The fall and winter exhibition season in Italy promises to be especially rich this year, with major art shows being held in many corners of the country. We offer you Select Italy’s top five picks, three in Northern Italy and two in Rome. The works range from ancient Roman frescoes of the 1st century BC to the often disturbing images of the late 20th century British painter Francis Bacon, juxtaposed with paintings by his fellow rebel, Caravaggio. Such temporary exhibitions often create a dynamic interchange between masterpieces on loan from prestigious collections abroad and the permanent holdings of a particular Italian gallery or museum. Sometimes it’s the venue itself that is the big draw – a historic castle or villa provides the setting for the display of artworks from a completely different culture or time period. Make sure to catch them while you can: all five of these shows will be over by mid-March 2010.

Futurist Masterpieces at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, from 1 September 2009 to 31 December 2009 at the Collezione Peggy Guggenheim in Venice (closed Tuesday; tickets to be purchased onsite; see the museum’s website for information).

This year is the 100th anniversary of the publication of the Futurist Manifesto in 1909 and Venice’s Peggy Guggenheim Collection gets in right under the wire with a Futurist show that closes on the last day of 2009. A special installation in the permanent galleries of the museum focuses on the Futurist masterpieces of the Gianni Mattioli Collection, with additional paintings, sculptures, and works on paper from the Guggenheim's own holdings and other private collections. This small, but mighty, presentation includes iconic paintings by each of the five artists who signed the Technical Manifesto of Futurist Painting in 1910: Balla, Boccioni, Carrà, Russolo, and Severini. A preliminary section alludes to related contemporary avant-gardes (Divisionism, Cubism, Orphism, Vorticism). And for fans of contemporary art, the 53rd Venice Biennale continues through 22 November at its two permanent venues, the Giardini (closed Monday) and the Arsenale (closed Tuesday), as well as various locations scattered throughout the city. For tickets call 39-041-2424 or book online at http://www.ticketone.it.

Rome. Painting of an Empire, from 24 September 2009 to 17 January 2010 at the Scuderie Quirinali in Rome (for tickets call 39-06-39967500 or buy online at http://www.pierreci.it/).

This exhibition presents the figurative representation of a crucial period in Roman history, from the 1st century BC to the 5th AD. Six centuries that witnessed the Roman Empire rise and develop, from the advent of Julius Caesar in 49 BC to the extraordinary consolidation of advanced power structures that held such a vast territory together. From landscape to still life, stage design to popular painting, and the portrait to myth reinterpreted in accordance with the Roman tradition, the exhibition reveals all the themes of antique painting. Around 100 works of exceptional elegance and refinement have been organized in five sections inside the august spaces of the former papal stables on the Quirinal Hill. The paintings on loan are all works from the world's most important archaeological sites and museums, including the Louvre in Paris, the British Museum in London, the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and the archaeological museums of Munich, Frankfurt and Zurich. What better place to view these works than in Rome itself, the city that gave birth to an Empire?

Caravaggio - Bacon: Ten Great Exhibitions in Ten Years, from 1 October 2009 to 24 January 2010 at the Villa Borghese in Rome (closed Monday; for tickets call Select Italy at 1-800-877-1755 or reserve online with Select Italy).

As a follow-up to its popular exhibitions on Raphael, Canova, and Correggio, Rome’s Villa Borghese will highlight works in its collection by the Baroque painter, Caravaggio (1571–1610), in a highly unusual and unique way: by hanging them next to the radical paintings of Francis Bacon (1909–1992). Although almost four centuries separate these artists, they were both in a certain sense “damned:” the homo-erotic content of their works insured that just as many were rejected as were praised by the art establishment of their respective time periods. In fact, several of Caravaggio’s masterpieces in the Villa Borghese owe their very survival to the canny cardinal Scipione Borghese who snatched them up after they were refused by the Catholic church. To view Carvaggio’s Sick Bacchus (a self-portrait) next to the tortured and distorted images of Francis Bacon from the Tate Gallery and the Astrup Fearnley Museum in Oslo is an experience that won’t be soon repeated. An added plus is the wealth of sculptures by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the museum's permanent collection. His amazing marble statue group of Apollo and Daphne is alone worth the price of admission.

Corot and Modern Art – Souvenirs and Impressions, 27 November 2009 to 7 March 2010 at the Palazzo della Gran Guardia in Verona (for tickets call 199-199-111 or book online at http://www.corotverona.it/).

