tourism-italia.com

Today marks the beginning of the Borsa Internazionale del Turismo (BIT) show in Milan. It runs until Sunday and is one of the most important travel shows in the world with exhibitions by countries as far away as Tourism Australia and the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Georgia, amongst others. Last year there were over 5,000 exhibitors from 152 countries and 108,500 trade visitors from all across the world. Therefore it’s important that we do the best job we can and try and encourage the world to come and visit Italy!

So, as most of you have probably already realised, there is a lot of snow today…. especially in the Milan area. You just can’t escape the stuff. Now as much as I love snow (and I do, believe me), it can be quite a pain. Especially if you are one of the thousands of people who were planning to fly today from Malpensa or Linate airports, or if you are David Beckham waiting to fly into Milan from Dubai. But if you’re stuck anywhere today, just enjoy the fact that you have a day off and maybe go outside and play in the snow! Or think of all those people who pay a lot of money to go on holiday somewhere where it snows and you have it for free.

An earthquake hit the cities of Parma, Milan, Genoa and Florence today, measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale. The National Institute of Geophysics in Rome has said that the epicentre of the earthquake was near Parma. According to Italian news reports, two churches have minor damage but no-one is injured. I have experienced earthquakes before and they are pretty scary stuff! I’m just glad that no-one was injured and that the magnificent architecture of Parma, Milan, Genoa and Florence was not damaged. However, for Italy this earthquake was relatively strong. The last strong earthquake occurred in Molise in 2002 and measured 5.4 on the Richter scale.

I personally have never heard of Bergamo, but apparently it is the hidden gem of the Alps. This is because it has long been overshadowed by its more prestigious and famous neighbour Milan.
However, more and more budget airlines are now flying to Bergamo due its close proximity to Milan and more people are discovering its beauty and history. But with more publicity will Bergamo stay a hidden gem forever? Or will Bergamo end up like busy Milan and its new fame turn into a double-edged sword? Apparently it has been traditionally marketed by the local tourist board as a destination for hiking and cycling but was once a spa resort for rich Europeans in the early 20th century. Only time will tell whether the new publicity surrounding Bergamo will change it, for good or bad.