Lazio and Fiorentina Back in Serie A.
Fiorentina and Lazio were restored to Serie A, while Juventus had its points penalty in Serie B cut almost in half on Tuesday after successful appeals in the Italian match-fixing scandal.
AC Milan also had its points penalty in Serie A cut from 15 to eight. Juventus' sanction was reduced from 30 to 17 points. Fiorentina will begin the new season with a 19-point penalty while Lazio will be penalized 11 points. The sports court upheld the July 14 ruling stripping Juventus of its last two Serie A titles, but removed the barrier for Milan playing in next season's European Champions League.
Milan's point-penalty for last season was reduced from 44 to 30, placing it third in the standings and making it eligible to enter Champions League qualifying. Five-year bans for former Juventus executives Luciano Moggi and Antonio Giraudo, the figures at the center of the scandal, were upheld.
The pair, who resigned in May along with the entire Juventus board, were accused of creating a network of contacts with federation officials to influence refereeing assignments and get players booked, allegations that were at the heart of the scandal.
Hundreds of Lazio fans outside the hotel where the verdicts were delivered screamed in delight at the news their team was back in Serie A.
Tuesday's ruling ends the process in Italy's sports court system. Any further appeals would need to be taken through the country's civil courts, which could delay the start of the season set for August 28.
"For Juventus and its managers it's an absolutely unsatisfactory sentence," Moggi lawyer Fulvio Gianaria said.
Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli said the club would challenge the verdicts in the civil courts, while Milan lawyer Leandro Cantamessa said the club was still deciding whether to take that path.
If upheld or unchallenged, the demotion would be a first for Juventus since its birth in 1897.
The Turin-based powerhouse has won 29 league titles, including the ones stripped by Friday's verdict, two European Champions League titles, four Italian Supercups, three UEFA cups, two European Supercups and two Toyota or Intercontinental Cups.
The appeals body decision was announced a few hours after the close of the Milan stock exchange, where some of the clubs involved are listed.
In the July 14 ruling, Fiorentina was demoted to Series B and penalized 12 points to start next season, while Lazio was originally supposed to start the new season in B with a seven-point penalty.
All the clubs appealed, seeking lighter penalties. Juventus claimed the sanctions were excessive. AC Milan argued that its Champions League ban was unlawful.
AC Milan owner, billionaire businessman and former premier Silvio Berlusconi, was still complaining despite the softening of the penalties.
"I called Berlusconi to have confirmation we were in the Champions League and he told me that, in his judgment, injustice remains because Milan didn't do anything," Roberto Maroni, a former minister and political ally of Berlusconi said.
Soccer federation prosecutor Stefano Palazzi argued for even tougher punishment.
Palazzi called for Juventus to be demoted to Serie C; Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio to be demoted to Serie B with three-point deductions for Milan and 15 each for Lazio and Fiorentina.
The stiffest penalties for officials were those for Moggi and Giraudo. The appeals tribunal confirmed the initial court's recommendation that asked the Italian soccer federation to ban the two for life. The maximum punishment the sports court could impose is five years.
Other prominent officials had their sanctions reduced. Franco Carraro, the former head of the Italian soccer league who resigned in May amid the scandal and had originally received a 4 1/2-year ban, received a fine and a warning.
Fiorentina owner and industrialist Diego Della Valle had three months shaved off his four-year ban, while Lazio president Claudio Lotito's was banned for 2 1/2 years, a year less than in the initial sentence. Milan vice president Adriano Galliani received a nine-month ban, instead of one year.
With the verdicts still being deliberated, UEFA said on Tuesday it granted the Italian federation a one-day extension, till Wednesday, for submission of names of Italian clubs eligible to participate in European club competitions this coming season.
The list is required by UEFA to complete the preparations and seeding for the draws of the Champions League third qualifying round and UEFA Cup second qualifying round. The draws take place on Friday at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
Several Serie A stars, including Italy and Fiorentina striker Luca Toni and Brazil and Milan playmaker Kaka, are expected to decide about their club futures based on the outcome of the trial.
