Things To Do In Italy

Cortina d’Ampezzo

  The quaint town of Cortina has a population of 7,000 and lies in the north of Italy and is a short drive from the Austrian border. Cortina hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics as well as several World Cup events. 

 Much of 1963 classic The Pink Panther, the progenitor of the series, was filmed in Cortina. One of the memorable James Bond stunt sequences in 1981's For Your Eyes Only, gunners on spike-wheeled motorcycles chasing Roger Moore on skis, was filmed on its slopes, as were several scenes in the film Cliffhanger. 

Cortina is also known for its wonderful restaurants and great Italian cuisine.

You will find the most spectacular panoramic views in the Alps, here, and some of the most challenging slopes in the Dolomites, which are a section of the Alps. Some of the surrounding peaks are higher than 3,000 meters.

The Cortina skiing area offers 70 downhill slopes for alpine skiing with 37 different lifts for a capacity of about 59,000 skiers per hour. Half of the slopes are suitable for beginners while 35% are intermediate level and 15% are for advanced skiers. Snow cover is guaranteed 95% of the time. For those wanting a respite from skiing, there's a 1 km long groomed slope reserved for sledding and tobagans, which is serviced by a chairlift.

The 2009/2010 ski season, which began on November 28 and will last until April 11. Cortina is very kid-friendly. Children under the age of 8 (born after Nov. 28, 2001) receive free ski passes and accommodations, when a ski pass is purchase by an accompanying adult for the same time period.
Likewise, children under the age of 12 (born after Nov. 28, 1997) pay half of the adult price.
Dolomiti Superski also offers a special ski pass that enables parents to take turns supervising their small children with a multi-day transferable pass.

The Cristallo Palace Hotel & Spa in Cortina d'Ampezzo, is the only five star hotel in the Dolomites.
The hotel, which dates back to 1901, offers a state-of-the-art Transvita spa, beautiful indoor swimming pool and 74 guest rooms, including 22 suites.

Cortina is located between the Veneto and Trentino Alto Adige regions and is 162 km from Venice and 432 km from Milan. As it is a fairly short drive to Venice, it is worth considering spending a day there.

If you aren’t a skier then worry not, you can still have a magnificent holiday at Cortina. The surrounding Dolomite peaks are spectacular with 18 of them being more than 3,000m in height. The view during sunrise and sunset are breathtaking as the mountains take on a rosy glow. Cortina can be expensive especially in Aug and the high-ski-season months of Jan-Mar as many wealthy Italians have homes here. The strict laws of the region have prevented development and, as a result, the town is lined with original white wooden houses.

Visitor Information

The tourist office is open from 9 am to 12:30 pm and from 4 pm to 7 pm. It is on Piazetta San Fresco 8.

Festivals & Markets

Cortina’s market is on Piazza Italia, near the bus station. Mountain cheeses, clothes, home wares and other items are on sale between 8:30 am and 1 pm on Tuesdays and Fridays. There are no big festivals as such but the religious procession on Corso Italia on Good Friday is worth watching.

Getting There

By Bus STI buses take you to and form Cortina. The towns/cities you can travel from are Bozen (approximately 4 hr.), Brixen (approx. 2 3/4 hr.), Venice (approx. 4 hr. 20 min.) and Milan (approx. 6 1/2 hr.). The bus station on Via Marconi. By Train The closest train station is 30 km from Cortina in Calalzo di Cadore. You can take a bus to Cortina from here. Ten trains run between Calalzo and Venice and six trains from Padua everyday. By Car The best way to get to Cortina is by car. The spectacularly scenic Strada di Dolomiti links Bozen and Cortina. If you are coming from Venice take the S51, connecting south of Belluno to Autostrada A27, for a total trip time of about 3 hours between Cortina and Venice.

Things To Do In Italy

Italian Snake Festival

Cocullo, a small cluster of houses high in the Abruzzan hills, honours its patron Saint Domenico in a somewhat unusual manner. After a church service, the serpari (snake catchers) drape his statue with live snakes and other reptiles.

Where the snakes go is crucial: if they twist around the head of the statue, it is a good sign, if they slither towards the statue's arms, the interpretation gets rather more free. The braver visitor can even have a picture taken with snakes draped around his head and neck.

Saint Domenico is said to protect Cocullo's inhabitants from snakebites and toothache. Up until 1940 the snakes were then burnt in a rather gruesome pyre set up outside the village church, but these days they are merely set free in nearby fields.

