W Sardinia - Poltu Quatu, the new coastal oasis by W Hotels, has opened in preview and is bookable for summer season 2026.

New luxury lifestyle destination

With the official launch scheduled for April 2026, the property, located in the picturesque village of Poltu Quatu on the north-east coast of Sardinia, is a luxury lifestyle destination featuring 154 rooms and suites.

A Michelin chef, a spa and a beach club

The immersive dining experience includes the Tanit seafood restaurant overlooking the marina and W Lounge, both helmed Michelin-starred chef Andrea Berton and pastry chef Fabrizio Fiorani, who also curates the Dolce Room interactive dessert corner. Guests will also be able to experience W Hotels branded spaces including Wet Deck and the Fit fitness Centre; while Away Spa and W Beach Club will be operating from the 2026 season on the beautiful Sardinian coast.

Yacht charters and guided excursions

The hotel celebrates Sardinian craftsmanship through an artist-in-residence programme and a series of gastronomic collaborations showcasing local ingredients and producers. Guests can explore the island with guided excursions, yacht charters and boat adventures in the Maddalena archipelago. W Sardinia - Poltu Quatu, the first W Hotel on the Mediterranean island, further expands the brand in Italy, joining W Rome and the recent W Florence.

Shopping in Porto Cervo and hiking in the Pevero hills

The village of Poltu Quatu, which has developed around a lively marina and fascinates visitors with its whitewashed houses, is easily accessible from the new W Sardinia. From the harbour it is possible to take boat trips to explore the coast where unique scenery, coves and beaches abound. And just a few minutes' drive away there is shopping in Porto Cervo and hiking in the Pevero hills.

ITA Airways' new industrial plan will focus on long-haul growth, fleet renewal and synergies with the Lufthansa Group.

The focus will be on new long-haul routes

Approved in August by the company's board of directors, the plan will lead to 2030 revolving around these three fundamental elements with the major focus on the addition of new routes connecting the Rome Fiumicino hub with strategic destinations in North America, South America, Asia and Africa, in reply to the demand of an increasingly international clientele. The opening of these routes will not only favour incoming tourism to Italy, but also enhance trade and cultural flows. At the same time, there will also be developments in Europe and the Mediterranean basin. The network choices have been defined flexibly, so that they can be adapted to market dynamics and to regulatory and economic developments as well as global geopolitical scenarios.

A new-generation aircraft every year

Particular attention will also be paid to the innovation of on-board and ground services, to further enhance the passenger experience through advanced digital solutions, new-generation comforts and moves oriented towards environmental and social sustainability. The intention is to build an airline capable of combining operational efficiency, service excellence and responsibility towards the regions and communities served. The fleet will support the expansion of the network and an additional long-haul aircraft is envisaged for each year of the plan, starting from 2026, with the entry of latest-generation aircraft and the gradual phasing out of older aircraft. The fleet will have 100 aircraft by 2030, all of them new generation.

Full integration into Star Alliance

Over the next five years, operational and strategic synergies with the Lufthansa group will start with international alliances: full integration into Star Alliance in early 2026 and the definition, subject to authorization by the competition authorities, of the A++ joint ventures for flights between Europe and North America and J+ for those between Europe and Japan. Also planned are the integration of the Volare and Miles&More loyalty programmes and synergies in the cargo sector, as well as various code share
agreements.

Convincing more passengers to choose ITAAirways

“Today is another historic moment for the company,- said CEO and managing director, Joerg Eberhart. - The approved business plan makes ITAAirways’sustainable development possible thanks to synergies with the Lufthansa Group. With the expansion of the network, the adoption of state-of-the-art technologies, agreements with major global partners, and a commitment to service excellence, we will be able to convince more and more passengers not only from Italy but also from other countries to come to Italy between now and 2030 and to choose ITA, creating attractive job opportunities and induced revenue for the air transport industry.”