Separately, prosecutors in Rome, Naples, Parma and Turin are conducting criminal probes into alleged sports fraud, illegal betting and false bookkeeping.
Subscribers to Lets-Travel-Rome.com will shortly be able to access the full fixture lists for both Lazio and Roma, and get the best deals on prices and accommodation.
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Rome set to come alive on White Night.
Rome is set to come alive on the night of September 9th, as La Notte Bianca (the White Night) sees visual arts, dance, music and a host of other events take place around the city.
Major venues including the Borghese Gallery and the Villa Medici play host to more than 100 events all over the Eternal City and free public transport services ferry locals and visitors alike from place to place.
The free event is organised by the municipality of Rome, along with other official bodies, and aims to be an inclusive event aimed at solidarity and multiculturalism.
It "involves all the city's inhabitants" and is "an opportunity for discovering this city and its treasures but also for an encounter with culture in its most varied expressions".
More than 1,000 artists will take part in the event this year, which begins at 9pm in the Piazza del Campidoglio with a scene from Romeo and Juliet performed by Roberto Bolle and Alessandra Ferri.
Besides the White Night, Italy's capital offers much for history lovers, including the Colosseum and the Spanish Steps.
Lets-Travel-Rome.com
4 Italian clubs sanctioned for match-fixing.
Just days after winning its fourth World Cup title, Italian soccer suffered an all-time low as four top clubs and top officials and referees were sanctioned for match-fixing.
An Italian sports tribunal demoted Juventus to Serie B and stripped it of its last two Serie A titles Friday. Lazio and Fiorentina were also demoted to the second division, while AC Milan was spared relegation but was given a 15-point penalty in the top division.
Of the 26 officials or referees implicated in the scandal, 19 received punishment ranging from the maximum five-year ban to a warning; five were acquitted; and two were banned for life without prosecution because they resigned before being charged.
The penalties can be appealed within five days to a higher sports court.
The scandal is projected to take a financial toll on the clubs involved. In addition to game-day receipts, broadcast rights may need to be reworked for the teams relegated to the second division, and sponsorship contracts for Juventus may be endangered if it is unable to work its way backup to Serie A in one season.
Thirteen of the 23-man Italian squad that won Sunday's World Cup final belong to the four teams penalized, and already there was speculation about whether they might leave or have their contracts sold because the teams could no longer afford them.
"It's obvious that part of our squad will not remain in Serie B. We can't deny them the chance to play in a more competitive league," said Juventus President Giovanni Cobolli Gigli, adding that Real Madrid was making moves on some of his players.
Juventus was given a 30-point penalty, meaning it will have to struggle to climb back to the top league. Fiorentina was penalized 12 points and Lazio 7.
Former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi and former Juventus chief executive Antonio Giraudo received the maximum five-year ban for match-fixing and disloyalty, with a recommendation to the federation to make it a ban for life.
The two, who resigned in May along with the club's entire board, were accused of creating a network of contacts with federation officials to influence refereeing assignments and get players booked.
Soccer federation chief Guido Rossi, who took over in the wake of the scandal, sought a speedy trial to clean up the game and restore the sport's image quickly.
The sentence for Juve marks the first demotion since its inception in 1897. The Turin-based powerhouse has won 29 league titles -- including the ones stripped by Friday's verdict -- two Champions League titles, four Italian Supercups, two European Supercups and two Intercontinental Cups.
Fans took to the streets after hearing the news that their teams will be playing next season in the second-tier Serie B.
"To Hell", screamed a front-page column in Italy's leading newspaper Corriere della Sera. It counted 120 hours from Italy's World Cup win to the moment when "two generations of soccer establishment were wiped out."
As teams prepared their appeals, the country braced for a likely exodus of prized players such as World Cup captain Fabio Cannavaro and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.
But subscribers to Lets-Travel-Rome.com will still be able to grab premium tickets to all Lazio and Roma homegames through this link:
Lets-Travel-Rome.com/Rome Soccer Tours
Italian taxi drivers protest, jam Rome.
