Inevitably, July is one of those months where one is looking ahead. The Italians are planning their holidays and it appears, true to form, that most will be going to the beach, and to the same beach as they went last year. Once the tanning season is over, they will expect to get back to the city and have a few exhibits to go to. This is why the PR people at the museums and galleries are sending out press releases providing previews of what is happening in September and beyond.

Titian is coming to Brescia. So's Raphael for that matter. The former, or a fine array of his paintings from the Louvre anyway, will be taking up residence at the Museo di Santa Giulia from October 22 right the way through to March 20, 2005. The latter - as above - can be seen at the Pinacoteca Tosi Martinengo over the same period. There's actually more. Sharing the space at Santa Giulia with Mr. Vecellio is a selection of 50 works by Monet, along with another 40 from his contemporaries such as Pissarro, Sisley, and Renoir. Same dates as before. Having a slightly shorter run is a show of the work of Gino Rossi, a Venetian 20th-century painter. Here, the closing date is January 13, 2005.

If you saw (or missed) the Turner exhibit at the Tate Britain in London in the fall of 2003, know that many of the same works will be displayed at a show running from September 4, 2004 to January 23, 2005, at the Correr Museum in Venice. There are about 300 oil paintings as well as watercolors and sketches covering the period 1819 to 1840. The catalogue is by Electa. Click here for a list of works on display.

The Venice Biennale hits town a day later. Ninth time around, the Mostra Internazionale di Architettura is entitled Metamorph. Held as usual in the Giardini di Castello-Arsenale (Corderie- Artiglierie), the exhibition runs to November 7, 2004 and is directed by Kurt Forster. The transformations in question are cultural, technological and critical and, applied to the architects from the 1970s onwards, have marked a decisive change in the approach to the field. The work of Peter Eisenman, Frank Gehry, Aldo Rossi, and James Stirling are examined, along with that of more recent emerging practitioners. In case you were wondering, the Art and the Architecture Biennale events alternate.

Before all that, though, there's plenty to do and see. The opera season at the Arena in Verona is in full swing through to the end of August. The program includes Madame Butterfly, Aida, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Rigoletto, and The Merry Widow. Tickets range from 15 Euro to 157 Euro; for information, please click here.

The cable car to Brunate from Como is apparently running through to midnight this summer. More things for visitors to do in the evening: how about a sunset cruise? This is running through to October 3. There are lots of other options, the most unusual probably being the spaghetti dinner on board a boat every Friday evening in July and August. For the first time in seventeen years, it will be possible to sail direct from Lecco right through to Piona, where there is a handsome Cistercian abbey. This is on a small promontory separating Lake Como proper from the oddly green Laghetto di Piona. Consecrated as a Cluniac house in 1138, the complex has a 13th-century cloister with Romanesque and Gothic columns. Click here for more information about the abbey. The cruise takes place on Sundays between July 4 and September 12, departing at 11am from Lecco, and returning at about 6.15pm.

While we are on the subject of Lake Como, word round these parts is that George Clooney is seeking a new house. Still on the Lake but, this time, in the vicinity of Varenna. (Not sure what he's planning to do with the old one, but I am sure he will let us know in due course.)

An ancient fishing village and a sedately elegant resort, Varenna is home to Italy's shortest river, the Fiumelatte. All of 250 meters (833 feet) long, it rushes, frothy and milk-white (hence the name) down the rockface and crashes into the lake. From the end of March to the end of October each year. And then it stops. Just like that. Leonardo da Vinci climbed down to find out where the water came from. But neither he -- nor anyone else -- has ever been able to work it out. (He made reference to it in the Codice Atlantico, which is in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan).

Passenger ferries connect Varenna with Menaggio, while the car ferry links it to Cadenabbia, and Bellagio.

When it came to decorating the chapel in the church of San Bernardino in Piazza Santo Stefano in Milan, the people responsible really used their heads. Well, other people's, to be exact. It's a tête à tête like nobody's business in there. There's over 3,000 skulls, tibias, femurs, and assorted bones assembled in intricate patterns all over the walls. Having a knee-bone in your trabeation is quite something. The chapel dates from 1695 when the bones appear to have come from a number of suppressed cemeteries. Take a peek between 7.30am and 12noon, and then 1pm and 6pm, Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 12.30 Saturday, and from 9.30am to noon on Sunday.

This reminded me of the Santuario di Santa Maria in a village called Grazie some four miles outside Mantua. This features papier-mâché figures, an executioner, and a crocodile. It's open from 7.30am to noon, and 2.30pm to 7pm daily, but perhaps a picture can convey the impression more than adequately.

