Select Italy is once again offering Divino Tuscany, a luxury four-day wine and food extravaganza to be held in Tuscany and Florence in May, 2012. Florence's luxurious 5-star Grand Hotel Villa Cora, a former private villa that has been returned to its former splendor following a multimillion dollar restoration, will be the main venue. This exclusive program features one-of-a-kind experiences throughout the four days including premium wine tastings hosted by James Suckling, dinner parties in beautiful settings, and a roast pig lunch hosted by Sting and Trudie Styler in their private villa.

Carnival, or carnevale, season is an exciting time of costume parties, parades, masquerade balls and entertainment culminating on Shrove Tuesday, 40 days before Easter (February 21 in 2012). Venice is one of the world's top places to celebrate carnival and its carnevale is the most famous in Italy.

Venice's 2012 Carnival officially opens on February 11 with a big party in Saint Mark's Square, followed on February 12 by the Flight of the Angel, a traditional event in which a costumed figure arrives in the square via a rope, starting from the bell tower. Venice's carnival finale is a giant group kiss at midnight in Saint Mark's Square with entertainment and a beautiful fireworks display over the Venetian lagoon. This year's theme is Life is a theater, everyone in masks.

Venice Carnival:

• Tips for Going to Carnevale in Venice
• Photos of Carnival Costumes in Venice
• Places to Stay in Venice
• Web Cam in Saint Mark's Square

Venice Carnevale Photo © 2009 Betsy Malloy Photography. Used by Permission

Maremma, the southern part of the Tuscany region, is less visited than Tuscany's popular hill towns and attractions but it has a lot to offer, especially if you want to get a little off the beaten path. Here you'll find picturesque villages like Pitigliano (one of my favorites), the rugged coastline of Monte Argentario, Etruscan sites, and wild countryside. It's an interesting area to explore and Maremma Tuscany has put together an excellent online guide to the area, great for planning your trip or enjoying the beautiful photos from the comfort of your home.

Pitigliano photo © by Martha Bakerjian, licensed to About.com

It's rare to have snow in Rome but today the city was covered with snow, causing major transportation problems in the city with many shops and businesses remaining closed. While there was snow in Rome in 2010, this is said to have been Rome's biggest snowfall in more than 25 years and lots of people were out with cameras. Here are places to see photos of Rome with snow:

• Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome
• Piazza Navona snow photo on Flickr
• Snow in the Eternal City on Living in Rome
• Rome in the Snow Photo Gallery on the Sacramento Bee

Snow has fallen in much of Italy and we have links to more photos on our Facebook page, including snow in Cinque Terre, Tuscany, and Milan.