San Remo Music Festival 2015

Sanremo15

 

The Festival is coming…!

From 10th to 14th February, the unmissable appointment with the festival of the Italian song comes back: the 65rd edition of San Remo Festival.

The song contest began in 1951 and has been held in Sanremo every year since. Well beloved in Italy and beyond, the Sanremo Music Festival even served as the inspiration for the Eurovision Song Contest.

The festival has launched the careers of incredibly famous Italian singers, including Andrea Bocelli, Zucchero, Eros Ramazzotti, Laura Pausini and Massimo Ranieri. But Sanremo is almost as much about the host as the talented performances. Every year, eager audiences tune in to see who will present the show.

This year, the singing competition at Ariston Theatre will be hosted by Carlo Conti with Emma, Arisa and the spanish model Rocio Munoz Morales.

As the art director, Conti selected the 20 “Big” competitors who will participate in 2015 edition: Annalisa Scarrone, Malika Ayane, Marco Masini, Gianlua Grignani, Chiara Galiazzo, Nek, Nina Zilli, Alex Britti, Biggio-Mandelli, Moreno, Bianca Atzei, Raf, Lara Fabian, Grazia Di Michele e Mauro Coruzzi, Dear Jack, Il Volo, Anna Tatangelo, Nesli, Irene Grandi, Lorenzo Fragola (the latest winner of X-Factor Italy)

For the category of “Giovani” (young cometitors), who will sing just one song, we’ll see on the Ariston stage: Serena Brancale, Giovanni Caccamo, Kaligola, Kutso, Enrico Nigiotti, Rakele, Amara, Chanty.

The Italian and international guest stars who will climb on Sanremo’s stage will be: Biagio Antonacci, Gianna Nannini, Tiziano Ferro, Al Bano e Romina Power, Giovanni Allevi, Conchita Wurst, Imagine Dragons, Charlize Theron, Saint Motel, Will Smith, Margot Robbie, The Avener, Ed Sheeran.

The Festival will be on air on Rai 1, Rai HD, Eurovision and Radio 1, Radio 2.

In Sanremo, the City of Flowers, everything is ready to get this famous musical kermesse started, an event that every year for one week makes Sanremo the capital of music.

European commercial property outlook

While there are some lingering doubts about the strength and uneven nature of Europe’s economic recovery, both the EU and the Euro area are poised for positive growth in 2015.

Downside risks include weak growth, persistently high unemployment, geopolitical tensions and possible deflation in some areas. However, growth continues to improve on the whole, while unemployment appears to have peaked and is edging down in many places.
Regarding inflation, while some countries are experiencing price falls, our view remains that there will be a lengthy period of low inflation rather than outright deflation. The recent downward trend in prices has been largely due to lower food and energy costs and surveys show that consumers still expect prices to rise in the medium term.
Importantly, the European Central Bank has finally taken action to try and stimulate growth and raise inflation, with interest rate reductions, cheap loans and the purchase of asset-backed securities.

With European interest rates expected to remain very low (or even negative) for the foreseeable future, property yields continue to look attractive. In addition, while economic growth is forecast to remain muted, the steadily falling supply of prime space should help rental growth to re-emerge more widely in 2015, thereby further fuelling investor demand.

The really good news for both occupiers and investors is that rents in most markets remain lower than their pre-recession peaks – in some cases significantly below. This should provide a further boost to activity in 2015, with more occupiers looking to take advantage of good deals, while investors will seek to cash in on better rental growth prospects as the economic outlook continues to improve.

Here you can find the complete Report from Knight Frank in pdf : European commercial property outlook  2015

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Sanremo Music Festival 2014

A unique, indescribable vibe. Just like the vibe in Hollywood during the Oscars days. Here is what you feel in Sanremo during the Music Festival week.

From 18th to 22th February, the unmissable appointment with the festival of the Italian song comes back: the 64th edition of San Remo Music Festival in the famous Ariston Theatre.

The song contest began in 1951 and has been held in Sanremo every year since. Well beloved in Italy and beyond, the Sanremo Music Festival even served as the inspiration for the Eurovision Song Contest.

The festival has launched the careers of incredibly famous Italian singers, including Andrea Bocelli, Zucchero, Eros Ramazzotti, Laura Pausini and Massimo Ranieri. But Sanremo is almost as much about the host as the talented performances. Every year, eager audiences tune in to see who will present the show.

The singing competition at Ariston Theatre will be hosted by Fabio Fazio and Luciana Littizzetto, the RAI TV presenter couple of the show “Che tempo che fa”.

There will be two sections, the Campioni (Champions) section and the Nuove Proposte (New Proposals) section. The Campioni section consists of 14 artists that will perform 2 original entries each. On the other hand, the Nuove Proposte section will consist of 8 new artists that will perform 1 original song each.

These are the “Campioni”: Arisa, Frankie Hi NRG, Antonella Ruggiero, Raphael Gualazzi, Cristiano De Andrè, Perturbazione, Giusy Ferreri, Francesco Renga, Giuliano Palma, Noemi, Renzo Rubino, Ron, Riccardo Sinigallia e Francesco Sarcina.

And these are the “Nuove Proposte”: Diodato, Filippo Graziani, Bianca e Zibba, Rocco Hunt, De Simone, The Niro e Vadim.

