Friday, May 30, 2008

Info on Recalls and Product Safety while Living in Italy

Here are some links for or on mostly USA Recalls and Product Safety while Living in Italy:

FROM THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)
FROM AUSTRALIA
  • Product Recalls Australia – " The site enhances consumer safety by providing current product recall information based on notifications provided to the Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs."
FROM CANADA
FROM IRELAND
FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM (UK)
  • Product recalls & drug alerts (UK market) – Source: PJ Online – "is the web site of The Pharmaceutical Journal (official journal of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain) and its family of publications"
  • Product safety recalls – Source: Trading Standards Central – "a one stop shop for consumer protection information in the UK."
  • UKRecallNotice – "Product Safety Recalls for the United Kingdom"

The above links are current. If anyone has any suggestions for other sites, please feel free to post your comment and I'll update this blog entry. For your specific interest, please search the web for further information using Google

Please note: If you want me to reply to your comment or request for further information by email, please include your email address in a separate comment. I will NOT publish any comments with an email address in it.

In the USA, you have the TV, radio, newspapers, neighbors, friends and family members that will keep you informed about the various recalls and product safety issues that happen several times a year. While living in Italy, you may miss some of these announcements on recalls and product safety because things have changed, e.g., language of the news and in publications, the relevance of an USA recall and product safety may not be important to your new Italian neighbors, etc.

However, when you came to Italy from whatever country of origin, you may of brought several items from home. Some of these items may of been last minute gifts to your children, yourself and/or your spouse or significant other. Besides the USA, I have provided information on consumer products from Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

I solicit feedback from the readers of this blog entry for further information and detail and thank you in advance for your assistance and support in this matter.

That's it for Friday, 30 May 2008: venerdì, 30 maggio 2008.

Ciao, Ben

Moving2Italy2 – #1 source of links About, For or On Italy for those individuals moving, traveling or already living in Italy.

Today’s quote is an Italian proverb, author unknown.
"A buon consiglio non si trova prezzo."
" Good advice is priceless."

Please note: The time listed below for this posting is Central European Time (CET)/ GMT+1.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Info on Market Days - Outdoor Markets in Tuscany

Here are some links on Outdoor Markets, Market Days in Tuscany (Toscana):

MARKET DAYS - OUTDOOR MARKETS - OPEN AIR MARKETS
MISCELLANEOUS
* = Blog entry has been updated.

The above links are current. If anyone has any suggestions for other sites, please feel free to post your comment and I'll update this blog entry. For your specific interest, please search the web for further information using Google

Please note: If you want me to reply to your comment or request for further information by email, please include your email address in a separate comment. I will NOT publish any comments with an email address in it.

That's it for Friday, 16 May 2008: venerdì, 16 maggio 2008.

Ciao, Ben

Moving2Italy2 – #1 source of links About, For or On Italy for those individuals moving, traveling or already living in Italy.

Today’s quote is an Italian proverb, author unknown.
"Non tutti quelli che hanno lettere sono savi."
"Not all those who are learned are wise."

Please note: The time listed below for this posting is Central European Time (CET)/ GMT+1.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Info on Events and Festivals (feste or sagre) in Tuscany

(LAST EDITED/UPDATED: 14 December 2008)

Here are some links for Events and Festivals (AKA feste or sagre) in 2008 in Tuscany (Toscana):


