Italy

BMW has been striving to reconcile its dueling images for years. Best known for its luxurious, sport-oriented cars, the German manufacturer's motorcycles are only beginning to shed their reputation as wheels for safety-conscious old men, thanks to exciting new bikes like the S 1000 RR and K 1600 LT. At this weekend's International Motorcycle Shows event in Long Beach, BMW is likely to confuse its image even further when its first scooters make...

The magnitude 6.0 earthquake that hit northern Italy early Sunday has claimed the lives of six people and has caused widespread damage. Among the most badly hit sites were a number of cultural heritage structures, according to reports. Italy's cultural ministry said that "after an initial survey, damage to cultural patrimony appears significant. " One of the hardest hit areas was San Felice sul Panaro, a town near Bologna, which saw serious damage to a 14th century castle and to churches that housed valuable paintings and frescoes.

The "Made in Italy" label conjures images of little old men and women in aprons and spectacles, stooped over wooden tables, cutting leather and sewing by hand in workshops that dot the hills of Tuscany. It certainly doesn't make you picture Chinese immigrants toiling long hours in ramshackle, poorly illuminated sheds, and then sleeping in small rooms behind thin plywood right there in the factories.

ROME - A bomb exploded at the entrance of a high school in southern Italy named for the wife of a slain anti-Mafia judge, killing a 16-year-old girl and injuring at least four people as students were arriving at school for Saturday classes. Police were investigating the possibility of organized-crime involvement in the attack in the Adriatic port city of Brindisi, but authorities said it was too early to exclude other possibilities. They noted that the school is named for Francesca Morvillo, the wife of anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone.

Americans have Philip Marlowe and Raymond Chandler. Britons have Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle. And Italians have Salvo Montalbano and Andrea Camilleri. Camilleri, a bespectacled, gravel-voiced 83-year-old, has become a national character as beloved as his Montalbano, a shrewd, resolutely Sicilian police commander who solves crimes in the fictional town of Vigata. Remarkably, Camilleri's career didn't take off until he was nearly 70, when he retired as a playwright and screenwriter.

'The Turk in Italy' Where: Los Angeles Opera, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, downtown L.A. When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 2, 5 and 10; 2 p.m. Feb. 27 and March 13 Tickets: $20 to $270 Information: (213) 972-8001 or http://www.laopera.com

We spent four nights at this beautiful agriturismo and winery in Umbria. It has lovely guest apartments, a golf course, swimming pool, tennis courts and a restaurant in the middle of the vineyards. Rates are very reasonable for such a wonderful location, near Lake Trasimeno. It is owned by the daughter of Ferruccio Lamborghini, founder of Automobili Lamborghini. Agriturismo Lamborghini & Golf Club, 1 Soderi di Panicarola, Panicale; 011-39-075-835-0029, http://english.lamborghinionline.it . Rates from about $720 to $1,187 in July and August.

From the Leaning Tower of Pisa to the smiling Mona Lisa, Italy has long distinguished itself with its artistry, innovation and style. With scientists such as Galileo Galilei, artists such as Michelangelo and artist-scientists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Italy has made amazing contributions for a country slightly larger than Arizona. Explore Italian history, art, architecture, music, cuisine and more through the direct links on the Times Launch Point Web site, http://www.latimes.

Italians are flocking to see an exhibition in Rome celebrating the 400th anniversary of Caravaggio's death, held in the Scuderie del Quirinale -- the 18th century palace that once housed the papal stables. The exhibit is a stringent choice of just 24 rigidly authenticated works by Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio, a master of light and dark (chiaroscuro) painting. Caravaggio

THE BEST WAY From LAX, connecting service (change of planes) to Naples is offered on Lufthansa and British. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $466, excluding taxes and fees. You then take the hydrofoil or ferry to Capri; prices start about $15, one way. Info: http://www.capri.com/en/ferry-schedule. TELEPHONES To call these numbers from the U.S., dial 011 (international dialing code), 39 (country code for Italy), 081 (the regional code) and the local number. WHERE TO STAY Hotel Punta Tragara, 57 Via Tragara; 837-0844, http://www.hoteltragara.com/eng/hotel.htm . Le Corbusier, one of 20th century's great architects, designed the luxurious villa that is now Hotel Punta Tragara, a stylish boutique hotel with panoramic views of the sea. Perched on a hilltop above the faraglioni , the island's iconic rock formations, Punta Tragara is away from the noise and craziness of central Capri Town.

