Silent and no fuel, no smells and no leaks. Easy to ride, transport and park. The Moonbike is the first 100% electric snow bike.

A French start-up for life-changin mobility

100% electric and lightweight, the French start-up MoonBikes is revolutionizing mobility in snowy mountainous environments. MoonBikes are not only life-changing for mobility in the mountains, but are also a real lifestyle vehicle!

The Moonbike adventure has only just begun

The 2021-2022 winter season ended with excellent results for the company with a turnover multiplied by ten, about thirty employees between the French headquarters, Europe and the United States, €4.5 million raised and more than 300 MoonBikes sold in 15 countries. And the adventure for these electric snow bikes has only has just begun.

“In the first season we produced 325 Moonbikes”

The Annecy start-up intends to expand into parts of the world already seduced by this innovation, such as Scandinavia, and into new countries like Japan. To do this MoonBikes is already inventing a new economic model. It also plans to triple production and diversify its range of snow bikes.

Nicolas Muron, founder and CEO comments: “In just one season, our turnover multiplied by ten and we produced 325 MoonBikes. This is proof of the interest aroused by our fun and sustainable innovation.”

The company has doubled in size in Europe

This growth has allowed the company to double in size in Europe.  And after the opening of an office in Boulder, Colorado last January, the workforce on that site has doubled compared to what was initially planned. The growth of the electric MoonBikes seems to know no limits.

Rivington makes it feel like New York in downtown Milan. This true corner of the Big Apple in the Lombardy capital has one of the city's most breath-taking views: the skyscrapers of Porta Nuova framed by the room's floor-to-ceiling windows.

The new restaurant is the latest bet from the Hyatt Centric Milan Centrale, the hotel that winks at fashion and design and is popular for its panoramic and rooftop ORGANICS SkyGarden.

A made-in-NYC culinary and sensory journey

An intimate setting with a retro allure is created by a jazzy atmosphere, candlelight, portraits of Italo-American personalities who have helped make New York great, and a view that spans the sparkling lights of the city’s skyscrapers. Rivington's philosophy is based on traditional classic and iconic New York dishes revisited in a modern key, with the kitchen helmed by chef Guglielmo Giudice

Classical NY eats with a new twist

Raw fish from the Raw Bar and the famous Oyster Rockefeller steamed oysters served with spinach and creamy Pecorino cheese, the Waldorf Salad, revisited with the addition of gorgonzola, and the steak tartare prepared at the table are just some of the recommendations. The second courses are inspired by old New York chophouses where you can sample the typical Surf & Turf fillet mignon with lobster, a hearty NY Striploin, or a classic Dover Sole à la Meunière. Not to be overlooked is the Vanderblit Hamburger, a tribute and synthesis of the famous cheeseburger, and desserts are a modern take on mid-century classics like the iconic New York-style cheesecake. The cocktail menu is given special attention. After all a perfectly prepared Martini is the promise of a perfect evening!

High-flying names in the restaurant world

Rivington was developed in collaboration with Jeffrey Tascarella, the well-known New York hotel entrepreneur who has opened iconic New York venues such as the award-winning NoMad and Scarpetta Italian restaurant. Tascarella, along with partner Chris Lowder - one of the world's most sought-after and awarded consultants in the high-end bar sector - collaborated with Chef Giudice, first in Milan and then in Manhattan, to recreate authentic New York cuisine.

Something new and exciting for Milan

"We wanted to bring something new to Milan,- says Andrea Pallavicini, General Manager of the Hyatt Centric Milan Centrale, - a true New York-style restaurant with refined cuisine and extremely high-quality ingredients. The name Rivington comes from Rivington Street on the Lower East Side, where many Italian immigrants started their new lives.”

Rivington's entrance is located in Via G.B. Pirelli 20, and customers have access via a dedicated elevator that catapults them into the heart of Manhattan. The venue is open every evening at 19.30. Call 348 968 7419 for information and reservations.

