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Fallen Italian nobles turn castles into Bed & Breakfasts

Silvia Marchetti , NBC News contributor

Courtesy Miari Fulcis Family

Italian princes and countesses, struggling under the European economic crisis, are converting their dream-like castles into bed and breakfasts and luxury vacation rentals. The wealth of the aristocracy has shrunk across centuries and heirs, unable to live-off what remains of family fortunes and assets, have become entrepreneurs.

While noble titles haven't held legal value since Italy's monarchy was abolished in 1946, a loophole in the Republic's 1947 constitution allowed them to be retained as part of a family name. The titles still carry cachet, however, when it comes to attracting tourists to rent out the spare tower.

Courtesy Castel Venezze

“Americans who love to meet, talk and dine with a count or prince”, Countess Maria Giustiniani, landlord of Castel Venezze, a 1400’s rural domain near Venice she turned into a resort, told NBC News. Renovations cost several million dollars and required taking out a since-repaid mortgage. Monthly maintenance on the 80 acre property runs several thousand dollars per month. The countess declined to specify revenue, except to say she was satisfied with it.

Not everyone is happy with their numbers, though. "Our business is currently in deficit”, said Count Francesco Miari Fulcis. He manages the 740-acre Fattoria di Maiano for his mother, Countess Lucrezia Miari Fulcis of the Corsini Princes. European royalty, including Queen Victoria, used to stay over at the invitation of its former English owner, Sir John Temple Leader.

Courtesy Countess Stefania Von Holstein

The Castle of Scipione boasts two suites, one of which is in the watch tower, 

rented out for $170 a day.

“Revenues have dropped 25-30 percent compared to 2007, sustaining agriculture is expensive, while sky-high property taxes and hell-like bureaucracy are straining us. You can’t live on asset value anymore,” said the Count. Overall maintenance for both tourist and agriculture activities, including the costs of running the on-site olive oil farm and production facility, average to a million dollars per year, he said.

Prince Gabriele Alliata di Villafranca restyled his 1600’s country estate in Sicily, "Le Case del Principe," into a set of luxury villas which he rents out for tourists, business meetings, weddings, and other events.

"You don’t get a single penny from agricultural farms like mine in southern Italy, and if you hope to live on the production of oil, oranges and wine... campa cavallo che l'erba cresce," said the Prince [translation: while the grass grows, the steed starves].

But finding new uses for the historic villas keeps aloft more than just the balance sheet.

Remembering when as a boy he used to ride on his bicycle out to the estate that was his family summer's home, Prince Gabriele said, "I didn't want this place to become a ruin."

To keep the estate from crumbling into the ground, Countess Maria Giustiniani's father renovated the estate after it was abandoned for several decades after major floods hit in the 1950's. "I’ll never be able to recover all the capital I spent here, but my five sons will," she said. "The estate now works marvelously: it’s an oasis in the desert."

Countess Stefania Von Holstein runs with her husband the medieval Castle of Scipione of the Marquises Pallavicino, among Italy’s oldest families. The economic crisis has hit them too. Unlike the other estates, they only opened it up to tourism after the beginning of the downturn in 2008.

"A castle is a common good to be shared with others, as in the Middle Ages when travelers took refuge here," said the Countess.

Keep reading on NBCNews >>

Gwyneth Paltrow named World's Most Beautiful Woman by People

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TODAY Entertainment

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

She has an Oscar, a rocker husband, two children, and now the title of World’s Most Beautiful Woman. Gwyneth Paltrow, 40, graces the cover of People magazine’s Most Beautiful People issue.

“I can’t believe it,” Paltrow said of the magazine’s honor. “I kept thinking, ‘This can’t be true.’ I’ve never been more surprised or flattered.”

Adele, Beyonce, Jennifer Lawrence, and Kristen Stewart are among the many other stars who made People’s "Most Beautiful" list.

Paltrow works out two hours every day, and says her regular workouts can be “a nightmare,” but that she pushes herself to do them by viewing staying in shape as part of her job. “Let’s face it, it’s much easier to just chill out and watch TV,” she said.

Although her new cookbook, “It’s All Good,” stresses a strict diet, Paltrow admits that after a careful day of watching what she eats, she lets herself eat whatever she wants for dinner.  “Because I want to enjoy my life and I love pasta,” she told the magazine.

People

Gwyneth Paltrow is People magazine's "World's Most Beautiful Woman."

