Admission To Venice At A Cost

Admission To Venice At A Cost

Americans are very familiar with  paying admission fees to enter tourist attractions, but those traveling to Italy may have to get used to paying to enter a city.  

Having accommodated nearly 25 million visitors each year, Venice, Italy is becoming the first Italian city to charge visitors an entrance fee. This week, the city approved a 3 Euro per person fee for all day-trippers. The new day-trip entrance fee will go toward maintaining the World Heritage site.

 Reuters has reported that of the 25 million tourists who visit Venice each year, around 14 million spend just one day, and many take picnics and sleep on cruise ships, bringing little income to local businesses. Under a seven-year-old law, overnight guests are already charged a nightly tourist tax. The city is currently repositioning itself as an open-air museum and as Luca Zaia, 

One large hurdle with this proposal is that collecting the fee may get complicated. Day-trippers can enter the city by plane, cruise ship, car, train, or bus, so transport companies who bring tourists into Venice may add the entrance fee to their ticket price.

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What are your thoughts on the proposed fare to enter the city as a conservation effort? Join the conversation below!

Recovering Lost Italian Art

Recovering Lost Italian Art

8 works of stolen Italian art have been returned to Italy by Christie’s auction house. This marks a success for Rome’s continued effort to recover pieces that were illegally obtained and trafficked such as an Etruscan terracotta mask that experts have dated to between the 6th and the 5th century BC and a marble fragment from a sarcophagus which was identified as having been stolen after 1966.

Photo: The Telegraph

. Christie’s voluntarily returned them at a ceremony at the Italian embassy in London on Tuesday, which was attended by the country’s culture minister Alberto Bonisoli who stated that “The restitution confirms the effectiveness of the collaboration between our country and the giants of the art market such as Christie’s in the fight against illegal trafficking of works of art.”  Thankfully, only a small portion of work that passes through Christie’s doors (0.8%) is withdrawn from the sale process as a result of such investigation.

The cooperation was described as historic” by the embassy and an "important milestone in the protection of Italian cultural heritage.”

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We hope you’ve enjoyed learning how the Italian authorities are Recovering Lost Italian Art! Planning a trip to see these pieces in person? Our culturally immersive group classes and native instructors are sure to prepare you to enjoy the exhibits to the fullest. Click below to learn more!

Move To Italy (And Get Paid To Do It)

Move To Italy (And Get Paid To Do It)

Have you ever imagined waking up surrounded by lush meadows, snow-peaked mountains, and chestnut forests? Well imagine getting paid to move there. Giovanni Bruno Mattiet, the mayor a tiny village of Locana is offering foreigners up to just over $10,000 to make this seemingly dreamscape a home. Locana is the latest in a list Italian towns offering unbelievable property deals in a bid to revive their depopulated communities.

Photo: Homes & Property

Amazing, right? There must be a catch, right?

Of course there is. 

Those wishing to take advantage of this offer must have at least one child and a minimum annual salary of $6,800. 

Locana’s population has shrunk from 7,000 residents in the early 1900s to barely 1,500, after people left looking for a job at Turin’s big factories. The village school also faces the risk of shutting down due to so few pupils, so the aim is to draw mostly young people and professionals who work remotely or are willing to start a life in Italy. The $10,000 payout will also be payed out over the course of 3 years rather than a single lump-sum payment. 

Photo: vallesoana

Every year in the town there are only 10 births but 40 deaths, thus making it very hard to sustain a population, so while the offer was first only for Italians or foreigners who already live in Italy, the program has been extended to also include foreigners living outside Italy.

There are dozens of closed shops, bars, restaurants and boutiques just waiting for new people to run them. The country has already seen success stories, like Ollolai on the island of Sardinia, which sold dozens of properties for around $1, which have already been refurbished by young professionals and more Italians relocating to the village. 

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The Musical Growth of Tuscany Wine

The Musical Growth of Tuscany Wine

An Italian winemaker in Tuscany is helping his grapes grow by serenading them with classical music. 

Giancarlo Cignozzi started serenading his vineyards with the sounds of  Mozart 10 years ago and is finally seeing results.  He found the vines grew closer to the music and once they were in “earshot” grew larger.

He also found music scares away animals that eat the crops. The music confuses harmful bugs, making it harder for them to breed, and as a result, the vineyard uses little fertilizer and no pesticides.

The consumer electronics company "Bose" caught wind of the experiment and donated 72 speakers to help with the research. 

Giancarlo stands by his decision to play Mozart, but it has been argued that many other types of music, even heavy metal if it had enough bass will work in the same fashion to encourage growth among the plants.  

