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Tags: Opera Travel / Travel Health / Milan Travel / Italy Travel / Landmarks / → All Tags

What's the Italian Word For 'Asbestos?' Because Milan's La Scala Has It

Yes, we know that's a radiation icon, but we mean it in a Hazmat capacity

A fat lady singing can't do anything for asbestos removal, as Milan's La Scala is finding out. Back in spring, officials in Milan discovered the toxic stuff in the famed opera house's ceiling, and they've just now closed down the 270 seats of the uppermost tier in order to begin removal.

This poses a problem for the tourists who, in last few months, have possibly been exposed to asbestos from officials rustling up there, but thankfully it's been confirmed that there's no spread of asbestos. Ticket holders will either be offered an upgrade to better and less toxic eating, or, if that's unavailable, then a simple refund. No loud Italian opera for the cheapskates, we guess.

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Tags: Art Travel / Barack Obama / Milan Travel / Events / → All Tags

The 'Abraham Obama' Image Takes On Milan

It's a great summer for a trip to Italy; not only is Venice hosting their art biennale, but Milan today kicks off a gallery exhibition of the "pop"-aganda artist Ron English.

Most famous for his "Abraham Obama" image pictured above, Ron takes inspiration from cartoons, corporate branding, and the works of Andy Warhol. As a result, his paintings and posters are bright riffs on popular culture meant to inspire re-examination of the symbols we see everyday; for example, his work was featured in the movie Super Size Me.

Although we occasionally are lucky enough to spot some of his posters around the corner, heading to Milan to see his oeuvre sounds way more exotic. The Don Gallery will host the exhibition from today through August 25.

Related Stories:
· Ron English Exhibition at The Don Gallery Milan [Hypebeast]
· Popaganda [Ron English]
· Art Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Jaunted]

Tags: Design Travel / Milan / Italy Travel / Events / → All Tags

Milan's 'Salone del Mobile' Makes Way for Freak Furniture

This week in Milan, lamps will looks like water droplets and couches will resemble dropcloths; that's right, it's the modern furniture show called Salone del Mobile, which attracts design gurus and international press through the 27th of April. An annual event which could be called the Fashion Week of the interior furnishings world, the Salone turns the city itself into something of a canvas, as artists as well as brands use major streets, like the swish Via Montenapoleone pictured above, to broadcast their presence.

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Tags: High-Speed Trains / Train Travel / Milan Travel / Trains / Silvio Berlusconi / → All Tags

Freccia Rossa Rides Its Inaugural Route From Milan to Rome

Italy's new high-speed train service, Freccia Rossa ("Red Arrow"), made its inaugural high-speed rail service yesterday from Milan to Rome. The new service now lets travelers get from the fashion capital to the Eternal City in just three hours. (Currently, the trip takes about four hours.) Passengers can also get from Florence to Bologna in just 35 minutes, down from one hour.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi rode the inaugural trip, even posing in the pilot's cabin wearing the chief engineer's hat. He looks so...cute?

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Tags: Snow Days / Travel Snapshots / David Beckham / → All Tags

Milan Snowstorm Snarls Airports, Delays Soccer Phenoms

With about a foot of snow falling on Milan and the rest of Northern Italy, officials closed both Malpensa and Linate airports, though both have now re-opened with "strongly reduced" traffic. (Translation: Your flight is delayed.)

But like a snowstorm in New York keeping your flight out of Vegas on the ground, the winter weather in Italy had wide-reaching consequences: David Beckham, who's been in Dubai training with temporary team AC Milan, will be stuck in the land of high-altitude bars and dirty beaches until at least Friday.

While public transit is still running in Milan, the streets look pretty empty. All the better for photographers to venture out and capture some interesting images, like these, of a city that rarely sees this much snow.

Related Stories:
· Two Airports Closed Amid Snowfall [IHT]
· Winter Storm Shutters Las Vegas Airport [Jaunted]
· Snow Day in New Orleans [Jaunted]

[Photo a bike sharing station: affisch]

Tags: Bike Sharing / Active Travel / Biking / → All Tags

Even More (Nearly) Free Bikes In Europe

Milan is the latest city to introduce a bike sharing scheme, with 72 stations, hundreds of bikes currently and plans to grow. Right now, it's only available by yearly subscription (€25, $36), but come January, weekly ($9) and daily ($4) rates--that include your first 30 minutes of bike use for free--will become available for purchase online or at select "ATM Points" in the city. Not bank machines, they're offices of Azienda Trasporti Milanesi, the local transit authority, which you can find in a number of subway stations.

BikeMi is yet another partnership with Clear Channel, the advertising company that's helped set up similar programs in Barcelona, Rennes, France and Washington, DC.

Perhaps the coolest thing about BikeMi is the live-updated Google Map that shows you not only where "rental" stations are but how many bikes and empty parking slots are available. Get to the Duomo now and you'll have your pick of 10 bright-orange rides.

