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Local Italy
19-06-2025
- Local Italy
Hotels, travel and beaches: How the cost of a holiday in Italy is rising this summer
The price of a summer holiday in Italy is rising once again this year, with hotels costing as much as 34 percent more in August than the summer season five years ago, according to financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. The average holidaymaker was set to pay 2.3 percent more for an Italy vacation in August 2025 compared to 2024, a study by consumer research centre Altroconsumo found. The increase was far less marked than the hike seen between 2023 and 2024, when prices rose by up to 20 percent, but still maintained the upward trend. Consumer rights watchdog Assoutenti said that high demand was 'encouraging operators to apply continuous increases in tariffs' that 'do not seem justified.' The hikes are upending the longstanding Italian tradition of going away for a long holiday over the August break, said Assoutenti President Gabriele Melluso. Instead, families are 'opting for shorter and more frequent trips spread over the months of June, July and September, when rates are decidedly cheaper,' he added. Flights Flights within Italy and to European countries were more expensive this year than in summer 2024, according to a study by Corriere della Sera newspaper, though the hikes weren't evenly distributed between June and September. Tickets cost significantly more in June (11 percent) and August (nine percent domestic, 10 percent to European countries) of this year compared to the same months in 2024. There were smaller increases in July (three percent domestic, 4.6 percent within Europe) and September (three percent domestic, 2.2 percent within Europe). Flights between Italy and the US, by contrast, were significantly cheaper (up to 24 percent) than a year ago, likely due to concerns around growing political tensions. Hotels For a family of four, the most expensive place to stay in Italy this summer was San Teodoro in Sardinia, where the average price of a week's three-star accommodation in August came to €3,015, a recent survey by Assoutenti found. Cheaper options could be found in Rimini (€1,030) a beach resort in the northeastern Emilia-Romagna region, and the neighbouring town of Riccione (€1,498), according to Assoutenti. The destinations seeing the sharpest hikes in accommodation rates this year were Alpine towns, with costs rising by an average of 16 percent and the price of a week's stay in Valdisotto in the Lombardy region costing as much as 25.1 percent more than in 2024. By contrast, a week in Florence was projected to cost 15.3 percent less than in 2024. Transport costs The steepest increase in transport costs this summer was for ferry journeys, with the average family of four with a car paying €1,343 for a return journey between mainland Italy and the Sardinian port of Olbia, according to Assoutenti. Overall, costs for these types of journeys between the Italian peninsula and major islands rose by an average of 9.7 percent between August 2025 and 2024, the group said. However, travelling by car has become cheaper thanks to a 9.8 percent drop in the cost of petrol over the past year, Altroconsumo found. Beach clubs The cost of renting a spot at one of Italy's private beach clubs rose by around three and five percent over the past year, Assoutent found. The average day rate for two sunbeds and an umbrella €32-€35 during weekends, according to consumer watchdog Codacons, though prices can vary significantly depending on location. In Sabaudia, south of Rome, customers could expect to pay up to €45; in Gallipoli on the southern coast of Puglia, €90; and in parts of Sardinia, as much as €120. The most expensive spot was at a club in Versilia, northern Tuscany, where an 'imperial tent' sets patrons back €1,500 a day.