The month of December in the Laghi, Monti e Valli dell'Ossola area, in the upper Piedmont region close to the Swiss border, opens on the national holiday 8 December weekend in Santa Maria Maggiore, the main town in the Val Vigezzo valley, with the 23rd edition of the Christmas Market from 9 to 11 December. 

Visit Italy’s only Chimney Sweep museum

The magical atmosphere of the Orange Flag town will be the setting for two hundred exhibitors for a market that is among the largest in Northern Italy. And not to be missed is the famous - and unique in Italy – Chimney Sweep Museum, an ancient trade that is celebrated here, and the Feminis-Farina Perfume House, which honours the history of Eau de Cologne, the famous perfume invented by two emigrants from Santa Maria Maggiore.

credits Photographic Archive Distretto Turistico dei Laghi - Photo by Paolo Vallero

Skiing in the valley’s Neveazzurra resorts

But December also means snow and skiing, and in the Distretto Turistico dei Laghi, Monti e Valli dell'Ossola (the Ossola Lakes, Mountains and Valleys Tourist District) the Neveazzurra ski area, which comprises the Verbano Cusio Ossola ski resorts of Valli dell'Ossola, Formazza, Devero, Divedro, Antrona, Anzasca and Vigezzo. 

A single ski pass and cross country skiing

Of particular interest is the single ski pass, which can be purchased online (www.skiareavco.org), accessing an extraordinary Alpine area that stretches from an altitude of 1,000 to over 4,000 metres in the Monte Rosa massif and has 150 kilometres of slopes, served by natural and programmed snow and 50 ski lifts. Cross-country skiing is also popular in Formazza and in Santa Maria Maggiore, with a first-class competitive track, and in Valle Anzasca along the Macugnaga Fondo Signal circuit. 

Alpyland Mottarone

For those who love downhill skiing, the Macugnaga Monte Rosa ski area a little higher up has 30 kilometes of slopes and nine lifts, where you can ski while admiring the most impressive massif in the Western Alps, Monte Rosa with its 4,634 metres. 

Buses from Milan, Varese and Novara

From the beginning of December in the Ossola Valleys, it is also possible to go skiing without a car. At San Domenico Ski, which can be reached by bus from Milan, Varese and Novara, and has seven lifts and 35 kilometres of slopes, skiers will find Alpine skiing trails of varying difficulty with more than 1,100 metres of altitude difference, a snow park, and dedicated snowshoeing and ski mountaineering trails. A holiday in this very beautiful natural landscape also means relaxation, wellness, traditions and good food.

credits Photographic Archive Distretto Turistico dei Laghi - Photo by Piero Gatti

For information: www.distrettolaghi.it

The Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara will reopen on 18 February 2023 with an art exhibition dedicated to two of Ferrara’s Renaissance masters: Ercole de' Roberti and Lorenzo Costa. 

The exhibition will run from 18 February to 19 June 2023

The exhibition in the newly restored art gallery will run to 19 June 2023, and is the first stage of a larger and more ambitious project, Renaissance in Ferrara 1471-1598 from Borso to Alfonso II d'Este. This exhibition will showcase the historical-artistic story of the period between the city's elevation to a dukedom and its passage from the Este dynasty to direct control of the Papal State.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to admire two great painters

The over one hundred works on display in the exhibition, drawn from museums and collections around the world, will provide the public with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn about the art of two great interpreters of the Italian Renaissance: Ercole de' Roberti and Lorenzo Costa.  Ercole de' Roberti (Ferrara c. 1450 - 1496) had an incredible compositional talent which was extraordinary in quality and emotional expressiveness. He also worked in Bologna, but it was in Ferrara that he found the perfect environment in which to express himself during the last decade of his life, spent in the employ of the court.

Costa was inspired by both Leonardo and Perugino

Ten years his junior Lorenzo Costa (Ferrara 1460 - Mantua 1535), inherited de’ Roberto’s legacy and continued his style in his early works. Then, during a long stay in Bologna his painting softened. Leonardo and Perugino were imposing a new style which Costa immediately understood and of which he was one of the major interpreters, even after his transfer to the Gonzaga court in Mantua.

