Papal Influence in Italy - Barberini's - 
Summer Skiing in Italy
Off the Beaten Track: Molise 
Gambling in Italy? 
The Perfect Bellini
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Papal Influence in Italy - Barberini's - Honey Bees or Horse Flies??? 

....The Barberini family settled in Florence during the early part of the 11th century. They acquired great wealth and influence. In 1623 Maffeo Barberini reached the pinnacle of power, he became Pope Urban VIII. Maffeo's brother, Antonio, was brought to Rome nearly by force from Capuchin convent, and was made a cardinal. But he continued to live in relative poverty, helping churches and other religious institutions. Maffeo also made two of his nephews cardinals and gave another nephew, Taddeo, the principality of Palestrina (in the province of Rome). Maffeo's excessive nepotism brought immense wealth for his family but it also made him suffer from scruples in his later years.

The increasing power and wealth of the Baberini family created a great amount of jealousy. This jealousy, along with some of the behaviour of the family (especially Urban V111), made them a lot of enemies. Odoardo Farnese, the Duke of Parma went to war with Taddeo, and defeated the papal troops. When Urban died in 1644, his successor, Innocent X., was hostile to the Barberini family. Taddeo fled to Paris and died there in 1647. With his death the male line of family was extinct...
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Summer Skiing in Italy 

....A very small percentage of Italians compared to most other Europeans go abroad for their holidays. It is easy to understand why. One of the main factors in the equation is that Italy has everything - sun, sea, countryside and mountains. This complements all the history, beauty, food, islands, cities etc.... 

...One would think that Italy is really too far south to have any hope of really good skiing in the summer. [There is excellent skiing available during the winter]. However the existence of glaciers saves the summer days. It may be hard to believe but you can ski in Italy during the summer!! Summer is a good opportunity to enjoy an exciting trip to places of pure beauty and peace, and ski...

...For summer skiing you have to go higher up than most go on their summer holidays. There are a few glaciers in the whole Dolomite area with thriving summer skiing activities...The Presena glacier at Passo Tonale ; the Punta Rocca glacier and Bormio-Stelvio Pass glaciers are of main interest... 

The choice of ski resorts seems quite extensive...You will find excellent facilities in the Val D'Aosta resorts...La Thuile, Courmayeur and Cervinia are the main resorts with Cervinia offering the best chance of good skiing....
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Off the Beaten Track: Molise 

.... Molise is breathtaking in many respects. But perhaps one of the things to hit me about this area was the landscape which is predominantly mountainous and hilly. The views are spectacular: from the natural landscape with its rolling hills and forests to the manmade landscapes of medieval castles, ancient fortresses and mountain villages.  The region is predominately rural and the principal industries are agriculture and tourism. Crops grown include sunflowers, grapes and olives The local cheeses are superb. Manufacturing industry seems limited with the result that the environment is probably one of the cleanest in Italy....
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Gambling in Italy? 

There are various type of gambling in Italy . This article will concentrate on the Casinos....

(1) Venice Casino has the biggest turnover and is probably the best known....There are no shops and very little entertainment in the Venice Casino (summer or winter) but the best in the world of both when you take a boat ride back to "La Serenissima".  

(2) Sanremo is also on the sea but on the Italian Riveria which is north-west Italy. It has a lovely coast and many very beautiful places to visit. Genoa is where Columbus was born and the Cinque Terre (despite Rick Steves??!!) is one of the most beautiful places on the earth. The Sanremo Casino also has shops selling very exclusive goods and regular evening entertainment including popular shows and music....

(3)  Saint-Vincent is in the semi-autonomous region of Val d'Aosta in the North of Italy. No sea but there is great skiing in the resorts of Cervinia and Courmayeur . The scenery is very beautiful. There are many places of historical interest in the surrounding area...

(4) The most intriguing "Italian" casino is perhaps in Campione . This is a small "island" known as Campione d'Italia. It is legally part of Italy but is completely surrounded by Switzerland. If you arrive from the north of Italy you have to cross a piece of Switzerland first and need the correct documents/visas for Switzerland. Campione has the International telephone code for Switzerland. In the Casino you play with Swiss francs.  

The Campione Casino is presently undergoing a complete renovation which will eventually make it the largest in Europe and one the most glamorous in the world. At present it has no shops but a restaurant which has orchestra music every evening and a live show on Saturday evenings....

(5) There is a lot of discussion about the casino being re-opened in Taormina, Sicily . The present government has recently promised to try and remove all obstacles and Sicily should soon ...have it's own casino again... 
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....and More....See... Italy With Us - Ezine, page 1 
http://www.italywithus.biz/ezine/index.htm