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Return to Sender

Return to Sender

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence has reached out to to German officials in an effort to retrieve a stolen 18th century Dutch painting from a German family. The oil painting, 'Vase of Flowers' by Dutch painter Jan van Huysum, has been the subject of much controversy over the last few decades as numerous requests for return by the Italian state have been ignored by the German citizens in possession of the art piece that was stolen during World War II. 

Originally, ‘Vase of Flowers” was part of a collection owned by another well-known Florence museum, the Palazzo Pitti and measured a modest 18x14 inches. After being shipped to Germany the work's whereabouts remained unknown until 1991, after Germany was reunified following the war.

Photo: Uffizi Galleries

Photo: Uffizi Galleries

Currently, a black and white copy of A Vase of Flowers" was hung Tuesday at the Uffizi Gallery (located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy), with the word "stolen" in English, German and Italian on it with a brief explanation informing viewers of that the work was stolen by Nazi soldiers in 1944 and is now in a German private collection.

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We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about how Italy is demanding that “A Vase of Flowers” is sent home in Return to Sender! Do you believe the German government has an obligation to return the painting to Italy? Join the conversation below!

The Top 3 Italian Festivals To Attend This Year

The Top 3 Italian Festivals To Attend This Year

Italy has announced the official dates of some of it’s most popular festivals this year. While we highly encourage experiencing this beautiful country at any time of the year, we’d like to introduce a few festivals that would be worth planning a trip around!

Verona In Love

Photo: travelhouse

The Valentines Day In Verona, Veneto could be the most romantic in the world. From the 11th-14th  of February, the setting of Romeo and Juliet, will be holding a celebration of romance with its streets and squares filled with live concerts and markets. Now in its 15th year, the famous festival of St Valentine’s Day  will illuminate the most charming views of the city including  the famous Juliet's balcony, Piazza dei Signori, the Lamberti Tower, the Old Market Courtyard. Hotels near the festivities book up quickly, so if you’re planning on making the trip, be sure to act sooner than later! 

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Ciliegi In Fiore

Typically when cherry blossom festivals are mentioned, Japan would be the obvious option. For Americans, New York has become a popular destination to view the beautiful blossoms. However, Vigona, Emilia Romagna is famous for its cherry trees, and if you’re a fan of cherry blossom then you’ll want to visit in late March or early April as the trees bloom. In recent years, the cherry crop has suffered badly from excess rain, and screens have been put up to protect the trees, however they will be open for display during the festival. The town hosts a variety of  parades, concerts, exhibitions, special restaurant menus and various other activities to enjoy surrounding the blooming season, and it is not a sight that should be overlooked. 

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Mille Miglia

From May 15th - 18th in Brescia Rome, you can enjoy the most exciting race in Europe at Mille Miglia (Thousand Miles). The long-running  race attracts a plethora of vintage car lovers to Italy every year. A selection of vintage cars travel no-stop from Brescia to Rome and back, with crowds greeting them at numerous Italian towns along the way. ) Originially, it was an open-road, motorsport endurance race which took place from 1927 to 1957 and brought out an estimated five million spectators. From 1953 until 1957, the Mille Miglia was also a round of the World Sports Car Championship.

Since 1977, the "Mille Miglia" has been reborn as a regularity race for classic and vintage cars. The route (Brescia–Rome round trip) is similar to that of the original race with the point of departure/arrival in Viale Venezia in Brescia.

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3 Must See European Year of Culture Heritage Events

3 Must See European Year of Culture Heritage Events

Italy has plenty to offer for the European Year of Culture Heritage 2018 which is hosting 1,136 events as part of the EU-wide ceremony. We’ve listed the 3 events you absolutely MUST SEE if you plan on being in attendance. 

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Chiaravalle Milanese

New Cultural Landscape is running until December 31st, 2018. 

An interactive project that involves residents, city-users and tourists in a "performative event" geared at regenerating this area on the outskirts of Milan. Chiaravalle is the name Saint Bernard of Clairvaux gave to the area when he founded the Cistercian abbey in 1135. Before 1923, Chiaravalle was an autonomous comune, named Chiaravalle Milanese, and despite being annexed to Milan, Chiaravalle has maintained the character of an autonomous town. The park that embraces the district also separates it from the urban agglomeration of the city. This isolation is reinforced by the scarceness of public transportation to the centre of the district.

