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The Verona Arena (Arena di Verona) is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy built in 1st century. It is still in use today and is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind. In ancient times, nearly 30,000 people was the housing capacity of the Arena. Nowadays, for security reasons, the maximum attendance is 15,000 people. The Mole Antonelliana is a major landmark building in Turin, Italy. It is named after the architect who built it, Alessandro Antonelli. A mole in Italian is a building of monumental proportions. Construction began in 1863, soon after Italian unification, and was completed in 1889, after the architect's death. Originally conceived of as a synagogue, it now houses the Museo Nazionale del Cinema, and is the tallest museum in the world. The building was conceived and constructed as a synagogue. The Jewish community of Turin had enjoyed full civil rights since 1848, and at the time the construction of the synagogue began, Turin was the capital of the new Italian state, a position it held only from 1860 to 1864. The community, with a budget of 250,000 lire and the intention of having a building worthy of a capital city, hired Antonio Antonelli. Antonelli had recently added a 121-metre-high dome and spire to the seventeenth-century Basilica of San Gaudenzio in Novara and promised to build a synagogue for 280,000 lire.[1] The relationship between Antonelli and the Jewish community was not happy. He proposed a series of modifications which raised the final height to 167.5 meters, over 46 meters higher than the dome in the original design. Such changes, in addition to greater costs and construction time than were originally anticipated, did not please the Jewish community and construction was halted in 1869, with a provisional roof. With the removal of the Italian capital to Florence in 1864, the community shrank, but costs and Antonelli's ambition continued to rise. In 1876, the Jewish community, which had spent 692,000 lire for a building that was still far from finished, announced that it was withdrawing from the project. The people of Turin, who had watched the synagogue rise skyward, demanded that the city take over the project, which it did. An exchange was arranged between the Jewish community and the city of Turin for a piece of land on which a handsome Moorish Revival synagogue was quickly built.[2] The Mole was dedicated to Victor Emmanuel II. Antonelli again began construction, which took the height to 146, 153, and finally 167.5 meters (550 feet). From 1908 to 1938, the city used it to house its Museum of the Risorgimento, which was moved to the Palazzo Carignano in 1938. The Mole Antonelliana is the tallest unreinforced brick building in the world (built without a steel girder skeleton). Dolceacqua is small village and commune located in the Liguria region of Italy in the province of Imperia. The village is located close to the cities of Imperia and Genoa. Dolceacqua is located on the border with France. The village is spread over an area of 20 sq km and has a population of close to 2000. The village is mostly known for its ancient castle which is believed to date back to the 11th century. Like many other villages of this region, Dolceacqua was built as a fortified village with a main castle and ancient walls built around the main village to protect the village from invaders. The castle has been passed on through several hands over the centuries and has also been transformed and renovated many times. The Carnival of Venice (Italian: Carnevale di Venezia) is an annual festival held in Venice, Italy. The Carnival ends with the Christian celebration of Lent, forty days before Easter, on Shrove Tuesday (Martedi' Grasso or Mardi Gras), the day before Ash Wednesday. The festival is world-famed for its elaborate masks. It's said that the Carnival of Venice was started from a victory of the "Serenissima Repubblica" against the Patriarch of Aquileia, Ulrico di Treven in the year 1162. In the honour of this victory, the people started to dance and gather in San Marco Square. Apparently, this festival started on that period and became official in the Renaissance.[1] In the seventeenth century, the baroque carnival was a way to save the prestigious image of Venice in the world.[2] It was very famous during the eighteenth century.[3] It encouraged licence and pleasure, but it was also used to protect Venetians from present and future anguish.[4] However, under the rule of the King of Austria, the festival was outlawed entirely in 1797 and the use of masks became strictly forbidden. It reappeared gradually in the nineteenth century, but only for short periods and above all for private feasts, where it became an occasion for artistic creations.[5] After a long absence, the Carnival returned in 1979.[6] The Italian government decided to bring back the history and culture of Venice, and sought to use the traditional Carnival as the centerpiece of its efforts. The redevelopment of the masks began as the pursuit of some Venetian college students for the tourist trade. Today, approximately 3 million visitors come to Venice every year for the Carnival. One of the most important events is the contest for la maschera più bella ("the most beautiful mask") placed at the last weekend of the Carnival and judged by a panel of international costume and fashion designers. Here are the winners: 2015 : Le stelle dell'amore by Horst Raack, best costume for the official theme La regina della cucina veneziana by Tanja Schulz-Hess, most creative costume Monsieur Sofa et Madame Coco by Lorenzo Marconi 2014 : Una giornata in campagna by Horst Raack, and Radice Madre by Maria Roan di Villavera 2013 : Alla Ricerca del Tempo Perduto by Anna Marconi, most colourful costume Luna Park 2012 : Il servizio da thè del settecento (teatime) by Horst Raack, most creative costume Oceano by Jacqueline Spieweg 2011 : La famille Fabergé by Horst Raack, and Ommagio a Venezia by Paolo and Cinzia Pagliasso and Anna Rotonai, best costume for the official theme 19th century by Lea Luongsoredju and Roudi Verbaanderd 2010 : Pantegane from England 2009 : The voyagers of Marco Polo by Horst Raack and Tanja Schulz-Hess 2008 : Luna park by Tanja Schulz-Hess 2007 : La Montgolfiera by Tanja Schulz-Hess
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