one of the most beautiful historic and romantic cities in the world florence. russians have been fascinated with italian culture for centuries florence is often compared to st petersburg. with its architecture and classical entertainment see consisting of art music and literature it's easy to draw comparisons to the cultural grand jury of russia's former capital. moved around the major cities in italy today and you definitely hear the chit chat excited recent tourists they devour the social scene here and they're exploring what it has to offer now more than ever before. i feel him in florence and my children in russia does raise studying the culture of the renascence and the principles of humanism and this city is the essence of such cultures. we just are stuck with it if we feel comfortable here but it really doesn't even seem like a foreign country and italians are very friendly probably in all my life was an

interest it's how an arts and russian art nothing else because it's the most maybe fancy is the most difficult difficult technique difficult colors. everything else there will dozens of connections between italy and russia dissociation within the field of art goes back centuries. we arrived at the russian art academy located in a grand building in the sense of the city it brings together all levels of all ages and nationalities you can almost feel the creativity as you walk in here. many students have taken sabbaticals to come to florence and learn more about art the school is angled towards classical russian teaching methods and takes individuals back to basics studying the works of old masters. nice work but. class is the taking is part of the full time course we can't or evening classes and

a whole range of subjects to study from campus painting to much touring but why come to a russian arts school in florence. because we're kind of training to see fair play when you can get a did you ever see the like other. art schools around here it's just very focus of spirit affected actually i never planned there aren't still painting i can't do sculpture but i was convinced by the russian method and all the way that they they teach me my dream and improve the scene as i came here most of the buildings are still authentic show it does appear in a sort of the ideal background for all to make sure. many lines models are used in the conses tools in english russian and italian shouldn't take visual photographs with the aim of recreating the image in sketch form.

based on consequence additions and values in the modern art world because here is learning about site size technique. of the training have decided on the basics of technique the use of color and the study of i'm not a made out of portrait most of the changes here offer russia and they bring with them a whole range of classical knowledge and experience having trained at various prestigious universities in moscow and st petersburg are being sent to and say help each student find that in the expression whatever stand it about very very the school in france is aware that many other colleges around the world are opening up to contemporary styles and radical new training methods and on that note to discuss the academies. objective let's meet this week's guest. and as you let me to meet

you so tell me about the academy here in florence of a here during two years which is to you as a goal the start of the first course. into a funeral of all that i did during ten years doing different kind of water crops and gold here as i care to man i want to bring a russian academic classic school to share at the european stay with us and of course bring spiritual waters and art which is very important for the mission european students where you have russian or interest or italians or it's a list of international of the students which is a half from belgium or from italy from you glanced from america around the wall can anybody come here or they have to be you know a decent artist are not there but yeah when i think about it can be here which is normally students just sending their application form together with the board but after one the year or so of professor choosing if that student will continue

filthier or second there which is a don't have an answer or an exam but they would have exam after one year were serious and the tutors are mostly russian teachers that most russian which is that it's teacher is a who are already graduated and who is a professional artist but himself the most time of. war in the russia russian government academy. many of the art schools around the world they focus now on contemporary arts maybe here the training is more strict with its russian roots maybe. balance because our opinion of where giving plastic foundation school base without foundation a classic school bus you can develop your own style a diverse a school the nonprofessional way. which is it's me in our opinion that we're bringing school in the people and. this is cool will develop there. is

great to meet you and good luck with it thank you there was a lot. so what other cultural links is florence have with russia one of the most celebrated filmmakers of the twentieth century person director undertow kosky lived in france in the one nine hundred eighty s. in the capital of tuscany took on his two last films and sacrifice anything pronounced as an honest citizen of florence by its authorities took the left italy and nine hundred eighty six and moved to paris where he died the same year now a memorial plate to be seen on the house and via some nicolo but the filmmaker lived and worked. in the beautiful surroundings of florence nestled in the tuscan countryside there's a hotel bearing a russian name the damage of country result is a modern four star hotel then after the famous russian wealthy and influential demetre family from the eighteenth century the german just had a villa in this part of italy and they definitely chose the location wisely as the

views here a spectacular and relaxing. about twenty minutes drive from the center of florence the hotel offers one hundred rooms and suites with all modern comforts i'm still ities. how the hotel is up there for business and leisure chase that the middle family used to enjoy the surroundings many centuries ago and now our guests can enjoy the same nature and the more festive it is to relax. florence is a sensational city the center is an open air museum itself every corner is a photo opportunity no wonder many famous russian figures came to live here. to see s.q. for example chose florence in. only because of its inspiring the true so many other foreigners but many because of the library they contain russian periodicals he

wrote the idiot here in january one thousand nine hundred eighty nine after seventeen months of work. another russian legend spent a considerable length of time in italy was the composer tchaikovsky he came to florence in the year eight hundred seventy eight to write quietly in a villa overlooking the city situated on the beautiful street via the sun leonardo twenty minutes outside the city it has a completely different feel to the center of florence it was stated that tchaikovsky called florence the city of dreams for him it was one of the best locations in the world as he enjoyed the architecture landscapes and soul of the area he said it was one of the most inspirational places to live and to work he wrote the famous russian opera the queen of spades here in italy in eighty ninety and back in russia to celebrate his beloved city he wrote the piece souvenir to florence.

