Nestled in the picturesque Piedmont region of Italy, Cuneo is a city that beautifully marries history, culture and culinary delights. 

Exploring local monuments and sites 

This charming city, which is alas often overlooked by tourists, has a lot to offer to those willing to explore its hidden treasures. Cuneo boasts a rich historical heritage and the old town center is the perfect place to begin discovering it. The Piazza Galimberti is a handsome square surrounded by elegant arcades, and an ideal spot for people-watching. As you stroll through the streets, you'll encounter historical palaces, churches, and more beautiful squares, and don't miss the Gothic Cuneo Cathedral and the ornate Church of San Francesco. For art enthusiasts the Civic Museum houses a remarkable collection of works and artifacts that provide insight into the city's past.

Art and festivals, wines and culinary delights

Cuneo's history is deeply rooted in its defense, and you can visit the impressive Cuneo Fortress, which once protected the city, while The Museum of the Resistance tells the poignant story of the Italian resistance movement during World War II. Cuneo is home to various cultural events and festivals throughout the year. The Notti Rosa Festival in July transforms the city into a pink wonderland with concerts, art installations, and culinary delights. Piedmont is renowned for its wine, and Cuneo is no exception. The city is surrounded by vineyards producing world-class wines such as Barolo and Barbaresco. Be sure to indulge in a wine tasting experience at one of the local wineries and enjoy the Piedmontese truffles, cheeses, and hearty dishes like Agnolotti and Brasato al Barolo. And don't forget to try the renowned Bagna Cauda, a warm garlic-anchovy dip, with fresh vegetables.

Cultural Cuneo, outdoor adventures and traditions

The surrounding natural landscapes offer fantastic outdoor activities, with the nearby Maritime Alps providing excellent hiking and skiing. In summer you can explore the trails and enjoy the breathtaking views and in winter the region becomes a haven for skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts. Cuneo has a fascinating history, dating back to its foundation in the 12th century. Over the years, it witnessed many battles and its strategic location near the French border made it a crucial defensive outpost. Exploring the city's historical sites and museums will give you a profound insight into its past. Enjoy this handsome city’s delightful blend of history, art, culture, and culinary excellence as it invites visitors to uncover its many layers and create lasting memories while savoring the best of Piedmontese traditions.

Taking advantage of bargain air fares many travellers are already planning where they will go in 2024, and The Telegraph’s travel section recently put Italy’s northern Trentino region high on its list for family holidays. But not for skiing! Although its Dolomite resorts have over 500 miles of ski runs, they choose the Trentino as a dream destination for the warmer months and for watersports breaks.  

The secret is that this region has hundreds of lovely lakes - Lake Garda is the best known - that are perfect for canoeing and rowing and, when the wind picks up in the afternoon, for windsurfing and sailing too. Singling out Lake Idro, one of the Trentino’s smallest lakes, the Telegraph added that it also has two paragliding sites. And, we add, on Lake Idro you can take cruise boats that stop at picturesque towns. And you can even take your bicycle and your dog on board. 

Amazing Italy. Always full of surprises. 

Pamela McCourt Francescone
Executive Editor

Alex Dallocchio will oversee the pre-opening at Romazzino Hotel on the Costa Smeralda. 

The Romazzino and also the Pitrizza, to be rebranded as Cheval Blanc, are now under the LVMH group alongside Belmond. The new general manager, Alex Dallocchio, will oversee the pre-opening strategy and lead the team in crafting the reopening of Romazzino in 2024.

Dallocchio has worked with Starhotels and Marriott 

Bringing over twenty years of experience in the hospitality industry, Dallocchio has an extensive background in Europe and North America. His most recent role was CEO of the Starhotels Group, and previously he was with the Westin London City and the Beverly Hills Marriott. In his new position, Dallocchio will report to Christian Boyens, vice president and leader of LVMH's Southern Europe division.

Romazzino Hotel

“This is an exceptional rebranding and renovation project”

Expressing his enthusiasm, Dallocchio said, “It is truly an honour to be appointed general manager of Romazzino. I can't wait to commence work on this exceptional rebranding and renovation project, which will elevate this renowned hotel to one of the finest resorts in Southern Europe.” 

Palermo airport has big expectations thanks to the new Neos New York flights starting on June 9, 2024. 

Promoting Sicily for roots tourism

“The New York-Palermo holds strong symbolic and cultural value and serves as a phenomenal bridge for the promotion of Sicilian tourism in the United States and vice versa,” said Salvatore Burrafato, president of Gesap, Palermo’s airport management company. “Our rich history and traditions are a treasure to showcase to the American market. And there is a genuine and strong bond to cultivate with Italian Americans seeking to experience Sicily as their homeland.”  The Palermo-New York flights will operate with a 355-seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner throughout the summer on Tuesdays and Sundays.

Ending 2023 with eight million passengers

Palermo’s Falcone Borsellino Airport handles a notable share of international passengers, accounting for 30.67% of total transits between January and September 2023. Following a successful October with a double-digit increase in passenger traffic (780,916 which is +13.2% compared to 2022 and +27.69% compared to 2019) the airport anticipates ending the year with over eight million passengers.

Consistent investments in fleet and route growth

“This new connection is an additional opportunity for the development of leisure and business flows between the United States and Italy, with an initial goal of transporting approximately 20,000 passengers in the summer of 2024,” said Carlo Stradiotti, CEO of the Alpitour Group’s airline. “It is the result of a vision that has consistently invested in fleet and route growth and continually expands scheduled activities, while maintaining high standards of hospitality and welcome on board and ensuring punctuality and stability for operators.”

Modica is a gem, and one of the eight towns that make up Sicily’s Baroque Triangle. 

