Italy's Tourist Monuments Take Matters in to their Own Hands

There was an irony noted in the press with some of Italy’s towns being introduced in to the UNESCO list of world heritage sites earlier this year, as while UNESCO is recognising these locations as places to be preserved, the Italian government is doing little to conserve its tourist sites.

With the recession sweeping through Europe, and indeed the world, austerity has been the keyword on many politicians’ lips, with governments tussling over which cuts to make. In Italy one of the industries to suffer from the funding slashes is the tourist industry, with so many of Italy’s areas of natural beauty or historical significance coming to feel rather neglected.

However, the UNESCO induction has certainly helped some areas by shedding light on them as worthwhile tourist destinations. Certainly it has helped traffic to the locations and therefore provided the local areas with some money to help sustain their attractions. Yet it would seem this isn’t enough, and the balance that is struggled with is a matter of preservation under an influx of mass tourism.

Thankfully there are many souls wishing to help the attractions they deem worthwhile by helping out with donations, in the past many heritage sites have gratefully received generous donations from those with the cash to spare, and that are willing to put some of the money in to a good cause.

Yet it is not just governments affected by the global crunch, and those donators have become growingly reluctant as they worry about their own finances. So some Italian organisations have introduced creative measures to surmount funding by garnering many mini donations, and allowing simple ways for people of slenderer means to help prop up valuable heritage sites.

In Italy, culture lovers are being encouraged to donate two Euros each by text message in a new campaign set up by the Italian Environment Foundation, and so far it is proving to be a successful way of garnering money for the spots that are in need.

This campaign mirrors a campaign set up last year for the upkeep of a park in Umbria, and to help fund the restoration of monuments damaged in the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake, going towards things like the restoration of an ornamental fountain. The campaign proved a great success and managed to raise $422,000, going a great way to cover the cost of this project.

Sustainable tourism is this season's most fashionable phrase and certainly this initiative seems to be rather forward thinking in its approach to preserving that which is important.

Sardinia is currently enjoying a good travel turn out with Sardinia villas being booked out over the summer, and it remains a popular destination in the off season in which many villas become cheaper, and the island attracts a more diverse range of holidaymakers, as opposed to the lavish visitors it is used to over the summer.

Many locals are very pleased to here about the money being raised for the restoration of local monuments, as tourism serves as the most prosperous industry for many small towns.

The Dance that Defines Hawaii

The Hula is a dance that has become synonymous with Hawaii and luaus, it is iconic and so well known that it is always depicted the same way in the media. Almost all the time you will see someone making the movements of the dance - moving their hips in the direction they are moving, while at the same time moving the arms in a wave motion towards said direction - usually on a television show with a Ukulele playing in the background, and someone saying/singing “aloha-hay aloha-hoi” or some other sayings. A part in Disney's The Lion King, for example, featured it in a comedic fashion.

Hula is a dance that is accompanied by singing or chanting in the background. Funnily enough though, not many people, even Hawaiians, know about the origins of the Hula. For example there is no information about the the first hula dance, although it is said that the dance was developed by the Polynesians, who were the original settlers of the island a time long before the island was heavily populated by westerners and became a part of America, and is now an island filled with Hawaii rentals. The chanting or Singing is called a 'mele' and they both accompany each other very well, as they are a form of communication of what is happening.

There are various styles of Hula, but the most common types are the Ancient hula and the auana. Ancient hula is the type that has traditional chanting and instruments, it was the form of dance performed before western encounters with Hawaii and is also known as 'Kahiko'. This type of Hula is what many considered to be a religious ceremony, or a form of dance that was to praise and honour chiefs. Performances had to be correct as even a minor error would make the performance seem invalid and could even be interpreted as bad luck or a omen. This is why for this form of hula dancers were secluded while training, and are said to be blessed from the goddess Laka, and it is only in the ceremony of success that they emerge from their secluded status. Kahiko is still performed today and the traditional look is still graced on the Hula dancers. Funnily enough the chants were never put down in written form, they have been passed down orally for many years. The chants told stories of various subject matters ranging from creation, mythology, royalty and various other things.

The auana is a modified modern adaptation of hula that has been heavily influenced by Western society, this is the hula that has the musical instruments that everyone today has related to the Hula, such as the Ukulele, the guitar and the double bass. You could say that it was influenced by Christian morality and melodic harmony. The hula still relates to the same type themes and stories but now has more modern tales to represent. The costumes don't have to follow a traditional as there is a freedom of choice, for example women who are a slow and graceful dancers can wear formal clothing like mu'umu'u and men could wear a sash, whilst if there was a more feisty song then they can choose to wear more revealing attire.