Two U.S. aviation giants are facing class-action lawsuits over an unexpected blind spot in their premium seat sales. The suits, filed in San Francisco and Brooklyn, claim millions of passengers paid extra for the coveted “window seat” experience, only to find themselves staring at a blank plastic panel.

“Many travelers deliberately book a window seat for the thrill of the view,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys point out. Yet for a surprising number of flyers, the promised panorama at 30,000 feet can all too often turn into a viewless wall.

To be fair, some carriers do disclose the so-called “blind window” seats in advance. Still, industry insiders estimate there are at least a million such seats in circulation. And in a business that sells experiences as much as it sells miles, the difference between clouds and plastic could cost airlines a lot more than a business-class upgrade.

Pamela McCourt Francescone
Executive Editor

Eleven unique (and unmissable) things to do ONLY in Savona.

Savona, on the Ligurian coast, is for travellers tired of overtourism, and there are eleven (unmissable) things you can do only there - from culture to food and wine, and from the environment to art.

The Savona area has 15 Blue Flag beaches 

This is the area with the most flags in the whole of Italy, and some beaches are right in the city! The Savona area has long held the record as the province with the greatest number of beaches awarded Blue Flags - an award for seaside resorts that respect strict criteria of sustainable land management such as water quality, the enhancement of natural areas and the possibility of access for all without limitations. Among Savona’s Blue Flag beaches the Fornaci Beach is located in a popular city district.

ph credits: the Municipality of Savona

Taste the only authentic Chinotto

The chinotto – citrus myrtifoglia in English – is a small citrus fruit with a unique quality and aroma. Originally from China, around 1500 it was transplanted to the Ligurian coast and it adapted perfectly to its new environment. Savona’s Chinottois not eaten raw but processed into drinks, syrups, liqueurs, jams. There are several places where it can be tasted in the form of a drink with a bitter aftertaste, including the old Besio confectioner's shop in Piazza Mameli, which since 1860 has guarded the secrets of processing the chinotto.

Explore the Priamar fortification

Almost 500 years old and towering over the sea with 360-degree views, the Priamar is one of the most majestic fortified constructions in the entire Mediterranean. Built between 1542 and 1544 to defend the territory from attack, it was once a prison and today is a cultural centre.  Not to be missed: a visit to the underground passages. Tours last about an hour and a half and a torch and comfortable shoes are recommended.

ph credits Ferrania Museum

Did you know that the word film was born just outside Savona?

At the end of 1923 in Ferrania, a village in the Savona area, the FILM (Fabbrica Italiana Lamine Milano) company presented the first production of positive cinematographic film at the Turin Exhibition. In the 1960s, at the height of the economic boom, Ferrania was, together with Kodak, Fuji, Agfa, one of only four factories in the world producing colour film, for cinema and photography. Today, a museum opened in 2018, tells the story of this extraordinary factory.

Taste the famous Farinata Bianca

If you are familiar with the yellow chickpea farinata, in Savona you will find the world’s only white farinata. The perfect white farinata must have the just right consistency, crunchy but at the same time soft, and be cooked in a special oven at a temperature of 400 degrees Celsius. And the same oven cannot be used to make pizzas.

Apple Museum - ph credit AAA Museum

All About Apple. Over 10,000 items on display

This museum is unique of its kind and can boast the entire Apple production from the dawn of 1976 to the present day-  over 10,000 pieces. To date, it is the best stocked Apple museum in the world and allows visitors to explore first-hand the machines on display - over a hundred of them, in rotation – all of which are switched on and in working order. The collection includes personal computers, monitors, printers, minor peripherals, manuals, brochures, posters, various software titles in cd-roms and floppy disks, packages, prototypes, pins and many other accessories. In addition, an area is dedicated to non-Apple machines: a tribute to the home and personal computers of the pre ms-dos era.