Related Stories:
· BikeMi [Official Site]
· Bike Milan with BikeMi [Bike Sharing Blog]
· Bike Sharing coverage

[Photo: Ambrosiana Pictures]

Tags: Train Travel / Trains / Italy Travel / → All Tags

Italians Get All Efficient With Train Travel

Want your pasta faster? You're in luck because the Italians are all in favor of high-speed train links at the moment and on the weekend they launched a new fast train between Milan and Bologna. Instead of spending more than a couple of hours ambling from fashion shopping in Milan to a stereotypical Bolognese dinner, the new Trenitalia train speeds you there in 65 minutes, averaging 200 miles an hour.

The route is getting extended in 2009 to carry on to Rome, and Trenitalia is hoping to grab back a share of the budget airline market. The theory is sound and we're figuring the extra leg room these trains give you could definitely sway our choice--just as long as they run on time and don't charge us too much. We're not fussy, are we?

Related Stories:
· Italy Launches Milan-Bologna High-Speed Train Link [Reuters]
· Italy Travel Guide [Jaunted]
· Train Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: pizzodisevo]

Tags: Celeb Travel / Airport Photo Shoots / Mary-Kate Olsen / → All Tags

Airport Photo Shoot: Really? A Duffel?

Of course there's no rule that everything you take to Fashion Week has to be in style. But Mary-Kate's luggage just looks tired and unflattering at Milan International Airport.

A full matching set may be a little outdated, but how about a clean bag in an eye-catching color? Or if you go with basic black, grab a nylon belt to wrap around the bag instead of relying on some scraggly ribbons. Carrying on your fur is optional.

Related Stories:
· Who Else Ian Schrager Does Allow To Enter The Gramercy Park Hotel [HC]
· Super World Travelers Stick Close To Home [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Faded Youth Blog]

Tags: Celeb Travel / Fashion / → All Tags

Fashion Travel: Rihanna Models (Not Umbrellas)

Who's that model? Forget New York or L.A.; when pop star Rihanna chose to stomp the runway, she did so for fashion label Dsquared in Milan, Italy. She also got the special privilege of walking out arm-in-arm with the label's founders, Dean and Dan Caten, at the end of the show.

Interestingly, the Catens are actually Canadians by birth, identical twins who moved to Milan to work in fashion. Smart move! They've also clothed Madonna on tour and designed suits for Justin Timberlake, as well as appearing in season 2 of "America's Next Top Model," in which the finalists walked on their runway during Milan's fashion week.

Related Stories:
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Milan Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Milan Hotels [HotelChatter]

[Photo: Oh No They Didn't]

Tags: Low Cost Carriers / LCCs / MyAir / → All Tags

MyChoice Might Be MyAir

In the full-to-the-brim market of European LCCs, Italian budget airline MyAir isn't yet well known. Based in Milan, it's been operating since late 2004. After flying mostly Italian domestic routes, it's expanded now to cover a large area of southern Europe, including flights from various cities in Italy to Paris, Bucharest, Madrid and Morocco.

One neat thing about MyAir is their MyFlex fares, which are fully changeable up to two and a half hours before the flight; you can cancel them too, although you get a credit for another flight rather than a refund. MyAir also offers MyLow fares which are cheaper--around €50 ($70)--but less flexible.

Apart from a little overkill with the whole "My" theme, MyAir seems like a cheap way to get in and out of Italy. And with a slogan like my cosi italiana, my cosi low cost it almost sounds like a must-fly.

Related Stories:
· MyAir [Official Site]
· MyAir Debuts Milan to Turkey Flights [Jaunted]
· Low Cost Carriers coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: clemente]

Tags: British Airways / Travel Hell / → All Tags

I Don't Wanna Sit Next To Him

Sitting next to strangers on a plane is usually part and parcel of the whole flying thing, right? Wrong. That is, it's wrong if you're a Qatari sheikh traveling with three of your female relatives and they all get seats next to men they don't know.

Bear in mind, these were business class seats, so they weren't exactly on top of each other, but the sheikh would not break his cultural tradition that says women will not mix with unrelated men. And so a British Airways flight from Milan to London took off three hours late after the sheikh, his five relatives, their cook and their servant were ordered off the plane. So think again before protesting just because you're sitting behind a chronic seat recliner, or you might be off the plane too.

Related Stories:
· Sheikh Delays Plane Over Seating [Reuters]
· Don't Put Your Seat Back Up And Get Punched In The Face [Jaunted]
· British Airways coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: jamesjustin]

Tags: Milan Airport / Airport Delays / → All Tags

More On Milan's Linate Airport Bunnies

As we told you earlier today, if you are flying into or out of Milan today, watch out for the bunnies with stars in their eyes. Linate airport runways have been stormed by hares who are interfering with radar. What are these rabbits doing? Mostly taking part in mating competitions that include chases and "boxing," in which females hit males to test their stamina (and readiness for fatherhood?)

Yesterday, some 57 hares were shooed off the runway. How do you say "Get a room!" in Italian?

Sunday's hare-speed-dating event caused a 3-hour delay and left the airport grounds littered with oyster-flavored carrots and Marvin Gaye albums.

[Photo: Alberto Pellaschiar/ Dave Windett]