance, proudly standing on top of its tuff volcanic-rock hill, dominating a vast plain, a city both “high and strange” as described by one medieval traveller. Just 90 minutes north of Rome and roughly the same distance south of Florence, it is easily accessible by car on the AI north-south highway. Visitors can park in one of the well-organized underground car parks and then take one of the elevators or escalators that lead up to the centre, finding themselves right inside the old city.
A city with fascinating churches and art works
The Cathedral has splendid 14th-century mosaics on its handsome façade, and is rich in works of art, but its pièce de resistance is the Chapel of San Brizio with the frescoed Universal Judgement by Luca Signorelli (1499-1504) which is one of the great masterpieces of Italian painting. Churches like San Francesco, San Domenico, Sant’Andrea, San Giovenale and San Lorenzo de Arari also have interesting paintings and sculptures. 
A famous well, handsome palaces and cobblestone streets
On a lower level the famous St. Patrick’s Well can be visited right to the bottom by taking two flights of stairs that descend some 60 metres underground. Designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger in 1527, the stairs ingeniously wind around one another, one serving to go down and the other to come back up. From the nearby Albornoz Fortress (1364), now a public garden, there are wonderful views across the plain and the hills surrounding the city. The medieval Torre del Moro is open to visitors and has 360° vistas of the city and its surrounds. The 13th-century Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo is now a conference centre, and the old medieval town has narrow cobblestone streets and jutting tall spurs of tuff rock interrupted by large and small squares from which there are panoramic views. 
Underground Orvieto is a fascinating experience
Orvieto was originally an Etruscan settlement known as Oinarea (meaning the place where wine flows), and visitors should try the excellent local wines, as well as visiting the Claudio Faina National Archaelogical Museum. Underground Orvieto dates back 2,500 years. The townspeople captured water by constructing cisterns, wells and caves that form a complex network, a kind of underground city that was discovered by chance in the 1970s. The underground guided tours are exciting journeys back in time that bring visitors through winding tunnels, caves and stairways, with Etruscan cisterns, an ancient oil mill, wells and silos that tell of Orvieto's Etruscan, Medieval and Renaissance roots. For information: https://liveorvieto.com
Published in Cities & Regions
Dakar is ITA Airways' second destination in sub-Saharan Africa with new flights from Rome Fiumicino to the Senegalese capital.
A new strategic route for leisure and business traffic
Tommaso Fumelli, vice president Italy sales ITA Airways who was present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Fiumicino's Leonardo da Vinci airport, said "the opening of a strategic route such as the Italy-Senegal is extremely important for our company." Federico Scriboni, aviation business development director of Aeroporti di Roma added that the new flight will contribute to increasing economic exchange between the two countries "by favoring the growth of traffic in the tourism, corporate and ethnic segments, the latter supported by the conspicuous presence of the Senegalese community in Italy."
“We will reap the maximum potential in terms of trade and tourism”
Dakar Ngor Ndiaye, Senegal's Ambassador to Italy, also present at the ceremony said: "Senegal and Italy have exemplary relations in the diplomatic, economic, cultural and scientific fields, relations that, I am convinced, will develop further with these direct flights. Thanks to ITA Airways, we will reap the maximum potential in terms of trade and tourism."
senegalese ambassador
Four weekly Airbus A321neo flights
Operating four frequencies per week, the flights to Dakar will be operated with new generation and technologically advanced Airbus A321neo. The A321neo is the largest aircraft in Airbus's A320neo family and offers outstanding range and performance.
Published in Transportation
Cathay Pacific is boosting its flights to Italy to five for the coming winter season.
Flights that satisfy the demand for a return to air travel
The Hong Kong airline will in fact operate five flights a week to Milan Malpensa airport on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. This is an important milestone for the airline, which in the last two years has restored its network and direct connections to and from Italy, increasingly satisfying market demand for a return to travel.