The 10 provinces of Toscana are the following with their respective two digit province code in brackets:
  1. Arezzo (AR)
  2. Firenze (FI)
  3. Grosseto (GR)
  4. Livorno (LI)
  5. Lucca (LU)
  6. Massa-Carrara (MS)
  7. Pistoia (PT)
  8. Pisa (PI)
  9. Prato (PO)
  10. Siena (SI)
EVENTS
FESTIVALS (feste)/FAIRS (fairs)
MONTHLY MARKETS/ANTIQUE FAIRS
  • Fiera Antiquaria di Arezzo (Antique Fair) – monthly, usually first Sunday of the month and the preceding Saturday – In English, Italian
    • Dates: 6 - 7 December
  • Mercatino delle Crete – Dates: 14 December – Location: Centro Storico, Asciano (SI) – Source: valdelsa.net
  • Lucca Mercato dell'Antiquariato (Antiques Fair) – Each month, on the third Sunday and the Saturday before – Location: Within the walls of Lucca
    • Dates: 20 - 21 December
  • il MercataleIn Italian Only – Date: 28 December (4th Sunday of the month) – Location: Piazza del Municipio, Castiglion Fiorentino (AR) Source: Comune di Castiglion Fiorentino
SAGRE (FOOD)
GOOGLE MAP/GPS REFERENCES TO SAGRE E FESTE IN TOSCANA
SOURCES/LISTS
  • EVENTI UNICI DI OGGI (Today's events) – In Italian Only – Events by month under "CALENDARIO EVENTI A FIRENZE" – In Firenze and the province – Source: Digi space.it – "il portale dei divertimento"
  • Eventi e Sagre – "Primavera 2008" – "Eventi, Fiere, Sagre, Mercatini, Manifestazioni, Ricette..." – In Italian OnlySource: eventiesagre.it
    • From the home page, select Eventi
      • On the next screen, you can make multiple selections from Categoria (category), Sezione (section), Mese (Month), Regione (region), Provincia (province), Città (City)
      • For events in Toscana (Tuscany), please select the following:
        • Under Sezione, select Feste or Sagre
        • Under Mese, select the specific month you are looking for
        • Under Regione, select Toscana or another region in Italy
        • Under Provincia, select one of 10 provinces
        • Under Città, select the city of the event or leave blank
  • Eventi e Manifestazioni in Italia (Events and Entertainment) – "Guida completa a feste, sagre, fiere, mercatini e manifestazioni." – By Region – Please note: The Italian version provides more detail and events. – Source: Paesi on Line – In English, Italian
  • EVENTSSource: The Florentine – "The English speaking local newspaper in Florence"
  • Feste per un annoIn Italian Only – By Month – Source: Unicoop Firenze
  • Festivals in Tuscany 2008 – "Tuscan fairs, Tuscan festivals, folklore, sagre, feste and events in Tuscany - a Tuscany festival calendar"
  • Italian Holidays, Festivals, Street Parties… – "a list of Italian holidays and festivals which can be accessed by city, region and date." – Source: the Hostetler web site
    • Under "Region", select "Toscana"
    • Under "Month", select any month of the year you are interested in traveling
    • Press the "Submit" button, on the next screen, a listing of events will appear
  • sagreinitalia.it – "Il portale delle sagre, fierre e manifestazioni tradizionali" – In Italian Only
    • Under "Dove" (where), select "Toscana" or whatever region you are interested in
    • Under "A partire da :", select time frame
    • Under "Che cosa:", select type of event, feste, sagre, etc.
  • From the web sites of the APT (agenzia per il turismo) for the various provinces of Toscana. Please note: The Italian version provides more detail and information about the respective events in their respective province.
    • In the province of Arezzo, Eventi e manifestazioniIn English, Italian
    • In the province of Firenze, from the main page of apt FIRENZEIn English, Italianselect Eventi
    • In the province of Grosseto, from the main page of Agenzia per il Turismo della Maremma (Grosseto) – In English, German, Italianselect EVENTS
    • In the province of Livorno, from the main page of Costa degli Etruschi "mediterranean tuscany" – In English, French, German, Italian, Spanishselect from "events of this month" section of the main web page
    • In the province of Lucca, from the main page of APT LUCCA, select a day from the section titled, "", where XXX is the month of the year
    • In the province of Massa Carrara, there is no separate page on the APT MASSA CARRARA web site for events – In English, French, Italian
    • In the province of Pisa, there is no separate page on the APT PISA web site for events – In English, Italian
    • In the province of Pistoia, from the main page of AGENZIA PER IL TURISMO ABETONE PISTOIA MONTAGNA PISTOIESEIn English, German, Italian (Please note: While it states an English and German version, only Italian works) – select Eventi
    • In the province of Prato, from the main page of APT PRATOIn English, German, Italianselect Events
    • In the province of Siena, from the main page of Terre di SienaIn English, Italian, Japaneseselect Eventi
  • Tuscany Tourist Offices & InformationSource: AngloINFO Tuscany – "Life in Tuscany, in English!"
MISCELLANEOUS
* = Blog entry has been updated.

If anyone has any suggestions for other sites and links for reference, please feel free to post your comment and I'll update this blog entry. For your specific interest, please search the web for further information using Google

Please note: If you want me to reply to your comment or request for further information by email, please include your email address in a separate comment. I will NOT publish any comments with an email address in it.

FYI: Wherever possible, I attempted to provide information about a specific event, festa or sagra in English. However, while a web site states there may be an English version of it, you will usually find more information about the specific event, festa or sagra in the Italian version.

For those of you that say there is nothing to do on weekends in Italy, you are WRONG! Before my wife and I moved to Italy in 2007, we had attended several feste, sagre and events in the years before our move. You can spend as much or as little as you want and get to meet and see Italians, their friends and other travelers and visitors celebrate various and sundry events in and around their towns. There is more to Italy than museums, historical sites, art, hilltop towns/cities, etc.

