La Fenice reborn from its ashes

It was 29 January 1996, when the Teatro La Fenice in Venezia was completely destroyed in an arson started by an electrician working at the renovation.
All the major national institutions worked to guarantee the re-construction of the beautiful theatre, and after 8 years the theatre was finally re-built. On 14 December 2003, the new Fenice was inaugurated before the then President of the Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, with a concert directed by Riccardo Muti. Since 1st January 2004, to celebrate the re-edification of the theatre, every New Year’s Day the Concerto di Capodanno takes place to enhance with opera pieces the famous symphonic concert at the Musikverein in Vienna. If you are in Venice stop by Campo San Fantin (San Marco), and enjoy a tour of the Fenice and maybe even a show !

Italy’s three capitals

The unification of Italy followed the events of the years 1860 and 1861.
At the first convocation of the Italian Parliament (in February 1861), Vittorio Emanuele II was proclaimed king of Italy.
In 1866, after the Third Independence War, Veneto and part of Lombardy were taken from the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and incorporated into the Italian kingdom.
In 1870, with the defeat of Rome, Lazio was subtracted from the Church State and included in the Italian Kingdom.
Roma became the official capital of Italy, after Torino, which was the capital city from 1861 to 1865, and Firenze, capital from 1865 to 1870.

The stolen grammar

There is a small town where punctuations marks and grammar words are mysteriously disappearing. Thus, every morning, Mr. Giacomo, the elementary teacher, and his pupils work to recover single pieces of the lost grammar.
From the children TV-show on language learning on Rai 3, written and directed by Corrado Veneziano, comes the book "Accipicchia, ci hanno rubato la lingua" -with dvd- (Giunti Junior 2009, 12 Euros), an enjoyable little text on the mysteries of languages.

Calvino’s five senses

It is one of the least known books by Italo Calvino, actually to be precise it is not even a book, rather a "collection of notes"written during a conference in 1983. It is "Sotto il sole giaguaro".
Here it is how Calvino himself introduces the story:
"Un libro che sto scrivendo parla dei 5 sensi, per dimostrare che l'uomo contemporaneo ne ha perso l'uso. Il mio problema scrivendo questo libro è che il mio olfatto non è sviluppato, manco di attenzione auditiva, non sono un buongustaio, la mia sensibilità tattile è approssimativa, e sono miope."
We highly recommend this charming reading that you will surely enjoy: an authentic sensory experience!