HOT TOPICS dossier experiencing Italy
RECORD-BREAKING ITALY
Curiosities and record-breaking numbers of an uncommon Italy The narrowest alley: Vicolo di Ripatransone The narrowest alley is found in Ripatransone, near Ascoli Piceno. It is a mere 43 centimetres wide and narrows to 38 centimetres in the uppermost section. The tallest skyscraper: UniCredit Tower in Milan The pinnacle of the UniCredit tower is 231 metres tall. The shortest river: Aril Aril is the shortest river in Italy, just 175 metres long. The source is found in Malcesine, near Verona, and the river runs into lake Garda.
hot topics dossier
Below, Turin and Mole Antonelliana seen from the Faith statue holding the Holy Graal. Above, the San Lorenzo cathedral in Genoa
The tallest motorway bridge: Italia Viaduct This is a section of the SalernoReggio Calabria motorway. The central portion of the bridge – which crosses the Lao river – rises 259 metres above the valley. The smallest municipality: Pedesina The municipality of Pedesina, near Sondrio, is the smallest in Italy. The oldest tree: Hundred-Horse Chestnut This chestnut tree is several thousand years old. It is the biggest and oldest in Europe and is located in a park near Etna. The nickname stems from a legend that says over one hundred knights found shelter from the rain under its enormous branches. including the neoclassical Palazzo della Gran Guardia Nuova and the 17th century Palazzo della Gran Guardia, flanked by the Accademia Filarmonica complex. The palladian-style Philharmonic Theatre, where Mozart performed in 1770, is nearby. Mice participants can also explore the 13th century tower-house of Juliet, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture kept vibrant by the Shakespearean tale, along with the tomb of Juliet located in a small crypt in the convent of St. Francesco al Corso. The most imposing “civilian” structure in the realm of the Scaligeri is the 14th century Castelvecchio, home to the Civic Museum with works by Bellini, Veronese, Carpaccio, Tintoretto and Tiepolo. An integral part of Castelvecchio is the embattled Scaliger Bridge, built of red bricks around 1356. TURIN, MYSTERY IN THE WEST Piedmont welcomes the Mice industry to Turin in a shroud of mystical secrets,
seeing as it is the point at which some believe channels of energy intersect as they cut across the surface of the planet. Two “positive” locations that are a must for post-conference Mice activities centred on mystery include the Church of the Gran Madre, positioned just across the Vittorio Emanuele Bridge, and the Fountain of the Four Seasons. It is said that the Gran Madre Church towers over the remains of a temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis and that one of the two statues outside the church – the one representing Faith with a raised chalice – marks the hiding place of the Holy Grail, the cup used at the Last Supper. The Fountain, also known as Fontana Angelica, is considered the “gateway to the infinite”. For more daring meeting industry activities, there are plenty of “fearsome” sites, including the west-facing Statuto Square – mystically speaking, the direction of darkness – which covers what was once a necropolis and, for a long time, a place for public executions. Ghosts and legends, whether one believes or not, seem to hover over other sites in the city, like Villa Tesoriera, whose park is said to be “of the devil”, Palazzo Falletti and Piazza Carlina. GENOA, THE NATIONAL ANTHEM Genoa was the birthplace and home town of Goffredo Mameli, the author of the Italian national anthem Fratelli d’Italia. There’s much to explore here. The city centre is a labyrinth that symbolises the city’s tendency to reveal itself little by little. Mice tours can explore it by walking through the caruggi (very narrow streets) – a classic example of Ligurian toponymy – which are full of shops run by local artisans, bakeries with freshly baked focaccine, and spice shops that still roast their own coffee (the drink inherited from famed Christopher Columbus who discovered America in 1492). A reconstruction of the home where Columbus lived is located in Dante Square, just past Soprana Gate. Mice participants can even see a dragon in Genoa! Where? On the facade of historic Palace of Saint George in the magnificent fresco St. George and the Dragon. An example of medieval civilian architecture, this building housed the first bank in Europe. Visitors go from the scent of financial power to the incense of the GothicRomaneque Cathedral of St. Lawrence,
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