Tuesday 18 July 2006
On Monday, over 2,000 drivers protested against the government’s plans to liberalize the taxi service. In Rome, the airport and main train station were deserted of taxis.
Milan, Turin and Bologna taxi drivers only responded to emergency calls.
Civil Service Minister Luigi Nicolais invited suggestions for improving the centre-left government’s bill, but refused withdrawal.
The proposed bill breaks the monopoly status of local taxi federations. It allows municipal administrations to increase the number of taxi licenses issued.
Particularly controversial was a measure which would have allowed the entry of private firms.
Protestors were concerned that the reform would destroy the value of their taxi licenses, currently traded for as much as 200,000 euros, or passed on to children.
At 40,000, the Italian fleet of taxis is the smallest in Europe.
Official statistics show that for a thousand inhabitants there are 2.1 taxis in Rome, compared to 8.3 in London.
Lets-Travel-Rome.com
Match-fixing verdict to be delivered Jul 14 2006.
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) have confirmed the verdicts of the match-fixing trial involving Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and
Lazio will be announced after 7pm local time on Friday.
The announcement regarding the fate of the Serie A clubs, as well as the 25 people under investigation, will be read by the Federal Appeals Commission president Cesare Ruperto in Rome's Parco dei Principi hotel.
Television broadcasters and radio stations will not be allowed to transmit the verdict live.
But subscribers to Lets-Travel-Rome will shortly be able to grab match day tickets for all Roma and Lazio home games, regardless of the outcome for Lazio when the investigations are complete.
Lets-Travel-Rome.com/Rome Soccer Tours
New Italian Phrase Book For Tourists.
July 5, 2006 ( Rome. Italy ) -- Italian For Tourists a phrasebook published through the online content marketplace Lulu.com, is a basic guide to the Italian language covering phrases and words most needed by tourists. It includes all the words and phrases a tourist is likely to need during their stay in Italy as well as a pronunciation guide.
The phrasebook is divided into 16 chapters including; Emergency, The basics, Common expressions, Learning Italian, Greetings and introducing yourself, Transport, Hotel, Sightseeing, Asking and giving directions, Food and drink, Health, Shopping, Offices and bureaucracy and Signs and notices. For easy reference, English words and phrases are printed in bold black type, while the Italian translations are shown in green.
What others say about the book: Very handy and a light load to carry! I love the feature...that you can print off only the pages you need! There is always so much to lug around when traveling. Thanks for a great service to the travel-world! And so accessible! No waiting for book to be shipped out! . Tanya Rice, writer
Jo Linsdell came to Italy from the UK 6 years ago and now lives in Rome working as a freelance writer. She wrote the book drawing on her own experience. She explains A tourist doesn t need to know everything about Italian grammar or the in s and out s of buying an apartment. They want to have an easy to use reference book of the language they will need to use and understand during their stay .
About the Company:
Jo Linsdell is a freelance writer who lives in Rome with her Italian fiancé. She is available for comment at jo_bins@yahoo.com.
Lets-Travel-Rome.com
Tracking site spots World Cup effect
The 'World Cup Effect' meant Germany has been the top performing destination for holiday home rentals in the first half of 2006, according to data from www.Holiday-Rentals.co.uk.
Enquiries per property increased dramatically during the run-up to the competition and continued to be high throughout June. Dubai was hot on Germany's heels, with an average number of enquiries per property double the site average and a dramatic 236% increase in the number of properties since 2005.
Perennial Brit favourite, Tenerife remained popular too, with a healthy 20% rise in the average number of enquiries per property per month compared to 2005, despite a 66% growth in the number of properties available to rent on the site.
Renter interest in Italy went up 13.2%, backing up recent press reports that the country is growing in popularity, particularly its cities, with enquiries in both the Rome and Venice regions up around 25% on last year.
Other regions that performed particularly well were Sicily (up 30.9%), Lombardy (up 28.5%), Campania (23.6%), Tuscany and Marche (both up 10.4%).
The final destination in the top five performing regions was the island of Malta, showing its efforts to reduce dependence on tour operators and attract more independent travellers are paying off.
