Fifteen venues have been chosen in the towns of Camagna, Vignale, Montemagno and Castagnole to host Panorama Monferrato from 4 to 8 September 2024.

The Belmond Group is a main sponsor

This, the fourth edition of the diffused exhibition launched by the Italics network in 2021, and which comprises over 70 galleries of ancient, modern and contemporary art on an annual basis, connecting architecture, art and landscape with the territory and its communities. And, for the third consecutive year, the Belmond Group has confirmed its support as main partner.

This year the exhibition’s theme is Monferrato

After the experiences on the island of Procida (2021), in Monopoli (2022) and in L'Aquila (2023), the choice has therefore been made to deal with a very different context from the previous editions: Monferrato where hills, landscapes and rural traditions combine to create a unique cultural heritage. Curated by Carlo Falciani, Panorama Monferrato develops its exhibition itinerary in the four towns, creating an active and constant dialogue with the territory, its institutions and inhabitants.

Exciting venues in 4 Monferrato towns

From the former Cottolengo charity centre, to the town hall in Camagna, from Palazzo Callori to the Church of the Battuti in Vignale, from the castle to the Voltoni Scalea Barocca in Montemagno, from the Church of the Annunziata to the Maestra House and the former Regina Elena nursery school in Castagnole. These are the venues that are preparing to host a never-before-seen story, the result of the contribution of 62 Italics galleries and 63 artists (from the masters of the past to big names of contemporary art), who with their works, ranging from painting to sculpture and from installations to video-art, present a cross-section of art history from the 2nd century A.D. to the present day.

Each town is involved at a different time of day

As with previous editions Panorama will activate special projects and collaborations with the region's cultural institutions, with the aim of establishing deep and lasting connections and generating virtuous relationships that can go beyond the event itself. In fact Panorama Monferrato's public programme accompanies visitors by activating each town along the route at different times of day. For example, from the first Wednesday and for the entire duration of the event, in the Fiorenzo Rizzone municipal theatre in Castagnole, the public will be invited to take part in a visual journey through the history of Monferrato, its history, culture and territory with a continuous screening of films, short films and documentaries from 1950 to the present day.

According to a study by Holidu.it, one of Europe's largest booking portals for holiday homes and flats, Sardinia absolutely dominates the list of Italy’s 50 best-loved beaches. 

Puglia, Liguria and Tuscany follow well behind Sardinia

Sardinia has a truly impressive number of beaches in the top 50, with 39 out of 50 in the ranking, and all of them in the first 12 positions.  The Puglia region follows well behind with four beaches, the first of which is the Porto Selvaggio beach in 20th position, followed by San Pietro in Bevagna in 22nd. Liguria and Tuscany each have two beaches; for the former  Boccadasse in 16th place and Varigotti Beach 39th, while Tuscany  is represented by two beaches on the Island of Elba: Cavoli beach in Campo in 17th place and Padulella beach in Portoferraio in 38th place. And there is one beach each for Marche, Calabria and Abruzzo.

Scivu Beach on the Costa Verde takes first prize

The top 12 positions in the ranking are all in Sardinia and dominating the list is the beach of Scivu, one of the most enchanting stretches of the Costa Verde, in the territory of Arbus, on the south-west coast of Sardinia. Its strong point is certainly the fact that it is an isolated beach, far from any built-up areas. and it is also known for its golden sand dunes and crystal-clear waters.  Its wild and uncontaminated environment makes it one of Sardinia's most beautiful and striking beaches. 

Is Arutas

Is Arutas and Porto Giunco are 2nd and 3rd

In second place is the beach of Is Arutas located in the Sinis Peninsula on the central-western coast and  isfamous for its sand consisting of small grains of quartz of various colours ranging from white to pink to green: it is a true paradise for nature and diving lovers. The third place goes to Porto Giunco beach, located near Villasimius which has a long stretch of white sand and a turquoise sea and is not far from the Notteri Langoon which is populated by pink flamingos. 

The Chia area and the Gulf of Cagliari close the top five

Fourth is the beach of Su Giudeu located in Chia and famous for its golden sand and surrounding dunes whose extremely clear and shallow water makes it ideal for families and from which it is possible to spot flamingos and other spectacular bird species. Mari Pintau, in the Gulf of Cagliari completes the top 5. Mari Pitau means “painted sea” and refers to the extraordinary colour of the sea, which ranges from turquoise to deep blue. For information: https://www.holidu.it/casa-vacanze/italia#migliori-spiagge

The anchovy played a historic role in the history of the ancient salt trails of Liguria and Piedmont.