"In a 1100-inhabitant-village, Chiaravalle’s old school gym has been transformed into a community hub, which aspires to become the local community’s hybrid cultural space dedicated to the landscape. terzo paesaggio’s goal is to provide workshop, based on the monks’ ancient tradition of cantieri scuola and memorable experiences," say the organizers.

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Palermo

Italian Capital of Culture 2018 is running until December 31st, 2018. The city of Palermo is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, that has played an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old. Palermo is located in the northwest of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Palermo is hosting 132 concerts, 132 exhibitions and 12,151 programs by artists as part of its designation as Italian Capital of Culture 2018. Dance, photography, architecture, street art, lectures and so much more in the Sicilian capital. 

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Venice

Venice Time Machine is running until December 31st, 2018. 

Venice is situated across a group of 118 small islands in northeastern Italy that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. and is renowned for it’s beautiful architecture and artwork. The lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

"The Venice Time Machine project, based on historical and cultural data from important archives and libraries and strengthened by advanced software and cutting-edge visualization methods, aims to build an interactive model of Venice and its social, economic and political environment during the centuries," according to MIBAC. 

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We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about the 3 Must See European Year of Culture Heritage Events! Planning a trip to be in attendance? Our native instructors and culturally immersive group classes can help you get the most out of all of the wonderful cultural celebrations taking place in Italy this year. Click below to learn more.

An Italian Sabbatical

An Italian Sabbatical

The American owned home-share company, Airbnb has been hit with many controversies over the last few years surrounding the issue that it’s customers have turned once residential areas into tourist hotspots. Critics say that this model has driven up property values and in essence made it impossible for residents to continue living in areas they have called home for most of their lives. The company, however,  is seeking to make amends with locals with a new project in the sultry south of Italy by recruiting 4 people to move to the village of Grottole in the region of Basilicata for a 3 month “Italian sabbatical”. 

Photo: Airbnb

During this trip, the participants will become part of the fabric of the community and to help revive the village. Like many places in Italy, particularly in the south, Grottole suffers from chronic depopulation to the point that the current population is  300 and there are around 600 empty homes in the town. The chosen candidates will enjoy an all-expenses-paid stay in the village, where they will be responsible for helping a local NGO, Wonder Grottole, revitalize the community.  In exchange, the candidates will be offered free accommodation, up to €900 in expenses per month & given the opportunity to enroll in cultural classes. 

Dying towns and villages across Italy have come up with a variety of novel solutions to avoid extinction. Some have offered empty houses for sale for just one euro (as you may remember in our article ___, including the hilltop towns of Gangi and Sambuca in Sicily, on condition that newcomers spend substantial sums restoring the properties.

The deadline for applications to this exciting opportunity will be on February 17th 2019.

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We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about how you can be paid to take An Italian Sabbatical! If you’re planning on applying, why not already have a head start with being able to communicate with your new potential home? Our culturally immersive group classes and native instructors can put you on the path to fluency faster than you may have every thought possible. Click below to learn more!

A Mafia Movie Musical

A Mafia Movie Musical

America has a long running tradition of movie musicals. With masterpieces such as “Singin’ in the Rain” to modern box office hits like “La La Land,” the genre has been cemented as an undeniable force in American film history. However, a new Italian take on the genre is causing quite a stir in the film community. "Ammore e Malavita" or “Love & Bullets” is described as a Mafia musical and made its debut as it opened the 12th annual San Diego Italian Film Festival.

Antonio Iannotta, the artistic director of the festival, has stated that the more accurate description for this crime film would be ‘a Camorra musical,’ since the film is set in Naples and the crime in that part of southern Italy goes by that name. "Ammore e Malavita" won the Donatello Award (the Italian equivalent of the Oscar) for Best Film earlier this year and is the festival choice.

Although Italy is the birthplace of opera, musicals are not really a part of its cinema. Iannotta said that Italian cinema doesn't have a tradition of musicals to draw on, but that the filmmakers, Antonio and Marco Manetti, come from outside the film industry and with a background making music videos.

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The Retro Return of Ellesse

The Retro Return of Ellesse

In the 1950’s, the Italian fashion brand, Ellesse, launched in the United States only to reach its peak from the 1980’s - 1990’s. Unfortunately, this slow climb appeared more like a sudden disappearance from the U.S. market overnight. However, it appears that those behind the company have vowed to make a return.

The first collection in the U.S. debuted in November and was sold only in boutique shops (including Extra Butter, Concepts and Nice Kicks) but is taking a drastic new turn in December sourcing to a much wider and accessible array of retailers  such as Urban Outfitters, Foot Locker and DTLR.

