A new lease of life for the ancient Baths of Sofia. After more than 30 years, this distinguished old building in central Sofia has donned a new suit and is out to show Sofians that there is plenty left in it yet.

The Obshtinska Mineralna Banya will be home to this year’s edition of the Italian Festival in Bulgaria, organised by ICE - the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade, under the auspices of the Italian embassy to Bulgaria and in partnership with the City of Sofia and the OP "Stara Sofia" of the Sofia Historical Museum.  An exhibition inagurated on May 26 will be running until June 7, featuring the best of Italian cuisine, design, fashion, jewellery, garden artistry and much more, from the Regions of Emilia-Romagna, Liguria and Sicily, along with the Piedmontese town of Biella, the textile capital of the North-West.

It will be supplemented by a concluding event on June 9 celebrating Italian food and wine.  In a feat of cosmetic artistry, the main hall and front rooms on the ground and first floors of the Banya have been spruced up and decorated to give visitors a glimpse of the enormous potential of this charming historical monument.

The City of Sofia was represented at the opening ceremony in Banski Square by Malina Edreva, chairman of Sofia City Council’s standing committee on education, culture, science and religion, and Mariana Marinova, chief expert of the OP "Stara Sofia" of the Sofia Historical Museum. The co-operation and ever-increasing exchanges between Italy and Bulgaria were at the centre of the message conveyed by Italian ambassador Stefano Benazzo, and by the Director of ICE Sofia, Fabrizio Camastra, who expressed heartfelt thanks to the Bulgarian partners for what promises to be a successful series of events.

The Festival in the Banya will be on until June 9, with the regional exhibitions being supplemented by films, seminars, trade events and a final Italian Wine Tasting, listed in detail on the programme available at www.italianfestival.bg. Since the day it was opened the festival and the accompanied seminars have been enjoying great interest among visitors.