Orson Welles remarked that "in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed - and produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock." Another thing the Swiss have, and the Italians don't, is same-day editions of newspapers such as the Washington Post, and New York Times, These and more (including the Manila Times, Marca, Aftenposten, Berlingske Tidende, Al-Jazirah, Yomiuri Shimbun, and The Times of India) are now being supplied to k-Kiosk AG, Switzerland's largest retail kiosk chain by NewspaperDirect, a print-on-demand newspaper service that delivers same-day editions to hotels, conferences, and cruise ships. Switzerland -- in the form of Lugano -- is, after all, just an hour from Milan. A bit far to go just to pick up the paper perhaps. But combine it with a visit to the shops and museums and you have a very pleasant day out.

If you are going to be anywhere in the Rimini area between Monday 19 and Saturday 24 July 2004, leaving the country is your best option. Why? Because that's when --in the nearby Republic of San Marino -- the Etnofestival takes place. Entitled Viaggio nei suoni e nei ritmi. Francia - Africa andata e ritorno, this year's San Marino Etnofestival focuses on percussion instruments of Francophone countries.

On the evening of Monday 19 July, you can hear Sewa Kan and Mamady Keita, the all-time expert of the djembè drum (Guinea). The next evening, the Orchestre National de Barbes (Algeria/France) take their turn. On Wednesday 21 July, Lo Còr de la Plana from France are the headline act. Making their European debut on Thursday 22 July, are the band known as Pawolka from Martinique. Kilema, who has worked with Peter Gabriel and who hails from Madagascar, will perform on Friday 23 July. On the final evening the singer Sam Mangwana, from the Congo, takes the stage. Concerts start at 21.15 in the central Piazza Sant'Agata. Admission is free of charge.

With an area of 62 square kilometers, and a population of about 25,000, the Republic of San Marino is an independent state located on the Apennine separating Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna. Just 27 kilometers from Rimini, San Marino mostly consists of the peaks and slopes of the 739-metre Monte Titano. Boasting sixteen centuries of history, San Marino has its own mint, postage stamps, and army; its main industry is tourism.

Hot on the heels of Paris, which turned a number of Seine-side streets into a beach last year, Milan has taken the same route this summer. Head for the Arco della Pace at the far end of the Parco Sempione to see how the milanesi -- local and otherwise - cope with the hot weather, with the addition of sand, deckchairs and a pool.

If you are heading for Milan in the first three weeks in July, then watch out for the stupendous summer sales at the best designer outlet in town. The place: Salvagente. The address: 16 Via Bronzetti 16, by the corner of Via Archimede (tel: 02 76110328). The bus 60 from the Central station to the Duomo stops outside; or take the blue line (passante) to Dateo station and get out at the Via Archimede exit. Open 10.00-12.30, and then 15.00-19.00 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, you can shop right the way through from 10.00 to 19.00. As with many stores in Italy, Salvagente is closed Sunday and Monday morning. Price guide: from 50 Euros, cash or Amex only. Discounts start at 20% first week, rising to 30%, and 50% in subsequent weeks. By the last week of July, it's all over, and Salvagente closes until early September. The next chance for extra-special bargains: the post-Christmas sales.

Last time, I mentioned sagre. It occurred to me later that some of you might not know what these are. I suppose the closest word in British-English would be a fête. But, never fear, a sagra really has very little in common with this kind of event other than the fact that both are local festivities held on an annual basis. A sagra tends to be keyed on a patron saint, an historical event, or a local wine or food specialty. Or, to put it another way, any excuse for a bit of convivialità which is another of those untranslatable Italian words that conjures eating, drinking, socializing, and having fun. For a list of sagre Italy-wide, click here.

Set in the grounds of one of the oldest castles in Europe, the Oasi di Sant'Alessio, near Pavia in northern Italy, provides a privileged habitat for the birds of the Po Valley. Kingfishers, storks, grebes, herons, ibises, and cormorants are among the species that can be seen in these ten hectares of wilderness.

The Oasi di Sant'Alessio is also charged with raising endangered species and freeing them into nature. These include flamingoes, avocets, peregrine falcons, and storks. Indeed, it has been estimated that the vast majority of the storks in the southern Lombardy and southeastern Piedmont regions are direct descendants of those raised at the Oasi di Sant'Alessio at the end of the 1970s.

The Oasi di Sant'Alessio is open daily from 10am-6pm in July and August. In September and October, as well as from March to June, it is closed Mondays, and between November and February, it is closed altogether. For further information, click here.