Skytrax named Cathay Pacific one of the World’s Five Best Airlines
In the second quarter of 2024 the Cathay group reached 80% of the passenger flights operated before the pandemic and expects to reach 100 % by the first quarter of 2025 as new flights and destinations are progressively introduced to the network. In recent days Cathay Pacific returned to the top five airlines in the world at the latest Skytrax World Airline Awards 2024, during which the carrier was also honored as World's Best Economy Class and World's Cleanest Airline.
Comfort and pampering in all classes
Cathay Pacific’s premium in-flight experience guarantees comfort and high-quality in all classes: Business Class passengers can enjoy the comfort of their reclining - or fully reclined - seats wrapped in ultra-soft 400-thread-count Bamford bedding, and enjoy the products in Bamford's amenity kit including the moisturizers with pure, natural ingredients that deeply nourish, soothe and protect the skin during the flight. Travellers in Premium Economy are greeted by reclining seats, more legroom and a comfortable headrest, as well as a sustainable amenity kit with accessories that make the most of the long-haul flight. In Economy, travellers fly comfortably thanks to the best ergonomically designed seats.
Published in Transportation
Cesena, an art city in Emilia Romagna just 15 kilometres from the Adriatic Sea, has great food and a laidback lifestyle.
A UNESCO Memory of the World monument
Any visit to Cesena should include the magnificent Malatestiana Library, a time machine that takes us back to 1454. In 2015,for its extraordinary relevance – it was the first civic library in Europe and is the only 15th-century library that is still perfectly intact - it was added to the UNESCO Memory of the World listing.
Baroque churches and a massive fortress
Not to be missed are the Cloister of San Francesco with the Archaeological Museum and then the Palazzo del Ridotto, with the famous bronze statue of Pope Pius VI on the façade. Opposite the palace the Church of Santa Maria del Suffragio may seem plain from the outside, but it has an elaborate Baroque interior and Corrado Giaquinto's beautiful painting The Birth of the Virgin. The Rocca Malatestiana fortress is an admirable example of defensive architecture and dominates the city from the Garampo Hill and houses the Museum of the History of Agriculture, ancient prisons, and a collection of jousting weapons. The walkways and walls afford splendid views over the city, the coast and the Adriatic Sea.
The Rocca Malatestiana fortress
A charming piazza and a 1,000-year-old Abbey
From the Rocca you can descend into the Piazza del Popolo square, the heart of Cesena, with the Palazzo Comunale town hall and the Church of SS. Anna and Gioacchino. This is a typically charming Italian square with handsome residences, bars and restaurants and, in the centre, the beautiful Masini Fountain. The thousand-year-old Abbey of Santa Maria del Monte, a 10-minute walk from the centre, is famous for having one of Europe's richest collections of votive tablets, many dating back more than five centuries. The way up to the Abbey along the Via delle Scalette is an experience in itself, along an cobbled road to the top of the Spaziano Hill from which there are magnificent views.
An annual October food festival
Every year on the last weekend of October the town becomes an open-air showcase of regional gastronomic specialties with the Mostra Mercato dei prodotti alimentari tipici, exhibition of typical foods. Emilia Romagna, and other Italian regions, bring the best of their production to the food stalls and street-food outlets dotted around the city: mushrooms and truffles, wines, cheeses, cured meats, preserves, liqueurs, honey, typical sweets, chocolate and more...in short, all the ingredients for a sumptuous autumn banquet. For information: www.comune.cesena.fc.it.
Published in Food&Wine
Announced last December, Casa Monti, the debut property and third hotel of the French family-run Leitmotiv Group, has opened in Rome.
Art permeates every corner of the hotel
This five-star hotel is an 18th-century building on six floors with 26 rooms and ten suites. The close connection with art is reflected in every corner of the building, which overflows with antiques, works of art and local handicrafts that pay homage to the uniqueness of the city’s Monti district.
