A 71-year-old Italian man completed on Wednesday a 300-kilometer (190-mile) journey down the Danube from Vienna to Budapest -- by gondola.

Vittorio Orio was greeted in front of the Hungarian capital's riverside parliament building by a handful of Italian diplomats and journalists after his five-day trip down one of Europe's main waterways.

French fashion designer Pierre Cardin's billion-euro (dollar) plan to build a giant tower on an industrial site in the Venice lagoon is causing a stir in a city with a proud architectural heritage.

While Venice mayor Giorgio Orsoni has given the project the go-ahead, some residents are up in arms and say the initiative is part of a set of policies that are increasingly turning Venice into a playground for wealthy foreigners.

Architects from around the world have converged on Venice for the Biennale show which opens on Wednesday, showcasing designs aimed at bringing urban designs more in touch with the general public.

The renovation of working class areas, designs for times of economic crisis and the reconstruction of cities following natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis have taken center stage at the world's largest architecture fair.

Global architects like Renzo Piano, Zaha Hadid and Norman Foster are flying into Venice for the Biennale show starting on Wednesday where new designs are in tune with the mood of economic crisis.

The theme of the world's largest architecture festival is "Common Ground" and director David Chipperfield from Britain said it was important that today's architects reflect social concerns and not just go for glory projects.

Hollywood veterans will brush shoulders with up and coming starlets and auteurs in Venice starting on Wednesday for the film festival in which women directors are set to take center stage.

Robert Redford will fly in for the first time to the world's oldest movie festival, where Terrence Malick's "To The Wonder" and Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" will be among the 18 films vying for the Golden Lion prize.

A powerful earthquake shook Italy's industrial and densely populated northeast early Sunday, killing at least six people, felling homes and factories and toppling church steeples.

Emergency services said dozens had been injured in the magnitude 6.0 quake, which struck in the middle of the night, sending thousands of people running into the streets in towns and cities across the Emilia Romagna region.

The intense relationship between Spanish artist Pablo Picasso and Ambroise Vollard, one of the great art dealers of the 20th century, is at the heart of an exhibition on Venice's Grand Canal.

Vollard -- who championed many of the upcoming artists of his day including Cezanne, Van Gogh and Renoir -- is credited with discovering and befriending the young Picasso and commissioning some of his most striking etchings.

More than 260 people were rescued early Saturday from a ferry which ran aground off Italy in a snow storm, while emergency services freed people trapped in cars and trains in freezing temperatures.

The Shardon ferry ran aground shortly after setting off from Civitavecchia port near Rome, causing panic among the 262 passengers who feared a repeat of a cruise ship tragedy in the area last month which killed 32 people.

Thousands of Italian women rallied on Sunday, demanding greater rights and an end to discrimination and blaming the country's "macho culture" for its current crisis.

Their demonstration follows on from mass protests in February when women said "basta" to then-president Silvio Berlusconi, known for his playboy antics and now on trial for paying for sex with a 17-year-old escort.

British director Mike Leigh will chair the jury of next year's 62nd Berlin film festival, one of Europe's top cinema showcases, organizers said Friday.

The 68-year-old veteran film-maker, a master of bittersweet realism in hits such as "Secrets and Lies" and "Happy-Go-Lucky", will lead a panel vetting contenders from around the world for the Golden and Silver Bear top prizes.