Famous for a TV series and for its chocolate

Modica became famous with television viewers as the setting for the Italian television police drama series Inspector Montalbano, although it has always been famous for its chocolate production. 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. 

Modica’s chocolate is 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, cafes and chocolate shops. Modica’s famous grainy chocolate is claimed by locals to originate from an Aztec recipe that was brought back from Mexico by the Spanish conquistadors. One must-visit is to the Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, the oldest chocolate shop in Sicily. 

Two cathedrals and a cave church

Modica has two grand Baroque cathedrals. The Cathedral of St. Peter 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. Visitors should also not miss the charming Carmine Church with a Gothic doorway and a rose window, and the historic cave church of St. Nicholas Inferior with its 12th-century frescoes. 

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 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 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

Bluserena’s collaboration to develop the corporate ESG strategy in cooperation with the real estate consultancy Savills has kicked off. 

"Sustainability is at the core of our operations” 

This collaboration creates a framework that integrates the governance criteria, the operational aspects of the hotel company and the environmental impacts of the resorts.  "Sustainability is at the core of our operations,- says Marcello Cicalò CEO of Bluserena Hotels & Resorts. -We are excited by this partnership with Savills. Together, we are committed to implementing green and socially responsible initiatives to reduce our environmental impact and create a sustainable working environment.” 

Eliminating plastic and reducing food waste are priorities

The parties are now examining the different thematic areas, listing the necessary actions in order of impact priority,  and setting up the ESG strategy and consequent action plan. Bluserena's commitment on these issues started at the beginning of 2023 with the reduction in the use of single-use plastic in resorts by 50% over the course of the year, the use of energy produced by photovoltaic panels, and the aim of equipping all the facilities with photovoltaic energy by 2027. In addition, Bluserena has implemented a policy of reducing food waste. 

ITA Airways has put flights on sale for its new destinations in summer 2024.

The long-haul network is set to expand this summer

The summer season will see a new expansion of the network, and in particular the long-haul network. New flights from North America, Africa and the Middle East are in the crosshairs, with the following new flights, all operated from Rome Fiumicino: Chicago from 7 April 2024, six weekly frequencies, rising to seven from June; Toronto from 10 May 2024, six weekly frequencies, rising to seven from June to September and five in October; Riyadh from 5 May 2024, four weekly frequencies, rising to five from June: Accra from 6 June 2024, three weekly frequencies which will become four from July; Kuwait City from 7 June 2024, three weekly frequencies which will become five from July; Jeddah from August 2024, three weekly frequencies.

Flights operated by Airbus A330neos and Airbus A330-200s

The routes from Chicago and Toronto will be operated by the Airbus A330neo and Airbus A330-200 and will be in addition to ITA Airway’s current flights to New York, Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, New Delhi and Malè. Flights to Riyadh, Accra, Kuwait City and Jeddah will be operated with A321neo aircraft.

The Rome-Toronto is a strategic North American route

"The Rome-Toronto route is of great importance for ITA Airways in North America, giving the company strategic access, not only for point-to-point traffic but also for connections to other destinations within the country, combining both leisure and business traffic flows," explains a note from the carrier

West Africa and the Middle East are also strategic markets

The route to Accra, the only direct flight between Italy and Ghana, is a first step that will see increased services to and from West Africa, a major destination for both leisure and corporate traffic flows. The Middle East is another strategic market where the carrier is investing in three important routes: Riyadh for mainly business traffic, Jeddah as a gateway for new leisure and religious traffic, and Kuwait City for corporate travel.

Everything in Cremona, for far from Milan, speaks of music and violins. 

Cremona has some 140 violin workshops

This city in northern Lombardy, just over 100 kilometres south-east of Milan, (so ideal for a day trip from Milan or Venice) it is the home par excellence of violins and violin makers, also called luthiers. It is also the birthplace of illustrious musicians and composers like Claudio Monteverdi and Amilcare Ponchielli, and today some 140 violin workshops hand down the tradition of the old masters. It was also the birthplace of Antonio Stradivari, the unsurpassed master who made some of the most beautiful stringed instruments known to man. 

Stradivari was an extraordinary luthier

Antonio Stradivari, who was born in 1643, produced over 1,100 violas, guitars, cellos and violins, and about 600 of his instruments still exist today. To learn more about violins, visit the Violin Museum in Piazza Marconi which has excellent multimedia exhibitions on the history of the violin and how it is made. 

A beautifully-preserved city centre 

Cremona is also known for its beautiful medieval and Renaissance architecture, such as the Torrazzo, one of the tallest medieval brick towers in Europe (at 112 metres high it is the second tallest in Italy) that houses one of the largest astronomical clocks in the world. The Piazza del Comune is the hub of the city's cultural and artistic heritage, a typical medieval square dominated by the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Palazzo del Comune with the Torrazzo - the city's emblem - and the Loggia dei Militi. 

Cremona is also famous for its nougat 

Cremona is also a centre of excellence for meat, cheese and confectionery products. Its rich and tasty cuisine boasts exclusive recipes featuring local ingredients, such as the grande bollito Cremonese, mixed boiled meats, or marubini which are meat-stuffed parcels of pasta.  In the city centre you can visit the historic shop of the Sperlari confectionery company. This shop is an Italian institution that has been open since 1836, and specializes in many delicious types of torrone, Italian for nougat, and other traditional sweets.

Interesting activities for children

This is a very welcoming city for anyone travelling with children as there are plenty of activities they will enjoy, like a visit to the Archaeological Museum that has guided tours suitable for younger visitors. And children will be fascinated by a visit to a local workshop to see firsthand the ancient art of violin making, and of course to Sperlari to try some of the delicious local confectionery. For information:  www.turismocremona.it