She also talked to the magazine about her marriage to Coldplay rocker Chris Martin. “I never make him feel hemmed in or like he’s in trouble,” she said. “And on a personal level, as friends, we really get along.”

She also addressed some untrue Internet claims, saying she doesn’t ban her children from eating carbs or eat naked in front of a mirror. “It’s all so silly,” she said of the rumors.

She spoke honestly about a miscarriage she had, saying “To this day, I feel like I’m missing that kid,” and allowed that she still thinks about possibly adding another child to her family.

The actress will reprise her role as Tony Stark’s assistant and love interest, Pepper Potts, in “Iron Man 3” which opens May 3. But Paltrow told People that because of her children, she has cut back to making only one movie per year, and she looks for something that won’t take her away from her family.

Asked what her biggest “aha moment” was, Paltrow said it was when she met her daughter, Apple. “I looked into her eyes and I was like, ‘What was I doing until this moment?’” she said.

Slideshow: Gwyneth Paltrow >>

Video: Barack Obama Is Questioned About Jay-Z’s Trip To Cuba & “Open Letter”

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Must Listen: Cuban-American Rappers Educate Jay-Z

capitolhillcubans

Problem Kids/ babalublog.com

From Miami New Times:

Problem Kids are Miami Cubans with a message for Jay-Z about his trip to Cuba. Their response to his "Open Letter" is a new track called "Useful Idiot."

"He looks like he's praising the Castro regime, and we wanna give him a history lesson," say MCs Mario Obregon and Christian Martinez of the local hip-hop group that Public Enemy's Chuck D has described as "Yeeeaaaaah."

They also have words for Pitbull, who they agree should have gone harder with his own response to Jay. "He should have told him that what he did is stupid and this is the reason," says Martinez.

What do you think of Jay Z going to Cuba?

He made it seem like it's not a big deal to go there when there are Cuban rappers thrown in jail right now just for their freedom of speech. For him to make it seem like it's just a place to go on vacation was wrong, and it's a big deal to us who feel it's important to tell the truth about Cuba for our family and our heritage.

What do you think of his response song?

When he 's like, "I went to Cuba, I love Cubans," and in the background you hear someone smoking a cigar, It's like he's saying that's all Cuba is to him. He's not saying anything about the people making the cigars, he didn't mention what people there are going through, like people are being persecuted everyday. It's not just a good time. I'm sure where he was staying it might have seemed like it was beautiful, but what the real Cuba looks like is not what he portrayed. I'm sure the government knew he was coming and made sure to show him the nice side.

What do you think of him being involved with the U.S. Government and friends with Obama?

He's pretty much saying that he can get away with everything.

What do you think of Pitbull's response?

I thought he would have gone harder. I don't know if they're friends or what, he kind of reps him at the end. His song is more about Cuba, there's nothing really aimed at Jay Z. Ours is not a diss track either, just a history lesson.

You have a line about "Women beaten in the streets after Sunday morning mass..."

That line is for the Ladies In White, they go to church every Sunday and march in the street and the govt beats em' and it's crazy like mothers, daughters, everybody, and they even snatch a few up and send them to prison like it's nothing. Dimelo mentions them in the first verse of the song.

You opened for Chuck D (from Public Enemy), what do you think about politics in hip hop?

It's necessary, of course, especially on human rights. If you have a voice you have to use it. Jay Z has a big voice and he should have shed light since he has that power. We don't have that power, but we do have a voice in our community and hopefully people hear it and get a better idea of what's going on in Cuba.

Any shout outs?

To the Cuban people. We did this for our grandparents and parents, and a free Cuba, one day, hopefully. And shout out Pepe Billete too. He repped us hard on the song.

Jane Fonda tells vets to ‘get a life’

Alexis Romay, Ted Henken sobre viajar o no a Cuba

Alexis Romay

New York News | NYC Breaking News

RUBIO: Jay-Z's Cuba Trip 'Hypocritical'

Pitbull responde a Jay Z con un rap

Punt de Vista

Escuchar aquí la respuesta de Pitbull a Jay Z en forma de rap. 

Must-Read: Hollywood Director's Letter to Jay-Z on Cuba Trip

capitolhillcubans

cjaronu

By Hollywood Director Phil Lord ("21 Jump Street," "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs") in Huffington Post:

An Open Letter to Jay-Z

Dear Mr. Z,

I just heard your new track, “Open Letter,” released today. It’s got everything I love about your music: looping internal rhymes, an infectious beat, and imagery that draws me into a kind of swaggering, defiant fantasy.

