Venice
A cloud of controversy hangs over the new, fourth bridge being built over Venice's Grand Canal. Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava's curving structure has been bashed by locals as a waste of funds, but now critics have something else to moan about: it appears to be unstable. The ANSA news agency reported in January that the frame shifted one centimeter, toward a maximum tolerance of four centimeters. Official projections still forecast that the bridge will be complete and open to traffic by spring.
Construction of the massive, retractable dam, called MOSE (Moses), that will stem the periodic flood waters, is also on schedule. The latest accomplishment is a navigation lock that will allow large ships to enter the lagoon while the gates are closed, but this project is causing ecological controversy.
One way to learn more about that hotbed Venetian issue is to take a seminar on the ecology of Venice with author-ecologist Jane da Mosto. The class is one of several new offerings from Context Travel (www.contexttravel.com), which hosts walks, classes and workshops led by experts in their fields. A few other novelties are an after-hours visit to the Basilica of San Marco, and a guided tour of the Padua open-air markets, followed by an annotated lunch on Veneto cuisine.
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Niche tourism is indeed the hottest trend in Italian hospitality. The tourist board of Friuli Venezia Giulia (www.turismofvg.it) has just rolled out a series of novelties to perhaps draw some Venice-bound travelers up to their oft-overlooked but fascinating northeast corner. For aviation buffs, the region offers an up-close look at the Italian Air Force's famous acrobatic team, the "Frecce Tricolore." The package includes a trip to their base in Rivolto, just outside of Udine.
Milan
After an exhaustive, three-year gutting and remodeling of the Hotel Manzoni (Via Santo Spirito 20; tel. 02-7600-5700; www.hotelmanzoni.com), the formerly three-star bastion of affordability has opened its doors to a whole new look. Newly opened as a four-star hotel, it now lists prices that are a little more congruent with its affluent surroundings, and of course, with all the 21st century necessities: among them, a business center, wellness center and wireless internet throughout.
That's welcome news for those who have noticed the dearth of decent hotel rooms in Milan on a busy week Â? especially when there is a trade show on Â? even better news is that the neighborhood near the Fiera-Rho fairgrounds is adding two sprawling, ultra-modern hotels, which should be finished in the fall. Not that industrial Rho offers much for those on vacation, but it should help ease the demand on downtown, and consequently, prices.
Get the closest look possible at Da Vinci's The Last Supper, before you even get to Milan. The Culture Ministry of Italy reported recently that, just 48 hours after posting an ultra high definition photo of the fresco online at www.haltadefinizione.com, the site was visited by more than 1.5 million viewers, or about five times as many people who come to see it first hand in an entire year.
The Lakes
Sadly, but not surprisingly, the Primula youth hostel (www.menaggiohostel.com) in Menaggio has decided it will close its doors as of Jan. 1, 2009. No word yet on who might lease the building on the shores of Lake Como, but the owners think it very unlikely that it will remain a hostel.
As an alternative to nearby Como, I wouldn't necessarily suggest staying in the relatively hum-drum city of Varese, but it should be noted Â? especially for those with a car Â? that Varese is adding thousands of new hotel rooms this winter to accommodate the hordes of tourists who will descend upon the cycling World Championships there this summer. Once that's over, we should see lots of inexpensive, shiny new rooms just a short drive from the lakefront, which is frighteningly short on budget options these days.
Piedmont & the Valle d'Aosta
Basking in the afterglow of its Olympic fame, Turin's flow of tourists has slowly increased, and has seen a number of newly opened restaurants. In my opinion the coolest of these is a take-out joint with a lineup of fried squid, shrimp and cod balls, and a simple name that packs a punch: ReCalamaro! Squid King! (Via Carlo Alberto 47/L; tel. 011-067-4264; www.recalamaro.it). It's open 7 days, and items run from 3.50 euros to 6.50 euros.
On the more upscale side of the spectrum is Casa Vicina, a.k.a "Guidopereataly", the latter name taken on by the latest generation of the Vicina family, who has been feeding Turin and its environs for about 100 years. In their new, chic digs on Via Nizza 224 (tel. 011-1950-6840; www.casavicina.it), game specialties like pheasant and rabbit are served with panache, and accompanied by an eye-popping wine list.
The sort of traveler who has the appetite and pocketbook for that kind of modern luxury would appreciate the sleek feel of the Town House suites, which have added a Turin location (Via XX Settembre, 70; www.townhouse.it) to their three in Milan.
After all the talk about the growth of wine tourism in Italy in recent years, I'd hate to sign off without at least one piece of recent wine news: the Agriculture Ministry decreed last year that all bottles of Italian wine bearing DOC labels (denominazione origine controllata) would require a separate sticker stating the production number and origin of the grapes. This year, Piedmont is the first to follow suit: from now on, all Piedmont DOC wines you buy will have a band with this sort of birth certificate on it, so you know just what you're getting and from whence it came.
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