“Making locals feel at home”
"To create interiors Romans create complex universes, combining different creative references," explains Laura Gonzalez. "This is how I chose to create Casa Monti, giving it the typical atmosphere of a Roman home, opening it up to the artistic influences of the district to make locals also feel at home here. For a start, the lobby's frescoes in shades of green were created by artists and painters who were inspired by symbols of Rome, such as the maritime pines and flocks of swallows that dot the sky. Each floor of the building tells a unique story, and the Eternal City is undoubtedly an inexhaustible source of architectural references that have inspired my designs.”
A restaurant patio and a rooftop cocktail bar
The hotel restaurant has a patio with a fountain where guests can relax while enjoying traditional Roman cuisine. The bar invites guests into a space that stimulates creativity, with natural tones ranging from brown to cream, and a grid-pattern Travertine floor. The rooftop has a cocktail bar with an unprecedented view of Rome.
The spa has views over Rome
Located on the fifth floor with a view as far as the eye can see over Rome’s rooftops, Casa Monti's spa embodies the atmosphere of the ancient Roman baths. Surrounded by frescoes and surprisingly bright, the wellness area offers treatments by Susanne Kaufmann, an Austrian pioneer of natural beauty.
Published in Hospitality
Sina Hotels’ Villa Medici in Florence and Unicorn Mobility have partnered to provide e-bikes for hotel guests.
A courtesy for guests staying at Sina’s Florence property
The new partnership between the Sina Hotel Group, led by Bernabò Bocca, and Unicorn Mobility, the Italian-Dutch start-up specialized in sustainable mobility, has been launched with a supply of e-bikes to the Sina Villa Medici Autograph Collection in Florence. The bicycles, equipped with batteries with a range of over 70 kilometres, helmet, GPS and integrated alarm, will be offered as a courtesy service to all guests staying at the hotel. Thanks to the app developed by Unicorn Mobility, the vehicles will allow users to use and control them according to their needs.
“Enjoying the beauty of the city from new perspectives”
"As a hotel manager, but even more as a citizen and great lover of Florence, I am extremely proud of the partnership with Unicorn Mobility, which is synonymous with elegance and sustainability," says Fernando Pane, general manager Sina Villa Medici. “There is nothing better than discovering the wonders of Florence by bicycle. And what's more, with the e-bikes at the hotel's disposal, our guests can easily reach even the less accessible but more scenic places to enjoy the beauty of the city from new perspectives."
Unicorn Mobility is proud to have the trust of Sina Hotels
"Having obtained the trust of a hotel chain of the calibre of Sina Hotels makes us very proud," adds Unicorn Mobility’s co-founder Gianluca Iorio. "We have been in Italy for less than two years and we have already sign agreements with numerous hotels.”
Published in Experiences & Tips
Ryanair certainly could not miss the appointment with the opening of the Salerno-Costa d'Amalfi airport, which thus becomes the Irish low cost company's 32nd Italian airport.
“Milan Bergamo and Turin will continue into the 2024/25 winter season”
"Ryanair's new routes from London Stansted, Milan Bergamo and Turin to Salerno starting in August will lead to a significant growth in traffic and tourism,- said Ryanair's chief commercial officer, Jason McGuinness. -We have worked closely with GESAC's management and, confirming our commitment to Salerno and the entire Campania region, we are delighted to announce that the two domestic routes - Milan Bergamo and Turin - will continue into the 2024/25 winter season, offering more connectivity all year round, more tourism and more jobs.”
“An unjustifiable 30% increase in the municipal surtax”
The growth on Salerno - a privileged gateway to Sorrento and the resorts of the Amalfi Coast - however, points out the CCO, “is in stark contrast with the situation in Naples, where we have been forced to reduce connectivity due to the unjustifiable 30% increase in the municipal surtax on tourism. We once again ask Mayor Manfredi to urgently abolish this unjustifiable increase, as was done in Venice, to preserve connectivity, tourism and jobs in view of the winter season."
