As we noted today in an earlier post, tomorrow, July 2, will be the first of this year’s Palio races in Siena. But, that’s not all that’s happening in Italy this month. Here’s the rundown:

Music and Performance Festivals: Roma Estate 2008 continues with various music, comedy, and sports events. Throughout July, Rome will also hold the Rome Jazz Festival in Villa Celimontana, the Parco della Musica, and the Casa del Jazz. Meanwhile, the Spoleto Festival will end on July 13 with a performance by the London Symphony Orchestra. As we mentioned last month, you won’t want to miss the Verona Opera Festival. But, if you’re in Le Marche – Macerata, to be exact – consider a visit to the Sferisterio, Macerata’s grand outdoor arena, which will put on its own opera festival from July 24 through August 12. Even more opera is available for your enjoyment at the annual Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, Tuscany. Modern music fans will be headed to Livorno July 16-19 for the Italia Wave Love Festival. This year’s festival will feature an impressive lineup, including The Raveonettes, The Verve, Gnarls Barkley, The Chemical Brothers, and dozens of other acts from Italy, Europe, and as far flung as Ethiopia and Brazil. Jazz enthusiasts will want to check out Pistoia Blues Festival, which will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix’s first album.

AltaRoma – High Fashion in Rome: From July 6-10 at Rome’s National Museum of 21st Century Art (MAXXI), lucky visitors will get to watch gorgeous models walk the runways in the latest haute couture creations.

Christmas in July: Snowboarding in July? In Italy, it is possible at the Big A Snow and Skateboard Camp in Val Senales near Bolzano through July 19. Park entry will be free until then, and the camp will give snow and skateboarders a chance to perfect their craft and mingle with Italian pro riders.

Art Shows: Palermo will feature a large retrospective of 50 years of Spanish art at its exhibit España 1957-2007. Among the many works will be those by Dali, Miro, and Picasso. In Florence, curators at the Palazzo Strozzi have tried to uncover the mysteries behind Impressionist paintings with Painting Light: The Hidden Techniques of the Impressionists, which begins on July 11. Through the end of August, the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, also in Florence, has Leonardo and Raphael, For Example, an exhibit featuring sketches and drawings from the masters’ studios.

Be sure to click on our Tourism Boards page and check out other local happenings throughout Italy.

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Torino's Mole Antonelliana

We hope you enjoyed yesterday’s run-down of part 1 of 20 Things We Love About Italy. Hopefully, the list has given you more travel ideas and the inspiration to learn more about all of Italy’s 20 regions.

Now, without further ado, the remaining 10 favorites on our list:

11) Termoli, Molise. If Puglia (see #13) is the next Italian travel spot, surely Molise will follow. This beautiful beach town in Italy’s second smallest region is little known outside of the country and blissfully free of the tourist throngs (so far).

12) La Mole Antonelliana of Torino, Piemonte. This iconic building (perhaps you remember it as the symbol of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games?) may be one of the younger structures in the region, but it certainly has a cool history. Originally built to be a synagogue, the Mole now houses Italy’s National Cinema Museum. Besides a collection of thousands of movie posters and exhibits about early cinema in Italy, the museum presents a huge roster of films each month. This is great if your Italian is up to snuff.

13) Padre Pio, Puglia. If you’ve spent any time tooling around the shops near the Vatican, you’ve most certainly seen images of Padre Pio, the white-bearded Capuchin monk (originally from Pietrelcina in Campania) who lead a congregation at San Giovanni Rotondo and was canonized in 2002. Unofficially, for better or for worse, Padre Pio is Italy’s modern patron saint. What’s really random is that he’s now the patron saint of the New Year Blues.

14) Neptune’s Cave, Sardinia. Long known as a playground for the jetset, Sardinia is more than just beaches. Because of the island’s geography of rocky promontories spilling into the sea there is a vast network of underwater caves, or grottoes, to explore. Chief among them is the Grotta of Nettuno, which spans about 1 kilometer, includes impressive stalagmite and stalactite formations, and is a great cure for beachside boredom. Take a boat tour of Neptune’s Cave or, if you’re feeling more active, approach the grotto from the 656-step staircase that leads from Capo Caccia.

Beautiful Taormina, Sicily

15) Taormina, Sicily. Like the region of Campania (see #4), much of Sicily lives in the shadow (or under the legend) of a volcano: Mt. Etna. Taormina, with its Greco-Roman theater, bougainvillea draped hillsides, medieval town, and views of Etna, epitomizes the beauty, history, and geology of Sicily. We’re also fond of Taormina’s cultural attractions, including Taormina Arte and Taormina Filmfest.

16) Ötzi the Iceman, Trentino Alto Adige. Europe’s oldest mummy was found in 1991 in the ice-packed mountains above Trentino Alto Adige, the alpine region that borders Austria’s Südtirol. After years of research, the 5,000-year-old Ötzi was placed on display at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano in 1998. Also on exhibit are the Iceman’s tools and clothing, and information about the preservation measures being taken to keep Ötzi in peak condition for many millennia to come.

17) Botticelli Gallery, Galleria degli Uffizi, Tuscany. It’s too hard to single out just one thing in Tuscany, of course. But the Botticielli Gallery at the Uffizi has to be one of the most special rooms in Florence. Upon seeing Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Primavera in the flesh, we are transfixed, barely even noticing the dozens of other museum-goers trying to elbow us out of the way. For more information about the Uffizi, including how to get tickets, visit the museum’s official website. We also like this unofficial site that provides a virtual tour of the Botticelli Gallery and others.

18) Orvieto, Umbria. One of our favorite day trips from Rome has to be to the town of Orvieto. Situated atop a huge mountain of tufa, Orvieto shines because of its gorgeous, Gothic Duomo, its ancient Etuscan caves and wells, and the superb Orvieto Classico white wine. Actually…forget the day trip. Why not stay overnight?

19) Fiera Sant’Orso, Valle d’Aosta. How can you not appreciate the Fiera Sant’Orso, Aosta’s traditional craft fair which has been going strong for more than 1,000 years?! The fair usually takes place at the end of January – so you just missed this year’s edition – and it is known for its wooden handicrafts, artisanal metalworks, ceramics, and sculptures. No doubt, there aren’t many events that can boast a 1,000 year history – not even in Italy.

20) St. Mark’s Lion, Venice, Veneto. Leave it to us astrological Leos to love the symbol of the city of Venice: the lion of St. Mark. From atop a column in St. Mark’s Square to Madonna’s Like a Virgin video, the lion has been an effective marketing tool for Venice for hundreds of years. You can learn more about the symbol and the city in Garry Wills’ excellent Venice: Lion City, one of the most gratifying biographies about a city that you will ever read.

Photos © Comune di Torino, Joe Routon

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