The chamber's John Pesci and Susan Lavender hope that the quality and lifestyle event will encourage Hongkongers to associate the month of June with Italian culture, in a similar way to how Le French May is known locally.

'Due to the resounding success of Italy 2000, the chamber decided to hold the event annually from then on as its signature event,' said Ms Lavender, vice-president of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macau. 'Through the years, 'Italy: Quality & Lifestyle' has hosted many different events, all with the hallmark of the best that Italy has to offer.'

Mr Pesci, the chamber's special events director and one of the organisers behind 'A Tavola!' (Come to the Table!), said: 'One way we thought of showing the best of Italy is to present its diversity. Italy has such contrasting provinces and this is very much reflected in the cuisine.'

Twelve chefs from Hong Kong's finest Italian eateries will be showcasing food and produce from their native region from today until June 21. For a fixed price of HK$388 - plus 10 per cent service charge - diners can enjoy a complete meal accompanied by a glass of Prosecco and genuine Italian coffee to finish.

'This promotion will give Hongkongers a chance to sample a good selection of these dishes prepared by authentic Italian chefs from the regions where the dishes originate,' Mr Pesci said.

The participating restaurants, with the corresponding regional cuisine are: Gaia (Roma, Lazio), Divino (Venice, Veneto), Goccia (Turin, Piedmont), Va Bene (Milan, Lombardy), Isola (Lecce, Puglia), Grissini (San Remo, Liguria), Joia (Rimini, Emilia Romagna), Domani (Senigalia, Marche), Angelini (Naples, Campania), Mistral (Catania, Sicily) and Nicholini (Assisi, Umbria).

The second part of the food festival is 'Let's Eat Italian', which runs throughout the month, and involves well-known Italian-themed restaurants creating set fixed-price menus featuring favourite Italian dishes.

Italian wines will be showcased in a separate event when Chinese wine experts will help match five Italian wines with each course of a Chinese dinner at Island Tang restaurant on June 25.

'Italy 2009: Quality & Lifestyle' will be launched tonight at the Italian National Day Reception co-organised by the Italian consulate and the chamber at Central Plaza Sky Lobby.

An Italian Jazz Festival will be held in Hong Kong as part of the event for the first time when the Fulvio Albano Trio, from the Jazz Club Torino, will perform at the InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong on June 12 and on RTHK on June 14. The trio will also perform in Macau on June 10 to mark the chamber's name change to include the former enclave.

The musical theme continues when local musicians Andrew Simon and Warren Lee perform The Clarinet at the Opera at the Academy for Performing Arts on Sunday. Some of the best loved Italian operatic arias by Rossini, Verdi, Puccini and Bellini will be performed in an event aimed at newcomers to the classical music scene and long-time devotees.

Italy's leading Baroque orchestra, I Solisti Veneti, performs at the City Hall Concert Hall next Tuesday under the baton of founder Claudio Scimone.

Opera fans are in for a further treat when award-winning singers from Italy join the Opera Hong Kong Chorus for a performance of Verdi's Requiem at the Cultural Centre Concert Hall on June 21.

Italian art and design can be seen in the form of Murano hand-blown Italian glass sculptures by glass-master Simone Cenedese who will be in Hong Kong at the opening of the exhibition on June 19 at the Koru Contemporary Art Gallery in Aberdeen.

The first 'Italy: Quality & Lifestyle' month was held in 2000 to celebrate the new millennium and was the brainchild of Ms Lavender and Italian banker Luigi Grisi following the call by the ministers in Rome. They both canvassed the Italian business community and visited many Italian companies in Hong Kong to seek sponsorships to make the event possible.

'Some thought that it was a pipe dream which could not be realised. Instead, Italy 2000 resulted in a variety of interesting activities, including a showcase of major Italian products and services and a display of a shiny red Ferrari at Pacific Place,' said a spokesman for the chamber, who added that getting the supercar into position was an all-night task. 'Until the last minute, it was not certain whether the Ferrari could actually get into the Garden Court area.'