Giro d'Italia 2009 Route Map and Stages

Giro d'Italia Route Map. Click for a video fly through of the 2009 Giro d'Italia race route in Italy.


















Giro d'Italia 2009 Race Schedule and Giro d'Italia Race Maps:

Giro d'Italia 2009 is 21 stages and 2 rest days from May 9, 2009 - May 31, 2009.

Below is the Giro d'Italia calendar, stages, and Giro d'Italia stage maps:

Saturday May 9 - map
Lido di Venezia, Venice, 20.5 km

Sunday May 10 - map
Jesolo to Trieste, 156 km

Monday May 11 - map
Grado to Valdobbiadene, 200km

Tuesday May 12 - map
Padova to San Martino di Castrozza, 165 km (uphill)

Wednesday May 13 - map
San Martino di Castrozza to Alpe di Siusi, 125 km (uphill)

Thursday May 14 - map
Bressanone to Mayrhofen, 242 km

Friday May 15 - map
Innsbruck to Chiavenna, 244 km

Saturday May 16 - map
Morbegno to Bergamo, 208 km

Sunday May 17 - map
Circuit Race in Milano, 155 km

Monday May 18 - REST DAY Giro d'Italia 2009

Tuesday May 19 - map
Cuneo to Pinerolo, 250 km (uphill)

Wednesday May 20 - map
Torino to Arenzano, 206 km

Thursday May 21 - map
Sestri Levante to Riomaggiore, 61 km (timetrial)

Friday May 22 - map
Lido di Camaiore to Florence, 150 km

Saturday May 23 - map
Campi Bisenzio to Bologna, 174 km

Sunday May 24 - map
Forlie to Faenza, 159 km

Monday May 25 - map (uphill)
Pergola to Monte Petrano, 237 km

Tuesday May 26 - REST DAY Giro d'Italia

Wednesday May 27 - map (uphill)
Chieti to Blockhaus, 181 km

Thursday May 28 - map
Sulmona to Benevento, 181 km

Friday May 29 - map
Avellino to Monte Vesuvio, 164 km

Saturday May 30 - map
Naples to Anagni, 203 km

Sunday May 31 - map
Rome, 15.3 km - map


Giro d'Italia 2009 teams should be announced in late January/ early February. Rosters will be announced in April.


For more about Italy visit http://www.WebvisionItaly.com, the only TV network about Italy in English.

Vatican Launches YouTube TV Channel The Vatican

POPE BENEDICT XVI launched his own YouTube channel last week, called “The Vatican” and available in English, Spanish, German and Italian languages.

The Vatican Radio was already available at:

http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/index.asp

The new Vatican website, illustrated by the unmistakable Bernini colonnade, the architect of St. Peter's, in St Peter’s Square (Piazza San Pietro), states that it will offer “news coverage of the main activities of the Holy Father” and the Catholic Church while its video-news will present “the Catholic Church’s position regarding the principal issues of the world today”.

Visitors to the site yesterday could consult the Vatican’s daily news bulletin, read the online version of the Vatican daily, L’Osservatore Romano, or watch a dozen Vatican TV news clips of the Pope’s most recent activities.

The launch of the new channel was timed to coincide with the release of the Pope’s annual message for the Church’s World Day of Communications.

Despite his enthusiastic embrace of the internet on the YouTube site, the Pope used his World Communications Day message to urge young people to seek human contact and not isolate themselves on the web.

“It would be sad if our desire to sustain and develop online friendships were to be at the cost of our availability to engage with our families, our neighbors and those we meet in the daily reality of our places of work, education and recreation,” writes the Pope.

For more about Vatican City and the Holy See visit The Vatican City website or visit WebVisonItaly.com Vatican City television channel or the Italian Boradcasting Company's blogs http://italyvideo.blogspot.com, http://www.italyinside.blogspot.com and http://www.romeitaly.blogspot.com.

If you are traveling to Italy and want to visit the Vatican consider making a reservation and buying a Vatican Museum ticket online. Wondering how to buy a ticket to the Vatican Museum? Buy child ticket at time of entry. Click for the Vatican Museum Box office:

(Click here to Book Vatican Ticket )
http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/tickets/do

Rome Tour-Bernini in Rome - Walk Bernini's Rome Map

I was dreaming of Rome travel, a walking tour of Baroque Rome between plates of authentic pasta like cacio e pepe in one of Rome's many authentic trattoria Romana. A walking tour of Rome is the absolutely best way to see Rome - as Rome truly is "The Great Theater of the World". Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), who embodies Italian Baroque, lived most of his life in Rome, and adorned The Great Theater of the World that is Rome with his art, which is scattered around Rome's streets in the many fountains he designed from Piazza Navona to Piazza Spagna to Piazza Barberini, on its buildings, including the design of the facades of Palazzo Chigi and Palazzo Barberini, in its churches, and in the sovereign nation inside Rome that is Vatican City where Bernini was as Urban VIII (1623-44) called him the "Architect of St. Peter's". After the jump WebVisionItaly.com 2009 Rome Trattoria: Best Restaurants in Rome.

BAROQUE ROME: Walk Bernini's Rome Map

View Larger Map

David Beckham in Rome: AC Milan Versus AS Roma

Former LA Galaxy Alexi Lalas told BBC that he thinks David Beckham may not return to the Los Angeles Galaxy and Major League Soccer after returning to life at the top of soccer's international dogpile with AC Milan.

