The 68th edition of the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Umbria, is scheduled to take place this summer from Friday 27 June to Sunday 13 July. 

Italy’s oldest performing arts festival

With a range of artistic and cultural events spanning opera, music, dance and theatre, the Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of the Two Worlds) is Italy's oldest performing arts festival. This year, more than 700 artists from 13 countries are expected to take part in over 60 shows.

From 27 June to 13 July 2025

The opening is scheduled for Friday 27 June at the Teatro Nuovo Gian Carlo Menotti with the opera Hadrian by New York composer Rufus Wainwright and images by Robert Mapplethorpe. The 68th edition of the Festival dei Due Mondi will close on Sunday 13 July in Piazza Duomo with the traditional final concert.

Piazza Duomo Festival di Spoleto Andrea Veroni

Music and theatre with workshops and masterclasses

The festival will consist of a wide variety of musical theatre experiences and twice as many chamber concerts, with an afternoon slot added to the midday performances. There is also a packed programme of side events and special events that make Spoleto a vibrant artistic hub, with awards, meetings with artists every weekend, art installations and exhibitions in the city's civic museums, as well as theatre costume workshops and masterclasses with costume designers and fashion designers.

This year the Friuli Venezia Giulia Via dei Sapori Consotrium is celebrating 25 years of success. 

Three months of gastronomic events and promotions

“For 25 years, we have been telling the story of our land through its cuisine and wines,-says Walter Filiputti, president of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Via dei Sapori Consortium. The calendar of events for this celebratory year will be inaugurated on 17 June at the Castello di Spessa in Capriva with the traditional dinner show, and will culminate on 15 September with an official celebration in the halls of the Fondazione Friuli. 

Spessa Castle ph Fabrice Gallina

25 chefs for dinner shows and celebrations

The 25 chefs who will cook a spring-themed menu in front of the audience, will be accompanied by winemakers and producers, to tell the story of their land through food and wine. On 8 July, the Consortium will celebrate its 25th anniversary at the Castello di Udine with iconic dishes from each of the member restaurants. On 29 July, the beach at Grado will host a dinner show inspired by summer cuisine while 15 September will be dedicated to the 25th anniversary celebrations, an event hosted in the halls of the Fondazione Friuli in Udine, starting at 5 pm.

Using quality catering to promote the region’s tourism

Today the Consortium is made up of 72 leading companies: 25 restaurateurs, 24 winemakers and distillers, and 16 artisans of taste, supported by seven technical partners. Putting the focus on cuisine+wine+products+culture the Friuli Venezia Giulia Via dei Sapori project has been promoting the region's food and wine excellence for 25 years, making it a strategic pillar for regional tourism.  The Consorzio Friuli Venezia Giulia Via dei Sapori was founded in 2000 by Aldo Morassutti and a dozen restaurateurs united by the goal of promoting local gastronomy. On that occasion, with the contribution of Walter Filiputti, a vision was outlined for a project that would integrate quality catering into the region's tourism promotion.

Elba Island, a well-known paradise for trekking, is now also popular for astro-tourism with guided night excursions and stargazing.  

Astro-tourism is a new experience on Elba

“Astro-tourism represents an important opportunity to promote Elba even out of season,- says Niccolò Censi, head of GAT, the association responsible for promoting tourism on Elba where the first permanent astronomical observatory is due to open.  -The project aims to boost the island's tourist appeal through an innovative cultural offering that not only enriches the visitor experience but also contributes to the growth of the area. Astro-tourism, in fact, integrates perfectly with the island's other cultural offerings, providing events ranging from stargazing to music, poetry and history.”

GTE al Buio (GTE in the Dark) brings trekking and stargazing together

GTE is the Grande Traversata Elbana, a trekking route, usually during the day, that crosses the entire island. On 26 April, to mark International Dark Sky Week, the trek will exceptionally take place at night. After a stretch of walking, the night sky will be observed through telescopes provided by the Astrofili Elbani. The excursion is suitable for everyone and lasts about three hours. Participation is by reservation on the website infopark.sl3.eu, at a cost of £8 for adults, £4 for children aged 5 to 12, and free for children under 5.

Walking night excursions from June to October 

During these walks Elban amateur astronomers illustrate not only the starry sky, but also the history of the town and local traditions, as well as the archaeology and geological history of the island and its nature. In August Sassi Ritti, an archaeological site and ancient place of worship on the island, will host numerous events with astronomical observations accompanied by music, shows and wine and food tastings.

Astro-tourism and night trekking on Elba 

“This project stems from the desire to create a space dedicated to scientific dissemination and astronomical observation on the island,- says Lello Tranchida, president of the San Piero Amateur Astronomers Association. -By promoting Elba through authentic and engaging experiences like astro-tourism and night trekking, we are offering unusual ways to discover the island in a new light.”

