Lake Como luxury hotels don’t get much better than this. If you want to indulge and enjoy the romantic setting of Italy’s beautiful lake, see the Gran Hotel Tremezzo as a luxury Italian hotel worth a stop. It’s on the “Riviera delle Azalee” (or Azalea Riviera), opposite Lake Como’s famous town of Bellagio and looking across to the Grigne mountains.

The grand palace has been decorated in ‘Liberty’ style and you won’t get much more elegant than this. It was first opened after the turn of the century, in 1910, and is certainly one of the more renowned destinations on Lake Como. Seeing this gallery of the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, it’s a lesson in European old-fashioned class, mixed with modern luxury including a health spa and access to the Menaggio and Cadenabbia Lake Como golf clubs.

The hotel has 90 rooms with two plush suites - Carlotta and Greta. The latter is a tribute to Greta Garbo who was among the first of the Hollywood stars’ fascination with Lake Como and Tremezzo. Two family suites are also available in the 18th century Villa Emilia. The hotel is next to Villa Carlotta, so you can stroll through the beautiful gardens there, too.

Continue reading: Lake Como luxury hotels: the Grand Hotel Tremezzo

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So much Italian wine and so little time to drink, unless you make your way to the 2011 Vinitaly event in Verona from April 7 to 11. We attended a pre-event launch dedicated to wines from Lombardy at the Pirelli Skyscraper in Milan, where we tasted some of the best wine Lombardy has to offer.

There’s no doubt that Franciacorta sparkling wines are the flag bearer for Lombardy wines, and they are carving a niche for themselves internationally as well. With heads of the chamber of commerce, the Lombardy region and representatives from the various local wine associations in attendance, there was plenty of local pride on display.

Lombardy wines have much competition from other famous Italian wine producing regions like Tuscany and Piedmont, and over recent years steps have been to improve quality and highlight local character in the wines.

Vinitaly 2011: Italian wine from Lombardy

Continue reading: Vinitaly 2011: Italian wine from Lombardy tasting event Milan

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Casta Diva resort on lake Como was built around the beautiful Villa Roccabruna where the famous and talented soprano Giuditta Pasta lived (she was the first opera singer to perform Casta Diva which Vincenzo Bellini had composed specifically for her). Surrounded by an enchanting park and botanic gardens, the resort is comprised of nine villas which were converted into five-star hotels, and a state of the art spa where guests can relax and rejuvenate themselves. For more information on package deals click here.

Continue reading: Luxury Holidays in Italy: CastaDiva resort, lake Como

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Looking for a romantic place where to celebrate Saint Valentine’s Day with your sweetheart? If so, the Villa San Carlo Borromeo at Senago on the outskirts of Milan is the place to be; built in the 14th century, this old manor house was converted into a luxury hotel a few years ago, quickly becoming a great favourite with the rich and famous! With its beautiful furniture (all 51 rooms are furnished with antiques), warm atmosphere and amazing park, the place epitomises wealth, luxury and refined taste! For more information click here.

Continue reading: Luxury Hotels in Lombardy: Hotel Villa San Carlo Borromeo, near Milan

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The prestigious Nast Johansens 2011 Annual Awards for Excellence were announced in London; there were five Italian hotels among the winners. Here’s the partial list:
Most Excellent Hotel: Ca’ Sagredo hotel in Venice;
Most Excellent Charming Hotel: Monsignor della Casa Country Resort;
Most Romantic Hotel: Ca Maria Adele hotel in Venice;
Most Excellent Luxury Guest House: Hotel Villa Ducale in Taormina (see the pic);
Condé Nast Johansens Readers’ Award: Abbadia San Giorgio at Moneglia, Genoa.

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Milan will host an Italian jewellery exhibition next year called “Gioelli per Milano” at the city’s Triennale Design Museum. The jewellery on display has been collected by university lecturer Alba Cappellieri at one of Italy’s most prestigious universities, the Milan Polytechnic University, and the pieces are designed to reflect the city of Milan.