Now that Becks is back on top playing with AC Milan, money, prestige, and fun may make it hard to head back to sleep LA Galaxy. Beckham will make his competitive debut for AC Milan against AS Roma in Rome on Sunday.

Read the whole story after the jump

David Beckham AC Milan Debut Update: Sunday January 11, 2009

Beckham played 89 minutes for AC Milan in its 2-2 tie against AS Roma at a packed Olympic Stadium in Rome.

Playing primarily a defensive midfield role alongside Andrea Pirlo and Clarence Seedorf, Beckham was involved in the game throughout but was not one of its lead characters. He took most of the corner kicks and a few of the free kicks, but his offensive contribution was otherwise limited.

Beckham took one shot on goal, but like swatting a fly it was saved without bother by Alexander Doni, Roma's Brazilian goalkeeper.

Victoria Beckham Lands in Rome

Victoria Beckham and her sons Brooklyn, Romeo, and Cruz arrived in Rome's Fiumicino yesterday. We typically leave Beckham watch to others but now that David Beckham is playing soccer with AC Milan we feel obliged to keep our readers aprised of their every move through bella Italia.

After the click most recent story from Beckham's in Milan and Rome.

For more news, information and travel to Italy offers click WebVisionItaly.com

Rome High Speed Rail to Venice, Milan, Naples, Florence

TrenItalia, or Ferrovie dello Stato is Italy's national train line. It is very easy to travel in Italy by train. A tip that always helps is to know the name and spelling of Italian cities in Italian language. Buy a ticket from a vending machine or from the person - either way you'll need this information to make your Italy travel easy.

TrenItalia recently introduced high-speed rail service. The alta velocita is Italy's high speed rail, which routes run between Naples, Rome, Venice, and Milan. This train service is called the Freccia Rossa, named after the gorgeous new red trains that run Italy's high speed rails.

TrenItalia high speed rail travel time and cost of train ticket between cities in Italy:

• Rome to Milan by high speed rail to three and a half hours. -- Roma a Milano
  
• Milan to Bologna by high speed train is one hour. -- Milano a Bologna
  
• Milan to Florence 2 hours 10 minutes -- Milano a Firenze
• Naples to Milan 4 hours and 50 minutes -- Napoli a Milano
• Rome to Bari to 4 hours. -- Roma a Bari
  
• Rome to Verona by high speed Freccia Rossa train to 4 hours. -- Roma a Verona
• Rome to Venice by high speed rail to 4 hours. -- Roma a Venezia
• Naples to Florence travel time by high speed rail is 3 hours 13 minutes -- Napoli a Firenze
  
• Naples to Bologna travel time by high speed rail is 3 hours 43 minutes -- Napoli a Bologna
  
• Rome to Naples by high speed rail is 1 hour 21 minutes -- Roma a Napoli

Route	Time	1st Class	2nd Class
Milan - Bologna Centrale	1h5'	$65	$46
Milan - Florence	2h10'	$78	$55
Milan - Naples	4h50'	$146	$103
Milan - Rome	3h30'	$128	$93
Lemezia T.C.le - Rome	3h59'	$93	$63
Rome - Bari Centrale	3h59'	$93	$63
Verona P.N. - Rome	3h59'	$98	$67
Rome - Venice	3h59'	$116	$81

Italy High Speed rail prices good through January 15, 2009.

High speed rail travel in Italy includes free newspapers, beverages and snacks, so don't bother buying the water and snack in Termini, Milano Centrale, Napoli, or Firenze.

Click here for video How to Buy a train ticket in Italy.

Manchester's Elano going to Lazio Serie A

Manchester City midfielder Elano admits he would be open to the possibility of a New Year switch to Serie A Giant Lazio.

"I would not have any problem playing in Italy. And Lazio are a very good team," Elano told Corriere dello Sport....

Click here for the full story.

Alitalia Takes over Air One

The new Alitalia controlled by Italy's businessmen in a consortium named CAI Wednesday completed the takeover of its smaller competitor Air One as part of a plan to relaunch Italy's bankrupt national carrier.

Air One, Italy's No. 2 airline, said in a statement it had closed the deal with the group of Italian investors that has acquired the bulk of Alitalia's profitable assets to create a single, streamlined carrier.

The investors, which include Air One chief Carlo Toto, are scheduled to officially take over operations at Alitalia on Jan. 13.

Air One said in a statement that Toto would reinvest euro60 million ($84.5 million) in the new Alitalia. It did not disclose the total amount paid in the deal.

The investors, led by scooter-maker Piaggio CEO Roberto Colaninno, agreed to a euro1.052 billion ($1.4 billion) deal to relaunch Alitalia some two years after the government started the long and difficult process of unloading its 49.9 percent stake in the unprofitable carrier.

Alitalia never halted flying, but the new airline will have fewer routes and aircraft, as well as employing 12,500 employees rather than the current 20,000.

The new Alitalia is also looking for a foreign investor to take a 20 percent to 25 percent stake, with Air France-KLM and Germany's Lufthansa the most probable candidates.

Italian media have been reporting over the last weeks that Air France-KLM is close to a deal. Both Alitalia and Air France have declined to comment.

For more nws about Italy visit the Italian Broadcasting Company's blog Italy Inside.

For more Italy video visit WebVisionItaly, the only TV Italy telly about Italy in English.