Italy Closed To Foreign Visitors Till Year’s End? UPDATED With Official Reaction

Italy Closed To Foreign Visitors Till Year’s End? UPDATED With Official Reaction

Newsfeed
Italy's borders will stay closed to foreign visitors until the end of the year. That's from Dario Franceschini, the country's minister of culture and tourism, in an interview with La Repubblica. UPDATE: So, now Italian government officials emphatically DENY that the country would be closed to foreign visitors till the end of 2020. Good to know! However, since no other timeframe for re-opening of the country to external tourism was provided, not even tentatively, we won't withdraw the original story until we hear something more concrete. With tourism providing some 14% of the Italian GDP and hundreds of thousands of people in the world with planned trips to Italy, it wouldn't be out of place to hear more specifics. There is still a lot of time to go to the…
Read More
Snow Has Arrived – Drop Everything, Start Preparing To Ski In These Perfect Places

Snow Has Arrived – Drop Everything, Start Preparing To Ski In These Perfect Places

Newsfeed, Travel & Mass Sport
Hear and rejoice: this year the snow has arrived earlier than usual and in full force to many traditional, storied skiing places in continental Europe We look at three different places to ski – all well known, all ready, willing & able to handle every skier's whim – and all perfectly snowed up this December. The hope is, after reading this, you'd feel inclined to start packing your skis and booking your stay. Because even one day in either of those places will give you energy and good vibe you need to go through the dark winter. [caption id="attachment_6082" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] That's what a perfect Alpine trail looks like. Nothing to add - except for skiers. You![/caption] Seiser Alm /Alpe di Siusi The last year there was not much skiing…
Read More
La Sgambeda: Perfect Season Starter In Long Distance Ski Racing

La Sgambeda: Perfect Season Starter In Long Distance Ski Racing

Newsfeed, Travel & Mass Sport
La Sgambeda stands out both in Visma Ski Classics professional series and as a mass marathon. It's the only real race both pros and amateurs at the beginning of the season – after the Italian race there will be hiatus of roughly six weeks (unless you're planning to run Vasaloppet China – in this case "only" about 4 and half) After two years of no natural snow and the race distance both shortnened ( in 2015 – significantly) and run on laps, the 2017 edition is "coming back to its roots" – a 35km track is prepared, thanks both to Mother Nature and hard work of organizing committee that patched over parts that were not quite snow covered. 700 people for 25 countries have signed up for the race. As…
Read More
Definitive Guide Of Where To Ski Outdoors Mid-October

Definitive Guide Of Where To Ski Outdoors Mid-October

Newsfeed, Training & Outfitting
Hey, it's mid-October, time to start whetting your appetite for real skiing on crystal-white snow! No more envying those few who have time & money to travel to the Southern Hemisphere for a spot of summer ( ours) skiing. No need to drive to a ski tunnel, the walls of which , let's face it, can't compare with a view a real snow track provides. And you know what October 15th means? Well, that's the day the ski track opens in Livigno, that perennial capital of early skiing in Europe and beyond. While we await fresh pictures from 2017, here's some lovely shot video of what Livigno holds for a skier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyB58gSAYDg Not to be seen biased towards the valley squeezed between Italy and Switzerland, we put together some alternative…
Read More
‘Trofeo delle Contrade’, Europe’s First Ski Race of Season

‘Trofeo delle Contrade’, Europe’s First Ski Race of Season

Newsfeed, Travel & Mass Sport
When does competition skiing season start in the Northern Hemisphere? Most people would likely point at the races in Lapland in November – but we say it starts with the ‘Trofeo delle Contrade’ held annually – where else?- in Livigno, Italy. On Friday, August 25th the town high street, via Plan, will once again become one kilometer long skiing stadium - just for the night. Nothing like watching skiers flying down the middle of one of the fanciest shopping streets in the Alpine region, with all those mannequins dressed in top Italian clothing brands in shops' windows for atmosphere. And what of snow? We think Trofeo delle Contrade’ is as much about showing off Livigno's prowess in snowfarming as about anything else. The snow that will be used to set…
Read More