Stories related to: Italy

Fed up with government efforts to resuscitate Alitalia, many Italians think Rome needs to face reality and let the airline die, Bloomberg reports. PM Silvio Berluconi characterizes Alitalia’s survival as “a matter of national security,” but it hasn't turned a profit in nearly a decade. The latest plan for Alitalia is a restructuring scheme by Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s second-largest bank. More »

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has a “final solution" to Naples' trash problem—and it includes psychologists, Der Spiegel reports. Naples, whose overflowing landfills have led to intermittently trash-choked streets for years, will soon be invaded by an army of volunteers, including a group of psychologists trained in counseling disaster survivors. Berlusconi has also pledged to clean up the garbage. More »

Italy has begun taking fingerprints from members of its Gypsy minority, in what the government calls a “census” of the people living in nomad encampments. The plans to document adults and children lacking an EU passport has brought condemnations from critics, who charge that “census” is the Berlusconi government’s euphemism for a racist practice, the BBC reports. More »

President Bush visited Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican yesterday, sparking rumors that the president may convert to Catholicism, the Telegraph reports. They spoke in a garden where the pontiff prays daily, not in the library where Benedict greets most world leaders. “What an honor!” said Bush, who has been called the most “Catholic-minded” president since JFK. More »

A deer with a single horn in the center of its head has been spotted in an Italian nature preserve, triggering speculation that such anomalies may have helped give rise to unicorn myths, the AP reports. Experts say the year-old deer, born in captivity and nicknamed “Unicorn,” likely has a genetic flaw or experienced trauma early in its life.     More »

When Ruud van Nistelrooy scored the Netherlands' first goal in yesterday's Euro 2008 match, Dutch and Italian fans alike waited for the offsides call. It didn't come, leaving the Italians incensed, the Dutch warily pleased, and the officials defiant. UEFA confirmed today that van Nistelrooy wasn't offsides thanks to a little-known rule, AP reports. More »

The boss of a garbage disposal firm with Mafia links who had turned informant was gunned down in a bar near Naples yesterday, the Guardian reports. The murdered man had been helping police target gangs that control waste disposal in the city, currently gripped by a garbage crisis. He had been due to testify this week against an accused gangster who's a member of Italy's ruling party. More »

He may have served as the spiritual leader for millions of Catholics for more than 26 years, but the soul of Pope John II is under intense scrutiny in Rome. The Washington Post takes a look at the office charged with determining whether the beloved pontiff is eligible for sainthood—as it sorts through stacks of documents attesting to or refuting his suitability for beatification (prerequisite: one miracle) and finally canonization (prerequisite: one more miracle). More »

Italian engineers have stabilized the leaning Tower of Pisa, safeguarding it from toppling over for at least another 300 years, the Times of London reports. The famously off-kilter tower began tilting shortly after construction started in 1173, and was in danger of falling. Engineers didn't try to straighten it completely, as Benito Mussolini once dictated, but succeeded in getting it back to its 19th century angle. More »

An elderly American tourist drugged by a thief was killed by a train as he wandered along the tracks in a daze, the Los Angeles Times reports. The 76-year-old traveler and his wife were befriended by a man who gave them drug-laced cappuccinos in a Rome train station and then robbed them as they slept. A 54-year-old suspect has been arrested. More »

The prolonged garbage impasse in Naples has taken a new turn as angry residents began setting fire to thousands of tons of waste littering city streets. Firefighters were at work all night battling at least 90 burns across the city, AFP reports. “Every six to seven minutes, one of our emergency vehicles sets off with its sirens screaming,” said a local commander; new Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi is set to unveil new measures to deal with the crisis Wednesday. More »

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi can be called to testify in the upcoming trial of US and Italian spies, an Italian judge ruled today. A CIA-led group is accused of kidnapping a suspected terrorist off the streets of Milan and torturing him for four years under the US' "extraordinary rendition" approach. Berlusconi isn’t accused of anything; instead, he’d testify regarding secret government matters. More »

A Venice man could be facing time behind bars after being caught sneakily snapping photos of women's bottoms—3,000 of them, the BBC reports. Cops busted the suspect after noticing him carrying a bulky bag and following women in short skirts, waiting for them to bend over. The rear-guard police action also netted the stalker's camera and DVDs with his collection. More »

Move over, Lourdes. Padre Pio’s shrine in southern Italy is now the world’s second-largest religious tourist destination, reports the ANSA news agency. About 9 million tourists will visit the saint’s body, a million more than the French site and second only to the Vatican. More »

Only a few days into his mandate, Rome's new right-wing mayor has sworn to dismantle a state-of-the-art museum designed by American architect Richard Meier, reports the Times of London. Gianni Alemanno called the Ara Pacis museum, built 2 years ago to house a peace altar from the Augustan period, "invasive" and "a disfigurement in the heart of Rome," prompting protests from the city's cultural elite and the architect himself. More »

Like many 10-year-olds, the euro has had its ups and downs, but its current ascendancy is worrying, and not just to fans of the weakening dollar; some European states are chafing at the strength of their common currency, the New York Times reports. The German economic engine is causing high prices and ballooning debt in countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. More »

The outgoing Italian government posted all citizens’ earnings and tax information, briefly, on the Internet yesterday, sparking outrage over lost privacy, the BBC reports. The site was quickly clogged by Italians checking up on neighbors’ and celebrities’ financial status. The information went offline after about 24 hours in response to a complaint from the country’s privacy overseers. More »

After decades of center-left rule, the city of Rome elected a rightwinger with a past in a neo-Fascist group as mayor yesterday. Gianni Alemanno, whose party calls itself "post-Fascist," won a runoff election for control of the Italian capital, handily beating the country's outgoing deputy prime minister. Alemanno has promised to expel 20,000 "gyspies and immigrants" from Rome, writes the Times of London. More »

Beloved saint Padre Pio, exhumed in March after 40 years, is now on display in southern Italy, where 700,000 faithful have signed up to view his remains, BBC reports. The archbishop who ran the exhumation marveled at the body: “The knees, hands, mittens, and nails are clearly visible.” More »

Air France-KLM has withdrawn its offer to buy Alitalia, leaving the cash-poor Italian carrier with few options. In a tersely worded statement, the world's largest airline said its Alitalia overture—which had been opposed by Alitalia's unions—was "no longer valid." With no suitors forthcoming and cash reserves dwindling—the airline loses $1.6 million a day—Alitalia may be forced to declare bankruptcy, writes the Wall Street Journal . More »