Despite an increase of 69% in the number of properties available to rent, the average number of enquiries per property per month increased by 4% in the first quarter of 2006, compared to quarter one of 2005.
Ross McGowan, Sales Director, www.Holiday-Rentals.co.uk commented, "The fact that Germany has been a top choice with renters is perhaps not surprising, given the World Cup, however what is remarkable is the increase in properties; 38% since last year. Thanks to the availability of relatively cheap property, decreasing unemployment and growing interest from tourists, canny investors are realising Germany could be the next hot property market in Europe."
He continued, "The number of properties in Dubai registered on Holiday-Rentals.co.uk has shot up by a staggering 236% in the last year, clearly highlighting a phenomenal increase in the number of people buying in this investment hot-spot. Plus, demand has continued to match supply on the site too, indicating its popularity with tourists continues to grow, unabated."
Lets-Travel-Rome.com
Swifts: kings of Roman skies
Swifts are useful allies during the early summer months with their efficient disposal of mosquitoes, flies, gnats and wasps.
Sitting on a Rome roof-terrace one early summer evening during cocktail hour, I overheard an American girl ask: “What’s with those birds up there?”
She pointed to the hundreds of swirling, darting, spiralling, lunging birds in the sky. They seemed to be going nowhere in their never-ending mad carousel, emitting high-pitched supersonic screams as they whirled.
“They’re swallows, eating all those insects that bite you,” her companion replied.
He was right about the insects being consumed, but not about the birds. They are not swallows but swifts. Above our heads, above Italian cities, towns and villages, in the summer sky a continual harvest of flying insects is taking place. From dawn until well after sunset, the insectivorous swifts are feeding in the air and cleaning up quantities of nasty mosquitoes, gnats, flies and wasps.
Among the fastest-flying birds in the world, these extraordinary creatures never sit on a limb or a telephone line, never land on the ground to run after or peck at an insect. Almost their entire life is spent in flight; they drink, bathe, collect food and nesting materials without landing. They even mate while flying.
A swift flies at such speed that it’s not even noticeable when it swoops onto a rooftop or scrabbles under a tile where it’s made its nest. It’s to this nest that it returns at the end of March or the beginning of April after an incredible flight of thousands of kilometres from southern Africa. Under the tiles eggs are laid and the young are raised.
Swifts (rondoni) are often mistaken for swallows (rondini). But swifts and swallows aren’t related. Even though swallows also feed on flying insects and dart and dash in the air they are not city birds. They prefer the country and construct their nests inside barns, caverns, garages and all sorts of uninhabited buildings outside towns. Unlike swifts, they don’t fly in groups and have different flying patterns and wing shape.
Also mistakenly called swallows are their relatives: the smaller house martins (balestrucci) which, like swifts, are city and village birds but build their nests on house walls directly under the eaves.
Swallows and house martins have very different bodies from swifts. The swift is all wing, a short torpedo-shaped body and a short tail. They are also entirely black, while swallows are a shiny dark blue with a white belly and distinguished by a long, forked tail.
Swallows and house martins can land on the ground and sit on telephone lines. If by accident swifts find themselves on the ground or on a flat surface, they have great difficulty taking off again, hindered from rising quickly and steeply by their long narrow wings. They always nest and roost with a drop below so they can then launch themselves out into the air – the drop giving them the necessary speed and lift to continue.
Swifts have been known to bump into one another while swirling through the air or hit a wall or a window, fall to the ground and then not be able to take off again. If a kind person sees this helpless bird sprawled, wings spread, it should be picked up, held in the open palm of the hand and given a quick upward lift. If it isn’t injured in any way, it will zoom off, saved by this small gesture.
Often a baby swift can be found on the pavement having crawled out (or been kicked out) from under its tile and fallen off the roof. It can’t be returned to the nest and can’t be left to die. It’s not so difficult to save it. The only requisite is a bit of tender loving care. You can help in one of two ways:
If in Rome, call LIPU (Lega Italiana Protezione Uccelli) centre for bird rehabilitation (saving and returning fauna to their habitat). LIPU has volunteers and professionals working round the clock who will take the bird in any condition.
