The creation and love-child of two multi-talented persons, Roberto Ruta and Lisa Chiari, to call MENOW just a film festival would be a gross understatement. This is a meeting of minds, a salute to all the great arts and culture that the Region has to offer, complete with delicious food tastings, exclusive concerts and yes, of course, stunning new films.

Many attribute Venice’s Aussie invasion to the country’s new cultural policy. The scheme, which launched last August, seeks to promote Australian arts abroad and grow cultural tourism in part by inviting tastemakers like Enwezor to the country.

As word of #We_Are_Coming_O_Rome spread across the Italian media, Rome residents took the opportunity to respond to the Islamic State. And they did so in an especially Roman way.  With warnings about the traffic.

The conference was about cultural diplomacy and gathered many Italian diplomats who traveled the world and started writing.

The U.S. will show itself off as "Food Truck Nation" at the Milan Expo, bringing six authentic food trucks to Italy as part of its participation in the event opening in May for six months.  The Expo theme is food and nutrition.

Venice gets 20 million visitors every year - but soon tourists may have to pay just to visit the city.  Locals are tired of day trippers who do not spend much money in the city, so now the authorities are proposing a daily fee of $40.

In a matter of days, Europe's leaders have dropped the early assessment that the crisis in Iraq was principally humanitarian.  Germany has agreed to ship weapons to the Kurds.  Italy, too, stands ready to send machine-guns and anti-tank rockets.  So, as a first step, Europe's four largest nations have decided to put their confidence in the Kurds even if it eventually increases the chance they will push for a state of their own.

Foreign ministers from France, Germany and Italy have condemned antisemitic violence at protests against Israel's invasion of Gaza and pledged to do all they can to combat it. While the majority of pro-Palestinian protests in Paris, Berlin, London, Vienna, Amsterdam and other cities have taken place peacefully, some have descended into verbal and physical attacks on Jews and Jewish property, including synagogues and shops.