EUROCHOCOLATE – PERUGIA 2006

After its huge success last year with over 1,000,000 visitors, an actual chocolate building site is being set up for the thirteenth delicious edition of Eurochocolate, which will be held in Perugia from 14th to 22nd October 2006.

Punctual and original every year, the title of the next edition of this tasty fair is: “Costruttori di dolcezze” (“Makers of sweet things”).

Anyone who has a sweet tooth and all those who do not, are encouraged to build a life on positive grounds, as good….as chocolate!

Naturally, chocolate will once again be the only, inimitable and undisputed star of this renowned event. This product, which is loved by everyone, finds a perfect setting here, in the Chocolate City par excellence..

The tools of the trade will certainly not be missing, either.
The most important being the trowel that Eurochocolate has redesigned in a “chocolaty” fashion, and thanks to the creativity of the young and well-established Italian designer Giulio Iacchetti of Around Design, it has become the trendy official promotional item of the fair. This implement will be employed to offer tasty slices of sweetness to every visitor.

Through the trowel, Eurochocolate also wishes to pay homage to famous film director and actor Nanni Moretti, a great lover of delicious Sacher, who used the tool to even out an enormous jar of chocolate cream in the film Bianca.

In an original move, this scene will be projected during the next edition of the sweet fair..
In Eurochocolate construction site, lots of important works will be realized, like the stately Choco Wall that will be built up in Piazza del Circo: It will be a prefabricated wall, 5 mt hight and 12 mt long,.realized by a leader cement industry as Manini Prefabbricati, that will assume the appearances of a gready bar of chocolate. Moreover it will be the focus of curious artistic performance and all the visitors can personalize it.

And it will be the trowel again, simple but essential work tool, that the Eurochocolate builders will use to construct a huge and delicious Igloo with about 3 tonnes of dark chocolate.

Many novel aspects also include setting up the first Eurochocolate Shop, a shop prototype exclusively devoted to chocolate, with a view to creating a permanent franchising project.

Besides, on 16th October with the cooperation of Unioncamere and ICE, It will take place the First Chocolate Exchange, a real Chocolate stock exchange where producers will meet with importers, international buyers and important retailers to compare each other and open new negotiations.

In the afternoon, it will be organized a conference about “Chocolate and great organizing distribution”by Marketing Trade with the cooperation of Mark Up.
As always, humour, games and fun will spice up every feature of the fair, while not forgetting to focus on the development of cultural projects linked to a wide range of art forms, and on the safeguarding of important values such as solidarity, biodiversity, traceability and sustainability of the cocoa production process, with a view to developing a sustainable future by limiting and erasing the differences between developed and developing countries.
These are some of the issues that will be dealt with at the renowned and much appreciated Eurochocolate World event, supported by prominent world organizations like ICCO (International Cocoa Organization). In this edition in particular, the economic situations of some small cocoa producing countries will be presented, including: Vietnam, Cuba, Bolivia and Papua New Guinea…and in this context Equoscuola (the FairTradeSchool) will once again hold lessons about fair trade chocolate.

Along these lines, there will be another novel aspect this year: Equochocolate (Fairtradechocolate), an exotic corner set up exclusively for certified fair trade cocoa products from around the world.
Another item that will please the ever growing number of visitors who flock to the event will once again this year be the Chococard, which for only € 5.00, will offer a larger number of even sweeter deals compared to the last edition, ensuring lots of fun and chocolaty goodness.
The Festival will include all the familiar traditional events, too. First and foremost Chocolate Sculptures (Sunday 15th October), the most popular event with faithful Eurochocolate visitors. Skilled artists will sculpt five enormous blocks of dark chocolate, and thousands of chocolate slivers will be handed out to all the sweet-toothed spectators.
The marvellous Chocolate Show will be even richer this year, and will be spread all over the old town centre of Perugia with 150 designers of hand-made and industrial patisserie products from around the world.
In addition, the fantastic Rocca Pralina (Rocca Paolina - Praline Castle) will comprise some highly refined theme areas: La Boutique, A Tutta Tavoletta, Il Cioccolato come Bio Comanda, La Via delle Spezie, La Spalm Beach, l’Ottobre Rosso (chilly and chocolate) and the wonderful Sicilian corner “Modica la Dolce”, thanks to which the Eurochocolate public will taste very fine quality hand-made chocolate.

The Eurochocolate trowel will again play a role in the commercial area called “Fatte a Fette” (“Sliced up”), where the best chocolate cakes will be on offer along with the fun promotional item for all the fans of the event.
The creation of PetChoc is yet another novelty, a pet corner selling chocolate-based products.
This year will also see a greater number of teaching activities aimed at school parties, chocolate lovers, semi-professionals and professionals, and will be organized with the Università dei Sapori of Perugia, providing an opportunity to learn how to make tasty recipes and lots more about the “Food of the Gods”.
Eurochocolate will also include a new competition for 3rd and 4th year primary school pupils, called “Costruttori di dolcezze”.