According to the August, 2008 issue of Italy Magazine, "...you have on average 1,000 different sagre in each of Italy's 21 regions." So, if I missed your favorite event, festa and/or sagra in Toscana (Tuscany), please send me an email MSG or post a comment.

When you are driving around or walking around the many towns and cities of Toscana, take the time to read the bulletin/notice/bill boards in these towns and cities. This is where my wife and I find about a specific event, festa or sagra in the town, city or somewhere in the surrounding area. Depending on the size of the event, festa or sagra, it may not have a web site or be listed on web sites that keep track of events, feste or sagre in Italy. You will find most of these notices for events, feste or sagre are usually printed in a bright color and sometimes only a week or two before the actual event, festa or sagra.

For events, feste and sagre outside of Toscana, please read my blog entries titled, Info on Events and Festivals (festa or sagra) in Italy and Info on Events and Festivals (feste or sagre) in Umbria. If I missed any events, feste and sagre, please send me an email MSG or post a comment.

EXPLANATION: The reason that I have provided multiple sources and lists is because there is no all inclusive listing for feste, sagre and events in Toscana or Italy. Even if an event, festa or sagra is listed somewhere, it may be dated, contain inaccurate information or list information from last year's event, festa or sagra.

That's it for Tuesday, 13 May 2008: martedì, 13 maggio 2008

Ciao, Ben

Moving2Italy2 – #1 source of links About, For or On Italy for those individuals moving, traveling or already living in Italy.

Today’s quote is an Italian proverb, author unknown.

"Se sono rose, fioriranno."

"Time will tell."

Please note: The time listed below for this posting is Central European Time (CET)/ GMT+2.

(LAST EDITED/UPDATED: 14 December 2008)

Friday, May 02, 2008

Info on Trade shows in Italy

(LAST EDITED/UPDATED: 3 September 2008)

Here are some links on Trade shows in Italy:


LISTS
  • Exhibitions and Trade Shows in Chemistry in Italy – In English, French, German – Source: Conference Service Mandl – "One of the most complete scientific conference calendars on the Web"
  • Fairs in Italy – Source: italtrade.com – "The Made in Italy Official Portal"
  • Italian Trade Shows and Exhibitions – by industry or by city or by date – In English, French, German, Italian, Spanish – Source: fiere.traveleurope.it
  • Italy – Source: ExpoCentral.com – "...Your Online Guide To The Worldwide Marketplace" – "Welcome to the most popular and comprehensive Web Directory of Events!"
  • Italy Trade Shows – Source: Trade Show Center – "Trade shows for importers of China and Asia-made Products"
  • Trade Shows in Italy (Europe) – Source: EventsEye – "The Eye on the Events" – "Welcome to the most Complete, Practical and Reliable Free Web Source dedicated to key Exhibitions & Trade Shows Worldwide." – In English, French
  • Trade Show in Italy – Source: biztradshows – "The largest directory of trade fairs and business events brings you an exhaustive coverage of exhibitions, trade shows & expositions, conferences and seminars for various industries worldwide. You can browse through the most comprehensive information on individual trade events worldwide, along with their event profile, organizer, exhibitor and visitor profile, venues and dates to plan your participation much in advance."
CONVENTION CENTERS/EXHIBITION HALLS BY CITY (JUST A FEW OF MANY)
MISCELLANEOUS
* = Blog entry has been updated.

If anyone has any suggestions for other sites and links for reference, please feel free to post your comment and I'll update this blog entry. For your specific interest, please search the web for further information using Google .

By attending a trade show in Italy related to your business or occupation, you may be able to deduct part or all of your travel, lodging and meal expenses on you USA Federal/state income taxes. However, I would highly suggest speaking/consulting with a tax professional about your own specific tax situation before taking any deductions.

By the way, the reason that I provide so many separate lists is because while there is some overlap from one list to another, not one list is all inclusive of all trade shows.

That's it for Friday, 2 May 2008: venerdì, 2 maggio 2008.

Ciao, Ben

Moving2Italy2 – #1 source of links About, For or On Italy for those individuals moving, traveling or already living in Italy.

PS

Happy Birthday, Maria!! Have a wonderful day and many happy memories.

Love, Papa and Missy

Today’s quote is a Sicilian proverb, author unknown.
"Prisintarisi panza e prisenza."
"It is said of those who have nothing, only try to obtain by not being able to give anything."

Please note: The time listed below for this posting is Central European Time (CET)/ GMT+1.

(LAST EDITED/UPDATED: 3 September 2008)