“Flights to Bergamo, Turin and London”
"Thanks to Ryanair, the Salerno-Costa d'Amalfi airport consolidates its offer of flights both on the domestic segment, with Bergamo and Turin all year round, and on the international segment, with the boosting of connections with London,- said GESAC's managing director Roberto Barbieri. -This partnership is the result of intense teamwork aimed at satisfying the mobility needs of citizens and the many tourists wishing to visit our region, who can finally count on a second airport, with a stable flight offer that is destined to grow.”
Ryanair, easyJet and Volotea operate on the new airport
Following the lengthening of the runway, which allowed GESAC to sign agreements with the three main low-cost airlines on the domestic market, work continues with the second phase of the Development Plan. Among other investments this involves the further lengthening of the runway up to 2,200 metres and the construction, in 2026, of a new passenger terminal which will reflect the highest environmental standard. Ryanair thus joins easyJet and Volotea which in recent months have announced their entry into Salerno airport. EasyJet connects the airport with London, Gatwick.
Published in Transportation
23 international travel advisors joined an Italiabsolutely fam trip to Messina and Reggio Calabria.
Meetings, networking and local experiences
ItaliAbsolutely brought 20 international Italy travel specialist buyers to Messina and Reggio Calabria on a fam trip, organized by Travel Open Day, on the occasion of the Meet Tourism Messina programme of meetings and networking. The business sessions were followed by visits to the main attractions in the two southern Italian cities, and local experiences including a swordfishing boat excursion, a visit to the famous Riace bronze statues and wine and food tastings.
The occasion was “Meet Tourism towards the Mediterranean”
The 6-day fam trip kicked off at the Palazzo della Cultura in Messina with the plenary opening of “Meet Tourism towards the Mediterranean,” the city’s first experiential meeting which was attended by the mayor of Messina Federico Basile, the councilor for tourism Enzo Caruso, the councilor for productive activities Massimo Finocchiaro and the president of the Strait Port Authority, Mario Paolo Mega. The event continued with B2B sessions that brought together local inbound operators and the 20 international buyers from Slovenia, Poland, Portuga, Lithuania, Spain, Romania, Russia, Hungary, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Brazil, and the United States.
“Messina’s cuisine is the best in Italy”
The participants spent a morning on a “felucca” fishing boat to see firsthand the local swordfishing traditions and also visited the Ganzirri Lakes and the Fort Cavalli belvedere as well as visiting the Messina Brewery. For many of the buyers it was the first time in the south of Italy but Romanian journalist Dana Enache of “Viva!” magazine said it was her fifth time in Sicily. “But it’s my first time to Messina. It’s a wonderful city and much more relaxed than Italy’s big cities.” Svetlana Trushnikova of Palomino Tour Travel said people often tell her there is not much to see in Messina, but that she found it full of interest. “Being able to use the airports of Reggio Calabria and Catania is an absolutely exploitable convenience, and for me Messina’s cuisine is the best in Italy.”
Reggio Calabria also hosted the buyers
In Reggio Calabria, just across the Strait of Messina on mainland Italy, the participants visited the Museum of Reggio Calabria to admire the famous Riace bronze statues and spent two days discovering the city’s attractions as well as towns like Gerace, Bova and Scylla which is one of the area’s most popular coastal resort towns. The final day in Reggio Calabria was dedicated to business with a round table to present the companies attending followed by B2B appointments between local DMCs, DMOs, suppliers and the buyers. 
Calabria is a region for all seasons
Be our guest to our Fam Trips!“We had a very positive reaction from the buyers, - said Reggio Calabria’s mayor Giuseppe Falcomatà. – Our region has experiential potential. At certain times of year you can ski on the Aspromonte in the morning, have a swim on the Costa Viola in the afternoon, visit the Riace bronzes in the evening and end the day with an ice cream on the sea promenades of Catona or Pellaro. Reggio is delightful, engaging, and captivating."
Published in MICE & Events
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