The initial collections were based heavily in retro-inspired design, including chunky outsoles on footwear and apparel with oversized graphic logos with bold branding, contrasting stripes and color blocking. The brand expects to have a presence in both footwear and apparel, tapping into its extensive archive and classic styles to pay homage to the brand’s past and will also maintain a tennis performance collection that will be available only in select pro shops (which have yet to be announced). 

Photo: Ellesse

Robert Dundon, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Pentland USA, brand manager for over 35 years has stated that “We will always pay homage to our roots in some capacity when it feels appropriate, but this is a new era for Ellesse…Our platform will be forward thinking, but we’ll never abandon our roots.”

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The Likely Origins of Torrone

The Likely Origins of Torrone

Italy has its fair share of legendary desserts, however one stands above them all around the holiday season: the Torrone. All over Italy, The candy known as Torrone is a southern European nougat confection, typically made of honey, sugar, and egg white, with toasted almonds or other nuts, and usually shaped into either a rectangular tablet or a round cake. As popular as this delectable treat is, its origins are heavily disputed amongst the Italian community.

The city of Cremona in Lombardy has long proclaimed itself as the home of classical Torrone and swears that the sweet was served there for the first time after the marriage of the Tuscan-born mercenary Francesco Sforz, to Bianca Maria Visconti on October 2, 1441. 

It has also been rumored that Torrone arrived in Cremona long before the marriage of Sforza and Bianca in the 1200’s when the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, visited the city along with his many gourmet chefs. There is strong evidence to suggest that he is responsible for why it is served during Christmas time since he had a tradition of eating an exotic candy on his birthday (which happens to fall on December 26th).

There is further evidence that the Torrone in Italy has an even longer past as historians have noted that Romans were introduced to the sweet treat by the Samnites during the years of the wars between them in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE.

Whatever the final verdict you come to on the origin of the Torrone, its place in Italian Christmas culinary rolodex has been cemented.

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Fighting Fascism With Food

Fighting Fascism With Food

The country that brought the world mozzarella cheese is also the birthplace to Mussolini’s fascism in the early 20th century. Neo-fascists still thrive in Italy today while using symbols of the past, including the Nazi Party swastika, to promote hate. In Verona, foodie and street artist, Pier Paolo Spinazzè, has created a solution to hate propaganda that has been on the rise by combining his longtime passions for food and art.

His subversive street art transforms divisive messages into culturally appropriate art almost everyone can get behind. Known as “Cibo,” which means food in Italian, he systematically covers swastikas and hate speech in Verona with paintings of food.

He, like the neo-fascists, repeats symbols with his work becoming so well-known that followers inform him whenever there is a new sighting of Neo-fascist graffitti.

For Spinazzè, even the most recognizable Italian dishes symbolize unity through diversity. For instance, A caprese salad of mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, & olive oil is an international project and a “message that cuisine is open to the world,” he says. “The basil comes from India, the oil from Syria, the mozzarella is Italian, and tomatoes originate in Colombia.”

Cibo’s street art is admired for its style and the substantive underpinnings. On his Facebook page, a fan recently wrote, “You are a hero.”

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Monopolizing Music

Monopolizing Music

Italian song rights collecting organization, SIAE has been ordered to seek out and resolve monopoly-related issues by Italy’s Competition Authority to end market distortion tactics.

Collective licensing (where music rights owners license as one through a collecting society) always raises monopoly concerns. How those monopoly concerns are dealt with by copyright or competition law varies hugely from country to country. In the U.S., the 2 largest rights holders: BMI and ASCAP are regulated, while in the UK collective licensing is subject to the intervention of the copyright tribunal. In most European countries, however, regulation of licensing has traditionally been much less formal and severe.

The European Union has sought to make the European collecting societies more competitive, both in terms of recruiting members and licensing rights. Responding to those moves within the EU, Italy changed its laws last year to encourage more competition in the licensing market. This has created a dispute between SIAE and two newer licensing organizations called Soundreef and Innovaetica.

SIAE is charged with having used tactics to prohibit songwriters to choose additional organizations to represent them. Because of this, the ICA has demanded that the SIAE not only immediately comply but also pay a fine of 1000 euros.

SIAE has responded by stating that it would evaluate the Competition Authority’s order until they are confident that the organization was compliant with the laws in place despite the regulator’s demands.

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Valuing Versace

Valuing Versace

U.S.-based fashion giant, Michael Kors, will gain a massive acquisition of the Italy's famous fashion house, Versace, for $2.1 billion later this year.

