Marriott's Ac Hotels brand makes its debut in the Eternal City with the new Clodio Roma. 

A renovated building close to many of Rome’s attractions

The hotel is in a completely renovated mid-20th century building in the Prati district, close to Rome’s Olympic stadium and in proximity to some of the Eternal City’s most beautiful attractions, including St. Peter's Basilica, Castel Sant'Angelo and the Vatican Museums. The area is served by excellent public transport links to the city's main tourist attractions.

The hotel has an all-day restaurant service

The Ac Hotel Clodio Roma has 103 rooms and suites. On the ground floor the Ac Lounge is multifunctional and has an outdoor terrace and a bar area. Open all day, it serves typical Italian and Roman cuisine. Every late afternoon, the lounge invites guests to enjoy an exclusive Italian aperitif at the bar.

There are two new additions to the summer network of rail connections operated by FS Treni Turistici Italiani: Rome-Lecce and Milan-Nice. 

Comfortable sleeping carriages and quality restaurant services

The new services to the Salento, with a night train for Lecce, and to the Côte d'Azur, with a daytime Espresso, reply to the growing demands from tourists both in and outside Italy.The Rome-Lecce is an absolute novelty. It will depart on 18 July, offering a new sustainable and quality holiday travel experience to and from Puglia. The train will stop in Caserta and then proceed, without further stops during the night, to Puglia. Here it will stop at Bari Centrale, Polignano a Mare, Monopoli, Fasano, Ostuni, Carovigno, Brindisi and Lecce. The comfort of the sleeping carriages is equal to the quality of the excellent service in the restaurant carriage. Passengers can also bring luggage and sports equipment on board, thanks to a dedicated carriage.

The Espresso Riviera runs from Milan to Nice 

FS Treni Turistici Italiani's other summer novelty is the Espresso Riviera. From 3 August to 1 September, this train departing from Milan will travel to Nice, with stops in Menton and Monaco-Principality of Monte Carlo. In Nice travellers will also be able to take advantage of French trains to continue on to Cannes and Marseille. The international service has been made possible thanks to the availability of the French company SNCF Reseau and the collaboration between FS Treni Turistici Italiani and Trenitalia France, the company of the Italian passenger hub operating in France.

“We offer high levels of comfort and privacy” 

"These new connections," says Luigi Cantamessa, managing director of FS Treni Turistici Italiani, "confirm the great versatility that distinguishes us, and they mark a further step towards an increasingly high-quality and efficient form of tourism. Ours is a different service, with high levels of comfort and privacy, thanks to the exclusive use of the carriages and with a hotellerie- on-wheels. We can cofigure the train composition according to passenger needs. Holidays begin on the train with the large windows allowing passengers to appreciate the beauty of our country and there is the added pleasure of travelling at a different railway speed.”  The two new train services join the Espresso Versilia from Milan to Livorno and the Espresso Cadore connecting Rome with Cortina. 

Cinque Terre: The Via dell’Amore path inauguration on 26 July 

The famous path is a UNESCO heritage site

This famous path will once again be practicable, in all its 900-metre sheer drop to the sea in the unique setting of the Cinque Terre National Park, in just a few days time.  The closing of the Via dell'Amore was for safety and restoration work by the Liguria region, and now its reopening is confirmed for 19 July, with the handing over of the UNESCO heritage path to the municipality of Riomaggiore.

The inaugural ceremony is planned for 26 July 

All the bodies involved, from the Ministry of Tourism, the Region of Liguria with the Cinque Terre National Park, the Province of La Spezia, the municipality of Riomaggiore to the police and the prefecture, are working together to organize, in the days immediately following the handover, most likely 26 July, the inauguration  of the path in the presence of local and national authorities.

“Work never stopped, not even during the pandemic” 

“With the definitive reopening of the Via dell'Amore we are on the verge of achieving a historic result for the whole of Liguria and for the entire country,- said acting commissioner Giacomo Giampedrone. – It has been an unprecedented commitment and we carried out this very complex intervention in about two and a half years, thanks to specialized companies that never suspended work on the path, not even during the pandemic or on public holidays. It is an extraordinary result, and we are proud to be able to give this gem back in a few weeks' time to the residents of Riomaggiore and Manarola, to the people of Liguria, and to tourists from all over the world."

Wizz Air announces ten new international routes, six from Milan Malpensa and four from Rome Fiumicino, for the upcoming 2024-25 winter season.