Paris on the River Adige: this exhibition has been organized by the City of Verona, with the extraordinary collaboration of Musée du Louvre, to highlight 19th century French painter Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875). More than 100 paintings spanning four centuries, from Poussin to Picasso, will trace how Corot’s art closely influenced not only the first generation of Impressionists, but also the Fauves, the Cubists, and abstract art. Many of Corot’s poetic landscapes were painted during long sojourns in Italy where he was especially attracted to the luminous clarity of the light. This exhibition, curated by Vincent Pomenarède, director of the painting Department at the Musée du Louvre and an authority on Corot, provides the chance to discover not only the art of French painting, but also the fascinating city of Verona, rich in history and culture. The show will be installed in the Palazzo della Gran Guardia, a vast 18th century palace that faces onto the ancient Roman Arena in the center of the city.

From Rembrandt to Gauguin to Picasso. The Enchantment of Painting. Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, 10 October 2009 to 14 March 2010 at the Castel Sismondo in Rimini (for tickets call 39-0422-429999 or buy online at www.lineadombra.it).

Sixty-five masterworks by Rembrandt, Velasquez, Van Dyck, Tiepolo, Manet, Gauguin, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, and Matisse will be displayed in the imposing Renaissance fortress of the Malatesta family in the Adriatic beach town of Rimini. This exceptional event is made possible by the temporary closure of certain rooms in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, in anticipation of the grand opening of the museum’s new Norman Foster-designed wing. This is not a traveling show; Rimini is the only venue and afterwards the paintings will return to Boston where they’ll hang on the walls of the new galleries. Curator Marco Goldin has decided to exhibit 16th century portraits by Tintoretto and Moroni right next to the celebrated double portrait of Edmondo and Teresa Morbilli painted by Degas in 1865, and would hang a landscape by Constable so it can be compared to one by Corot. Almost a “show within the show” is the group of five Impressionist paintings by Claude Monet, including a version of the Japanese bridge with water lilies and one from his Rouen Cathedral series.

I've been fortunate enough to have visited Venice six times in my life. I'm well aware that most people haven't been afforded one or two such opportunities, let alone six. Part of the reason I have been so lucky is really not luck at all: one could say I'm obsessed with the city, and I greedily snatch any chance that I can to get there. I first visited Venice as a teen and found a deep abiding love I know will stay with me the rest of my life.

There is quite simply no other place like it anywhere in the world. Where else can you find a city completely engineered to defy the impossible? Or a place that encapsulates an Eastern Empire in a Western World? And truthfully, we need to worry that it might not always be there. This month prominent scholars and engineers will be discussing Venice's delicate balance between water and land in a series of presentations comparing the city's engineering and that of New Orleans post-Katrina. The M.O.S.E. conference (or Experimental Electromechanical Module) proposes innovative technology that could be used to save both cities, and is being hosted in New York by ILICA (Italian Language Inter-Cultural Alliance). While many experts debate how to save Venice, we should seek to better understand how to appreciate it.

Throughout my years with Select Italy, I've found that while most people include Venice in their travel plans, many shortchange themselves on time in this unique wonderland. People traveling by cruise ship arrive at 11 a.m. and leave before sunset, never knowing what it is like to stroll an empty alley as shopkeepers prepare for the day or walk the streets by moonlight. Others spend a mere night or two in the city known as La Serenissima, preferring to save their time for Rome and Florence. It can be done -- you can certainly cram all the major sites into one day (we'll even help you do it, if you must!) and in truth, I've been guilty of this myself once or twice. If you can give yourself just one more day, though, you might uncover a treasure for which you never knew you were searching.

A few years ago, I found myself in an ideal situation: alone in Venice for almost one week. The city was mine to explore, and explore it I did. Because I had always traveled with other people, every trip to Venice had been filled with the obligatory introductory sightseeing of St. Mark's, the Rialto Bridge, a gondola ride along the Grand Canal. While there is value in seeing those popular sights and certainly a wealth of art to see, I knew from my studies that there was far more to the city's art collection than that. Venice's history in art is one of high class over flash. True art historians know Venice was pivotal to the Renaissance era, but most travelers identify the Renaissance with Rome's Sistine Ceiling or Florence's Uffizi Gallery. The Venetian Renaissance had a grace and style all its own -- you'll see it in dramatic paintings such as Giorgione's Tempest found in the Accademia (don't confuse this with the museum of the same name in Florence!) To me, the Tempest defines the Venetian movement: emotional, urgent, dark but with a hint of light. It's a beautiful painting that I wish everyone had the chance to come face to face with at least once in their lifetime, and much like the Mona Lisa, you may find that for all the impact this painting has had on the world, it's surprisingly small.