from the art world in florence or oligarchs and their glamorous shots on the island of capri the prison of russian influence and connections in italy and vice versa isn't it too apparent and not just here but it is closer to many european cities than you think is the love affair with all things european shows no signs of slowing down. the punch of that your bridge is a beautiful mediæval landmark not to be missed as a focal point of the city it represents medieval florence in all its glory and whether you are chinese english american russian the historic landmarks and fantastic cultural world of florence with a long standing russian italian connections or some. i think everyone should church what's amazing city one unfortunately that's that's all we have left on this week's

program i'll see you again at the same time next week until then for me and the rest of the team for now. wealthy british style. time. market why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike stronger for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines kinds

a report on our. more news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images cold world has been seeing from the streets of canada. china operations are today.

you know how sometimes you see a story and it seems so for lengthly you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you hear or see some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom hartman welcome to the big picture.

well the blood still flowing in a body count growing the arab league reportedly wants to carry on monitoring in syria despite being slammed for being totally ineffective. silenced and thrown out iran's english language press t.v. news program gets kicked british airways for falling foul of broadcasting was something the channels clear at censorship. many of faces its worst protest years as crowds clashed with police over low wages corruption and the government's authoritarian ways. well that's the team had to florence well not really we actually bring you now the latest sports news we'll go to florence much later in the program but stay with us for that if you can sports news with kate.

hello welcome to the first sports news on this busy saturday and here are the headlines majestic maria sharapova drops just three games in a straight set win over jeremy's and you need to go into the last sixteen of history you know you print it twice and we find his fear is gone awry about crushes out. why we need why is alexander going to go off school as the winner is a neat beat the iraqi olympic team to want to reach the final of the friendly match world cup tournament in dubai. i'm staying put david beckham signs a deal to keep him at the l.a. galaxy while carlos tempus move to p.s.g. full strew with ten days left in the january transfer market. but first to tennis and world number four maria sharapova has gone through to the fourth round of the australian open with a comprehensive six one six two victory over germany's angelica the two thousand

and eight champion has had a negative preparation time for the first grand slam of the season but has dropped only five games in three matches so far at melbourne park and the three time major winner is in line to face them patrick kuznetsova next because it's over is on court against your recent city release it however it's the end of the road for vera zvonareva who suffered a shock defeat at the hands of country woman he's got that in a car while yet another russian maria carey lanka pulled out a set down against second seed patrick creativity mixed up with a check for what world number one evanovich of serbia was over in the men's draw world number one novak djokovic is through to the last sixteen after thrashing french mikel out maui six love six one six one six seed joey feels joe will read song that fared better than his compadres reaching portugal's frederica six two six two six two meanwhile this seed doubted kara is leading in his match against want it now. and later a fourth seed andy murray will take on michael llodra. will. we are all on friday

will have a say rough on that all took less than two hours to complete a straight set went over qualified let's talk about kid was no match for the two thousand champion six two six four six two this is from school. i thought i was spending fifty and i would have been back for. the day was one of the most. so that with all mistakes you know. comfortable with having the reward of doing so i think is is it everything is difficult every month you have your problems first said it was six two but you know was a really fried that said it's my feeling and stuff while. meanwhile world number three roger federer had a tougher time in the opening two sets against big serving evoke all of it before securing victory seven six seven five six three. i thought it's going to be at least one third brigade not to so is as good as ok or. is it

tough to play against really creates a lot of pressure by the way he served by the way plays from the baseline always runs around you second he's always chipping come in you know no points ever the same. verdict but his place in the fourth round with a straight set when i sat back and kevin i understand the former u.s. open champion. probably easily dispatched in the end who knew only dropping five games in the process and local favorite an all time a came through another five setter this time against ukraine alexander of apollo to set up a fourth round tie this federer follow from the women's side top seed caroline wozniacki made it into round four with a straight set when i want to catch the less fuel variety of the day and rushing up a comprehensive six to sixteen victory. was a reason to. work quite a bit imo valise i still think i could have finished up

a few more points up. but i am improving and i'm trying and trying to move in when i can and sometimes and. the last i don't know how many years i've played i've always had a two handed back and volley but i try to change that one hand and you know it's just about getting the confidence to play with a real match as well because you can do it in practice but it's it's always different to play a match but i felt like i had it pretty well. meanwhile belorussians. was too good for germany's no no fastball ridge during an easy sixty six ball when. the. defending champion came close is eased into round for the belgian eleven seed sort of danielle hunt to cover slovakia however russia's new plastic about is out after losing in straight sets to check giveth but that's about it but i've missed that dance is through following a six two six two victory of a clean up busboy of