Wizz Air will connect Rome with over 70 destinations

The four Rome flights are from Lisbon, Poznan, Bacau and Sarajevo, with the Lisbon route operating on a daily basis, from 28 October; Poznan will take off three times a week on the same day; the Bacau route will start on 29 October and will operate four times a week, while the flights from Sarajevo will operate three times a week, also from 29 October. With these additions Wizz Air will connect Rome with over 70 destinations.

Over 10,000 extra weekly return seats for Milan

New connections from Valencia, Malaga, Warsaw, Larnaca, Rzeszów and Gdansk are already on sale for Milan Malpensa. All flights will be operated by the Airbus A320 family aircraft, and with the launch of these new connections, from September 2024 the low-cost airline will offer passengers in Milan over 10,000 extra return seats per week.

1,000,000 more return seats per year for Italian passengers

Also from next September, there will be an increase in weekly frequencies on five existing routes from Milan to Sharm El-Sheikh, Barcelona, Madrid, Suceava and Chisinau, while Gdansk will start on 1 October, with flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.  Thanks to these 10 new connections, the Hungarian low-cost airline will offer 1,000,000 more return seats per year for Italian passengers.

“Rome is the largest Wizz base in Italy”

 "This announcement once again underscores Wizz Air's long-term commitment to Italy," said József Váradi, the carrier's CEO. "Twenty years ago, on the first day of operations, one of Wizz Air's first flights landed in Milan and Rome; since then we have been constantly expanding our presence, and investing in the country. Today we have 24 aircraft at five bases in Italy, and serve over 200 routes to more than 90 destinations in 38 countries from 25 Italian airports. We continue our commitment to Rome, the largest Wizz base in Italy, and will soon open our new training centre at Fiumicino, as well as further expanding our lowcost network.”

Wizz Air  will sponsor the Wizz Air Rome Half Marathon, which will be held in the capital for the first time on 20 October.

The relaunch of the archaeological area of La Cuma in the Marche region this summer will include guided tours, events, shows, family workshops and educational activities. 

A small village with an ancient Roman site

La Cuma, in the village of Monte Rinaldo in the Marche region is a unique Roman sanctuary dating back to the 2nd-1st century B.C. about 30 kilometres from Ascoli Piceno and 25 from Fermo.  The site has just introduced new opening hours thanks to the collaboration of Maggioli Cultura e Turismo, on the initiative of the municipality of Monte Rinaldo. The Roman site can now be visited, during the months of July, August and September on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 4pm to 8pm, and also on 15 August. 

Events for all  ages and tastes this summer

To visit La Cuma, this jewel set in the heart of the Marche region, is to take a journey back in time of more than 2000 years that captivates all visitors, adults and children alike. The Maggioli Culture and Tourism project aims to bring the archaeological area to life with a summer calendar of guided tours, performances and cultural events designed for all ages and tastes, from theatre to contemporary music.

The site has an ancient temple, shrine and portico

The area takes its name from the Cuma district of the small village of Monte Rinaldo, which has just 300 inhabitants. The first remains of the sanctuary surfaced by chance in 1957 when the farmer who owned the land where the area now stands came across the first column blocks. It consists of three separate buildings, arranged on a terrace: a central temple dedicated to Jupiter, a shrine dedicated to Hercules and a monumental double-columned portico, in line with the Hellenistic architecture that was spreading throughout the Mediterranean at the time. During the excavations many votive objects were found including  statuettes, hands, feet and other objects.

“La Cuma is a cultural attraction in a regional context” 

“The extension of the opening hours and the summer events are an important sign of the role played by the La Cuma archaeological area as a cultural attraction in a regional context,” said ABAP superintendent for the provinces of Ascoli Piceno, Fermo and Macerata Giovanni Issini. The Mayor of Monte Rinaldo, Gianmario Borroni added that they also aim to give further impetus to the site, “which since 2016 has been involved in shared projects with the Superintendency, the University of Bologna and the British School in Rome.” 

A festival, stage shows and other events  

Mauro Villa, director of Maggioli Culture and Tourism said the management and cultural production model promoted by Maggioli at Monte Rinaldo will also activate a communications and promotion system in which “visitors will be protagonists, while the rich cultural programme will bring the archaeological area alive both during the day and in the evening.”  The first special events scheduled are the "Artemis Festival" on 28 July, "Cuma Under the Stars" on 2 August, and the theatrical performance "Ithaca per Sempre" to be staged on 4 August, while further events are being defined. For information and bookings: www.cumarcheologia.it

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.

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