Apple Museum - ph credit AAA Museum

Thrill to the tolling of the Peace Bell  

Every day at 6pm, the bell at the War Memorial strikes 21 chimes, one per letter of the alphabet, in memory of the victims of all wars. At the instant of the first chime everything stops: cars in the middle of crossroads, pedestrians on the spot where they find themselves, shopkeepers as they are serving customers. This is an intense and emotional experience which has been going on every day for almost 100 years. Fun fact: this is the Savona attraction with the highest score on TripAdvisor. 

Ceramics Museum - ph credits Federico Farci

A world of white and blue maiolica 

Blue veins that contrast with the white of the glaze: the charm of maiolica ceramics is timeless and still today it is synonymous with quality and its roots are in the Savona area. In the Ceramics Museum in the heart of the town, you visit the maiolica workshops, also those of master ceramists, and at the Majolica Festival in May visitors will find pottery wheel exhibitions and monumental kilns.

Sistine Chapel

Enter the world's only “other” Sistine Chapel  

Savona has the “other” Sistine Chapel, commissioned by the same Pope, Sixtus IV (1471-1484), a great patron of art together with his nephew Giuliano Della Rovere, later to become Pope Julius II. The magnificent original frescoes are no longer visible except for a few small portions, but this rarity is well worth a visit.  

Whale watching in the Pelagos Cetacean Sanctuary

From the port of Savona, located in the historic centre, you can set off on daily excursions of whale watching in the Pelagos Cetacean Sanctuary. marine area is among the richest in marine life in the Mediterranean. Every year research vessels travel around the Mediterranean to monitor the health status and sightings of cetaceans. In 2023 2,900 kilometres were covered and more than 360 sightings recorded, most of them of dolphin, followed by fin whales, sperm whales, pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins.

On the trail of Milena Milani, with Picasso Magritte and others

Milena Milani was one of the great writers of the 20th century, and her voice is kept alive by the Milena Milani Foundation with the works she collected during her lifetime, together with her partner Carlo Cardazzo, and exhibited today in the Savona Art Gallery. On display are, among others, the famous “Portrait of Milena” by Pablo Picasso, “Portrait of Milena Milani” by Lucio Fontana as well as important works by Magritte, De Chirico, Jorn, Dubuffet, Twombly, Man Ray, Sassu and others.

A sensory and emotional journey through the Italian history of Lavazza coffee awaits visitors aat the famous Nuvola in Turin.

An open space for sharing projects, food and culture

The Nuvola, the headquarters of the Turin coffee brand, was inaugurated in 2018 and is an open space for sharing projects, food and culture. This is the basic idea behind the Nuvola Lavazza project, a name that reflects Lavazza's desire to look to the future, promoting sharing, the circulation of ideas and openness to the world, while maintaining strong ties with the city of Turin, the place of its origins where the brand was founded in 1895.



A gourmet restaurant, a museum and areas for events

Located in the Aurora district, the 30,000 sqm building with its contemporary architecture is fluid and light, with large windows reflecting the sky, giving it a cloud-like appearance. Inside, in addition to offices, there is a gourmet restaurant, a bistro, an interactive museum, a large events space, an archaeological area and the headquarters of the Institute of Applied Art and Design (Iaad). The project - curated by Cino Zucchi - recovers and enhances the disused area of the former power station in the Aurora district. Where once noisy machinery used to operate, there are now several modular spaces on over 4,500 sqm that continue to produce energy but in another form, through events. Here, in the main body of the building, the large event space of the Lavazza Cloud: Lo Spazio, at La Centrale, can accommodate up to a thousand people.

The Condividere Restaurant has one Michelin star

The gourmet restaurant Condividere by Lavazza was designed together with the Catalan chef Ferran Adrià, with set design by Dante Ferretti and cuisine by Federico Zanasi. It is a new proposal of excellence, an unprecedented concept expressing a new philosophy of taste and a new way of eating food inspired by the informal sharing of signature dishes. Sharing focuses on the raw materials, the substance, the food and its quality, rediscovering the profound sense of spontaneity and cheerfulness of Italian
hospitality. Zanasi's dishes aim at changing the paradigm of contemporary Italian cuisine and there is a dedicated, separate and specially-equipped area for desserts and enjoying the final ritual of coffee. Sharing in 2019, just one year after it opened, was awarded a Michelin Star.

