A monthly bulletin for Italian American organizations and media outlets, dedicated to promoting the language, culture and traditions of Italians and Italian Americans.
 Venice Turns to Tap Water to Lessen Trash
Trash is an expensive problem in Venice. Empty water bottles float through the canals and overflow in trashcans of Piazza San Marco. The city’s waste must be collected on foot by men with wheelbarrows along the canals. Collection costs $335 million per ton compared to $84 million per ton on the mainland.
Although tap water in most cities is suitable for drinking, Italians are the leading consumers of bottled water in the world For decades bottled water has been the norm on European tables. In Venice, however, officials are taking a stand and promoting tap water. They have invented a name for their tap water, calling it “Acqua Veritas,” and have created a logo now displayed on carafes distributed to households for free throughout the city.
Officials have seen a decrease of about 27 tons per month, but the campaign has made little headway in restaurants and stores. In the city, tourists outnumber residents 100 to 1, therefore, public education concentrating on locals can only go so far in reducing waste. Nonetheless city official Riccardo Seccarello has a message for tourists: in Venice, as in Rome, public spouts are scattered throughout the city and the water is perfectly safe to drink.
 Set Your Travel Plans Now for Sicily in 2010
This year’s NIAF cultural travel program, “Exploring Sicily from West to East,” is a nine-day, seven-night tour departing from New York City. Costs range from $1,899 to $2,299 per person, based on double occupancy and month of departure.
“Exploring Sicily from West to East” visits the cities of Catania, Erice, Marsala, Monreale, Mt. Etna, Palermo, Ragusa, Savoca and Taormina. Guests will stay at a four-star hotel in Palermo and Giardini Naxos. The package includes round-trip airfare from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City to Palermo, four full-day escorted tours, and two half-day escorted tours. Participants may choose from 28 departure dates starting February 13, 2010 through November 13, 2010.
For a brochure and reservation form, write to Italy Travel, c/o Unitours, 3010 Westchester Avenue, Purchase, NY 10577. Call toll-free at 888-846-6423 or 914-253-9177, fax to 914-253-9001, or e-mail Marianna Pisano at mpisano@unitours.com.
Italian Grape Harvest Festival
Vendemmia da Vinci, a fall festival celebrating the centuries-old tradition of the Italian grape harvest, will be held on Sunday, October 11 at Tubman-Garrett Park in Wilmington, Del., from 2 to 6 p.m.
For more information or tickets, visit www.societadavinci.com.
New Book Release in October - Viva L’Italia!
Ron Galella, one of the most famous celebrity photographers in the United States who has been named “Paparazzo Extraordinaire” by Newsweek and “Paparazzi Superstar” by the Miami Herald, has just finished a new book. Galella finds his Italian roots with “Viva L’Italia!”
The book is filled with images of Italian and Italian-American icons including Virna Lisi, Isabella Rosselini, Silvana Mangano, Marlon Brandon, Monica Bellucci, Carla Bruni and Sophia Loren. His photos are accompanied by quotes gathered during a half-century of travel and celebrity encounters.
To preview the book or to order online visit www.powerhousebooks.com.
Celebrating Heritage through Radio and Television Spots
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the 1989 proclamation signed by President George H.W. Bush designating October as National Italian American Heritage Month. To commemorate the month, NIAF has produced four 30-second public service announcements celebrating our rich culture.
In them, actors Robert Davi, Dom DeLuise, Joe Mantegna and Ray Romano discuss the importance of education, promoting heritage and celebrating being American.
Watch the spots in the “News & Media” of our Web site!
World’s Best Hotel is on Lake Como in Italy
Forbes magazine has ranked Villa d’Este the number one hotel in the world out of 400 hotels surveyed internationally. The 16th century neoclassical palazzo is located on Lake Como in the city of Cernobbio in Italy’s Lombardy region. Built in 1568 by Pellegrino Tibaldi for Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, whose family owned it for two centuries, the villa later became a residence for wealthy European aristocrats. In 1873, Villa d’Este opened its doors as a hotel and welcomed kings and queens, presidents and actors. Frank Sinatra, Madonna, Mick Jagger, Winston Churchill, Aristotle Onassis and Elizabeth Taylor are a few notables who stayed at the first-class hotel. Its 133 rooms are located in two buildings and set in long-established parkland. The hotel also has a unique heated swimming pool that floats on pontoons situated on the lake. Villa d’Este is also included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
New High-Speed Rail Service Coming to Italy
Trenitalia, which launched a high-speed rail service between Naples and Milan last December, will be getting some competition soon. In 2011, a new train company, Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori, will introduce a stylish, red fleet of 25 trains, collectively known as Italo, with interiors designed by Italian car designer, Girogetto Giugiaro.
The billion euro project hopes to produce trains that will be constructed from recycled materials and will consume 15 percent less energy than current high speed trains.
Italo trains will run from Naples to Turin and reach speeds of 225 kilometers per hour. Many people estimate it will take about three hours to travel between Milan and Rome.
To learn more visit their Web site at www.ntvspa.it.
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Please send your group or city’s news on Italian American exhibits, cultural events, scholarships and special events to: Elissa Ruffino, the NIAF, 1860 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009. Or write her on the internet, e-mail address: elissa@niaf.org
N.B. Events/programs noted are not necessarily endorsed or sponsored by NIAF.
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