The Ravella Festival  returns from 31 May to 13 July with a packed programme of music, dance and theatre for Romagna’s summer.

From June to July Ravenna becomes a stage for artistic events 

The main venues of the festival include Ravenna’s Pala Mauro de André, the Alighieri Theatre and the Basilica of San Vitale. The events take place not only in theatres but also in basilicas with their golden mosaics, in cloisters and historic buildings, as well as on the beach, in the pine forest and in many other places, including the town of Cervia-Milano Marittima.

Riccardo Muti will open the Festival on 31 May

The 36th edition will be inaugurated on 31 May with a concert by Riccardo Muti with the Cherubini Orchestra and violinist Giuseppe Gibboni, and will conclude on 13 July with the dance gala “Les Étoiles.” Exceptional conductors including Zubin Mehta and Daniel Harding stand out among the artists who also include Cat Power, Max Richter, Pietro Fresa and Alexander Gadjiev. There will also be many theatre productions, such as Bhagavadgītā, a sacred Indian text, and the third and final adventure of Don Quixote.

Where there is music, there can be no evil

The title chosen for this edition is “Donde hay música no puede haber cosa mala” - ‘Where there is music, there can be no evil, a quote from the famous squire of world literature, Sancho Panza, which is an opportunity to reflect on the courage and transformation of this value.

Wizz Air’s summer schedule this year includes over 200 routes from Italy to 80 destinations in 32 countries, for a total of over 13 million seats.

A very busy summer

From its base at Rome Fiumicino’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport, there will be new flights to Zaragoza and Bilbao, as well as various beach destinations such as the popular Greek islands of Corfu, Mykonos, Skiathos, Santorini and Zakynthos. Wizz Air will also be operating 14 weekly services from London, Madrid and Barcelona. In addition, there will be nine weekly flights from Valencia and seven flights from both Malaga and Seville. Focusing on routes to Western Europe, the airline will also operate seven weekly flights from Lisbon.

More frequencies from London Gatwick

From Milan Malpensa, there will be 12 weekly flights from London Gatwick stand out, but flights to Spain are the most numerous: the low-cost airline will increase weekly flights to Barcelona, the capital Madrid and to the cities of Malaga and Valencia. In addition, there will be several flights from Milan to the Greek islands of Crete, Corfu, Mykonos, Skiathos, Santorini and Zakynthos.

Spain takes the lion’s share

New for the end of 2024, the Venice-Barcelona and Venice-Madrid routes are two of the most important for passengers from the north-east of Italy wishing to travel to Spain: the frequency of flights to both the Spanish capital and Gaudí's city will be increased to seven weekly.

“We are offering passengers more flexibility”

“With this expansion, Wizz Air further consolidates its position in Italy, offering passengers an increasingly extensive network and more travel flexibility,- said, corporate communications manager Salvatore Gabriele Imperiale. -We can say that Italy and Spain are even closer thanks to the numerous connections, especially to Rome, Milan and Venice.”

In Val Senales, on Mount Grawand stands Europe's highest hotel: the Glacier Hotel Grawand.

An extraordinary installation at 3,200 metres  

The installation “Our Glacial Perspectives,“ by the Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, is located at over 3,200 metres asl on the Val Senales glacier in South Tyrol.  This extraordinary work of art, which invites visitors to reflect on climate change and glacial melt, is spread over a 410-metre path along the mountain ridge. The path is marked by nine doors spaced at intervals proportional to the duration of the Earth's ice ages and culminates in a pavilion made of steel and glass rings that can also be used as an astronomical instrument to determine the time of day and follow solstices and equinoxes.

ph credits wisthaler.com

The Grawand peak is one of the most easily accessible high peaks in the world

Just a 10-minute walk from the top station of the cable car takes you to the Iceman Ötzi Peak viewing platform. From here, you can see the amazing vista of 126 peaks over 3,000 metres high belonging to three countries: Italy, Austria and Switzerland. The view also opens up onto the Giogo Alto Glacier and the Similaun snowfield, where Ötzi, the world's oldest mummy, was found.

Olafur Eliasson Our glacial perspectives Bildauswahl MartinRattini

Glacier Hotel Grawand is Europe’s highest hotel

The Glacier Hotel Grawand is Europe’s highest hotel and stands at 3,212 metres asl, directly on the slopes of the Alpin Arena Senales.  The 3-star hotel is located on the ski slopes and has a steam bath and infrared cabin, as well as the highest Finnish sauna in Europe. The four-course dinner menu features South Tyrolean, Italian and international flavours.  The hotel offers weekly half-board packages with 6 days of ski pass included, starting from £810.00 per person, valid until 4 May 2025.

