Terme di Chianciano, a renowned thermal centre in Tuscany has launched its new spa season of relaxation and experiences. 

The highlight is the Thermal Pokè healthy plate

Nestled between the Valdichiana and the UNESCO Val d'Orcia, the spa town of Terme di Chianciano has launched an exciting new spa season. The Bistrot del Parco Acqua Santa park of Chianciano Terme welcomes the 2023 season with fresh and innovative food offerings. From delectable breakfasts crafted by the spa's chefs to customisable light lunches, guests can indulge in new and original culinary delights. The highlight is the Thermal Pokè healthy plate, from the nutritionists at the Terme di Chianciano Institute for Health. A health bowl with simple and balanced ingredients for a healthy lifestyle.

Two of the spas offer night relaxation up to 10pm

With a focus on healthy living Terme di Chianciano introduces the Naturally Fit programme of 3 or 6-day packages. This aims to improve overall well-being by encouraging better nutrition, fostering fitness, and enhancing natural beauty through the benefits of proper nutrition, healthy movement, and the renowned Acqua Santa di Chianciano. For those seeking evening relaxation the Theia Thermal Pools and Terme Sensoriali spas remain open until 10.00pm throughout the summer. And on Saturdays, guests can enjoy the Night Baths event at Theia Thermal Pools, complete with an aperitif and live music until midnight. Additionally, special evenings called Terme Sensoriali Tasting Night in collaboration with local producers are scheduled 26 for August and 23 September.

Cultural, culinary, and musical events for holistic experiences

At the Terme Sensoriali, guests can indulge in a delightful sensory journey that intertwines taste, culture, and tradition. Tasting local products offers a unique opportunity to savour authentic and genuine local regional flavours. Five curated appointments, each featuring a different local producer, will take place from 7.30pm until midnight. Throughout the summer season the park hosts a range of cultural, culinary, and musical events, making it an essential destination for those seeking a holistic and enriching experience.

From the Pilotta Complex to the Opera Museum, Parma is a treasure trove offering art and cultural itineraries and heritage venues.

A collection of 20th-century painting 

A great starting point for this enriching journey on which one can indulge in beauty and well-being, is Palazzo Pigorini, which is  hosting the The 29th Century Revealed exhibition until 16 July 2023. This collective exhibition focuses on 20th-century painting in Parma and features over 50 works by 26 artists from the municipal collections, previously stored in the Civic Museums' archives. On Piazza Garibaldi, which is a favourite rendezvous where locals to enjoy coffee and discuss current affairs, we find the the Governor's Palace. This prestigious venue hosts modern and contemporary art exhibitions, including the anthological exhibition Paolo Borghi. The Roots of Sculpture to 30 July 30 (free admission). Borghi, a renowned sculptor, represents the transition between two centuries: drawing inspiration from the classicism of the past while infusing a contemporary touch that gives his work a heroic aura.

Pilotta Complex Parma

City of culture and beauty, and birthplace of Arturo Toscanini

From 11 to 13 July Piazza Garibaldi will host Dedalo, a meeting room curated by Luca Sommi, featuring prominent figures in culture such as Erri De Luca, Francesca Fagnani, Luca Mercalli, Pier Luigi Bersani, Milena Gabanelli, and Massimo Cacciari. At the same time the deconsecrated Renaissance church of San Marcellino will be exceptionally open to the public, showcasing Claudio Parmiggiani's artwork Shipwreck with Spectator. This magnificent piece depicts a sailboat resting on a stack of books, symbolically representing the act of rescuing knowledge from a shipwreck. The Oltretorrente district proudly houses the birthplace of Arturo Toscanini, which was transformed into a museum in 1967. Within its small rooms with low ceilings, visitors can explore relics, objects, and documents from the various residences of this giant of the conductor's podium, who triumphed in major theaters around the world.

San Vigilio di Marebbe in Val Pusteria, South Tyrol, offers a unique opportunity to take a journey through time. 

A 6 August celebration of an ancient people

Echoes of Ladin folklore, extraordinary places, and the natural beauty of Val Badia valley bring to life the town of Fanes each year. Every 6 August visitors can join the Regn de Fanes parade, a captivating folkloristic event that recounts the story of the Fanes, an ancient people who once inhabited this area.