Speaking of defiant fantasies, I’ve been following news of your recent trip to the island nation of Cuba. As the son of a Cuban refugee, and cousin and nephew to many Cubans on the island, I cringe when Americans visit Cuba for a fun island vacation. For one thing it’s illegal (which nobody seems to care about), but more importantly, it's either ignorant of or calloused to the struggles of Cubans on the island. I actually encourage my friends to travel to Cuba, to bear witness to one of the great tragedies of our time, to learn about the real Cuba, to put a human face on the caricature of Americans that the Castros propagate. Exchange and travel between our two nations should be a catalyst for change, as it has been even in my own family. But for me, Cuba is not the place to have a fun, sexy, vacation. Because for Cubans on the island and living elsewhere, it’s not.

So when I heard of your visit, I thought to myself, Jay Z seems like a smart, thoughtful guy. He doesn't realize what he's walking into. He probably just thinks Cuba is a chic place to relax with the family. He probably just doesn’t know the things I know.

He likely doesn’t know that the Cuban tourism industry is run by the Cuban military, so when he spends money at an officially sanctioned hotel, or restaurant, he is directly funding the oppressors of the Cuban people.

He doesn’t know that most Cubans have poor access to independent news sources, the internet, books, and food.

He doesn’t know that Cuba has two health systems, one for the well-connected, and one for everyone else.

He doesn’t know that before Castro, the Cuban peso traded one-to-one with the dollar, and that since then, the Castros have raided the nation’s coffers and introduced widespread poverty to a once prosperous nation.

He doesn’t know that my ancestors fought to free Cuba from Spain, and to set up a democracy to ensure that they would always be free.

He doesn’t know that in spite of those dreams, my mother and her family fled for their lives from this regime way back in 1960, as did *two million* other Cubans.

He doesn’t know about the thousands of people executed by firing squads led by sexy t-shirt icon Che Guevara.

He doesn’t know about the dissidents, artists, and librarians that currently rot in Cuba’s prisons, and the thousands more who live in fear.

He doesn’t know about Orlando Zapata Tamayo, an Afro-Cuban dissident who died in a Cuban prison in 2010 after an 80-day hunger strike.

He doesn’t know that a U.S. Citizen, Alan Gross, is currently serving a 15-year sentence in a Cuban prison for providing phones and computers to the members of the Cuban Jewish community. He doesn't know that all attempts by our government and private citizens to secure his release have been scoffed at.

He has likely forgotten about all those who have died in the Florida Straits, trying to float on makeshift boats to freedom.

He doesn’t know that contrary to popular understanding, Amnesty International reports that repression of dissidents in Cuba is actually on the rise.

He doesn’t know that when an international music luminary shows up in Cuba, his presence is unwittingly used as propaganda to support the regime.

He doesn’t know that artists in Cuba, with whom he was supposedly having a cultural exchange, serve under the close supervision of the government, and don’t enjoy the freedom to defiantly name check the President, call out a few senators, threaten to buy a kilo of cocaine just to spite the government, or suggest that they will follow up their purchase with a shooting spree, as rapped about in "Open Letter."

He doesn’t know that just because our country applies a different, some say hypocritical policy to China, it doesn’t make either regime any less oppressive, or any more acceptable.

He doesn’t know that when people say “I’ve got to visit Cuba before it gets ruined,” I think to myself, “It’s already ruined. And by the way, ruined by what? freedom of speech? walls that don’t crumble? shoes? Do you mean ruin Cuba? Or ruin your fashionable vacation in Cuba?”

He doesn’t know that when I really start to think about all this, I get so mad I can’t sleep.

He doesn’t know that when he’s wearing that hat, smoking that coveted contraband cigar, he looks like a dupe.

He doesn't know how much good he could be doing in Cuba, for Cubans, instead. Bearing witness, supporting artistic freedom, listening.

He doesn't realize that as someone privileged to be born in a free society, one in which someone could come from nothing and become a celebrated music, sports, fashion, business and political mogul, it's not only his good luck to be able to bring to light the needs of the less fortunate, it's his obligation.

But then, Jay-Z, I heard your new song, and paid attention to the lyrics.

I heard you bragging about your “White House clearance.”

I heard you talk about how much you enjoy Cuban cigars.

And I heard you tell the President I voted for, “You don’t need this shit anyway, chill with me on the beach.”

You reject the responsibility to speak up for an oppressed people, even while you take up your own cause with gusto.