Local Italy
28-05-2025
- Health
- Local Italy
REVEALED: The Italian cities with the 'best' quality of life for retirees
Want to get the most out of your retirement in Italy? Look to the north. That's the main takeaway from a ranking of the best Italian cities for residents aged over 65 published by Italian financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore on Monday. All of the top ten-ranked cities were in the north of the country, with the top three concentrated in the northeastern Triveneto area. At the head of the pack was the city of Bolzano, near Italy's border with Austria, which regularly tops quality of life rankings. South Tyrol's capital scored highly for its above-average social spending on the elderly, life expectancy, and availability of libraries, as well as low rates of use of medication for chronic health conditions and anti-obesity drugs. In second place came Treviso, north of Venice, which performed well in all areas except for the number of nurses per 100,000 inhabitants. The Veneto city was followed by Trento, which topped the list for life expectancy. Rounding out the top ten were Como, Cremona, Verona, Vicenza, Lodi, Parma and Aosta. Of the top 40 towns and cities ranked, 38 were in the north, with the central city of Macerata appearing in 25th place, and Nuoro, Sardinia, ranked 39th. 36 of the bottom 40 cities, by contrast, were in the centre-south, with just Savona (74th place), Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (90th), Imperia (92nd) and Massa-Carrara (93rd) located in the north. Southern Italian towns and cities were penalised due to the lower availability of public services, including hospital beds, as well as lower amounts paid out in pensions in the poorer half of the country. At the very bottom of the list, in 107th place was the Sicilian city of Trapani, which performed poorly on almost all metrics including life expectancy, public spending on the elderly, and availability of libraries and green spaces. Agrigento, on Sicily's western coastline, came 106th, preceded by Reggio Calabria at 105th. They were joined in the bottom ten by Vibo Valentia, Messina, Crotone, Terni, Caltanissetta, Caserta and Cosenza. Rome ranked towards the middle of the pack at 63rd place, performing worse than Venice (24th), Bologna (27th), Milan (34th), and Florence (46th). Palermo came in a low 89th, but still managed to beat Naples (91st). While such rankings provide a clear picture of a town or city's social and health services and public amenities, they often fail to consider factors that may have an equally strong bearing on quality of life. Il Sole 24 Ore's survey, for example, didn't take into account climate, cost of living, or access to nature – all things that people looking to retire in Italy from abroad are likely to consider important. Readers responding to our surveys in the past have recommended southern or central Italy as the best place to retire, pointing to the warm weather, long stretches of coastline, and friendliness of locals.
Fox News
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Mel Gibson's ‘acid trip' ‘Passion of the Christ' sequel will drive people to the theater: expert
Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" sequel will begin production this summer in Rome, Italy – more than 21 years after the mega-hit biblical drama premiered in theaters. Filming of the long-awaited sequel, titled "The Resurrection of the Christ," is set to start in August at Rome's Cinecittà Studios, Variety reported on Friday, citing comments that CEO Manuela Cacciamani made during an interview with the Italian financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. Most of "The Passion of the Christ" was filmed at Cinecittà Studios and the sequel will also share another shooting location with the 2004 movie – the ancient city of Matera in southern Italy. Additional filming will take place in rural towns across the region, including Altamura, Ginosa and Gravina Laterza, per Variety. Gibson has previously confirmed that Jim Caviezel will reprise his role as Jesus Christ. Maia Morgenstern, who played Jesus' mother Mary in the first movie, and Francesco De Vito, who portrayed his disciple Peter, may also return, according to IMDb. "The Passion of the Christ" became a major blockbuster when it debuted in theaters, earning $611 million against a $30 million budget, and it is still the second highest-grossing domestic R-rated movie of all time. The movie also received nominations for best cinematography, best original score and best makeup at the 77th Academy Awards in 2005. The film sparked widespread controversy upon its release due to its graphic depiction of Jesus' suffering and crucifixion. Critics also raised questions about the movie's biblical and historical accuracy. In addition, "The Passion of the Christ" was accused of being antisemitic due to its portrayals of Jewish leaders and their roles in Jesus' death. However, the public interest that was generated by the controversies surrounding the movie has also been credited with contributing to its success, and PR expert Steve Honig told Fox News Digital that history may repeat itself with the sequel. "Moviegoers will be curious about the film and that may be enough to get them to see the movie, or at least read the reviews and let that guide them," Honig said. "At the end of the day, and ironically, it may be controversy over the film that drives people into the theater." Despite achieving massive success as both an actor and director, Gibson himself has been embroiled in a number of controversies over the years due to legal troubles and inflammatory statements he made both publicly and in leaked conversations. Two years after "The Passion of the Christ" was released, Gibson notoriously unleashed an antisemitic tirade on a Jewish law enforcement officer when he was arrested for driving under the influence in July 2006. He later apologized to the Jewish community for his "vitriolic and harmful words" that he said were "blurted out in a moment of insanity." The "Conspiracy Theory" star subsequently entered rehab. In 2010, Gibson faced backlash again over leaked voicemails in which he could be heard using racist and misogynistic language directed at then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva. Gibson entered a "no contest" plea to a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery against her the following year. Gibson's career declined in the wake of the scandals, but he mounted a comeback with 2016's "Hacksaw Ridge." The World War II movie, which was Gibson's first directorial outing in 10 years, earned six Academy Award nominations, winning two. Gibson previously received the best director and best picture award for 1995's "Braveheart," in which he also starred. The historical drama received 10 total nominations. Honig told Fox News Digital that the success of "The Resurrection of the Christ" may hinge on whether Gibson has rehabilitated his image in the eyes of the public. "The question here is, has Mel Gibson gotten