The fresh nutritional menus rotate daily

The Casa Lavazza Bistrot - in collaboration with Slow Food – has a menu which is attentive to the quality of the food and nutritional composition and places the person at the centre. The menus, fresh and attentive to nutritional values, rotate daily and are divided into three island-restaurants: Tierra! for green and conscious cuisine, San Tommaso 10 for Italian street food and Murisengo for traditional national and Piedmontese dishes. At the end of 2022, there was a change of management at the Bistrot with a new inspirational guide, Federico Zanasi, chef at Condividere, who supports Steve Caruso, former sous chef at Condividere and now head of the Bistrot kitchen.



The Lavazza Museum contains an ancient basilica

“Coffee is always the beginning of something’ said Francesca Lavazza and The Lavazza Museum offers visitors a sensorial-emotional journey through the history of this tasty beverage so important in Italian culture. It has multimedia and interactive spaces ranging from the history of the Lavazza family to that of 20th century Italian industry. Adjacent to the Museum is the Lavazza Historical Archive, a space that contains thousands of documents, stories and images from the company’s history. Inside in the archaeological area it is possible to admire the remains of an ancient early-Christian basilica, dating back to the 4th-5th century AD. The Piazza Verde square is open to the city and is in the centre of the Cloud, an ideal meeting point for sharing projects, food and culture. It consists of the company headquarters with La Centrale and the Lavazza Museum, Condividere and the Casa Lavazza Bistrot with the Archaeological.



Area and the Iaad headquarters. Piazza Verde is one of the first smart areas in Turin, with low-consumption LED lighting.

Two new Wizz Air routes from Skopje and Katowice to Bari in Puglia.

Brindisi- Katowice flights will start next summer

With the start of winter 2025, the low-cost airline will connect Skopje (Macedonia) to Bari. The flight, operated with an Airbus A320, will operate twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays, from 27 October to 12 December. From 15 December until 27 March 2026, frequencies will increase to three, with the addition of a Wednesday flight. Then a four-times-weekly connection - Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays - with the Polish city of Katowice will be introduced to Brindisi, with the 2026 summer operation - from next March.

“Puglia has never before been connected to Macedonia”

"The launch of the new Wizzair flights to Skopje, an absolute novelty for Puglia which has never before been connected to Macedonia, is part of the strategy to expand the air market to nearby Balkan areas, historically linked to our region - notes the president of Aeroporti di Puglia, Antonio Maria Vasile. -This wide-ranging strategy aims to target emerging markets with high growth potential, also in periods outside the traditional tourist season. For the Apulia region Wizzair is a strategic business partner thanks to the capillarity and efficiency of its flights to the most important destinations in Eastern Europe, which, in addition to their tourist potential, represent an extraordinary opportunity for Apulian companies operating in those areas.”

Poland is a rapidly growing market

As for the Salento airport, "the new flight is part of Brindisi airport's international network expansion plan to which our facilities, in agreement with the Puglia Region, are giving great impetus. ones We are focusing very strongly on the emerging markets of Eastern Europe. The flights from Katowice intercepts the growing demand of the Polish market, which in recent years has stood out as one of the most dynamic source markets for Apulian tourism, which has always had a strong element of attraction in the Salento region.”

On the Monteverdi Tuscany estate art, culture and history intertwine in perfect harmony for a series of autumn concerts. 

