To celebrate the twentieth birthday of the initiative, 700 cultural sites in all Italian regions will be open and it is possible to visit hundreds of special sites, that are often inaccessible to the public.

Italian police said Wednesday they are investigating the bullying of a young woman of colour who suffered a beating and endured racial slurs – all captured on video and later shared on the Internet.

The original “crown” of the lantern which Pope Leo X commissioned Michelangelo to design and which sat atop the dome of the New Sacristy in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence until 2002, will be on display again as of today, in the crypt of the Medici Chapels.

The Springtime of the Renaissance. Sculpture and the Arts in Florence 1400-1460 will take held at Palazzo Strozzi, 23 March-18 August 2013 and at Musée du Louvre, 23 September 2013-6 January 2014.

The exhibition is a follow-up to the “Restauri in Villa” (restorations in the Villa) held last year, presenting the works restored between 2009 and 2010 Medici Villa of Cerreto Guidi and the Historical Hunting and Territorial Museum.

In Florence the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore organizes on January 6 a historical re-enactment of the visit of Three Wise Men. The historical parade, led by the Three Wise Men, is made up of 800 people and includes figures from the Old Florentine Republic.

Italy’s charms appear somewhat resistant to the economic and financial crisis, as international tourists spent almost 3% more in the country this year, the Bank of Italy said Wednesday. Bookings from the United States are expected to increase by 5% to 15% Interest in Italy is also very high among Brazilians, the ENIT survey found.

In a letter addressed to Costa Co-Chief Executives Pierluigi Foschi and Michael Thamm, as well as to the head of Italy’s civil protection agency, Franco Gabrielli, and to the president of the Tuscany Region, Enrico Rossi, Minister Corrado Clini said it was ”urgent” that a working program be developed for the last phase of the stranded ship’s removal and the recovery of the hull in ”an ideal location”.

It’s time to open gates, at the Four Seasons Hotel, for a traditional pre-Christman event. It’s the 5th edition of the “Open Day”, dedicated to raise funds per “Istituto degli Innocenti” and its activities on behalf of children. On Sunday, December 16th, from 10 to 16, all florentines and tourists are invited to pass through the gates of Parco della Gherardesca, the city’s largest private garden and since 2008 part of the Four Seasons Hotel.

Year of Italian culture in the U.S. opens in Washington. Italy’s foreign affairs minister will inaugurate The Year of Italian Culture in the United States event Wednesday with the loan of a Michelangelo sculpture to a major American gallery. Giulio Terzi will open the year-long event at Washington’s prestigious National Gallery of Art by unveiling the famous David-Apollo sculpture by Michelangelo.