The Italian and international guest stars who will climb on Sanremo’s stage with Fazio and Littizzetto will be: the French top model Leatitia Casta, Raffaella Carrà, Yusuf Cat Steven, Luciano Ligabue, Claudio Baglioni, Rufus Wainwright, Damien Rice, Luca Parmitano, Gino Paoli, Paolo Nutini, Luca Zingaretti, and Stromae

The Festival will be on air on Rai 1, Rai HD, Eurovision and Radio 1, Radio 2. You can also watch it on the web, at www.rai.it

In San Remo, the City of Flowers, everything is ready to get this famous musical kermesse started, an event that every year for one week makes Sanremo the capital of music.

International Schools in Liguria: Sanremo

English language classes arrive in Sanremo!

Sanremo’s Mater Misericordiae Institute has opened up beginner level English language classes to children aged 30 months to 6 years old. Second level Italian and English language classes are also offered to children aged 6 to 11 years old.

For more information: www.matersanremo.it/web/magic.html

There are also many education facilities based nearby in Monaco – from nursery to University level!

For more information:

www.ismonaco.org

www.monaco.edu

The 55th edition of Rallye Sanremo

San Remo is ready to get (again) under the spotlight

Pity the roulette wheel gets only to number 36, otherwise 55 would have been the number to bet on. The 55th Rallye Sanremo highlight will be the Stage “Ronde”, a classic of the Town of Flowers rally, and this year will be…55 km long.

The 55th edition of Rallye Sanremo, penultimate event of the 2013 European Rally Championship and last event of the Italian Rally Championship, is about to start. This year Rallye Sanremo is valid also for the Citroën Racing Trophy, the Twingo R2 Gordini “TOP” 2013 Trophy and the Suzuki Rally Cup.

The stages use narrow, mountainous roads overlooking the picturesque seaside town and feature fast, flowing sections, frequent changes of rhythm and blind and open corners with rapid climbs and descents. The night stages, which are popular with fans, add to the drama and excitement and there will be serious competition with the event also counting as a round of the Italian championship in 2013.

Day 1 will be closed by the classic long night stage that resumes the three previous disputed stages, that’s to say Coldirodi, Apricale and
Vignai, like in the past editions. This year, though, is going to be a little different it won’t start and finish near San Romolo, but will start at Coldirodi and will get to Badalucco, in order to reach the magic length of 55,400 km and becoming one of the longest Special Stages in European events.

The Sanremo Rally will take place from October 8th to 12th and will comprise 10 Special Stages, all of them in the Imperia Province, with a total route of 459,29 km including 232,91 timed kilometers. The event will actually start on Friday October 11th at 14h00 with the start of the first of the two legs. Final Arrival will be at 18h04 on Saturday October 12th with the Prizegiving Ceremony held on the arrival platform.

Once again Rallye Sanremo will have Race Direction at Royal Hotel, while the Press Office will be located at the old railway station. The service park is located on the banks of the Mediterranean close to San Remo’s famous Casino.

 

2013 Blue Flag beaches: Liguria is the most pristine

In 2013 Italy Boasts 248 Blue Flags Beaches and region Liguria has again the highest number of Blue Flag beaches

Italy has 248 top beaches, two more than last year, in 135 municipalities. The figures emerge from the 2013 Blue Flag table, which certifies the services and environmental friendliness of coastal and lakeside resorts, as well as the cleanliness of the water.

Blue Flags are international distinctions, created in 1987, with patronage and support from UNEP, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the World Tourism Organisation, which aims to promote a sustainable development at beaches and marinas through strict criteria such as water quality, environmental management, safety and services provided close to or within the beach area. To the Blue Flag Programme participate beaches and marinas in 41 countries of all the world.

LIGURIA’S TOP SLOT – Liguria again tops the regional table with 20 flags, increasing by two this year.

It is followed by the central Marche region with 18 (+2), Tuscany with 17 ( + 1 than last year), Abruzzo 14, Campania remains stable with 13, Puglia with 10, Emilia Romagna with 8 and Lazio with 5 like 2012. The two Italian islands, Sardinia, famous for its crystalline waters and luxury Emerald Coast resorts, has one more flag this time with nine but Sicily lost one flag land is now on eight.

In the West Liguria there is the new entry of San Lorenzo al Mare , but also the confim of Sanremo, Camporosso e Bordighera. These are the other 2013 Blue Flags in our region: Spotorno, Bergeggi, Finale Ligure, Noli, Savona Fornaci, Albissola Marina, Albisola Superiore, Celle Ligure, Varazze, Loano, Chiavari, Lavagna, Moneglia, Lerici, Framura e Ameglia.

Blue Flags for Marinas & Small Boat Harbours

The Blue Flag fro Marinas is an annual environment award to Small Boat Harbours or Marinas that have focused on good management of facilities and services regarding the environment and nature, as well as provide information to their users about the environment. To be eligible for this award, the Small Boat Harbour or Marina has to fulfil a number of criteria related to education, information and environmental management, safety, services and water quality.

This year, also for Marinas, Liguria wins again with 15, incresing by one this year.

In West Liguria these are the 3 blue flag Marinas:  Portosole in Sanremo, Marina degli Aregai (Santo Stefano al Mare) and Marina di San Lorenzo.
In the rest of the region: Marina di Andora, Porto Luca Ferrari in Alassio, Marina di Loano, Vecchia Darsena di Savona, Cala Cravieu in Celle Ligure, Marina di Varazze, Porto Internazionale Carlo Riva in Rapallo, Marina di Chiavari, Marina di Porto Venere, Porto Bocca di Magra (Ameglia) , il Porto Lotti e il Porto Mirabello in La Spezia, a new entry of 2013.

Well, another good reason to buy a property in Liguria…..