You could easily spend days searching out all of the masterworks of the Venetian artists. One of the places most populated by art of this period is the Scuola Grande di San Rocco. For a small fee, you can immerse yourself in works by Tintoretto and his contemporaries. As you enter, you are surrounded by the dark shadows and penetrating beams of light that so characterize the Venetian style of painting. The artwork in this building can be overwhelming, a near holy experience that is certain to steal your breath away. Seeing the Scuola Grande and the area around it could easily fill a morning, and you might wish to have a little guidance. To make the most of your visit to the S. Tomà area of Venice, try a guided tour dedicated to Tintoretto and Titian.

If you find yourself still wanting more, you might wish to seek out Tintoretto's greatest work, The Last Supper, at a church which is much seen, but rarely visited by tourists. If you stand in St. Mark's Square and look out into the lagoon, you will see San Giorgio Maggiore, designed by the architect Palladio in the 1500s. Within the doors of this Classically inspired facade, to the right of the high altar, you'll find The Last Supper, a composition nothing like the more famous Da Vinci work. This Last Supper is dark and dangerous, full of foreboding with just a swish of promise. It seems in complete contradiction to the light, airy atmosphere of San Giorgio, the contrast almost too strong -- there could be nothing so fitting to the Venetian School of art.

Dichotomy is exactly what Venice is all about. It can be shocking to think that this city, slowly sinking and deteriorating upon its medieval foundation, could also be one of the best places in Italy to see modern art, but it's very true. Across the Grand Canal from St. Mark's Square lies a neighborhood called Dorsoduro and it's here that one of Venice's most outrageous citizens once resided. Peggy Guggenheim lived in a modern-looking, unfinished palace called the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni. Having transported her collection of modern American artists to Venice, Guggenheim found herself unable to then get it out of Italy due to the twists and turns of Italian law. Thus was created one of the most unique and intriguing museums in Italy: a modern home turned museum along the Grand Canal, surrounded by crumbling Byzantine-inspired palazzi.

Guggenheim's museum isn't the only modern art museum you'll find in Venice. Klimt and Kandinsky can be found among the halls of the Ca' Pesaro, and further down the Canal you'll find the Palazzo Grassi, a center for contemporary art. Of course, most famously, Venice becomes a meet-and-greet for the world of modern art buyers during the Venice Biennale of Art. The event, which stretches from April to November every two years (including this one!), is an exhibition of up-and-coming artists, displayed in a village of pavilions on the Eastern end of Venice, far beyond St. Mark's Square. Art galleries and collectors come to search through the exhibits for their next acquisitions, though truthfully I think part of the appeal is just the experience itself -- and of course the chance to spend a few days in Venice. There seems to be a little something for everyone, whether you prefer your art in a church, a palace, a museum, or a street stall.

During those days as I explored Venice, though, the sight I most enjoyed was the one that was the hardest for me to find: S.S. Giovanni e Paolo, an old but small church that served as the original burial church for the Doges. This was my original goal and it truly seemed attainable; after all, there were signs on every corner. Unfortunately, the signs took me seemingly in circles, crisscrossing canals and circumnavigating districts. Alas, this is the way of Venice, as the thorn protects the rose, keeping its beauty for those who most appreciate it.

Think you know a thing or two about Italy? Want a chance to win cool prizes? The Select Italy Twitter Trivia Contest is for you! Here's your next step: Follow Select Italy on Twitter and watch for the first Trivia question on Friday, September 25. If you've read this newsletter you're already one step ahead of everyone else, because we've hidden the answer somewhere in our articles. Read on for more details.

Twitter Trivia Challenge
• Select Italy is hosting a challenge related to Italy and Select Italy's Newsletters via Twitter.
• Trivia questions will be tweeted every Friday for three weeks after the issue of the NL.
• Find out the weekly Trivia question on the Select Italy Twitter Account and Facebook.
• You could win fabulous prizes from our store.
• It's free. Just follow us on Twitter and become our Facebook fan to receive the tweet and find out the rules and prizes.

Rules
• The questions will be sent out every Friday at 3 p.m (East Standard Time)
• The contest is open to everyone in the US. Anyone can participate.
• You must have a Twitter account to participate. The answer and the winner will be communicated on Monday.
• When replying be sure you include “@Selectitaly” in your tweet or we won’t see your response.
• All correct answers will be entered into a random drawing for the winner.
• The winner will receive a direct message (D) from Select Italy (Select Italy will follow you on Twitter if you participate. Be sure to follow Select Italy so that we may send you a DM.)
• Prizes will be sent out from Select Italy to your address.
• The correct answer to each trivia question will be announced on Twitter after a winner has been randomly selected and notified.
• Prizes include an assortment of gifts from Select Italy Store, previously announced during the week.