For those new to the world of high-fashion, Versace, is an Italian luxury fashion company that was founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. The main collection of the brand is Versace, which produces upmarket Italian-made ready-to-wear and leather accessories. 

Interestingly enough, The Versace logo is the head of Medusa, a Greek mythological figure. The logo came from the floor of ruins in Rome that the Versace siblings played in as children, and Gianni Versace chose Medusa as the logo because she made people fall in love with her and they had no way back, thus hoping his company would have the same effect on people. 

Michael Kors has made no secret of its ambition to grow its portfolio of high-end brands after acquiring the UK-based shoe brand, Jimmy Choo, for $1.2 billion last year. As part of the deal, however, the Versace family will keep a role in certain aspects of the company.

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A Brief History of Pasta

A Brief History of Pasta

As the cold season continues to roll in, we wanted to highlight a favorite comfort food that has spanned internationally for hundreds of years: Pasta.

If you somehow have not ever heard of this decadent entree, ”pasta" is Italian for paste, referring to the combination of flour and water that form over 600 different edible shapes worldwide and is usually eaten with different types of sauces or tossed with oil, herbs and spices (the exception being layered flat sheets like lasagna, which is baked and tubes and pillows which are stuffed).

It is a matter of much controversy with regards to the origin of this well-loved comfort food. One theory is that Marco Polo brought pasta back to Italy on his return from travels in China. This theory is however rejected by nationalistic Italians who claim that Marco Polo returned in 1295 but in 1279, a Genoese soldier listed in the inventory of his estate a basket of dried pasta. Another theory is that the origin of pasta dates back to an archeological find of Etruscan tombs. Carvings on some of the stucco reliefs in the tombs depicted a knife, board, flour sack and an iron pin which was interpreted that these instruments were used to make pasta.

In Naples, commercial pasta making took off when King Ferdinand II hired an engineer who devised a system of using a machine to knead and cut the dough. Naples soon became Italy's center of pasta. Macaroni and cheese was a popular dish in America during the Civil War, but it wasn't until the large scale Italian migration to America that pasta as we know it today became widespread.  The history of ravioli may be the most interesting of the bunch. The earliest records of ravioli appear in the preserved letters of Francesco di Marco in the 14th century. The city of Cremona claims to have created ravioli, but Genoa insists that the word ravioli comes from their dialect word for pasta, rabiole, which means "something of little value" and referred to the practice of poor sailors who suffered leftovers into pasta to be eaten for another meal.

So the heated debate continues down the ages paralleling pasta's continued development. Regardless, though, as to who did what and when, more importantly the world now enjoys pasta, and it has evolved without a doubt through the creativity and inventiveness of many including Italians who have embraced it as their own with the creation of shapes, sauces and processes.

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Unearthing Gold

Unearthing Gold

Nearly 300 Roman-era gold coins were discovered last week beneath the previous site of the historic Cressoni Theater in northern Italy. The coins were housed in a soapstone vase believed to be from 474 B.C. and in remarkable condition.

Photo: Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities

After the cinema construction crew discovered the collection, a team of archaeologists from the ministry excavated the coins and brought them to a lab in Milan, where they are in the process of being examined and conserved.

Photo: Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities

Historical records show that at least a part of the Roman Empire was collapsing around 1,500 years ago, with many wars being fought in Italy. Whether the deposit of the hoard has anything to do with the chaos that was engulfing the Roman Empire nearly 1,500 years ago is not settled, but current research may eventually provide answers.

Culture Minister Alberto Bonisoli said “More than exceptional, it’s epochal — one of those discoveries that marks the course of history,” during a Monday news conference. Archaeologists are now restoring and studying the coins at a laboratory in Milan, according to the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities.

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Touring The World Of Coffee

Coffee is absolutely synonymous with Italian culture and, when it comes to authentic Italian coffee, no feat is too large to appreciate the coveted caffeinated beverage. So it should come as no surprise that a new museum dedicated to everything espresso has opened it's doors in Turin.

The Lavazza Museum is the latest venture from the famous Italian company in 1895. The museum looks at coffee as a crop, as a ritual, as a commodity, and even as a vehicle for innovation. 

Ralph Appelbaum, the experience designer behind the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, planned the layout in collaboration with lighting designer Michael Grubb Studio. The resulting galleries take an interactive stroll through the world of espresso. The immersive, multimedia installations include a walk through of a simulated coffee plantation as well as a display of antique espresso machines. At the end of the tour, visitors can try one classic drink which includes espresso, drip coffee or, if you’re feeling fancy,  a coffee-infused cocktail. 

