Italian News Snippets: 10.21.07

Some Italian news for your Sunday reading pleasure:

We’ve heard of the great Bernini because of his masterpieces of sculpture, but he was also a painter – and a new exhibit in Rome is showing off this lesser known side of Bernini’s artistic contributions to the world. The show at the National Gallery of Ancient Art runs through January 20, 2008.

The hunting lodge (read: “palace”) outside Turin which was once a getaway for the ruling Savoy family – and was the model for Versailles – has undergone a massive restoration and is now open to the public.

The city of Parma may be famous as the heart of Italy’s food culture, but a new exhibit in Parma takes that to a new level – with gastronomic art. The Gastronomy in Modern Art festival will run through January 6, 2008.

A show in Rome features the paintings of Paul Gauguin, with 150 paintings from museums around the world on loan to the Vittoriano Complex through February 3, 2008.

An exhibit showcasing the art scene which flourished during the 15th century in Ferrara has opened in the city’s Palazzo dei Diamanti and will run through January 6, 2008.

Not only did the Trevi Fountain’s water turn red recently, there’s a strange foamy substance on the surface of Lake Maggiore.

Trajan’s Markets in Rome have reopened to the public after a long restoration process.

The annual celebration of Italy’s new wine – Vino Novello – will be in Verona this year on November 5th. Vino Novello is Italy’s answer to France’s famous Beaujolais.

Illycaffe, the Italian coffee giant, has announced they’ll be teaming up with Coca-Cola to produce a ready-to-drink coffee beverage.

I’ve mentioned before that Starbucks has Italy in its sights, and thankfully it appears Italian coffee makers are poised to do something about it. See this post from Elizabeth for notes about the big coffee makers’ efforts to make Starbucks feel unwelcome, and also a profile of her local bar – who would want a generic Starbucks after that? Also, at the end of this post, Elizabeth mentions a few reasons why the Starbucks “experience” shouldn’t work in Italy anyway.

Here are more fun things Emma has learned in Italy, including that butter will kill you but overdosing on salt is practically necessary.

Sara highlights Turin’s Eataly, and it looks like the kind of place foodies could happily get lost for hours. The best part, however, is that it’s more than just a gourmet grocery store – it’s all about sustainable food production.

If you’re looking for a good expat pick-up joint in Florence, apparently The Red Garter is the best one.

There’s a new water taxi line in Venice which is for residents only – Line 3 runs from Piazzale Roma to Piazza San Marco, but if you’re not a local don’t even try to get on board. Hop on a big water bus (the vaporetto) instead.

If you love modern art and you love Italy, you’ll want to plan a trip to Rome in 2009 when a new modern art museum is set to open.

A Vatican official caught on film propositioning a young man now claims that he’s not gay, he’s merely posing as a gay man to “research a plot by satanists.”

Italy has now banned the billboards displaying the naked anorexic woman; the advertising campaign targeted Milan’s fashion week and the propensity for designers to opt for too-thin models.

Sophia Loren was honored with a lifetime achievement award during Rome’s film festival, and she also got the Campidoglio Prize from City Hall as a “synonym of Italy.”