One of the most visited sites in Italy, the Colosseum, is being cleaned from top to toe as well as given permanent lighting for spectacular night time visits. The ambitious project could also open up new areas which were previously closed to visitors.
Great news that the Vatican Museum is running a very smooth online reservation system http://mv.vatican.va/ Now you can even visit at night from April to October from 7 – 11 p.m. And after a long renovation, you can finally see the museum's Etruscan Rooms.
And not just at the Vatican Museum are visiting hours getting longer. This year, it's getting even easier to buy Ferragamo shoes (and anything else) on Rome's fashionable Via Condotti. No longer are shops closed for a long lunch break - many are now staying open throughout the day — generally 10 a.m. to 7 p.m!
In Florence, the streets around the Duomo have recently been pedestrianized which is fabulous news. However, beware: The Uffizi Gallery, famous for its fabulous Renaissance art, is undergoing a renovation, scheduled for completion this summer. Until then, its Tribune Room (with Venus de' Medici) will be closed. When it reopens, you'll view the precious marble statue of Venus through glass panels.
Again, more late opening with the Leaning Tower of Pisa opening late on summer evenings, making it possible to tour the landmark and survey the Field of Miracles from above after dark. The system for making reservations and sorting out the huge crowds that come to see and climb the tipsy tower is working well: http://www.opapisa.it/
Venice has a new museum: The Punta della Dogana, housed in the former Customs House at the end of the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro neighborhood. It features cutting-edge 21st-century art in spacious rooms. This isn't Picasso and Matisse, or even Pollock and Warhol — those guys are ancient history. But if you're into the likes of Jeff Koons, Cy Twombly, Rachel Whiteread, and a host of newer artists, the museum is as impressively contemporary as Venice is Old World. The displays change completely about every year, drawn from the museum's large collection. In fact, the art is spread over two locations — the triangular Customs House and Palazzo Grassi.
The Dogana traghetto, (or ferry gondola), is back, shuttling passengers across the mouth of the Grand Canal, between Harry's Bar (near St. Mark's Square) and the new Punta della Dogana art museum.
Venice's new People Mover monorail, a shuttle train fixed to a circular cable, opened in 2010 and carries passengers from the parking lot at Tronchetto to Piazzale Roma. It departs every few minutes, makes the half-mile trip in three minutes, is completely automated (no crew on board), and drops you a block from the Calatrava Bridge on Piazzale Roma, where the town center is an enchanting walk away.
For help to book the perfect fabulous Italian getaway, check all ABTOI members http://www.loveitaly.co.uk/
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