Any Italy-based Stripes readers out there? If so, here’s a bit of news I hope you can use.

Each year, the Ministry of Cultural and Artistic Patrimony of Italy organizes a Culture Week. The “Settimana della Cultura” for 2007 will be May 12-20. According to the Italian National Tourist Board, pretty much every museum and archaeological site participates in the initiative.

To see what’s on, follow this link: http://www.beniculturali.it/sala/dettaglio-comunicato.asp?nd=ss,cs&Id=2400 . Unfortunately, all the information is in Italian, but you can still get a good idea of the events to be laid on by scrolling down to where you’ll find “pubblicazione per regione” and clicking on the appropriate geographical area. This will take you to a .pdf that you can then use the “search” function on by entering the name of the town you’d like to visit. Let’s take the briefest of glances at what’s on in the vicinity of Stripes readers:

Sicily: Catania’s Museo dello Sbarco in Sicilia 1943, or Historical Museum of the Landing in Sicily 1943, offers prolonged hours and free entry, as will Nicolosi’s Museo Vulcanologico.

Livorno: virtual, multimedia presentation showing the city’s development.

Aviano area: Vicenza’s cathedral is offering guided visits of certain elements normally closed to the public.

Do any Stripes readers whose Italian is much better than my own know anything more about these initiatives? If so, please share what you can about Culture Week.