We are not grateful enough to these marvellous swifts for the pesticide-free clean-up of so many of the flying nasties. We only notice the difference after the swifts have departed, in mid-July, to take up that mysterious arduous trip back to Africa, when their task of nesting and chick-raising is over. Then the flying creepy crawlies descend on us in full force, with nothing but bug spray to protect us for the rest of the summer.
LIPU Centre, 1 Viale Giardino Zoologico,
tel. 063201912. Daily 09.30-17.30.
Italy win gives break from scandal.
By David Willey
BBC News, Rome
While Italians gave a hero's welcome to their victorious World Cup team, fresh from their triumph in Berlin, the seamy side of Italian football was being relegated to small print on the inside pages of Italian newspapers.
It is hoped the World Cup win will give Italian football a boost
Yet a sports tribunal set up by the Italian football federation, Federcalcio, to investigate what has been described here as the biggest match-fixing scandal ever to besmirch Italian soccer, is due to deliver later this week in what could be a devastating verdict for four top Italian first division clubs: Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio.
The tribunal is sitting in a sparsely furnished temporary courtroom at Rome's Olympic football stadium.
Five of the six judges are retired high court judges, the sixth is an official of the referees' association. The verdict will then be immediately re-examined by an appeals tribunal.
Serious allegations of extensive match-fixing and fraud first surfaced last May with the publication of alleged telephone conversations between officials discussing which referees should take charge of matches played by the current first division champions, Turin's Juventus.
The scandal mushroomed into a major enquiry into the ethical conduct of the entire football industry.
Now the four clubs, including Juventus, stand to be relegated to minor divisions of the Italian league and/or be stripped of their former championship titles. Six members of Italy's cup winning team have played or are currently playing for Juventus.
Another former Juventus player, full-back Gianluca Pessotto, recently appointed team manager, is still critically ill in hospital after suffering severe depression and falling from a window at the club's headquarters.
If sanctions are imposed, the potential losses to clubs and players in TV rights could be enormous. The clubs could also be thrown out of European competitions. Twenty-six senior football officials are also under investigation. Lawyers representing the accused clubs and officials have already asked for extra time to study evidence.
Earlier in the month, about 20,000 Juventus fans staged a march through the streets of Turin in support of their city's club, long associated with the Agnelli family, founders and major shareholders in the Fiat motor company.
The newly-appointed club chairman said Juventus may have committed sins but they were minor ones, not major ones.
From Berlin, the newly-appointed special commissioner of Italy's football federation Guido Rossi has made comforting noises saying that Italy's World Cup victory lays the basis for a new renaissance of Italian football.
"Now we have to separate the negative side from the positive," he added.
Also present in Berlin was Stefano Palazzi, the prosecutor who last week asked the tribunal to impose severe sanctions against clubs and officials accused in the match fixing scandal.
The Italian Federation has a 27 July deadline to communicate to Uefa the names of seven Italian clubs which will take part in the coming season's European championships.
Relegation would mean that some at least of Italy's new football heroes might be ineligible to take part.
That is a nightmare which Italian fans gathering in Rome for the homecoming celebrations of their adored Azzurri (the blues) do not even want to contemplate.
Whatever the outcome, subscribers to Lets-Travel-Rome.com will still be able to get "best seat" match tickets for all the Roma and Lazio home games, through partners Viator!
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Pavarotti Recovering From Cancer Surgery.
By RONALD BLUM, Associated Press Writer
Friday, July 7, 2006
Tenor Luciano Pavarotti underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer and is "recovering well," his manager said Friday. The 70-year-old singer was preparing to leave New York last week to resume his farewell world concert tour in Britain when doctors discovered a malignant pancreatic mass, Terri Robson said from her London office.
"Fortunately, the mass was able to be completely removed at surgery," she said in a statement. "Mr. Pavarotti is recovering well and his physicians are encouraged by the physical and emotional resilience of their patient."