through all the controversy that has surrounded him for so long? In some ways, time does heal all wounds, however, in other ways, it's hard for many people to forgive and forget," he said. Honig continued, "We're living in a very fragmented society right now so there will likely be a strong segment of the population who embrace the film and others who will push it aside." Gibson, who was recently named a special ambassador to Hollywood by President Trump, first confirmed that he was working on a sequel to "The Passion of the Christ" in 2016. "What the film has going for it, and what may be the ultimate indicator of how the film does, is curiosity." "And you know, it's not the 'Passion 2.' It's called 'The Resurrection,'" Gibson told evangelist Greg Laurie at SoCal Harvest, via IndieWire. While "The Passion of the Christ" followed the last 12 hours of Jesus' life leading up to the crucifixion, Gibson said the sequel will focus on his resurrection. "Of course, that's a very big subject and it needs to be looked at because we don't want to just do a simple rendering of it – you know, read what happened," the actor added. At the time, "The Passion of the Christ" screenwriter Randall Wallace told The Hollywood Reporter that "there's a lot more story to tell." "The evangelical community considers 'The Passion' the biggest movie ever out of Hollywood, and they kept telling us that they think a sequel will be even bigger," Wallace said. Over the years, Gibson and Caviezel dropped hints about what fans can expect from "The Resurrection of the Christ." "It's more than [the] single event [in the title], it's an amazing event," Gibson said during a November 2016 appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." "And to underpin that with the things around it is really the story," he continued. "To sort of enlighten what that means. It's not just about the event; it's not just some chronological telling of just that event. That could be boring, and you think, 'Oh, we read that.'" In a 2020 FOX Nation interview, Caviezel told Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo that he had seen the "fifth draft" of the movie's screenplay. "It's going to be a masterpiece. It's gonna be the biggest film in world history, I believe it will be based on what I feel in my heart," Caviezel shared. "It's so imperative in this time. These films can't be made now," he added, suggesting that the film industry overlooks biblical films. "The films they make are Marvel Comics movies. You'll see Superman. You won't see Jesus... I got to play the greatest superhero there ever was." In July 2023, Caviezel shared an update on "The Resurrection" and teased that the movie could be more than one part. "It will be the biggest film in history," he predicted during an interview with Ormi. "It might be two films. Could be three, but I think it's two." During a January appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience," Gibson reflected on the challenges that he faced while making "The Passion," which he self-financed through his company Icon Productions. "There was a lot of opposition to it," Gibson recalled. "I think if you ever hit on this subject matter, you're going to get people going." He continued, "It's a big subject matter, and my contention was, when I was making it, it was like, you're making this film. And the idea was that we're all responsible for this, that his sacrifice was for all mankind, and for all our ills and all the things in our fallen nature. It was a redemption." Gibson also shared details about "The Resurrection" and the themes that the movie will explore. "I'm going to try and tackle this question," he said. "That there are big realms, spiritual realms. There's good, there's evil, and they are slugging it out for the souls of mankind. And my question is, 'Why are we even important, little old, flawed humanity? Why are we important in that process where the big realms are slugging it out over us?'" "And I think there's bigger things at play here," Gibson continued. "And institutions that purport to touch on the divine are necessarily going to be affected by that slugfest that's going on between good and evil." Gibson explained that he wrote the script with his brother Donal Gibson and Wallace over the last seven years. "There's a lot required because it's an acid trip. I've never read anything like it," he told Rogan. "My brother and I and Randall all sort of congregated on this. So there's some good heads put together, but there's some crazy stuff." "And I think in order to really tell the story properly you have to really start with the fall of the angels, which means you're in another place, you're in another realm," he continued. "You need to go to hell. You need to go to Sheol." "You got to have his origin," Gibson added. "I have ideas about how to do that and how to evoke things about to depict that. I've been thinking about that for a long time. It's going to require a lot of planning. I'm not sure I can pull it off. It's super ambitious, but I'm going to take a crack at it." "It's about trying to find a way in that's not cheesy or obvious. It's almost like a magic trick," he said. "It took a long time to write. It's very ambitious. It goes from the fall of the angels to the death of the last apostle." Gibson confirmed that he plans for Caviezel to reprise his role as Jesus. However, he noted that de-aging and CGI techniques will be needed because the movie is set over the three days after the events of "The Passion" but more than 20 years have passed since the first film. The director explained that the movie's dialogue will likely be in English, unlike "The Passion," which was entirely in Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin with subtitles. "I don't know that you can do it in a foreign language because the concepts are too difficult now," Gibson said. Doug Eldridge of Achilles PR, shared his thoughts on the likelihood of the success of "The Resurrection," telling Fox News Digital that Gibson's interview with Rogan was "really insightful." "He described the opposition to the concept behind 'The Passion,' as well as Hollywood's reluctance to embrace it, even after it was a runaway hit," Eldrige said. "The first time around, he took the most incredible story – but also, the most difficult to portray – and he did it in a brutally beautiful way." He continued, "To follow up on something like that would be like following an A+ on a test in grade school; there's no way you can surpass it, the best you can possibly do is equal it, and even then, that's a heavy lift and a tall order." "For comparison, 'Gladiator' was one of the most acclaimed films of all time: incredible acting, beautiful score, amazing story, and a perfect ending. What did they do? They made a sequel 24 years later and it bombed. That's not to say Gibson's sequel will suffer the same fate, but it's hard to follow a 'best in class' production with a sequel that meets audience expectations," Eldridge added. "That said, if anyone can do it, it's Mel Gibson."