A unique setting in a Romanesque church

Located in Castiglioncello del Trinoro in Tuscany’s Val d'Orcia this exclusive residence offers an experience that goes beyond hospitality. Monteverdi is a meeting point for artists, musicians and creative minds, who find in this unique setting an inexhaustible source of emotion and suggestion.  For the new season, Monteverdi has inaugurated an exclusive concert programme, hosted in its recently restored Romanesque church which has been transformed into a space dedicated to the performing arts.   

In partnership with the Metropolitan Opera

The 2025 concert series is a journey through exceptional performances, special encounters with internationally renowned artists and the timeless beauty of Tuscany. The programme, in collaboration with Stagedoor and the Lindemann Artists Program, and made possible through a prestigious partnership with the Metropolitan Opera, celebrates musical excellence with a repertoire that spans genres and eras. From young talents to grand masters, each concert will be an immersion in music in its most authentic form, framed by the magical atmosphere of the Monteverdi estate.

14 September 2025 Anna Goryachova (voice, mezzo-soprano) and Mirca Rosciani (piano)

One of the most accomplished mezzo-sopranos of her generation, Anna Goryachova has performed in major international theatres, from La Scala in Milan to the Royal Opera House in London, collaborating with conductors of the calibre of Daniel Barenboim, Alberto Zedda and Teodor Currentzis.  Mirca Rosciani, conductor, chorus conductor and pianist, has been a permanent guest of the Rossini Opera Festival since 2016 and a leading figure on the Italian music scene. 

26 September 2025 Gabriele Strata (piano)

Gabriele Strata is considered among the most promising Italian pianists of the new generation. And is a winner first prize at the Rio de Janeiro International Competition and the Premio Venezia.  Invited to major international concert seasons, he has performed at the Berliner Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and toured Europe, Asia and South America. 

13 October 2025 Ana Maria Labin (voice, soprano) and Julia Lynch (piano)

A talented mezzo-soprano in the Baroque and Mozart repertoire, Ana Maria Labin’s career has taken her to the stages of Europe's most important theatres, including the Berlin Staatsoper, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Théâtre La Fenice and the Salzburger Festspiele.   Julia Lynch, artistic director of the Mascarade Opera Foundation in Florence, is an internationally renowned vocal coach. Also active as a chamber musician, she has participated in major festivals, collaborating with conductors such as Kirill Petrenko, Kent Nagano and Christian Thielemann. 

18 October 2025 Duo Improbabile - Virginia Guastella (piano) and Claudio Trotta (drums)

The Duo Improbabile was born from the encounter between pianist and composer Virginia Guastella and drummer Claudio Trotta, in a crossover project that crosses the languages of classical, jazz, rock and avant-garde music.  Virginia Guastella is the author of works performed at prestigious international festivals and institutions; Claudio Trotta, former member of the historic prog band Deus Ex Machina, is known for his stylistic versatility and the depth of his rhythmic and creative approach. 

Music and the timeless charm of Tuscany

These are just some of the extraordinary performers at the 2025 Monteverdi during the season. The full programme ranges through epochs and styles, alternating “opera residencies”, forays into jazz and refined chamber music performances, all immersed in the timeless charm of Tuscany.  For information and reservations: https:// monteverdituscany.com/ 

Oriana Homèl has opened new signature residences and suites in two iconic properties in Treviso and Trapani.

Signature residences in Veneto and Sicily 

Oriana Homèl, an Italian company specialized in contemporary hospitality, has announced the opening of signature residences in the former Mulino Mandelli in Treviso and the Palazzo della Banca d'Italia former bank building in Trapani. Combining historical charm, architectural vision and sustainable hospitality the properties - one in the productive and fluvial heart of the Veneto region, the other on the luminous waterfront of western Sicily - become symbols of the brand's growth strategy: re-inhabiting extraordinary places and giving them a new lease of life through authentic and refined hospitality. 