All the pieces have been designed by jewellers from Lombardy, who worked together to create an exhibition dedicated to their capital city. The pieces have all been created specifically for this event and are designed to reflect Milan’s status as a fashion capital, with collaboration from the jewellery sector working together for the first time. See our gallery for some of the pieces on display.

Milan Italian jewellery design exhibition

Continue reading: Italian jewellery design exhibition in Milan

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For Christmas in Italy, the Italians have gone all partiotic, with Italian sparkling wine, or spumante, beating French champagne in sales over this festive season. Figures from the Assoenologi association indicate that production numbers of Italian spumante, which already overtook champagne last year, will remain higher than champagne. The latter should still recover somewhat this year after a drop in sales of 27 percent when the recession hit hard last year.

In Italy we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to Italian wine for the festive season. 380 million bottles of spumante have been produced this year, compared to the 370 million from Champagne. Italy can also expect some good exports from this figure, as the country itself consumes less sparkling wine than Spain, France and Germany. For our tips, the cradle of Italian sparkling wine is in the Franciacorta valley of Lombardy, while some fine examples from Trentino-Alto Adige can also be found. Cracking one open with some panettone is guaranteed for a good Christmas celebration.

Source | ANSA

Photo | Flickr

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With the plethora of Italian showgirls out there, you wouldn’t have thought the locals would miss Australian model Megan Gale. But it seems they still have a soft spot for the girl who actually started her career in the Belpaese as a brand ambassador for Omnitel, which was taken over by Vodafone. And yes, she went on to be ambassador for that brand, too, perhaps one of the first before Michelle Hunziker and Belen Rodriguez started their advertising gigs.

These pics were taken for GQ Australia but show Megan Gale dressed in a bikini, in Italy. The backdrop looks like Lake Como and so it is that they’ve taken her back to where her career first started and picked a stunning (not to mention exclusive) Italian location for the shoot. We wonder how Gale felt being back in Italy where she first got her break.

Source | Gossipblog.it

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If you’re moving to Italy and looking for a good quality of Italian life while you’re at it, you’d best consider the northern regions of the Belpaese. In a time when Italy is struggling through a significant financial crisis, and is experiencing continuing low wages, the autonomous regions of Alto Adige and Trentino have unsurprisingly turned up as providing the best quality of life in Italy.

The 2010 quality of life results come from research done by Italy’s national financial paper, the Sole 24 Ore, which lists the best places to live by province. Bolzano and Trento top the list, followed by another mountain province in the north of Lombardy, Sondrio, which rounds out the podium ahead of Trieste, which was the winner last year.

The evaluation and classification of Italy’s 107 provinces are based on the following criteria: standard of living, business and employment, health and environmental services, population, public order and free time. From Bolzano to Trento, Sondrio and Trieste, the top ten places to live in Italy are as follows: Siena, Aosta, Gorizia, Bologna, Oristano and Belluno.

The big cities find themselves further down the list with Milan taking the 21st spot, Rome at 35th and Naples is last. The northern and central Italy have the best classification with southern provinces unsurprisingly struggling at the bottom. See the quality of life list here.

Photo | Flickr

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Are you in the mood for a romantic getaway? Do you feel the spirit of Christmas in the air ? If so you can’t afford to miss this unique opportunity to spend Christmas Day at Castello Dal Pozzo, a beautiful castle which a few years ago was converted into a posh 5 star hotel! Located on Lake Maggiore, this gorgeous 18th century mansion is surrounded by an amazing park in which guests can take long walks and immerse in nature. The offer includes dinner on December 24 (59 euros per person) and brunch on Christmas day (65 euros per person). On New Year’s eve the hotel will host a Pirates of Caribbean party. So if you are a fan of the saga, you can’t miss it! Price: 218 euros. For further information click here.

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