Cherished regional traditions

The entire South Tyrol community actively participates in the creation of floats and costumes, coming together to celebrate one of the oldest and most cherished traditions of the region. The story revolves around the brave Princess Dolasilla, the central figure of Ladin epic poetry. Clad in white armour and armed with magical arrows, she valiantly defeated her enemies and guided her people into a mythical golden age.

A tradition that dates back to the Iron Age

This event honours a tradition, dating back to the Iron Age, that has been passed down orally and later reimagined by Karl Felix Wolff, an Austrian journalist and anthropologist. The epic unfolds entirely on the Fanes Plateau, one of the most captivating destinations in the Dolomites. Here visitors can marvel at the breath-taking rock stratification, a natural amphitheatre where legend has it the princess would seek the wise counsel of the marmots.

A joyous and evocative journey through time

Every year tourists are welcomed to partake in this joyous and evocative journey through time, immersing themselves in the warm and hospitable atmosphere created by the Ladin community.

Wizz Air yesterday celebrated the arrival of the 11th Airbus A321neo at its Rome Fiumicino base with its first all-electric turnaround.

Four new routes from Rome this summer

This increase in capacity will see the airline introducing four new routes from Rome this summer: Luxembourg and Kuwait in July, and Memmingen and Funchal in September.  To mark the occasion at Rome’s intercontinental airport Wizz Air carried out its first 100% electric turnaround. Involving the use of electric equipment to prepare the aircraft for its next departure, the process enables a reduction in carbon emissions from the ground handling process per aircraft of 85% compared to the use of diesel-powered equipment. 

“Our fleet is the youngest and most fuel efficient in Europe”

Sustainability is at the core of the airline's business, said Yvonne Moynihan, Corporate and ESG Officer at Wizz Air.

Yvonne Moynihan, Corporate and ESG Officer at Wizz Air

“We are delighted to welcome our 11th Airbus A321neo today with an all-electric turnaround at Rome Fiumicino which is one of the largest bases in our network. We have made significant investments in our fleet which is currently the youngest and most fuel efficient in Europe. Collaboration between industries, as today's event shows, is one of the most impactful ways to address the current climate challenge, and we are delighted to be working on this together with Aeroporti di Roma and Aviation Services."

 

Fiumicino will have Europe’s largest airport photovoltaic plant

Ivan Bassato, Chief Aviation Officer Aeroporti di Roma said the arrival of the new aircraft further confirms Wizz Air's desire to continue enhancing the appeal of the Roman market.

"Besides the launch of two additional new destinations for our market, this new arrival generates important growth for the airport business. Performing ground operations in full electric mode are a further step towards sustainability, one of the fundamental pillars of ADR's strategy.  For some years now we have been on the path towards zero CO2 emissions in 2030, and by 2024 Fiumicino will have the largest airport photovoltaic plant in Europe at the side of the runways." 

 

It has been confirmed that the prestigious Mandarin Oriental group is set to open in Sardinia. But will it be the Hotel Le Ginestre?  

Rumours suggest the Statuto Group’s Hotel Le Ginestre

Francesco Cefalù, the newly appointed Chief Development Officer, recently said an official announcement will be made soon. Rumours suggest that the Mandarin Oriental’s choice will be the Hotel Le Ginestre in Porto Cervo (Sardinia), which was recently acquired by the Statuto Group, owner of the Mandarin in Milan. The Hotel Le Ginestre, currently a 4-star with 80 rooms, is expected to undergo a rebranding and repositioning to 5-star status. 

Mandarin Oriental has plans to open six properties in Italy

As well as the opening planned for Cortina in 2025, Christoph Mares, the global chief operating officer of Mandarin Oriental, said the company has set its sights on six locations in Italy in the near future. Yet more rumors suggest the Villini ,in a  beautiful park in Rome's Sallustiano district which is currently undergoing redevelopment could be one of them. 