The Red & White Wine Bar is across the street from beautiful Lake Como, with forever views, in Tremezzo, Italy. The chef and his wife are charming, friendly and speak English. The food is outstanding: It was the best pasta e fagioli I have ever had, and my husband had the lasagna three days in a row. Prices are reasonable. Red & White Wine Bar, 18 Via Portico Sampietro, Tremezzo; 011-39-0344-40095. Pizzas and pastas from about $10. Main dishes $20-22. Jade Kemble Rancho Bernardo

An Italian court has upheld an order for the seizure of a masterpiece of the J. Paul Getty Museum's antiquities collection, finding that the bronze statue of a victorious athlete was illegally exported from Italy before the museum purchased it for $4 million in 1976. The ruling Thursday by a regional magistrate in Pesaro will likely prolong the legal battle over the statue, a signature piece of the Getty's embattled antiquities collection whose return Italian authorities have sought for years.

Billed as the world's tallest water ride, the $26-million Divertical at  Italy's Mirabilandia theme park will combine a shoot-the-chutes flume and a roller coaster track with an offshore powerboat racing theme. PHOTOS: Divertical water coaster at Mirabilandia Debuting in mid- to late June, the Divertical water coaster will feature an innovative elevator lift system that carries the 10-person boats to the top of the 197-foot-tall ride. From there, riders will descend a 45-degree water flume at speeds topping 65 mph. After a tidal wave-like splash, the train will continue along a coaster track over air-time hills and hairpin turns before dropping into a second splashdown pool.

ROME — Quiet and bookish, a little colorless, Mario Monti doesn't seem the kind of man to inspire religious epiphanies. But his leadership of Italy in the last five months has moved one leading politician to declare it not just a "miracle," but proof that God exists. Granted, his transformation from mild-mannered technocrat to the man charged with saving Italy has been a bit startling. From a photo op with President Obama in the White House to a whistle-stop tour of Asia to woo foreign investors, Monti is on a tear, busy telling the world that his country is back in business.

Italy's Maxxi museum, which opened just two years ago, has been hard hit by the country's economic problems, which have resulted in widespread cuts in cultural funding. Now the high-profile art museum, designed by architect Zaha Hadid, faces possible closure. As reported this week in Britain's the Guardian, the museum faces a 800,000 euros ($1.1 million) hole in its 2011 accounts. Projected losses could reach 11 million euros in the next three years. Italy's cultural minister has reportedly begun proceedings that could lead to the Maxxi being put under special administration, in effect shutting it down.

The Italian government has been persistent, tenacious and very effective in forcing repatriation of its looted antiquities. Seizing the ethical high ground, then playing legal and diplomatic hardball, it has extracted scores of prized objects from American museums. None was hit harder than L.A.'s Getty Museum, which has bid adieu to 40 pieces Italy was able to prove had been illegally dug from its soil. But last week, the tables turned. This time, the Italian government was the party caught owning an ill-gotten prize, "Christ Carrying the Cross," painted around 1538 by Renaissance master Girolamo Romanino.

THE BEST WAY TO AREZZO From LAX, connecting service (change of planes) to Florence is available on Air France and Lufthansa. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $786. From Florence, take a taxi ($35) or bus ($6.50) to the Santa Maria Novella train station in Arezzo. Several trains run every hour from Florence to Arezzo. For schedules, go to trenitalia.com. TELEPHONES To call the numbers below from the U.S., dial 011 (the international dialing code), 39 (country code for Italy)

A few hours before a wary Landon Donovan ran onto the practice field at the Home Depot Center on Thursday, a funeral took place in Bergamo, Italy. And those two events may have more in common than you think. Piermario Morosini, a 25-year-old midfielder for Livorno in Italy's Serie B, collapsed and died of cardiac arrest in the first half of his team's match last weekend. He was laid to rest Thursday, with thousands of fans packing the streets of his hometown as his coffin, draped in numerous jerseys passed.

Tourism is already a booming industry in Los Angeles and may soon be even bigger. The city is gearing up to host one of the nation's largest trade shows for the travel industry, an April 21-25 gathering at the Los Angeles Convention Center that is expected to attract more than 1,500 travel business operators and generate at least $10 million in spending during the event. Known as the 2012 International Pow Wow, the trade show expects dozens of tour operators from China, Mexico, Russia, Italy, the Netherlands and other countries who specialize in bringing tourists to the United States.