It must be the weather in Venice that makes Commissario Brunetti of the Venice police so melancholy. Donna Leon paints a picture of Venice that is both dreary and wonderfully mysterious. Her mystery series shows us the city that tourists see as they spend their 2 allotted days visiting the Doge Palace and St. Mark's cathedral and the city that the natives both love and hate.

This is the Venice where it rains so much that planks are laid out over the piazze to save shoes when the water rises to knee height. The winding alleys and streets and the maze of canals are vividly described in each of Donna Leon's books.

It is interesting to read a story that takes place in a city where everything depends on the water. Water, that as Commissario Brunetti describes it, you would not even want to stick your hand in because it is so polluted. Vaporetto's are labeled like New Yorkers label their buses. You catch the number 5 boat at one corner to be dropped off at another.

A right-wing Italian parliamentarian admitted he downloads music illegally from the Internet, sparking a debate on piracy.

Former Welfare Minister Roberto Maroni said Thursday he believes music should be free and accessible to all though he also said there need to be protections for authors, Daily Variety reported.

Another parliamentarian from Italy's largest Communist party, Francesco Caruso, agreed. He told Corriere della Sera that file-sharing was unstoppable.

Rome, Italy Hotel Description: The Hotel Genio is located within a stone's throw of Piazza Navona. It takes less than 5 minutes to walk to this beautiful Piazza know for its famous Bernini statue, The Four Rivers.

The easy access to Piazza Navona also means easy access to numerous restaurants. Though the restaurants can be touristy, they still offer good food and good people watching opportunities. On the quick walk to the Piazza Navona you will pass a glass encased view of Roman ruins. As often happens in Rome, you just happen upon structures from ancient times with little warning.

The best thing about the Hotel Genio in Rome is the rooftop terrace. From the roof you can look over Rome in all directions. You can see the domes and spires of churches all over the city. There is a particularly beautiful view of St. Peter's. A metal, spiral staircase takes you to the top level of the roof so you can be above many of the surrounding buildings.

Falanghina is an ancient species of grape that has been used to make Italian wines since the times of ancient Rome. According to those in the know, Roman merchants brought the Falanghina grape from Greece to Italy. It is thought to be the key grape in the ancient wine Falernum or Flaernian, a wine that was a favorite of the Roman upper classes 2000 years ago.

The Falanghina grape and the wine produced from it are particularly popular in the central and southern part of Italy. Good water was difficult to find in ancient Rome, so wine became a less risky and more pleasurable alternative to water.

Falanghina is enjoying a rebirth as those of us who appreciate good food and good wines search for foods and food products made with locally grown products using traditional methods. Okay, so you could make the argument that Falanghina was originally produced in Greece and is therefore not local to Italy, but hey that was a long time ago.