The project wishes pupils of all Italian Primary Schools to be actively involved in the event, by stimulating their creativity and imagination, which are essential ingredients to make “sweet constructions.

Tested with a huge success during the previous edition, the ChocoFarm, the corner full dedicated to the chocolate treatments for beauty and relax, will be again dressed in the elegant relax rooms of Brufani Palace Hotel, in the centre of Perugia.

A real beauty clinic with chocolate products that will offer to the all greedy public a lot of relax and beauty treatments.

Moreover, the aromatherapy will cuddle all the visitors with its sweet fragrancies of chocolate, that has been known for ages for its nutritive properties and antidepressive function.

With regards to chocolate and related “goodies”, the delightful sweetness of hot chocolate will once more be linked to unforgettable literary passages in the sweet area called “Cioccolata con l’Autore” (“Chocolate and authors”).

While nightlife enthusiasts will enjoy the even livelier Chocolate Movida (Chocolate nightlife) in the most fashionable and trendy clubs in the area.
There will also be sweet challenges like Fondente sarai Tu! (Dark chocolate? Speak for yourself!). An event dedicated to all milk chocolate lovers who, after years of silence, will finally be able to rebel against the dark chocolate fad and initiate a veritable self-defence movement!
Concluding this tasty preview, an actual Guinness world record will complete the Eurochocolate building site with the creation of the largest chocolate bar in the world…incredible but truly dark!

Eurochocolate 2006 is all this and more, an event to suite all tastes; taking part will be a sin…of gluttony!
Stay nearby at La Preghiera, www.lapreghiera.com and you can tuck in to a traditional slice of Umbria whilst enjoying the luxuries of a restored 12th Century monastery oozing with style and comfort! For info: email at info@lapreghiera.com - phone to 0039 075 9302428.
FROM DECEMBER RYANAIR FLIGHTS FROM PERUGIA!!!!!!!!!!!

The Sunday Times - Money

If a return has been filed, officials will check whether household contents have been included as well as the value of the property itself. They will also investigate whether the foreign surveyor has undervalued the property.
Accountants also warn that British people who own property abroad through an offshore company also need to beware of the UK tax authorities.
In popular destinations such as France, Spain and Portugal it has been common to use offshore companies to avoid local taxes and inheritance laws. But the Revenue recently said homes owned by UK residents through a company structure may be taxed as a benefit in kind. The charge would be based on an assumed value for the property, and can run into thousands of pounds. If you want to avoid the tax, seek specialist advice from independent solicitors.
Accountants say it is easier to escape capital-gains tax on your assets by moving abroad because it relies on the more flexible concept of residence. You may be able to apply for tax residency overseas if you stay there for more than six months a year. You then pay local rates on most of your worldwide profits.
A popular ruse used by taxpayers about to make a large profit, say through the sale of a business, is to move overseas for several years. It used to be possible to do so for only a year, but now there is a minimum of five years.
It is not even necessary to move to a tax haven like Bermuda or Dubai; Canada and Australia are also potential destinations, because of the way taxable gains are calculated. Your gain is based on the difference between the value of the asset when you became resident and the value when it is sold. If you sell soon after you become resident, there will almost certainly be no tax to pay.
If you are retiring overseas, there are plenty of countries with low local taxes on profits and overseas income. Several Asian and Central American countries, such as Malaysia, Belize and Panama, have created tax and residency breaks to attract affluent tax exiles.
Dubai, where there are no taxes at all for individuals, is also keen to attract wealthy residents from overseas.

Taxman targets overseas homeowners

The Revenue is getting tough with thousands of people who have bought abroad. By David Budworth. HUNDREDS of thousands of families with overseas homes face greater scrutiny from the taxman after the government launched a crackdown on foreign property last week. Revenue & Customs thinks that many families are using their overseas homes to dodge inheritance tax and has warned that people could face prosecutions and fines if they fail to declare them properly.
Even families that have settled overseas could face an official probe: while most imagine that once they have emigrated they are safely out of the clutches of the UK taxman, the truth is that many will still have to pay inheritance tax (IHT) to the British authorities. Anita Monteith at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales said: “If you have inherited foreign property and not declared it, the Revenue is saying we are coming after you. Even if you have failed to pay the tax accidentally you should be worried.” About 250,000 British residents own property overseas, according to the Office for National Statistics, and a growing number are moving abroad permanently. About 200,000 Britons emigrate every year. One in five of us — nearly 10m adults — is considering fleeing the country for a new life in foreign climes, according to a recent poll by researcher ICM, and Britain’s high taxes and soaring cost of living are the prime motivations. David and Susan Le Cuirot from Fleet, Hampshire, are typical. They plan to retire overseas after buying a three-bedroom villa near Paphos, Cyprus. David Le Cuirot, 49, an IT consultant, said: “I’m disillusioned with Britain and don’t think it has anything to offer in retirement. “I can run a house in Cyprus for £1,200 a year, which wouldn’t pay half my council tax in this country.” There is widespread confusion about how British income, capital-gains and inheritance tax apply to foreign property, however, as shown by the government’s latest crackdown. UK inheritance tax, which is levied at 40% on assets above £285,000, will apply to your worldwide assets, including your home, for as long as you remain “domiciled” in the UK. The law says you normally take the domicile of your father, and it is extremely difficult to revoke it even if you emigrate (see below). Justin Rix at Grant Thornton, an accountancy firm, said: “It’s a common misconception that if you move overseas permanently you are no longer liable to UK inheritance tax. “Even when you are living in a foreign country, your family may be subject to British inheritance tax on your death.” And tax officials are getting tougher. In a newsletter to tax advisers last week, they warned: “For the remainder of 2006 we will be paying particularly close attention to foreign assets. Where it appears the accountable people have been negligent we will consider whether a penalty is appropriate.”