The 1000 Miglia, the iconic car race that has fascinated the world for over ninety years, returns to Sorrento. 

An itinerary through Campania, Basilicata and Puglia.

Created in 1927 as a speed race, the 1000 Miglia covered 1,600 km of road, starting and finishing in Brescia, after passing through Rome. The event soon attracted internationally renowned drivers and quickly became an iconic competition.  Today, the race is a historical re-enactment that continues to celebrate elegance, tradition and automotive passion.  On the first day (it runs from 10 to 13 April 2025) the drivers will compete in a regularity race along the picturesque Corso Italia promenade to win the ‘Trofeo Città di Sorrento.

An overnight in UNESCO Matera 

They will then continue along the Amalfi Coast, one of the most famous stretches of coastline in Italy, before reaching Matera. In this first stage, the participants will take part in an exclusive tour of the Sassi, characteristic dwellings of the area that will also host them for the night. Matera has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.

Passing through Alberobello with its trulli houses

The drivers will then cross the Murgia Materana Park to Alberobello, with its characteristic trulli cone-shaped houses. The race will continue towards Castel del Monte, a 13th-century fortress with an octagonal shape which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. The race will end in Bari where the award ceremony will take place.

A luxury hotel with 49 rooms and suites

The 5-star Hotel Ara Maris in Sorrento is the perfect choice to experience the history of motoring up close and enjoy the surrounding area. Thanks to its privileged position guests can experience the excitement of the 1000 Miglia while discovering the attractions of the Sorrento and Amalfi coasts and the islands of Capri, Ischia and Procida, as well as enjoying sailing trips and trekking.  The hotel has 49 rooms and suites, exhibition areas for art and culture, the Thala Spa, the Cora Bistrot for gourmet dishes and the Lumi Sky Lounge which is the ideal place to enjoy fantastic cocktails.

Hilton Rome Airport presents the new AIR-aperitif, a moment of relaxation designed for travellers and those waiting at arrivals at Rome Fiumicino airport. 

The AIR-aperitif formula includes private parking 

In the hotel's Artists' Bar, the AIR-aperitif is served every evening from 5pm and on Fridays it is accompanied by live music. The aperitif is accompanied by four tastings such as a savoury croissant with prosciutto and stracciatella cheese, a parmesan cheese version, a bao bun with pulled chicken and vegan lime mayonnaise, and seafood flavoured bruschetta. And there is also a taste of typical Roman dishes and pizza to share. This new aperitif formula with private parking included, costs just €35.

Hilton Rome Airport Artists Bar Aperitif

The Hilton Rome Airport is celebrating its 25th year

The AIR-peritivo is designed for those looking for a quiet break away from the chaos of the airport, both for those travelling through the airport and for those waiting for friends and family.  The Hilton Rome Airport, which this year celebrates its 25th year, is the only hotel directly connected to Leonardo da Vinci airport. With 517 rooms, a restaurant, bar, fitness room and indoor swimming pool it also has 22 meeting rooms that can accommodate up to 800 people.

With the arrival of spring, plants and flowers from all over the world bloom in the gardens of Rome and its surroundings.

Cherry blossoms in Rome

Lovers of Hanami, the traditional Japanese cherry blossom viewing, will find several places where they can admire this spectacle like the EUR lake, the La Sapienza University Botanical Garden and the Appia Antica Park. Another place not to be missed is the garden of the Japanese Cultural Institute, designed by Ken Nakajima, which celebrates Japanese culture and the beauty of cherry blossoms.

Rome has spectacular rose and tulip displays

But spring in Rome is not just about cherry trees: the Municipal Rose Garden of Rome, on the Aventine Hill has 1,100 types of roses that bloom between April and May. And, just over an hour from the city, the Roseto Vacunae Rosae in Roccantica, in the Sabine hills, is home to over 5500 varieties of roses from all over the world. Rome also has a TuliPark and extensive tulip fields to photograph and pick. In April the park also offers engaging events and activities for families, and tulips are also on display at Tuscia Flower, near Viterbo, along with sunflowers and gladioli.

The FH55 Grand Hotel Palatino 

For orchid lovers, the “Orchidee dal Mondo” event is not to be missed; taking place in April in Monte Porzio Catone, just outside Rome, it features a wide variety of orchid species from all over the world. To enjoy these flower-filled months in the Eternal City the FH55 Grand Hotel Palatino is a 4-star in the Monti district, a short walk from the Coliseum and the Imperial Fora, and close to the Circus Maximus and the Baths of Caracalla. The hotel's restaurant, Le Spighe, is open for lunch and dinner with tasting menus and à la carte, also for non-residents.