Travellers who walk through Sicily’s Tempio della Concordia (Temple of Concordia) this summer have Dolce & Gabbana to thank, after the Italian fashion house turned the site into a runaway that’s now open to tourists.
The ancient Greek temple is located in the Valle dei Templi (Valley of the Temples) on the Italian island of Sicily. It is a well-preserved example of a Doric temple, and one of the best examples outside of Greece. The valley is a Unesco World Heritage site and one of Sicily’s main tourist draws, but tourists have previously not been able to enter the Temple of Concordia, which was built in 430 BC. The building has stood the test of time, as it was built on a site with a layer of soft clay beneath, which has helped it withstand earthquakes. However, the ancient structure was still fragile enough that tourists could not enter into it.
But Dolce & Gabbana’s show, which displayed the latest Alta Moda collection, required putting a runway through the temple. The special floor that allowed the models to show off their amazing couture while protected the temple will remain in place until this fall – allowing tourists to also walk through the usually cordoned-off site.
It’s a big win for tourists heading the area, who will get the unique experience of walking through an otherwise out-of-reach ancient site. And while the valley may be a draw for travellers who are amazed by incredible architecture and history, the fashion show has sparked new interest for lovers of haute couture.
According to Dolce & Gabbana, the Valley of the Temples is “one of the finest artistic expressions that the ancient Greeks have handed down to us, comparable only, in terms of the beauty and perfection of its architecture, to the Parthenon in Athens.” It’s not surprising then that the fashion house chose the site to show off its masterpieces of fashion, which “evoke the enduring myths of classicism.”
This isn’t the first time the fashion house has brought its Alta Moda collection to Sicily. The first went presented in Taormina in 2012. They returned with another Alta Moda show in Palermo in 2017, before heading to the Valley of the Temples this year.
Head to Rimini in Italy for Ulissefest, the Lonely Planet travel festival
Meeting new people, sampling new foods and seeing incredible scenery are just some of the many reasons people like to travel. But at this year’s Ulissefest, travellers from around the world will drill down into what really makes them head out on the road.
Held in Rimini, Italy, the third edition of Lonely Planet UlisseFest – the Travel Festival will run from 12 to 14 July. The event brings together avid travellers to take part in meetings, shows, concerts, readings, films and workshops in the historic centre of Rimini.
This year’s event will be centred on the question: “Why do we travel?” The question will be put to writers, artists, photographers, journalists and all people who like to get out and explore.
“Increasing numbers of people travel despite the economic downturn and security concerns,” said Angelo Pittro, the artistic director of the festival, “and the tourism industry is thriving more than ever before”.
“At the same time, the excessive presence of tourists is one of today’s key global problems. Some claim that we travel more but understand less. Our three-day festival will attempt to show that this is not true, that travelling helps us understand something more about ourselves, the world around us, and our place in the universe. It lets us experience first-hand what it means to feel different, alien.”
In attendance will be Tony Wheeler, the co-founder of Lonely Planet, and Carlo Petrini, the creator of the Slow Food movement, among many other experts in travel. There will be musical performances by artists like the Tuareg guitarist, Bombino, the queen of Fado, Ana Moura, and more.
There will also be a workshop on travel guide writing, ‘How to Become a Lonely Planet Author’ will share the secrets of a life of travel with Silvia Castelli, editor-in-chief of Lonely Planet Italy. Guests will also be able to learn from Lonely Planet authors and cartographers. The festival is organised by EDT, Italian partner of Lonely Planet, in collaboration with the Municipality of Rimini. Find out more here.
Rent the romantic Mallorcan villa from Love Island for your holiday
he drama on hit reality TV show, Love Island, has captured everyone’s hearts again this year, but if you were captivated by the luxury Mallorcan villas that host the contestants from the popular show, the good news is that you can rent out one of them.
Most of the action takes place in the main Love Island villa, but you can rent Casa Amor, the second villa that has become the seat of much of the plot twists and heartbreak ever since it was introduced during the 2017 series. This year, the girls were sent off to meet six new boys there, causing at least two previously strong romances to break up and various people to end up feeling mugged off.
Now that they’ve all departed, Casa Amor is available to rent out, and for added luxury, you can also request your own private chef and chauffeur. The four-bedroom villa can sleep up to eight people and has five bathrooms. It is set in a private and secluded location just minutes’ drive from the picturesque village of Sant Llorenc des Cardassar.
The ultra-modern house is within easy reach of beaches and all facilities, and as fans will know, it has its own pool that features in the show, with elevated sun loungers and a large outdoor terrace and barbecue area. The master bedroom suite located on the first floor features two balconies.
We don’t see much of the interior of the villa on television, because most of the action takes place outside on the terraces and in the outdoor seating areas, but the villa has a large modern lounge area with a gas flame fire and designer kitchen. The villa is privately located and surrounded by greenery, and it is equipped with amenities that include a wine chiller, sound dock and DVD and CD Players.
If you’d like to crack on with Casa Amor, it is available to book through luxury villa company Villa Retreats and costs from £4572/€5164 to £8128/€9035 per week. Hot dates and potential romantic couplings are not included, but further information is available here.
EU airlines must now compensate you for delays on connecting flights
The European Union has extended its protection for airline passengers to cover delays or cancellations on connecting flights that operate outside the EU.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled last week that EU airlines selling tickets to destinations beyond the EU must offer compensation to passengers if their connecting flight is delayed by more than three hours or cancelled, even if the delay is caused by another airline. Passengers can receive up to €600 ($700) in compensation.
Until last week this protection applied to flights departing or arriving in Europe. But a landmark case has extended the legislation to cover connecting flights on partner airlines or codeshare flights outside the EU, even if the airline operating the second leg of the journey is a non-EU based carrier.
Let’s break down what this means for you, the airline passenger. Say you book a flight from London to Sydney via Hong Kong with British Airways under one booking reference. The flight from London to Hong Kong is on time but the second leg of the flight, operated by Cathay Pacific, is delayed by about four hours. The delay is Cathay Pacific’s fault, right? In this hypothetical case, yes. And you’d expect Cathay Pacific to offer compensation, right? Well no, now it’s actually British Airways’ responsibility to compensate you as you booked the trip through British Airways.
The ruling resulted from a case in which 11 passengers booked a flight to Bangkok from Prague via Abu Dhabi with Czech Airlines. The first leg of the flight, operated by Czech Airlines, arrived in Abu Dhabi on time but the connecting flight, operated by Etihad Airways, was delayed by eight hours and eight minutes. The ECJ ruled that Czech Airlines must compensate the passengers because they were the ones who sold the tickets.
“At AirHelp, we believe this decision to be a real game changer which has a significant impact on air passenger rights throughout Europe. For the first time, an airline may be liable for compensation for the mistakes of another. However, it does make sense from a passenger perspective that the passenger can claim with the airline that sold the passenger the ticket. We most definitely expect many airlines to be opposed to this decision, as is usually the case when the rights of their own customers are reinforced,” states Christian Nielsen, Chief Legal Officer at AirHelp.
The court ruled: “A flight with one or more connections which is the subject of a single reservation constitutes a whole for the purposes of the right of passengers to compensation provided for in the regulation.” However, it also ruled that the EU airline could sue the non-EU airline in order to “obtain redress for that financial cost.” So, in this case, Czech Airlines can chase Etihad for the money they paid out in compensation.