The ancient salt trading routes 

Piedmont and Liguria are two neighboring northern Italian regions, one with Milan as its capital and the other with Genoa as its main city. In the Middle Ages the salt routes between these two regions were lands of passage for shepherds, pilgrims, mule-traders, traders and travellers who, from western Liguria and nearby Provence in France, reached Piedmont via the Alpine passes, giving rise to dense networks of trade.

Itineraries and trails waiting to be discovered 

The territory between the Italian Alps and the Ligurian Sea is dotted with concrete evidence of these constant passages that can be visited today on itineraries that include churches, monuments, castles, places of rest and prayer along the walking trails.  Since Roman times salt had been one of the main ways of preserving food. In fact the word “salary” derives from the pay of Roman soldiers, and it was a precious commodity. It is believed that the trade in salted anchovies was used to disguise the transport of salt, thus avoiding the hated tax but then authorities levied a compulsory salt tax making anchovies an even expensive raw material.

The ancient salt routes are outdoor tourism attractions 

Today, those salt routes have lost their commercial connotation, assuming an important role for outdoor tourism, but there are many traditions still linked to these ancient routes. Among them, the Way of Worship of Saint Limbania, for example, follows the route of the muleteers who transported goods from the Genoese ports to Piedmont via the Via dei Giovi trail. 

Tours and workshops on the history of salt 

On this path of worship the first of the churches is in Voltri which is 17 kilometres from the city of Genoa. From there, the ancient salt road connects this part of Liguria with Piedmont, winding its way to another small church in Rocca Grimalda in the province of Alessandria in Piedmont. Every year this route is walked by courageous volunteers, who in three days faithfully retrace the road that once laboriously saw the transit of salt and other goods. Tours and workshops dedicated to the history of salt and these ancient trading routes between Liguria and Piedmont are organized by the Consorzio Sistema Monferrato and the ViA(E) per Viaggiare network. For information:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Falk Tours, the Falkensteiner DMC is expanding its European presence in Southern Italy as well as in Croatia, Poland.

Working through Norma Vacanze in Palermo

As it begins with Falk Tours Croatia and Falk Tours Poland, Falk Tours is also acquiring regional expertise in the south of Italy with Nino and Franco Caronia of Norma Vacanze providing an attractive offer and operating from Palermo under the brand name Falk Tours Italy South.

Falk Tours is also based in South Tyrol

“We have been working with our national partners for many years in a spirit of trust and are now consolidating these partnerships on a long-term and equal footing,- says Andreas Arquin, who manages the European business with Giovanni Cocco in the new Falk Tours holding company in Zurich. The well-established Falk Tours & Partner, based in Varna in South Tyrol, will continue to be responsible for activities in Northern Italy and still be managed by Arquin and Cocco.

In 20023 Falk Tours totalled some 100.000 bookings

The first allotments for hotels, campsites and mobile homes in the new markets should be available for travel partners in the coming weeks. “We are focusing on guaranteed facilities with full access to prices and availability, as well as channel manager connections, and aim to have a wide network in the destinations,” says Cocco. The six destination brands for Italy (North and South), Croatia, Austria, Germany and Poland are in fact only the first step in this ambitious project. "Falk Tours totalled around 100,000 bookings in 2023. For our dealers, we want to be a one-stop shop for the whole of Europe,” adds Arquin, who is also looking for new partners and tour dealers in Western and Northern Europe.

Developing a scalable booking system

With its renewed DMC focus, Falk Tours now only holds a minority stake in the tour operator Falk Travel, which was acquired earlier this year by FTI founder Dietmar Gunz and technology entrepreneur Alexej Boiko. The former TraveLeague brand will also be divested. “Falk Travel is now one of our many major tour operator partners,” concludes Cocco, who adds that the  company is currently developing a new scalable booking system.

theOne Viaggi is growing its supplier network and making alliances with new international partners.

Recovery and new partners

theOne Viaggi’s new 2025 Student Groups and Adult Groups - Art Cities in Italy & Europe catalogues are scheduled for autumn. After the difficult period of the pandemic, the recovery continues for the San Marino-based DMC which recently concluded new alliances with international tour operators and expanded its network of suppliers. 