Acquired in 1550 by Eleonore of Toledo, wife of Cosimo I, the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, who wished them to have a regal home, the Pitti Palace became the archetype of the royal residence (reggia in Italian) and served as inspiration for similar royal homes in Saint Petersburg, Paris, and Madrid. After the Medici, Pitti became the home of two other reigning dynasties -- the Dukes of Lorraine, and then the Savoy family - during the short period when Florence was the capital of the fledgling Italian state. After that, the Pitti Palace became a museum and has, over the years, served as a backdrop for myriad exhibitions. In a show that has now been extended to January 9, 2005, it is now an exhibition in itself. Palazzo Pitti: La Reggia rivelata offers visitors the chance to see many well-loved works, many of which have been painstakingly restored. As well as the bronze Neptune by Stoldo Lorenzi, one of the masterpieces of 16th-century statuary, there is Bernardo Buontalenti's Grotta Grande in the Boboli gardens in the depths of which is a Venus by Giambologna, as well as frescoes by Pietro da Cortona and Ciro Ferri in the Sale dei Pianeti of the Galleria Palatina. Meanwhile, another section is dedicated to the architectural layout of the Palace and the gardens. For reservations, click here.

You have until October 31 to see a splendid exhibition called Vitrum. The sub-title elaborates: Il vetro fra arte e scienza nel mondo romano. Consisting of artifacts, frescoes, mosaics, and sculpture, this exhibition - which is being held in the Museo degli Argenti at Palazzo Pitti - highlights the dual role played by glass in Roman times. On the one hand, a material that could be shaped into useful and attractive objects for the home; on the other, a source of wonder, as well as a practical tool for the use of scientists.

Over 400 pieces, most of them from the archives of the Archaeological museums of Pompeii and Naples, are on display. Many are being seen for the first time. Examples include the "blue vase" from Naples, a portrait painted on glass, as well as containers made of colored marble-effect glass, the exact formula for which is unknown to this day.

Probably the largest exhibition of ancient Roman glass ever, Vitrum consists of four parts. The first, "Una rivoluzione tecnologica," examines the introduction of glass blowing techniques in the 1st century BC. The second, "Una rivoluzione di costume," takes the visitor into the homes of five families in ancient Pompeii. We can see how, depending on their financial means, these families used glass items. In the third section, entitled "Una rivoluzione architettonica," we see how important glass was in home design; if nothing else, how much natural light it allowed into the domestic environment. The prime example is the Casa dell'Atrio a Mosaico in Herculaneum. In the fourth and last section, "Una rivoluzione scientifica," we are invited to ponder on how much this "new" material - in use since the 3rd century BC - inspired scientists and researchers to take a closer look at what it could provide. Among the exhibits, from the British Museum comes a concave lens developed to combat near-sightedness. The catalogue is published by Florence-based Giunti Editore.

One thing I am always thankful for when I travel by train in Italy is the fact that the schedules are always in full view and there are lots of them. More than that, though, I love the fact that the one listing "departures" (partenze) is always yellow, while the one listing "arrivals" (arrivi) is always white. Something else I find useful is the chart showing the composition of trains, i.e. where the first-class carriages are located when the trains comes in. This is very useful because it means you can go to the appropriate point on the platform while waiting for your train to come in. I first found this chart in Florence station, where it is on the left hand side of the big glass doors that lead from the ticket hall. I have been unable to find it in other stations. It must be there. Or it should be, anyway.

My days (or should that be daze?) of wine and roses continue. In Conegliano, in the Veneto area the other day, visiting the vineyards whence comes prosecco, we commented on the roses planted at the ends of each row of vines. These, it was explained to us, were put there as early-warning systems for various parasites -- that affected the roses first. These days, the danger is gone, but the tradition remains.

Another thing I noticed, a few days later, as we approached the Franciacorta area between Brescia and Lago d'Iseo, were the dead and dying olive trees, huge great things, usually planted at the entrances to driveways or in very prominent positions. All obviously planted there relatively recently. And probably forming part of those hauls I mentioned last year, where these beautiful trees are uprooted from their native Calabria and Puglia and shipped up north to be sold to people who fancy an olive tree in their garden.

One of the vineyards we visited in the Franciacorta, where the speciality is a sparkling wine, metodo classico, was Fratelli Berlucchi. And I noticed that their wine labels were designed by Franco Maria Ricci back in the 1970s. For, although he is well-known as the creator of the wonderful FMR magazine, he is a graphic designer by training. That reminded me that you have until July 18 to see the exhibition of his art collection. Located at the Reggia di Colorno, which is also home to the Slow Food Movement's Universita' di Scienze Gastronomiche (but more on that another time), the exhibition extends from Cinquecento masters such as Ludovico Carracci, Girolamo Mazzola Bedoli, Jacopo Ligozzi, and Luca Cambiaso to top 20th-century names such as Erté and Libero Andreotti, Domenico Gnoli, and Tullio Pericoli.

A hint of how dire the housing situation is in Milan? A recent ad for a flat to rent included the following: "There's also a share of a box in the same building for 50 Euro/month". A box? A cardboard one? To share, to boot? Yikes!

Well, actually, things are not (quite) as bad as they seem. For some reason, the Italians use the word "box" to mean "garage."

By Roberta Kedzierski, Milan

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