The Group expects a rebound in demand from Asia

Cefalù also expressed optimism about the group's performance in 2023, anticipating a rebound in demand from Asia to offset the anticipated slowdown in the US market, though 2025 will be a crucial year with regard to the sustainability of prices. Cefalù believes that only projects offering true luxury and exceptional quality will thrive in the long term. 

Modica is a not-to-be-missed gem, and one of the eight little towns that make up Sicily’s Baroque Triangle. 

One of Sicily’s most beautiful Baroque towns

Modica is the setting for the successful Italian television police drama series Inspector Montalbano, based on the books of Sicilian writer Andrea Camilleri, and it is also famous for its chocolate. A forty-minute drive from the equally beautiful Baroque towns of Ragusa and Noto, Modica consists of an upper and a lower town. Standing on high ground at 300 metres asl in the Monti Iblei mountain range, it was an important trading centre in Medieval days, and today boasts fine late-Baroque architecture dating back to when it was rebuilt after the great 1693 earthquake.

Chocolate made from an Aztec recipe

The busy Corso Umberto high street in Modica Bassa, the lower town, is dotted with elegant 18th and 19th-century golden sandstone buildings, restaurants, cafés and chocolate shops.  Modica’s famous grainy chocolate is claimed by locals to originate from an Aztec recipe brought back from Mexico by the Spanish conquistadors. One must-visit is to the Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, the oldest chocolate shop in Sicily. Narrow lanes, stairs and alleyways lead up the slopes on both sides of the Corso towards the opposite hillside into the upper part of the town.   

Two cathedrals and a cave church

Modica has two grand Baroque cathedrals. The Cathedral of St. Peter is on the Corso and was destroyed by two earthquakes and finally rebuilt in the 18th-century in Baroque style.  Higher up towards the old town perches the Cathedral of St. George, the town's most eye-catching building with a grand façade rising into a curved central belltower. After the two grand cathedrals visitors should not miss the charming Carmine Church with a Gothic doorway and a rose window, and the historic cave church of St. Nicholas Inferior. This has some 12th-century frescoes and there is an area where a natural spring once flowed into a large pool that was used for baptisms. 

The house of the poet Salvatore Quasimodo

Corso Regina Margherita, the street leading to the upper town is lined with old palaces, many of them crumbling and the Castle of the Counts, with an 18th-century Clock Tower, overlooks the lower town from a rocky spur. The Civic Museum on the Corso Umberto has a collection of Greek and Roman ceramics as well as funeral artefacts from the Modica area, but the prize exhibit is a bronze statuette of Hercules in Hellenic style that probably dates back to the 3rd century B.C. Anyone interested in Italian poetry should visit the Quasimodo House, birthplace of the Italian poet Salvatore Quasimodo which is near the castle and now a museum.

For information: www.modica.it

Adler Spa Resort SICILIA, beside the sleepy coastal village of Siculiana, is just 20 kms from the famous Valley of the Temples Archaeological Park.

Junior and Family Suites with all amenities

Designed to promote a holistic sense of well-being, this modern resort, on Sicily’s lesser-visited and unspoilt southwest coast, features 90 stylish rooms each with a private terrace overlooking the Mediterranean.  The Junior Suites (55m2) are ideal for couples and feature a double bed, a bathroom with a rain shower and an extra single bed. Family Suites (75m2) can sleep up to four, and the amenities in all suites include a minibar, coffee machine and tea making set, digital TV, air conditioning and Wi-Fi. 
ADLER Spa Resort SICILIA - Ph Credits Alex Filz

A choice of swimming pools and a sheltered sandy beach

The spacious spa offers therapies and treatments aimed to relax, restore and revive. And what better way to relax than in one of the ADLER Spa Resort SICILIA’s beautiful pools? In the freshwater infinity pool, floating above the coastline, enjoy serene views of the horizon. The saltwater hydromassage pool eases away the stresses of everyday life, and the inviting Thalasso pool is a relaxing retreat set beneath the stunning Sicilian sky. The 25-metre sports pool is perfect for daily exercise and aqua yoga classes, and the AKI Kids’ Club provides exciting activities and entertainment for children aged from four. Guests can also enjoy direct, private access to a sheltered sandy beach.

