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The Festival dei Due Mondi
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Hosting Italy's leading international arts festival, the
Festival dei Due Mondi
(Festival of Two Worlds), has been a double-edged blessing for Spoleto - crowds and commercialism being the price it has had to pay for culture. Having already rejected thirty other Italian locations, the influential arts guru Giancarlo Menotti plumped for the town in 1958, attracted by its scenery, small venues and general good vibes. The ensuing jamboree is a great attraction if you're into music, dance or theatre, though the place forgoes a good part of its charm as a result. On top of the crowds, ticket prices for top companies and world-class performers can be off-putting, as can the jet-set, well-heeled cut of the audiences. Be warned too that while the festival's in progress you can expect packed hotels, madness in the restaurants and higher prices all round. At the same time there's an Edinburgh-type fringe and plenty of fellow travellers (plus lots of film, jazz, buskers and so on). Organizers, moreover, are increasingly looking to more avant-garde acts and wacky shows to recover the artistic edge of the festival's early days. Check out
tickets and information
from the
tourist office
on Piazza LibertA or the festival's own
box office
at Piazza del Duomo (tel 0743.28.120). Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Italy,
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