Then I figured it out.

You actually know all of this stuff, you just don't care.

That's not just being a bad citizen, or a bad neighbor.

It's being a bad artist.

It's Nihilism with a beat.

-Phil Lord.

Must-Read: Open Letter to Jay-Z

capitolhillcubans

www.sodahead.com

By Chris Gueits:

Open Letter to Jay

When you turned that 250 into half a man,
Your words inspired me, I am a fan.
I do idolize my favorite rapper
And know all his songs.
But you’ve contradicted yourself,
So you need this now.

It’s not about politicians or my parents,
I don’t agree with either, neither.
But before you turn Havana into Atlanta
With Guayaberas and a Guantanamera,
Do your own research.
The truth might hurt.

But look, don’t take it from me,
go talk to Aldo and El B.
That’s Cuba’s Jay, and they don’t play.
Literally. They don’t play
On a stage cause their freedom was slain.

Black Cubans? Ask ‘em about expression.
Talk to Jorge Luis or Guillermo
AKA Cuba’s Y2K MLK.
Meet Berta Soler and see how it’d be
If Voletta were dragged through the streets.
Need one more Cubano? Ask about Zurbano.

See it ain’t about your bread or your fame.
I salute that, you earned it. No shame.
It ain’t about politicians making noise, either.
Look deeper.

You like Cubans? The people.
They’re beautiful and brilliant.
Full of potential, they’re hungry.
Something like a Young Hov in Marcy.

So before that revolution has you shootin’,
Open your eyes,
So you won’t miss history’s sheep in disguise.

Happy Anniversary to you and Bey.

Casa Blanca desmiente haber conocido detalles del viaje a Cuba de Beyonce y Jay-Z

entonces??? la promocion no pagada del regimen de la'bana por parte de la famosa pareja sera objeto de cargos legales como estipulan las leyes estadounidenses? o todo sencillamente forma parte de la puesta en escena entre la casa blanca y la rinconada.

While Jay-Z Raps in Freedom, Cuban Rapper Still Imprisoned for Lyrics

capitolhillcubans

American hip-hop star Jay-Z has just released a song "Open Letter" regarding his trip to Cuba.

It's full of bravado towards all of us who have raised concerns about the insensitivity of his trip to Cuba last week. And surely, he'll make millions from it.

Ironically, he refers to his freedom of expression in the song. We praise and defend his freedom to do so.  Good for him.

But that doesn't change the fact that there's still a young Cuban rapper, Angel Remon Arzuaga, from the hip-hip duo “Los Hijos Que Nadie Quiso” (‘The Unwanted Children’), who has been in jail since March 21st for his lyrics.

Angel is on the 16th day of a hunger strike protesting his unjust imprisonment.

His aunt is Jacqueline Garcia Jaenz, a member of the Ladies in White, was also arrested at the time and beaten in front of her underage daughter.  Her husband, Ariel Arzuaga Pena, is behind bars for his peaceful opposition to the Cuban regime.

Like Angel, other Cuban rappers, such as Primario y Julito, Los Aldeanos, Eskuadron Patriota, and Omni-Zona Franca are constantly battling the Castro regime's censorship and repression.

Jay-Z could have dropped a lyric for them.

It's too bad he didn't -- for they epitomize bravado.

  Jay-Z Raps About Cuba -- "Obama Said ‘You Gonna Get Me Impeached'"

Senator Rubio on Bey and Jay's Cuba Trip

capitolhillcubans

Statement from U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) on American pop and hip-hop stars Beyonce and Jay-Z's trip to Cuba:

“U.S. law clearly bans tourism to Cuba by American citizens because it provides money to a cruel, repressive and murderous regime.  Since their inception, the Obama Administration’s 'people to people' cultural exchange programs have been abused by tourists who have no interest in the Cuban people’s freedom and either don’t realize or don’t care that they’re essentially funding the regime’s systematic trampling of people’s human rights.

According to recent news reports, Jay-Z and Beyonce’s Cuba trip, which the regime seized on for propaganda purposes, was fully licensed by the Treasury Department.  If true, the Obama Administration should explain exactly how trips like these comply with U.S. law and regulations governing travel to Cuba and it should disclose how many more of these trips they have licensed.”