ADLER Spa Resort SICILIA - Ph Credits Alex Filz

Two restaurants and visits to local wineries and producers

The cuisine at ADLER Spa Resort SICILIA is wholly led by the seasons with the Restaurant and Osteria menus highlighting the vibrant flavours of the abundant locally-sourced ingredients. With a focus on nature and food, visits to local farms, cheesemakers and olive oil producers, as well as wine tours and tastings can be arranged both at the resort and at neighbouring vineyards. 

“You don’t have to compromise on comfort to achieve sustainability”

Sustainably is at the core of the Resort and electric cars and bikes are available for transfers, allowing guests to move around the area with minimal impact. Resort Manager Sami Aglietti explains:

“At ADLER Spa Resort SICILIA, you don’t have to compromise on comfort to achieve sustainability. You can enjoy this natural Sicilian paradise safe in the knowledge that it will still be here, unchanged, the next time you return”.  

 

The Explora Journeys era begins with the delivery of Explora: a new product, the luxury holiday, on the Italian cruise market.

“On Explora the hardware is unparalleled”

Leonardo Massa, managing director MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys Italia

The Explora I has officially joined the MSC Group fleet heralding in the era of the new Explora Journeys brand.

“Explora is designed for customers who love high-end holidays and who until now probably did not consider cruises as an alternative, - says Leonardo Massa, managing director MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys Italia. -In this ship high-end travellers will find a way to connect to the values of the ocean and the sea. On Explora the hardware is unparalleled, as are the details in the services and the exclusive itineraries, which we have researched and designed, and there is a lot of quality food on board, giving added value to the experience.”  

Ready to set sail towards Northern Europe

The Explora I is now ready to set sail towards Northern Europe on her maiden cruise from the port of Copenhagen, scheduled for 1 August, on an itinerary that will go from Iceland to Greenland. In Autumn it will then move to the United States towards the East Coast for the foliage period, sailing between New York and Quebec. In the winter it will be the turn of the Caribbean, and Explora I will return to the Mediterranean in the summer of 2024.

The four Explora Journeys class ships will cost €2.3 billion

The construction of Explora I was an investment of €500 million, for an impact on the Italian economy of more than €2 billion. The overall order with Fincantieri for the four ships of the Explora Journeys class amounts to €2.3 billion, for an economic impact on the country in excess of €10 billion.

The mixed-use HTM Hybrid Tower Mestre in the town close to Venice features short-term rental apartments, temporary offices, a health centre, and a restaurant. 

From studios to three-room apartment with a restaurant

Built in 2016 the Hybrid Tower Mestre spans nine floors, housing 34 apartments ranging from studios to three-room apartments. These residential units are interspersed with offices and a health centre. The restaurant is situated on the top two levels, topped by a panoramic terrace offering views of the Venetian Lagoon and the Pre-Alps.

The hybrid tower appeals to digital nomads who bring their families

The target customers for Htm’s Hybrid Tower Mestre are primarily medium to high-end, the accommodation appealing to global tourists seeking a comfortable stay near Venice's centre but away from the hustle and bustle of the water city, and with a nearby tram providing easy access. And business clients are also attracted by the tower's proximity to the train station, airport, and ample parking. Halldis also pays special attention to the growing phenomenon of digital nomads, professionals who choose to work in a foreign country for certain periods of the year while bringing their families along to combine work, relaxation, and high-quality tourism.

“We aim to contribute to the decentralisation of tourists in Venice”

 “The city of Venice is a dream for many, and as a result, tourist flows are constantly increasing,- says Vincenzo Cella,  general manager of Halldis. - With this project we aim to contribute to the decentralisation of tourists in Venice by combining the short-term rental demand of tourists with those of business clients. Being able to choose an area where guests can stay in real apartments, while also having access to parking and a restaurant, makes the decision easier.”

“The demand is calling for mixed-use properties like Htm”

 “In two or three years high-end professional products with services will enter the market. Demand is becoming more fluid, calling for mixed-use properties like Htm. While countries like France and Germany have ample availability of high-level residences and numerous mixed-use properties, in Italy, the real estate stock is vast but highly fragmented, which hampers conversion projects,” says Michele Diamantini, CEO of Halldis.