Refined paintings on loan from international museums 

Visitors can trace Ercole's career throughout the exhibition, through over twenty works.  From an exceptional loan of four paintings from the National Gallery in London to one of Porzia and Brutus from the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, as well as the Lucrezia, Brutus, and Collatino from the Galleria Estense in Modena. The selection of Costa's works, which begins with his youth, is no less rich. There is a Holy Family from the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio, the Louvre's Santa Veronica, the Minneapolis Institute of Art's Portrait of a Cardinal, and his last known work the Madonna and Saints from the Church of Sant'Andrea in Mantua, dated 1525.

For information: www.palazzodiamanti.it

Grado is the Friuli Venezia-Giulia region’s Island of Sun, an elegant seaside resort that on 25 June 1892 was proclaimed a “resort and health resort” by the Emperor Franz Joseph, thus launching a success story that continues to this day.  

Lovely views towards Slovenia and Croatia

Like Venice, which is some 130 kilometres away by car, Grado is reached by crossing a causeway on a lagoon. The modern town now dwarfs the historic centre, and from the promenade there are lovely views towards Slovenia and Croatia. It is known as the Island of Sun for its three kilometres of south-facing beach that never gets any shade, and for its special microclimate as it seems that the sun never fails to shine on this popular seaside resort. 

A town with Venetian charm and fishermen’s houses

Its old town centre has Venetian charm with little squares and alleys overlooked by picturesque fishermen's houses. In the Campo dei Patriarchi square the Basilica of Santa Eufemia and the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie, the oldest church in Grado, dominate the scene. 

Grado was loved by 19th-century aristocrats

Over a millennium ago, Grado, at the end of a curving peninsula, was more important than Venice, and the seat of a bishopric that stretched into what is now Croatia. Then it became  part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and in the 19th century was very popular with the Habsburg aristocracy for its marine spas which are still popular today.

Wide sandy beaches close to town

It is a highly organized seaside resort with excellently equipped beaches on which to relax, with fun for both adults and children, its shallow waters making the coastline particularly suitable for families. The wide, sandy Costa Azzurra is right in town and has a free beach as well as many private lidos, but the best beach is Grado-Pineta which is a couple of miles away and can be reached by local bus. Backed by a pine forest, it is a wide sandy beach and is also popular with kite-surfers. 

UNESCO-listed Aquilea is just ten kilometres away

More energetic visitors will enjoy the efficient network of cycle paths for excursions into the inland areas, and one must-do day trip is to the town of Aquileia which is ten kilometres away and is also served by local buses. With its Unesco-listed Roman ruins dating from 181 B.C., it also has the magnificent Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, the remains of a Roman forum and an Archaeological Museum.

The Radweg cycle route to Salzburg passes through Grado

The Radweg cycle route connects Salzburg in Austria with Grado. The Italian stretch that passes through Aquileia starts in Udine and leads to Grado through beautiful countryside, vineyards, canals, Roman remains and picturesque lagoon landscapes. 

For information: https://www.grado.info

The new Ama Stay in San Vigilio di Marebbe is aimed at smart workers, digital nomads and nature lovers. The new hotel, financed by the Funivie di San Vigilio company, opened on 25 November, marking the opening of the 2022/2023 winter season, and is the brainchild of entrepreneur Markus Promberger, whose family has been in the hospitality business for generations.

The co-working area will have 15 workstations

The hotel will have 39 double rooms, 39 studios and 17 flats, built according to a sustainable living concept, with interiors in oak and stone, soft fabrics, large windows and balconies with views of the Dolomites. Included for all guests is the possibility of using the co-working spaces, designed to create a real Ama Community in which to network. Arranged on two floors, the multifunctional co-working area has 15 workstations, a lounge area for creative meetings, call boxes, conference rooms, incentive and teambuilding activities. 

