Great time to buy Liguria property, as pound hits 1.2258 versus euro

Planning to buy a property in Liguria?

Then 2014 could be the year to do so, because the pound recently hit 1.2258 against the euro, its strongest in 14 months or since January 10th last year, considerably cutting the cost of Liguria property.

To put this into context, sterling was as low as 1.1403 in March last year, meaning the pound has since climbed +7.5%, or 8 cents versus the euro. Were you to transfer £125,000 to buy a Liguria property, you’d therefore now receive +€10,688 more now than 12 months ago!

Sterling has risen, because the UK economy is firing on all cylinders. For instance, confidence among UK businesses recently hit its highest since September 2009. Moreover, the UK economy is forecast to expand +3.4% this year, more than any other major country.

At the same time, the euro has declined, because the Eurozone outlook remains cloudy. For instance, the currency bloc faces a serious threat of deflation, whereby prices continually fall. Moreover, the Eurozone will grow just +1.2% in 2014, according to official forecasts.

Looking forward, the pound could climb further against the euro, as the UK and Eurozone economies continue to diverge. For instance, while the Bank of England is primed to raise interest rates in Spring 2015, the European Central Bank will hold rates close to 0.0% for at least another 2 years.

In short then, Liguria property looks set to stay more affordable in 2014, as the pound leads against the euro!

 

By Peter Lavelle at currency broker Pure FX. To get free expert foreign exchange advice about the best time to transfer money to Italy for a Liguria property, call us on +44 (0) 1494 671800 or email enquiries@purefx.co.uk.

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…..

The Flowers Parade: the flower covered floats of San Remo

San Remo: the Flowers Parade “Sanremo in Fiore” on Sunday, 10th March 2013

The famous Flowers Parade is a long procession of floats decorated with millions of flowers with all the colors of the rainbow, embellished with various original effects.

During the Flowers Parade every city of the Italian Riviera presents an original composition of flowers displayed on a Carnival/Mardi-Gras style moving car. This year the main theme will be “Man in the Space”.

These are cities and thier floats:

  1. GOLFO DIANESE – “A SPASSO NEL COSMO”
  2. RIVA LIGURE – “ALLUNAGGIO!!!AR…RIVA (LIGURE) BUZZ LIGHTYEAR”
  3. BORDIGHERA – “APOLLO 10”
  4. VENTIMIGLIA – “ASPETTANDO IL RITORNO”
  5. TAGGIA – “AVATAR”
  6. SANTO STEFANO AL MARE – “FUTURAMA”
  7. DOLCEACQUA – “LIGURI NELLO SPAZIO”
  8. SEBORGA – “ALLA CONQUISTA DI NUOVI PIANETI”
  9. OSPEDALETTI – “PASSEGGIATA … TRA I PIANETI”
  10. VALLECROSIA – “VERSO L’INFINITO E OLTRE”

It is a truly intense experience, surrounded by the most beautiful scents and flowers of the Riviera!

The event will be broadcasted on Rai 1, Rai Italia and you can also watch it on the web, at www.rai.it 

To know more: wwww.sanremoinfiore.it