Celebrate Italian culture in Washington DC during La Dolce DC

If you’re headed to Washington, DC this spring or summer, prepare to get more than an American Civics lesson.  In fact, you may want to brush up on your Italian before you head to our nation’s capital.  From the beginning of March through the end of July, the city will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy and its own Italian connections with La Dolce DC, a citywide Italian festival.

What Italian culture can you expect to find in Washington, DC?

• The National Gallery of Art will feature  the exhibition Venice: Canaletto and His Rivals (Feb 20-May 30).
• The Phillips Collection will host the exhibition Philip Guston, Roma (Feb12-May 15).
• Washington National Opera will perform “Madama Butterfly” (Feb 26-March 19) and “Don Pasquale” (May 13-27), two of the final productions to be mounted by the company under General Director Plácido Domingo.
• The Embassy of Italy will host a trade and design show at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center highlighting collections from Italian designers in April.
• The National Geographic Museum will feature The Etruscans: An Ancient Culture Revealed, a look at the culture that dominated the Italian peninsula centuries before the rise of the Roman Republic (June 10-Sept 25).

Organizers of the event are encouraging visitors to take note of the many Italian influences that can be seen in the city’s restaurants and architecture.  The Fairmont Washington, D.C. is saluting La Dolce D.C. with the Roman Holiday Package, which includes an overnight stay for two, a three-course Italian dinner for two in Juniper, two tickets to The Phillips Collection and a DVD of Roman Holiday starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck.

A comprehensive website listing many of the area attractions with Italian and Italian-American connections is available at ladolcedc.org.

Photo courtesy of Destination DC

Italy by window

Ah, the rustic beauty that is Italy. Such culture, such charm. Need I say more?

Don’t worry, I can’t — this is a Wordless Wednesday entry and they frown on such things. In fact, I’ve already said too much.

Photo: Claudia Castro via Flickr

The ultimate water view.

No, this isn’t Vegas (Really? You need to get out more!). This is the real deal, folks: Venice, Italy in all its glory. Beautiful.

This post is for Wordless Wednesday. Word included at no extra charge.

Photo by Cool Pixels via Flickr:

the water is perfect!

Yes folks, people still do this.  Toady we hear from freelance travel writer and Uptake blogger, Zach Everson (link), who spent three months backpacking his way around Europe.  Above you see Zach standing in cold water in Olympos, Turkey. Why he’s smiling is anyone’s guess.

Zach explains that there are obvious things to watch out for, but that it’s safe and cost effective.  There are so many young people doing this, it really is quite normal.

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