“Our clients are Italian and foreign travel agencies and coach companies”

“Investments in technology are also continuing to improve our operational efficiency and ensure a smoother and more personalized interaction with our clients, who are exclusively Italian and foreign travel agencies and coach companies,” says sales executive Federica Costa.

More special offers on the way

The Bonus €500 adult group campaign, valid for departures up to 30 September, is also proving very successful. “We therefore plan to propose other interesting offers in the short term. The new campaigns will aim to strengthen existing partnerships, guaranteeing advantageous and innovative offers that meet the different needs of customers according to the type of group requested.” 

In Forgarida in the Trentino region, Armon has finally opened the first 4-star ski resort of the Greenblu Hotels & Resorts group. 

Redeveloped and repositioned 

The property, with over 100 rooms and formerly known as Hotel Annamaria, has undergone a major redevelopment and repositioning and now includes a restaurant, bistro bar, wellness area, gym, swimming pool and a children's play area.

Just 100 metres from a large ski lift

The location is strategic: in fact, the asset is only 100 metres from the large ski lift of the renowned Campiglio-Dolomiti di Brenta ski area, close to the best ski resorts in the region. For its management, Greenblu signed a lease agreement with Pendragon Mountain, itself part of the Pendragon Real Estate Fund, an investment fund with a focus on hospitality assets in Trentino, Sardinia and France. The entire process was overseen by the hospitality department of Wcg-World Capital Group, advisor to both the property and the tenant.

“Happy to see the commercial repositioning of the property”

“For us it is fundamental to create new partnerships between players in the hospitality industry, whether they are investors or hotel operators,-  said Cristina Gentile, senior real estate consultant hospitality at Wcg. -The deal between Pendragon Mountain and Greenblu Hotels & Resorts is a virtuous example of this. We are happy to see the enhancement of Armon, both in terms of the quality of the asset and the commercial repositioning of the property.” 

Following its recent listing on the stock market the Soges Group has now acquired the Borgo di Cortefreda hotel in Barberino Tavernelle in Tuscany.

One acquisition follows another

Coming close on the heels of the acquisition of the Park Hotel Chianti, the closing of which has been postponed to 30 September “due to a delay in the delivery of some documents by the owners,” the Group has already concluded another sale in the region. It is the Borgo di Cortefreda Hotel in Barberino Tavernelle, already managed by Soges under its Place of Charme brand and owned by the Immobiliare Chiostrini company. The transaction has a total value of just over €5.1 million, most of which was financed by Intesa Sanpaolo.

A 4-star in the Chianti hills with MICE facilities

Borgo di Cortefreda is a 4-star hotel nestled in the Chianti hills with 55 rooms, a restaurant and bar, meeting rooms for congresses and events, a swimming pool and a spa. ‘The operation started in 2021 and has finally been concluded,- says Soges’ founder and president Paolo Galardi. – In line with the strategy and timing drafted for the IPO, the company's acquisition operations continue, boosting our position in hotel and conference hospitality, which comes under the Place of Charme brand.”

A few months after the leaks early this year, Hines and Clessidra have finally decided to invest in open air projects by entering the capital of the Human Company group. 

Projects for sustainable villages 

The operation involves the subscription of a capital increase of €120 million by the international investment group and the Italian private equity operator in a newly established company. The move aims to support Human Company's growth ambitions, while also enhancing the real estate and corporate governance skills of the Tuscan company controlled by the Cardini and Vannucchi families. Also on the horizon are important greenfield projects for the creation of a product based on sustainable village concepts open to exchange with their surrounding areas.

Human Company has ten villages and campsites

This is Hines' first investment in open air tourism and is part of a broader strategy involving so-called alternative assets. Human Company now has ten villages and campsites in Tuscany, Veneto, Lazio and Luxembourg, plus two 2.0 hostels under the Plus Hostel brand in Florence and Prague, as well as the Palagina Estate in the Chianti hills. 

Mercato Centrale F&B outlets around Italy 

It also has a F&B format called Mercato Centrale, currently active in Florence, Rome, Turin, Milan and Campi Bisenzio. The company boasts a turnover of some €150 million, with an ebitda of €40 million forecast for 2024, just for the open-air sector.