Photo" LaVazza

While you’re caffeinating, you’ll have plenty of time to plot out the rest of your visit to Turin as the city houses the Egyptian Museum, a historic Fiat factory with a rooftop test track, an automobile museum, and the famous Shroud of Turin, believed to be the cloth Jesus was buried in. 

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We hope you've enjoyed Touring The World Of Coffee! Looking to indulge in all of the caffeine related exhibits in the city of Turin? Our culturally immersive group classes and native instructors can put you on the path to fluency so that you get the most out of your trip! Click below to learn more!

Blanketted Fashion

Blanketted Fashion

In recent years, the famous Italian fashion brand, Gucci, has gone under quite a few changes. Once one of the pillars of high fashion, it has now become extremely popular as a “streetwear” brand. From the release of the “Dapper Dan” collection to the hiking-inspired Flashtrek sneaker, the company’s initiative to reach out to those in the high-end “everyday effortless” market is apparent. 

The latest Gucci piece is sure to cater to those who wish to spend more time indoors than out with their release of a fully graphic blanket crafted from woven wool. It features the undeniable Gucci logo pattern with fringed ends which pair perfectly with the new home collection. 

Photo: UpscaleHype

The all-over logo print has proved supremely popular this season. However, if you’re worried that a $1,750 Gucci blanket won’t get the exposure it absolutely needs, fall is right around the corner. Be sure to take a tip from world-renowned rapper, A$AP Rocky, and use it as a shawl. 

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Confiscating Counterfeits

Confiscating Counterfeits

A massive operation by the Guardia di Finanza (the Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance) found that 1 in 5 gas stations that were examined on Italy's roadsides are "illegal.” As millions of Italians begin to plan out travel routes, they may want to think twice about where they stop to refuel the vehicles. At 1,379 of the gas stations that were checked on Italy's roads, 500,000 liters of gasoline were confiscated for being fake.

Unfortunately, this seems to be a sign of a larger trend of tourist and traveller-targeted fraud. More than half of the vacation rentals investigated have not paid tax on their earnings or registered with the relevant authorities, according to Italy's Guardia di Finanza with landlords in the regions of Puglia, Tuscany and Lazio being the worst offenders.

In the town of Taormina, the Guardia di Finanza identified several B&Bs that had no record of existing while the owners made €130,000 without paying any tax and more than 2,000 commercial businesses had no license. Alarmingly, this means that just over 2,000 workers were paid under the table. In Verona, the operation even uncovered a criminal organization dedicated to employing illegal workers that were subjected to inhumane work schedules and barely livable wages. The criminal business even involved doctors who issued fake medical certificates and employees from Italy's social security and welfare institute INPS who falsified documents. 

As expected, the criminal ring also includes an element of narcotic trade. Nearly 600 suspects were stopped at various ports attempting to smuggle drugs, weapons and counterfeit cigarettes, resulting in 23 tons of various illegal narcotics being seized since mid-June 2018. A total of 9 million counterfeit goods were also seized over the summer with an average of 200,000 pieces removed from the market each day.

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We hope you've enjoyed Confiscating Counterfeits! Be sure to check out more articles from our culture blog to keep your Italian cultural knowledge up to date and avoid scams such as these! 

The World's Newest (Oldest) Guitar

The World's Newest (Oldest) Guitar

Italian musician and designer Lorenzo Palmeri has designed the "oldest guitar in the world.” It's made of ancient Kauri, a 50,000-year-old wood native to New Zealand.

Photo: Lorenzo Palmeri

The navel comes in three different designs. To create the limited edition guitar from Kauri wood, Palmeri collaborated with furniture maker and wood specialists, Riva1920, who helped him work with the 50,000 year old material. 

Kauri wood comes from prehistoric Kauri trees which were buried and preserved in New Zealand’s North Island. Buried by a yet to be explained natural occurrence, the trees have survived for centuries underground which has preserved the timber in perfect condition.

All 3 guitars' designs are meant to contrast masculinity and femininity characterized by the round, 'feminine' form and 'masculine’ angularity. The guitars' designs are "meant to match its tones, which are capable of extending from very sweet to very powerful" says Palmeri.

Photo: Lorenzo Palmeri

The Kauri wood guitar is one of three new guitar models from Palmeri. Another of the models is made of Fenix NTM, a nanotech material featuring low-light reflectivity and an anti-fingerprint, soft-touch effect, and the final model is a classic guitar that is made from beech wood.

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