WHEN-1st Thursday in May every year

WHERE-Cocullo, Abruzzo, Italy

HOW TO GET THERE-BY AIR: Pescara International Airport. BY TRAIN: Direct Sulmona-Cocullo. BY CAR: Autostrada A25 Pescara-Roma

1950s images of the Snake Festival

2009 images of The Snake Festival

Things To Do In Italy

LEANING TOWER OF PISA

Leaning Tower of Pisa is a bell tower at Pisa, Italy.

It is famous for leaning 4.4 meters out of line when measured from the seventh story.

It was built to stand vertically but began leaning soon after construction started in August 1173. It tilts because its foundation was built on unstable soil.

The ground beneath the tower first started to sink after the first three stories were built. The height of the tower is 55 meters from the ground. The construction of the building began in 1173 and lasted two centuries.

WHERE-Pisa, Italy

HOW TO GET THERE-BY AIR: Pisa – Galileo Galilei Airport
Florence – Amerigo Vespucci Airport
Rome – Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport
Rome – Ciampino Airport

Things To Do In Italy

PERUGIA, UMBRIA

Perugia is a medieval walled hill town with historic buildings, people-filled squares, and modern shops. It's home to a university and a large Italian language school for foreigners. Etruscan remains are still visible in several places, too. Perugia has a lot to offer the traveler and is a good base for visiting other hill towns in Umbria such as Assisi, Spello, and Gubbio.

Perugia is very nearly at the exact center of Italy. It is the capital of the Umbria region, known as the "Green Heart of Italy".

Perugia has taken drastic measures against car traffic. At certain hours of the day, driving is forbidden in the city center. Large parking lots are provided in the lower town, from where escalators lead up through the Rocca Paolina into the city. Since 2008, a Mini Metro is also in operation, with seven stations.

Perugina is an Italian confectionery company based in Perugia.

The company was formed in 1907 and was was introduced to the U.S.A at the 1939 world Trade Fair in New York, and has since become known for fine chocolate around the world.

The company produces a wide array of chocolate and food products, including chocolate bars, hard candy, nougat and biscotti.

Their most famous product are the Baci chocolate "kisses" filled with hazelnut wrapped in a multilingual (may contain Italian, English, French, German, Greek, Spanish or Portuguese) love note.

Perugia has had a rich tradition of art and artists. The High Renaissance painter Pietro Perugino created some of his masterpieces in the Perugia area. The other High Resaissance master Raphael was also active in Perugia and painted his famousOddi Altar there in 1502-1504.

Today, the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria in Perugia houses a number of masterpieces, including the Madonna with Child and six Angels. And the privateArt Collection of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Perugia has two separate locations.

The Collegio del Cambio is an extremely well preserved representation of a Renaissance building and houses a magnificent Pietro Perugino fresco

As it is home to the famous Baci chocolates, is often called the Chocolate City. Perugia also has the world's first hotel dedicated to chocolate, the Hotel di Perugia Etruscan Chocohotel.

FESTIVALS

Perugia is famous for chocolate and holds its chocolate festival in mid-October.

The Umbrian Jazz festival takes place all over Umbria but is centred on Perugia, with a large number of concerts both free and with admission fee. Over the years the Festival has attracted just about every famous jazz player. The Festival takes place for a week and two weekends in the middle of July every year. During this period Perugia has a really beautiful atmosphere, with jazz concerts in the center of the city

Classic Perugia, in late September, includes concerts, exhibitions, and classes.

.

Cities' distances from Perugia: Assisi 19 km, Siena 102 km, Florence 145 km, Rome 164 km.

WHERE-Perugia, Umbria.

HOW TO GET THERE-

Fly-The airport in Rome is three hours away (see the By bus section for transportation) and Milan's Malpensa airport about 7 hours away.

Perugia has a small regional airport with connecting service to Milan and flights from London and Barcelona on Ryanair. A little further away, Pisa and Bologna are served by low cost European airlines.

Bus-Buses from Rome Fumicino Airport depart from the lower level parking area at regular intervals (3 hours, 20 €)

Train-The train station is in the valley, a few kilometers from the centro storico(historic center) of the city. You can take the Mini Metro railway, a local bus or a taxi from the station. From Rome to Perugia by train is only 10.50€ if you take Tren Regionale otherwise it's double.