Italy is the world’s favourite destination

Italy is the world’s favouritie destination, with readers of Condé Nast Traveller voting it the world’s best destination for 2014

Italy has retained the top spot for the fourth year in a row thanks to its diverse landscape, abundance of history and culture, and good food.

Italy was followed by the USA, for its “friendly people”, and Australia.

Readers of the luxury travel website also put Sicily in third place as the world’s best island, just behind the Maldives and the Greek islands.

The island of Capri, off the Amalfi coast, came seventh for its “delicious food and fantastic places to stay”, while Sardinia came 14th.

Rome and Florence were voted the world’s seventh and eighth best cities “outside of the UK”.

Italy’s hotels also fared well, with Portofino’s Belmond Hotel Splendido and Rome’s Hotel de Russie coming second and third as the most favoured hotels in Europe.

Here the complete article: http://www.cntraveller.com/awards/readers-travel-awards/rta-2014/page/destinations

From: Thelocal.it

Strategic alliance between Knight Frank and Douglas Elliman

Strategic alliance between Knight Frank Residential and Douglas Elliman, the leading residential agencies in London and New York

Two of the biggest names in residential property, Douglas Elliman Real Estate and Knight Frank Residential, have today announced the launch of a new residential real estate alliance.

The firm’s combined network will now include 400 offices across 52 countries, and nearly 20,000 agents. Douglas Elliman and Knight Frank Residential will jointly market more than $38 billion of prime and super-prime properties priced at $1.5 million or more.

Douglas Elliman and Knight Frank Residential are the fourth largest residential brokerage in the United States and the largest independent residential brokerage in the United Kingdom, respectively.

The alliance will include co-branded offices, select top tier agents, and shared marketing of fine luxury properties, resulting in the largest interactive and connected network for prime and super prime properties in the world.

It will share marketing resources for domestic and international properties of at least $1.5 million through co-branding seven offices across New York City, South Florida, and Los Angeles, which cover the key high net worth markets in the US.

Lord Andrew Hay, Global Head of Knight Frank Residential, said: “The property market has become increasingly global as the mobility of buyers increases; accordingly, there is now a wider selection of both investor origins and investment destinations. For agents, this trend dictates that it is essential to be best in class in both New York and London in order to provide high net worth clients with the most comprehensive service and access to the best properties globally.

“The strategic alliance between Knight Frank Residential and Douglas Elliman brings together the two leading agencies in the world’s two most important markets. The aim of the alliance is to provide a single market view, consistent expert advice and exceptional service – whether it be in Park Lane or Park Avenue”

Hay goes on to say: ” What makes the alliance so powerful for both our clients and our brokers, are the deeply etched hallmarks that can only be found in independent property agencies: a ‘client first’ focus, professionalism, a brand that adds value, market leading websites and a shared ethos of building long term relationships. Douglas Elliman stands out a mile in this respect. We only engage with best in class, Douglas Elliman are unquestionably just that.”

With the number of Ultra High Net Worth Individuals* (UHNWIs) set to expand to 215,000 over the next 10 years from the current number of 168,000, according to Knight Frank’s Wealth Report, the alliance will capitalise on this expansion and the prevailing trend for those individuals to own property in London and New York.

“This new global alliance formed by Douglas Elliman and Knight Frank Residential is a testament to our shared history, vision, and commitment to our clientele. With our group of top dedicated agents, the finest international properties, and in-depth global market analysis, we are offering our customers a truly seamless experience whether they’re in Malibu, Manhattan, or Moscow,” said Howard M. Lorber, Chairman, Douglas Elliman.

Douglas Elliman and Knight Frank Residential first began their strategic relationship in the 1970’s through international referrals.

“The strengthening of our relationship with Knight Frank Residential further solidifies Douglas Elliman’s position at the top of the real estate industry through our unique marketing platform, shared market insights, and unmatched ability to connect buyers and sellers on a global scale,” said Dottie Herman, President & CEO, Douglas Elliman.

From: Knightfrank.co.uk

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

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