Historical commemoration Umbertide. The town takes on an 19th century feel.

Historical commemoration Umbertide. The town takes on an 19th century feel. From 14 to 17 September 2006 – Umbertide - PG

Evocation of historical facts which happened in the 19th Century in Umbertide. A great mixture of music, culture and typical food! Every day a lot of concerts, theatre events, popular dancing, town band, poetry of the 19th century, taverne and osterie with good wine and typical local products of the Upper Tiber Valley…
www.lapreghiera.com

3 Day “Truffle and Olive Oil” Cookery Course at La Preghiera

All inclusive 3 day package with luxury accommodation starting on Thursday 2nd November.
Visit a truffle fair, see Extra Virgin Olive Oil being first pressed at an ancient oil mill and get to experience hands on pasta making with our cooks!
We would be delighted if you would like to extend your stay with us, before or after the course, to relax and enjoy the tranquil atmosphere of La Preghiera, a dream setting, steeped in history...

PROGRAMME:
Thursday 2nd November

• Afternoon arrival and welcome drinks at La Preghiera
• 19.00 Aperitivo and Stuzzichini (Italian Canapés) before dinner
(Served infront of the open log fire in the reception at La Preghiera)
• 20.00 Informal evening meal at La Preghiera. Menu includes local produce such as ciaccia con prosciutto (local unleavened bread), salame, pecorino (sheep’s cheese) and tozzetti (almond biscuits) with Vin Santo (fortified matured sherry wine)
Meet Mara and Emma, our cooks, and sample traditional Umbrian cooking in the company of John and Liliana Tunstill, your hosts at La Preghiera

Friday 3rd November

• Buffet Breakfast at La Preghiera
• 09.30 Morning Cookery Class at La Preghiera (3 hours approx):
LEARNING THE ART OF PASTA MAKING WITH “LA CUOCA”
TAGLIATELLE, RAVIOLI or CAPPELLETTI.... .PASTA FILLINGS AND SAUCES FOR PASTA
• 13.00 – 14.00 Lunch at La Preghiera
• 14.30 Departure for a visit to an Olive Oil Frantoio (or mill) to see the first harvest of olives being pressed for Extra Virgin Olive Oil, followed by tastings and the chance to purchase afterwards...
• 20.00 Aperitivo and Dinner at La Preghiera including wines, coffee and liqueurs

Saturday 4th November

• Buffet Breakfast at La Preghiera
• 09.30 Departure to Città di Castello to enjoy the sights, smells and sounds of the extraordinary Truffle and Olive Oil Fair, with chances to taste and purchase local produce including truffles, olive oil, wild boar sausages, salami, prosciutto, porcini mushrooms and roasted chestnuts!
• 12.30 – 14.00 Lunch at a traditional Italian trattoria in Città di Castello
• 16.00 Afternoon Cookery Class at La Preghiera (3 hours approx):
LEARNING UMBRIAN ANTIPASTI AND LEARNING TO PREPARE MEAT IN A TRADITIONAL UMBRIAN WAY (MARINATED/PANCOOKED)
• Dinner based on truffles at La Preghiera including wines, coffee and liqueurs

Sunday 5th November• Buffet Breakfast at La Preghiera
• 09.30 Morning Cookery Class at La Preghiera (3 hours approx):
LEARNING ITALIAN SALADS AND DOLCI WITH “LA CUOCA”
• 13.00 – 14.30 Lunch at La Preghiera
• Afternoon departure at your leisure

Included in the programme:
• Three nights luxury accommodation in historic home
• Three hands-on cookery classes as detailed above, approx 3 hours each
• All meals including; Buffet Breakfast, Lunch with wine, soft drinks and coffee, and Dinner with aperitivo, wine, liqueurs, soft drinks and coffee.
• Aperitivo and Stuzzichini on first evening
• One guided excursion and one market visit including car, driver and interpreter
• Gift of hardback book of typical Umbrian Recipes
Email Sally Ann on info@lapreghiera.com for cost and more information or phone at
0039 075 930 24 28