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Italian wine exports to US 'at standstill' due to tariff fears
MILAN (Reuters) -Italian wine and spirits exports to the United States are stalling due to the uncertainty over possible tariffs that President Donald Trump could impose in the coming weeks, trade group Federvini said on Wednesday. Trump has threatened to slap a 200% tariff on wine and other alcohol imports from Europe, as part of a developing trade war also involving steel and aluminium products. The White House is expected to make a major tariff announcement on April 2. "Our members have received requests from importers to suspend shipments, as no one wants to risk bottles being hit by tariffs once they arrive in the U.S.", Federvini's president Micaela Pallini told Reuters. "After an initial front-loading phase, in which companies tried to anticipate shipments, the market is now at a standstill: importers fear they will find themselves with unsellable stock at uncompetitive prices", she added. Pallini pointed out that some U.S. restaurants are running out of some bottles, while prices for available stock are increasing. On Tuesday, Italian prosecco producers said their shipments to the U.S. had been halted due to importers' worries about tariffs, while Wednesday's edition of business paper Il Sole 24 Ore quoted a Tuscan wine producer as saying that his company, Ruffino, had 1 million bottles blocked at the port of Livorno as all U.S. orders for March had been cancelled. The slowdown comes after Italian sparkling wine exports to the U.S soared in the last half of 2024, in anticipation of the new duties. The heads of three prosecco trade groups wrote to Italian Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida saying they risked facing tariff hikes of up to 200%, and urging him to take action at national and European level. Italian conservative Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is one of few European leaders friendly with Trump and his administration but it is unclear how far this could benefit Italy, given its strategic ties within Europe.
Reuters
26-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Italian wine exports to US 'at standstill' due to tariff fears
MILAN, March 26 (Reuters) - Italian wine and spirits exports to the United States are stalling due to the uncertainty over possible tariffs that President Donald Trump could impose in the coming weeks, trade group Federvini said on Wednesday. Trump has threatened to slap a 200% tariff on wine and other alcohol imports from Europe, as part of a developing trade war also involving steel and aluminium products. The White House is expected to make a major tariff announcement on April 2. "Our members have received requests from importers to suspend shipments, as no one wants to risk bottles being hit by tariffs once they arrive in the U.S.", Federvini's president Micaela Pallini told Reuters. "After an initial front-loading phase, in which companies tried to anticipate shipments, the market is now at a standstill: importers fear they will find themselves with unsellable stock at uncompetitive prices", she added. Pallini pointed out that some U.S. restaurants are running out of some bottles, while prices for available stock are increasing. On Tuesday, Italian prosecco producers said their shipments to the U.S. had been halted due to importers' worries about tariffs, while Wednesday's edition of business paper Il Sole 24 Ore quoted a Tuscan wine producer as saying that his company, Ruffino, had 1 million bottles blocked at the port of Livorno as all U.S. orders for March had been cancelled. The slowdown comes after Italian sparkling wine exports to the U.S soared in the last half of 2024, in anticipation of the new duties. The heads of three prosecco trade groups wrote to Italian Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida saying they risked facing tariff hikes of up to 200%, and urging him to take action at national and European level. Italian conservative Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is one of few European leaders friendly with Trump and his administration but it is unclear how far this could benefit Italy, given its strategic ties within Europe.
