Riace bronzes 'theft'

If you are planning a trip to Reggio Calabria over the winter, and hoping to see the famous Greek statues known as the Riace Bronzes, call ahead first. According to the Repubblica, a political storm is whipping up over mysterious 'restoration work' which is sending the statues to Rome at the beginning of November. The rest of Reggio's museum is closing for restoration work itself; the fear of locals is that their statues, the city's greatest pride, will never be returned to them.

Italy is prone to conspiracy theories - which often turn out to be justified by genuine conspiracies, as in the case of Serie A match-fixing - and the suspicion is that the Riace Bronzes will finish up in one of Rome's vast museum collections, with mere copies being sent back to Reggio.

I witnessed for myself this summer the pride of the people of Reggio Calabria in their archaeological museum; as several bus passengers contended to offer me directions. The bronze statues are the most important historic and artistic objects in the whole of the Calabria region. Although they may not receive as many visitors as they deserve, the area will lose an important tourist attraction, while Rome hardly needs additional exhibits.
> Reggio Calabria
> A travel itinerary down the coast through Calabria and Reggio

Italy travel itineraries

I have just added a new feature to the website: suggested travel itineraries in Italy. These are ideas to help the independent traveller plan an interesting tour, and include maps. They are all based around public transport, meaning that a hire car is an option, not a necessity. So far I have created four itineraries:

> Classic tour: Rome ,Florence, Venice
> Art and Architecture of the Veneto
> South to Calabria - from temples to volcanoes
> Puglia and Matera

Italy has so many great destinations which are still under the radar for most travellers. I hope these itineraries will provide a starting point for explorations of the country, and will offer new and interesting suggestions to holiday-makers. More will follow.

Venice update
I'm writing this post from Venice, which is in the grip of huge thunderstorms. The last week has been really varied here.

The Good: Up until yesterday there was still warm afternoon sun to enjoy - I sat outdoors by canals twice, eating lunch in the sunshine (the best was pumpkin gnocchi with smoked cheese at the Osteria ai Artisti). Now Autumn has arrived and the temperatures and tourist numbers are dropping.

The Bad: Yesterday it was reported that there have been mosquito-borne cases of West Nile Virus in Venice and other north-eastern towns - so it becomes more important than ever to cover up and avoid bites. Visitors have been told not to donate blood for four weeks after a stay in Venice or the other towns concerned.

Cheap Ryanair Flights

Ryanair's current special offer is worth checking out - it lasts until tomorrow night and includes some genuinely good offers without all the usual taxes and online check-in charges. If you're happy to travel without hold luggage and you fancy an impromptu city break, you could visit Italian destinations like Rimini, Genoa, Bologna or Parma for next to nothing. The main expense is the booking fee of £5 each way - and personally I always pay extra for priority boarding too, though this isn't an essential. I've booked a return weekend trip from London to Genoa for just £16.02 (it would have been £10.02 without the priority boarding charge). And you could fly from London to Venice for £15 each way. Or Bristol to Rimini for just a fiver.

The offer is a good chance to book a pre-Christmas break, or to investigate a new Italian destination. The deal also includes internal flights between Italian cities.

> Ryanair
> Venice
> Rimini
> Italian airport guide

Padre Pio statue hides weapons

I noticed in the news today that the Carabinieri have uncovered a stash of 400kg of illegal drugs, money and weapons, the latter hidden under a statue of Padre Pio in a notorious district of Naples (Scampia, where scenes from the film Gomorra were shot). Early today, on the Venetian island of Burano I took another photograph of a statuette of Padre Pio. Recently made a saint, this south Italian hero priest was a pretty controversial figure and not always popular with the Catholic authorities. However, his overwhelming popular appeal with devout working-class Catholics, especially in the south of Italy, means that you'll see his image almost as often as the Virgin Mary, and certainly more than either the Pope or Jesus. Look out for the bearded brown-robed priest next time you're walking through an Italian village or passing a religious souvenir shop. Some would say that this tale of a Padre Pio shrine concealing a Camorra/Mafia stash embodies all the problems of Italy's South.
> My photo gallery of Padre Pio images
> Repubblica: Scampia, sequestratati 400 kg di droga
trovato arsenale sotto statua di Padre Pio
> Padre Pio (Wikipedia)

Maratea and the South

The newest article on Italy Heaven is about Maratea, a lovely village in the Basilicata region. Maratea is on the coast, but is high above sea level and it makes an unusual holiday destination. You can walk up the hill above town (where there is a giant statue of Christ the Redeemer), sip an aperitivo in the elegant village piazza, explore historic alleys... or catch the bus down to the sea to potter around a port or splash about on a small beach.

I visited Maratea as part of a southern tour which will be fully online shortly. Destinations added so far, connected to each other by train, are: Paestum, Palinuro, Maratea. The website also contains a new section, Photo Galleries, which will feature collections of images of some of the places and themes featured on Italy Heaven.

> Maratea
> Maratea photo gallery

and a good article about Maratea from the Guardian, earlier this year: Absolutely Fabio's (apparently Cannavaro is a visitor)

No food from BA

As usual, I was quite appreciative of the vegetarian sandwiches offered by BA on my flight from London to Venice last night. Now I learn that the nervous airline is to scrap food on flights after 10am lasting less than two and a half hours - in other words, many of their UK to Italy flights. It sounds as though drinks and tiny snacks are still on offer... although there have already been reports suggesting that free alcohol, too, is under threat.

Bizarrely, BA doesn't appear to be offering the option to buy food, either - so if you board without a stash of food in your hand luggage, you're doomed to two hours of hunger.

Although BA are obviously desperate to save money, this seems rather counter-productive to me. Those of us who choose BA over budget airlines do so because of the relative 'luxury' on offer. Flying Venice - London, BA flights generally cost slightly more than Ryanair. Factoring in the more convenient airports, the generous baggage allowance and the calm atmosphere make BA competitive. For those of us used to Easyjet and Ryanair, being brought free food and drink in our seats seems both convenient and decadent. Without that extra perk, the budget airlines might start to seem a better option again.

Flights affected are likely to include services from London to Venice, Milan and Rome (2 hours 25 minutes). On a recent flight from Catania (3 hours 25 mins), I was impressed by the mini-meal I received (photographed). Obviously this length journey rated above the simple sandwich option but below a hot meal. The simple 'wrap' sandwich, I noted, contained 40 different ingredients including 10 E-numbers.

BA's stinginess starts on Monday, so I'll have to remember to fill up on cheap pasta at Marco Polo Airport before boarding my return flight to London.

The Dolomites are UNESCO listed

A couple of weeks ago UNESCO added another location to Italy's impressive tally of World Heritage Sites: the Dolomites. This mountain range in northern Italy is only the second listing for Italy in the 'natural' category, with 42 'cultural' entries. You can read more about the Dolomites on the main website. Two other UNESCO sites which I've recently added to Italy Heaven are Paestum (Greek temples) and the volcanic Aeolian Islands (Italy's other 'natural' listing)
> Full UNESCO list for Italy, with links to articles