She told The Associated Press he underwent surgery within the past week at a hospital in New York that she declined to identify. She said he remained hospitalized Friday.
As a result of Pavarotti's treatment, all remaining 2006 concerts have been canceled, she said. It is anticipated that tour plans will resume in early 2007.
Concerts had been scheduled for Finland, Norway, Austria, Switzerland and Portugal in September.
Pavarotti was forced to postpone five June dates because of complications from back surgery. He canceled eight concerts in April, saying he had been advised not to travel or perform while undergoing back treatment.
Pavarotti made his debut as Rodolfo in Puccini's "La Boheme" at Reggio Emilia, Italy, in 1961, and took advantage of the television age to become the world's most widely recognized opera singer.
He made his American debut in Miami in 1965 opposite Joan Sutherland in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" and his Metropolitan Opera debut in New York on Nov. 23, 1968, in "La Boheme." He became a star when he nailed the nine high Cs in "Ah! Mes amis" as Tonio in Donizetti's "La Fille du Regiment" at the Met in 1972.
His Met finale, on March 13, 2004, was his 379th performance with the company. He sang 140 times at Milan's Teatro all La Scala, 100 at London's Royal Opera, 76 each with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the San Francisco Opera, 48 at the Opera de Paris and 45 at the Vienna State Opera.
He retired from opera two years ago, saying his weight problem and bad knee prevented him from moving comfortably around stages. But he kept up with his concert career.
Pavarotti joined with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras to form The Three Tenors, who sang 34 concerts from 1990 through 2003. They sang together before four World Cup finals, at Rome (1990), Los Angeles (1994), Paris (1998) and Yokohama, Japan (2002).
Domingo was to be joined Friday night by tenor Rolando Villazon and soprano Anna Netrebko for this year's pre-World Cup final concert in Berlin.
Lets-Travel-Rome.com
Italians get out their flags .
Expectation mounts ahead of Sunday's World Cup final.
ANSA) - Rome, July 7 - Italians unable to travel to Berlin for the World Cup final between Italy and France were busy on Friday preparing to join the flag-waving crowds in piazzas and and football stadiums across the nation .
About 200,000 people are expected to gather in Rome's Circus Maximus, the site of an ancient chariot-racing arena, to watch the match on mega-screens and take part in the fondly expected celebrations afterwards .
Likewise huge numbers were expected at Milan's Piazza del Duomo and at central squares in Florence, Naples and Turin. Even though Italy has been in the grip of World Cup fever for weeks now, shops selling the red, white and green 'tricolore' flags and blue national team jerseys were doing a roaring trade as the week ended .
"It's incredible. I've had old ladies buying flags, businessmen buying crazy hats and mums buying shirts for their children," said one shopkeeper near Rome's Trevi fountain .
Up and down the country, plans were being changed and travel arrangements adjusted so that Italians could be in front of a screen by 8 pm on Sunday night .
In the tiny Calabrian village of Gioiosa Jonica locals rescheduled the annual procession with the church's statue of the Virgin Mary to Saturday so that everyone would be free the next day .
In the southern town of Corigliano Calabro, the birthplace of Italy midfielder Rino Gattuso, football fans were preparing triumphal march for Sunday night with every one wearing their local hero's shirt .
Meanwhile, back in Rome, plans were taking shape for a grand event on Monday night to welcome home the Italian players .
"They deserve a celebration regardless of the result," said Mayor Walter Veltroni. "They have put on a fantastic show for all of us". The Italian team is scheduled to land at a military base north of Rome, where there will be no chance of fans mobbing them. Soon after they will be greeted by top Italian officials before being escorted to Circus Maximus to be feted by thousands of fans .
Like many Italians, a restaurant in Viareggio was taking superstitious precautions on Friday to stop fate spoiling the planned party .
The restaurant owners have removed Normandy oysters and champagne from the menu for the next two days .
If you are a keen follower of Italian football, then check out our Rome soccer tours on the following link for special deals on Roma and Lazio home games from this September.
Lets-Travel-Rome.com/Rome Soccer Tours