Business spaces can be booked by the hour

The area is coordinated by Ama's community team, which not only takes care of the functionality of the spaces, but also creates the fertile ground for discussions and fruitful collaborations, a source of new ideas and creativity. Business spaces can be booked by the hour or for the whole day, both by hotel guests and the local community.

An outdoor infinity pool on the roof

Ama Stay also has a 700-square-metre wellness centre, which includes an outdoor infinity pool on the roof with panoramic views, five relaxation areas, a 92-square-metre fitness area, a panoramic Finnish sauna, a 60-degree Finnish bio-sauna, a panoramic Turkish bath and a beauty area. This offers facial and body treatments, beauty rituals, wraps and customised peelings. The Ama Stay Restaurant and Ama Bistrò are also available.

Castel Badia in San Lorenzo di Sebato, near Brunico at the foot of the Plan de Corones ski area is to join the San Domenico Hotels group. The company founded and led by Aldo Melpignano is working together with Kronplatz Touristik, a branch of Kronplatz Holding dedicated to the development and management of hotels in South Tyrol.

The agreement makes provisions for the redevelopment and enhancement of Castel Badia,  an historic 10th-century castle in the Val Pusteria. The opening is scheduled for 2024.

Strengthening and promoting Italy’s hotel heritage

"Our goal is to enhance the authenticity of the destination, giving our guests unique and unforgettable experiences - says Aldo Melpignano, owner and managing director of the San Domenico Hotels group -. We want to provide our partners with operational management models and services that can strengthen Italy’s hotel heritage, protecting and promoting its uniqueness."

A new 68-key 5-star for Milan

At present there are six hotels in the Sd Hotels portfolio, with a total of 316 rooms, almost all located in leisure seaside destinations with the exception of the 24-key Hotel De Len in Cortina d'Ampezzo. The group also has a 68-key 5-star facility in Milan in the pipeline for 2023.

Why not spend a glamping Christmas and New Year on the shores of Lake Idro, in the province of Brescia in Lombardy? The Vacanze col Cuore group’s Lago Idro Glamping Boutique has both mobile homes and open-air solutions that are among the most innovative in Italy. And they are in a privileged and tranquil location set in the mountains and on the shores of Lake Idro. 

Getting away from it all for a winter break

From 1 December to 8 January 2023, which is to say for the entire Christmas and New Year period, in this fairy-tale location glampers can enjoy long walks in nearby villages and along the lake shore. They can also take a dip in the hot tub, try the sauna, and for lunch or dinner dine in the Bistrot, which is one of the most popular restaurants in the area for its great food and wines.

The Suite has a large terrace with lake views

Of all the accommodations available the cube-shaped Suite is definitely the one that will make your stay even more intimate. On twenty sqm of interior space with a double bed and an ensuite bathroom, it has a living area with a kitchen and a large terrace, and is completely immersed in the glamping forest with a lake view.

Fun for young and old

For the Christmas Glamping period there is an exciting calendar of events including Christmas lunch and New Year's Eve dinner. There will also be the Father Christmas House, and an entertainment team will be on hand for smaller guests, making sure there is lots of relaxing time for the adults. 

For information: www.lagoidroglampingboutique.com

Discover other eco-friendly glampings

Mirko Marchi is the new managing director of Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco. Marchi joined Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco as F&B operations manager in February 2019 and quickly demonstrated his talent and leadership, being promoted to director of operations in June 2021.

With a demonstrated expertise in the food & beverage sector of luxury hotel brands including Hyatt and Marriott, he now leads the Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco team also as interim managing director.

Raising the bar of tailor-made experiences

“I am deeply grateful for this appointment. Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco is experiencing a particularly dynamic phase. So I am ready and motivated to continue this important journey together with the exceptional team I have had the pleasure of working with for four years. I will strive to further raise the bar of our tailor-made experiences for each guest and further improve the warm and sincere service for which our property has become famous.”

A winery and a golf club

“The Castiglion del Bosco estate includes a Brunello di Montalcino winery and a golf club which are in harmony with the hotel and offer our customers a one-of-a-kind experience."

Rosewood in Milan
Rosewwod in Venice