a classic stand. for both our incidents top score alexander netted the winner as the russian champions breached the iraki olympic team two one in the friendly match world cup tournament in dubai while just eight minutes in another one should off fed in a long cross exam the call of the open for the st petersburg side striker making amends after missing earlier chance however a quick counterattack early in the second half saw the rockies pull level. volley equaliser. however fifteen minutes later as an eight found the game winning goal thank god as a bitch chipping in across. those you claim to love to go to the continues to go so two one is away it takes a second or two in dubai to get a spot finally he told it well elsewhere the transfer saga continues for costas after the manchester city and argentina striker has reportedly rejected

a move to mega rich perry sundra the french league leaders announced on friday that an agreement has been reached but the deal fell through at the last minute after both sides failed to finalize terms of votes and suggested twenty seven year old would be earning more than ten million dollars a year yes jay italian john into milan have also targeted the striker have so far failed to match city's valuation the manager about the mancini insisted this should go. to. college or. i want to. do that for you it's important now to restart to play because. we want. to remind you that the n.b.a. . is no good for you. paul meanwhile says he will help inform title rivals turn them on sunday looking for a victory to maintain their lead to second place manchester united to keep up the pressure as they travel to arsenal while spurs are thirty five points behind you i said harry redknapp has once again down back to atlanta actions. we want to go to

and get a result in play will one come away we start from the game but. so i've said many times you know six point seven point eight point lead can evaporate very quickly can't they were saying it's only two arms over the years so. it's you know so to play for everybody still but it's like everything i keep saying that top four is is really where we want to be we want to get champions league football anything above that is a bonus for us. meanwhile there's a tragedy in the english premier league this saturday night with fourth place chelsea travelling to norrish in the early kick off everton host blackburn newcastle and little point about the contest if they travel to fall and bolton respectively keeping our well i mean bottom right side we can in a relegation dogfight side cities like on west brom's sunderland welcome swanzy and walls host aston villa in the middle and. while elsewhere former england captain

david beckham who had also been heavily linked to the move to p.s.g. has instead signed a new two year deal with american side was andres galaxy the thirty six year old midfielder claimed his first m.l.s. title last season after five years in california and his most capped outfield player says he's hungry for more silverware. must've been. cultures with. the biggest chunk. of. change but it's not. we are. just one change. to the sixth. and finally russia's pentathlete it's all marking one hundred years since the sport came to the country but with the olympics fast approaching there's little time for the best performance of last year to celebrate as a dancer gorski reports. russia has been a powerhouse this past decade in modern pentathlon the national team winning men's

gold at three street olympic games i'm dreaming of bollywood. in the footsteps of sydney gold medalist koff ski by winning in athens and then again in beijing and the man himself knows that nothing short of flawlessness in each discipline will be enough for a third straight gold. there's not one particular thing to work on as a pentathlete you pretty much have to do well in every discipline if you cannot perform at the highest level in every event you will never be able to become an olympic medalist a century of shooting swimming fencing equestrian and cross country is being marked in russia but london two thousand and twelve looms large amid celebrations of past accolades and while moyes said if it's top of the european and world championships in two thousand and eleven there are plenty of youngsters hot on the thirty two year old heels only two athletes will go to represent their country this summer a selection process which will definitely challenge the coaching staff. will have

to make a choice based on who gives us the best chance to win but it will be a tough one after this season. champion and runner up medals going for them. past champions so no doubt the selection process is going to be tough when other competitors such as two thousand and ten world champion sergei currie arcand cannot be ruled out of the qualifying yet another man i know gold this summer the recently turned twenty four year old knows exactly who he has to beat out for the spot if he is to achieve that podium feat. we all know who our opponents will be so the main thing for us is to get selected for the olympic games we've had the first preparation period already starting the second phase of our work now both of them after that will be entering a series of competitions so i'm going to work hard and hopefully stay injury free that's just an hour or so plenty at stake for russian what is a historic year for the sport in the country and while there's been no shortage of

pentathlon glory during the past decade the pressure is greater than ever for the russians to win their fourth straight uganda gorski r.t. .

discovery to. communicate with the wild. becomes free.

nature can give you. with a blood still flowing and a body count growing that arab league will port only once to carry on line appearing in syria despite being slammed for being totally ineffective. silenced and thrown out iran's english language press t.v. news program gets kicked off british airways for falling foul of broadcasting last something the channels dubbed the clear abit of censorship. from a is one their president outs protest against corruption and low wages turned ugly with hundreds of arrested and dozens injured in clashes with police.

it is not the russian capital you're watching r t with me wearing a joshie the arab league is reportedly leaning towards prolong its monitoring mission in syria amid widespread accusations that its fails to curb violence at least seven people have reportedly been killed in the latest flare ups while opposition protesters turned out in force on friday to demand the release of prisoners held since the start of the unrest are two sarah first reports from damascus. the head of the monitoring team expected to arrive at the arab league head coaches in cairo today tomorrow of course is when the arab league ministers are going to be meeting to present their findings of what's been happening in syria and to discuss what their next move will be now the arab league mission we're here in the country to oversee the implementation of the arab peace plan by.