Earlier today, Senator Rubio tweeted:

If interested in what life really like in #Cuba @s_c_should have visited persecuted rapper #AngelYunierRemon #99problems&dictatorsareone
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) April 8, 2013

For more information on Angel Yunier Remon, click here >>

Cuba: Beyonce Should Give Five Minutes to Berta Soler

capitolhillcubans

From The Miami Herald:

Mauricio Claver-Carone, an anti-Castro lobbyist in Washington who has denounced the couple’s visit to Cuba, said he only wants the singers to hear the arguments of people such as Berta Soler, leader of the dissident Ladies in White.

“The point is not to get them fined or reprimanded,” he said. “I just hope they can take five minutes to meet with someone like Berta Soler and hear their side, and I will be a happy camper.”

As the article notes,

Beyoncé is not new to political controversies, and in 2009 was paid $2 million by a son of Libyan strongman Moammar Gaddafi to perform at a New Years Eve bash in the British-run Caribbean island of St. Barts. She later donated the money to Haiti earthquake relief.

Beyonce corrected her controversial action then with a noble deed after -- can she do the same now?

Just give 5 minutes to Berta, who will be visiting the U.S. later this month.

Is that too much to ask?

Beyonce y Jay Z Bailando Salsa En Cuba [VIDEO]

usard1987

A new era: Beyonce & Jay-Z have persimission from Obama's goverment to tourist trip to Cuba

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Beyonce, Jay-Z Cuba trip questioned by two members of Congress

POLITICO.com

AP

By CAITLIN MCDEVITT 

Two members of Congress from Florida are looking into how hip hop royals Beyonce and Jay-Z ended in Cuba this week.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart sent a letter to Adam Szubin, director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the Treasury Department, on Friday asking for more information about the celebrity couple’s trip, which coincided with their fifth wedding anniversary.

An excerpt from the letter, which is posted on Ros-Lehtinen’s website, reads:

We write to express concern and to request information regarding the highly publicized trip by U.S. musicians Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (Beyoncé) and Shawn Carter (Jay-Z) to Cuba. We would like to respectfully request, within all applicable rules and guidelines, information regarding the type of license that Beyoncé and Jay-Z received, for what purpose, and who approved such travel.
As you know, U.S. law expressly prohibits the licensing of financial transactions for “tourist activities” in Cuba (Section 910(b)(1) of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act).

A rep for the stars didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Video de Beyonce y Jay-Z en Cuba

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Beyonce, Jay-Z In Cuba: Couple Spends Fifth Anniversary In Havana

huffingtonpost

209.81.92.75

By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ

HAVANA — Beyonce and Jay-Z caused a big stir in Havana as they marked their fifth wedding anniversary Thursday.

R&B's power couple was mobbed by dozens of well-wishers at the renowned restaurant La Guarida on Wednesday night, and police had to step in to keep the crowds at bay.

La Guarida staffers showed The Associated Press pictures of the two dining on typical Cuban creole favorites – fish, chicken, black beans and rice – accompanied by their mothers.

The privately run restaurant is famous as the filming location for the hit movie "Strawberry and Chocolate," and is a mainstay on Havana's tourist circuit.

Waitress Silvia Fernandez said Beyonce toured the eatery and looked at photos of past celebrity clients: Jack Nicholson, Jodie Foster, Danny Glover, Will Smith, James Belushi and more.

Their bodyguards' presence outside set the gritty, bustling neighborhood of Center Havana abuzz, and a crowd gathered downstairs shouting Beyonce's name until she went to a balcony and waved.

Police arrived and made sure she was able to exit without incident.

"She was beautiful, without a drop of makeup, very natural," waitress Silvia Fernandez said. "What happened with the people was incredible."

On Thursday the couple toured colonial Old Havana wearing dark glasses and surrounded by bodyguards and excited fans. Beyonce posed for pictures with local schoolchildren while Jay-Z puffed on a Cuban cigar, and then they popped into another restaurant that boasts a rooftop terrace with a sweeping view of the harbor.

209.81.92.75

Beyonce and Jay-Z declined to speak to reporters, and it was not clear why they traveled to Cuba. State-run website CubaSi called it a tourist trip.

Washington's 51-year embargo makes it illegal for U.S. citizens to visit Cuba for mere tourism, although tens of thousands of Americans travel here each year on academic, religious, journalistic or cultural exchange licenses. In the past, artists who were challenged by the government have said they visited for cultural purposes.

Beyonce, the multiple Grammy winner who performed at this year's Super Bowl halftime show and President Obama's inauguration, and Jay-Z, the rapper and entertainment mogul who recently went into the sports-agent business, were married April 4, 2008, in Paris.