The services of a conventional hotel

Oriana Homèl is an innovative idea of hospitality in design apartments, in skillfully restored historic buildings, which provide the services of a conventional hotel. This avant-garde solution offers more comfort and space to its guests with green-certified units using energy from renewable sources. Modern and tastefully furnished, in a facility with concierge and centralised services, the HOMÈL concept offers the comforts of a home with the services of a hotel.

Treviso: the power of water and memory

Twenty-three flats will be built as part of a unique hotel tourist residence in the heart of Treviso, inside the historic former Mulino Mandelli. The project, by Studio Matteo Thun & Partners, reinterprets a milling complex dating back to the 15th century, built at the confluence of the Sile and Storga rivers, and transforms it into a welcoming and harmonious space. After centuries of milling and industrial activity, the mill is preparing to enjoy a new lease of life while keeping its architectural value and productive soul intact. The reconversion, strongly oriented towards environmental sustainability, is a rare example of urban regeneration for tourism in an industrial archaeology building.

Trapani: elegance by the sea

Overlooking the dock and the crystal-clear sea of Sicily, Oriana Homèl will open 23 suites inside the former headquarters of the Bank of Italy in th city of Trapani. The monumental building designed in the 1950s by architect Decio Marrone - erected on the site of the historic Garibaldi Theatre - is now being converted into a high-profile accommodation facility, with a public gallery, cultural spaces, restaurants and a spectacular terrace-solarium from which to admire the Egadi Islands. 

Searching for properties in Florence and Venice 

These two new openings are crucial milestones in the 2025-2030 business plan, which envisages two openings per year – both in primary and emerging locations - with the aim of reaching around 250 flats nationwide and with a turnover of some €20 million. Negotiations for further openings are at an advanced stage, while the search for properties in Florence and Venice continues. 

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Autumn in the Lazio region brings a host of food festivals to suit every palate.

A “sagra” is a traditional food festival 

As the summer crowds thin, the Lazio region’s medieval towns burst into life with authentic sagre food festivals that celebrate local harvests as well as re-enactments and historical celebrations. These events offer ready-made, authentic experiences that can be paired with Rome city stays, overnights or Lazio countryside tours.

Chestnuts and Medieval pageantry in Soriano and Caprarola

From the first weekend of October through mid-month, Soriano nel Cimino’s “Sagra delle Castagne” (4–20 October 2025; dates vary slightly each year) is one of Italy’s oldest chestnut festivals. Expect historical re-enactments, flag-throwers, parades and open-air roasting pits perfuming the town’s cobbled streets. Nearby Caprarola celebrates its own chestnut sagra on the second and third weekends of October, often combined with hazelnut, honey and wine tastings. Both towns are around 90 minutes’ drive from Rome and both coach parking and guided group tours can be arranged through the local Pro Loco associations.

New olive oil and the Tuscia wine route

November brings the olive harvest, and Canino’s “Festa dell’Olio Novello” (7–9 November 2025)  celebrating the newly-pressed oil, offers mill tours, bruschetta tastings, and DOP olive oil workshops. Packages can combine the festival with visits to Tarquinia’s Etruscan tombs or the Tuscia wine route. Canino is about 120 km northwest of Rome and local farms often welcome groups for tastings with advance booking.

Truffles and Slow Food in Rieti and Casperia

The prized black truffle takes centre stage at the “Sagra del Tartufo” in Rieti (last weekend of October) and Casperia (first weekend of November). These atmospheric hill towns offer truffle markets, cooking demonstrations, and pasta dishes topped with fresh shavings of the prized black tuber. Logistics tip: combine with nearby abbeys or hikes in the Sabina hills for active-gourmet itineraries.



Foos festivals are perfect for day trips or one-night extensions

Many festivals are weekend-based and most  of these towns are within 90 to 120 minutes of Rome and as such are ideal for day trips or one-night extensions. Coach access and parking are generally available outside the historic centres, with shuttle buses often provided. For FITs car hire or private transfers are the best solution, and in Lazio the autumn weather is mild, although the evenings are cooler.