The whole world knows that Venezia has a serious issue of rising tides brought on by melting glaciers and global warming. Venezia/ Venice is a unique and beautiful city which has had to adjust and live with this inconvenience of frequent flooding which now affects everyday life for the 55,000 or so who live there full time.

To kick off the new year, we are going to highlight our favorite itineraries to Italy. “Italy in 5 Trips” will be a series of blog posts about the most popular and recommended trips to this magical country. We hope you enjoy the Italian Concierge picks for the top destinations along the boot!

Out of the countless reasons to visit Venice, here is yet another to add to the list: La Biennale.  Occurring every two years, this contemporary art show transforms the city into an art lover’s paradise. Running from May 13th to November 26, this year’s show “Viva Arte Viva,” marked the 57th exhibition.

Fashion lovers rejoice. The highly anticipated transformation of Venice’s Fondaco dei Tedeschi building into a luxury department store is finally complete. The project was commissioned by Edizione S.r.l., the Benetton family's holding company, in 2009. Led by Dutch architect firm OMA, the landmark building has been redesigned to become a luxury shopping mall. Under a recently signed leasing agreement with Hong Kong based company DFS, the conversion into high end retail space is nearly complete.

The 73rd Venice International Film Festival just wrapped up in the floating city. The event was held at Venice Lido, from August 31 until September 10, 2016. Organized by La Biennale di Venezia and directed by Alberto Barbera, the aim of the festival was to raise awareness and promote international cinema in all its forms: as art, entertainment, and industry; in a spirit of open dialogue and freedom.