June 2011

In honor of the 800th anniversary of Reims Cathedral in Reims, northeastern France, special services, concerts and exhibitions are being held May 6-Oct. 23, 2011.

The annual festival Eurochocolate (www.eurochocolate.com [in Italian only]), in Perugia, Umbria, central Italy, Oct. 14-23, 2011, will draw hundreds of thousands to attend cooking classes, seminars, tastings and exhibitions on all forms of chocolate. In the medieval streets, stalls will sell all forms of food with chocolate — ice cream, cakes, pastries, etc.

2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. Through November, special events are planned in Turin (the country’s first capital) at the Officine Grandi Riparazioni, a complex of workshops, and La Venaria Reale, a royal palace.

Among the offerings are exhibitions on 150 years of Italian fashion and the history of Italy since its unification.

“La Venice Biennale 2011,” the 54th International Art Exhibition in Venice, Italy, June 4-Nov. 27, 2011, has 89 countries participating at 12 venues. In addition to contemporary visual arts, it includes a film festival (Aug. 31-Sept. 10), a theater festival (Oct. 10-16) and a music festival (Sept. 24-Oct. 1). Tickets and events calendar at www.labiennale.org.

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 424th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine.