Nice Montefalco!

Montefalco’s located in the Umbria region of Italy, not terribly far from Rome (about a 90-minute car ride).

(Interesting place just before Montefalco!)

The town goes back a few centuries, like most towns and cities in Italy.  Some nice museums and churches are located in the small town (one monastery even contains a crufix scene by the great Giotto).  Its San Francesco museum goes back to 1335.  

(The "Madonna della Cintola" which usually hangs in the Vatican Museum)

And like in many Italian towns and cities some mighty great vino and food too!

(According to the nuns in one of the town's monasteries, this one is an original piece by Giotto)
 

 (Great vino and food in Montefalco!)

Italian Cultural Heritage Minister outlines Jubilee cultural routes, 29/03/2016

Dario Franceschini, Italy’s Cultural Heritage Minister, outlined 20 Jubilee cultural routes during a press conference in Rome.   

On hand were also members of Rome’s Catholic, Jewish and Islamic communities who discussed the importance of these three religions throughout Rome’s 20 centuries of history and art.  Further information on these routes can be found on the following site: www.leviedelgiubileo.it 

Press conference in Rome for “Luglio suona bene”, 30/03/2016

The press conference for this summer’s “Luglio suona bene” (July Sounds Good) cultural event was held in Rome’s City Hall with the commissioner of the Eternal City, Francesco Paolo Tronca, the president and managing director respectively of Rome’s Music Foundation, Aurelio Regina, and José R. Dosal.    

Some thirty national and international acts will be on hand in Rome’s outdoor stage at the Auditorium, including Santana, Joan Baez, Sting, Sean Paul, Cyndi Lauper and Jose’ Carreras (the current situation in Europe vis-à-vis the recent terrorists attacks in both France and Belgium was also discussed as some foreign acts have cancelled their summer shows in Europe).   

(Composer Nicola Piovani)

 

On hand for the press conference was also composer Nicola Piovani who won an Oscar in 1999 for the soundtrack to Roberto Benigni’s movie, “Life Is Beautiful”. 

Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov in Rome

Former chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov was in Rome on March 19^th, 2016 to discuss his new book on Russian politics and his less-than friendly relations with leader Vladimir Putin.

Kasparov, who is considered to be the world’s greatest chess player (now retired), was in Rome during the “Libri Come” book festival.   Some consider Bobby Fischer to have been the world’s greatest chess player, so it’s debatable on who the “king of chess” really is as the former American world champion (in that famous final against Boris Spassky in Iceland) has been dead for several years. 

Kasparov was presented by Adriano Sofri, a man who many years ago ended up in an Italian jail for the murder of the Commissario Calabresi.