NEWS SNIPPETS - MARCH 2023

WHILE RESEARCHING ARTICLES FOR THE MONTHLY BLOG, I OFTEN COME ACROSS SMALL OR USEFUL SNIPPETS OF NEWS...

Busy month for Italy's Agricultural ministry, some good news for resident Italian Brits with UK driving licences and details of international and national flights out of Perugia this summer. Read on....

PERUGIA AIRPORT

Domestic and international flights for the summer season:

The summer season, operational from today until 28 October 2023, includes 16 scheduled routes, operated by 6 airlines with up to 98 weekly scheduled flights.

The connections available are:

from/to Barcelona (Ryanair), Brindisi (Ryanair), Brussels Charleroi (Ryanair), Bucharest (Ryanair), Cagliari (Ryanair), Catania (Ryanair), Krakow (Ryanair), London Heathrow (British Airways), London Stansted (Ryanair), Malta (Ryanair), Olbia (Aeroitalia), Palermo (Ryanair), Rotterdam (Transavia), Tirana (Wizz air), Tirana (Albawings) and Vienna (Ryanair).

All flights can be purchased on the websites of the airlines that operate the connections.

ITALIAN CUISINE CANDIDATED AS A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE

Italyâ€™s ministry of Agriculture and Food has put forward Italian cuisine as the Italian governmentâ€™s official candidacy for a UNESCO World Heritage Site 2023. Listed as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, Italian cuisine is defined as a set of social practices, rituals and gestures based on the many different flavours which can identify its regional origins. â€œThis mosaic of traditions reflects the biocultural diversity of the country and is based on the common denominator of conceiving the moment of preparing and eating a meal as an opportunity for sharing and discussionâ€.

EU APPROVES INSECT FLOUR AS COMESTIBLE

Italyâ€™s same ministry of Agriculture made haste in signing 4 decrees for 4 different types of flours, deemed fit for consumption by the EU. The flours, derived from crickets, migratory locust, yellow mealworm and lesser mealworm larva, will soon be on our supermarket shelves.

The decrees will ensure that the flours have specific labelling with content and origin fully visible. Not only that, they will also require special shelves where both content and origin are clearly visible.

The Minister for Agriculture displayed diplomacy by adding: â€œWe have tried to address the issue by following the European directives, but the issue concerns our consumption model."

NEW EU RULES FOR GENUINE 'ECO' AND 'BIO' LABELS

The EU has issued new rules for real 'eco' and 'bio' labels with random controls and fines to be issued on any false 'green' declarations. European companies will now have to offer scientific evidence to ensure that the labels on their products are truthful and reliable.

Apparently, 53.3% of 'green' product claims made by companies surveyed in the EU were found to be vague and unsubstantiated.

CARTA DI SOGGIORNO BREXIT

The recent communication from the Comune of Cortona to all British citizens in the area, cites the necessity, by law, of obtaining and/or renewing the requisite Brexit Carta di Soggiorno. Once obtained, they request you register it with your local Cortona anagrafe (registry office). This is apparently not obligatory, but could avoid unnecessary follow-up checks by local police and ultimately, the cancellation of your original residency status within the comune of Cortona.

DRIVING LICENCE EXCHANGE UK-ITALY

The British Embassy in Rome has announced that UK licence holders living in Italy can begin the process of swapping their licences without taking a test from Thursday, March 30th 2023.

Team, 29/03/2023 18:02:16

NEWS SNIPPETS - MARCH 2023

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