Sardinia

18 Stories

Catalan Separatist Leader Arrested on Arrival in Italy

Carlos Puigdemont could be extradited to Spain

(Newser) - A former Catalan leader sought by Spain for a failed 2017 secession bid is expected to appear at an extradition hearing Friday after being detained in Sardinia, an Italian island with strong Catalan cultural roots and its own independence movement. Italian police on Thursday night transferred Carles Puigdemont to a...

Sell This 'Dangerous' Cheese and You Could Be Fined $60K

But in Sardinia, casu marzu is a way of life

(Newser) - Spotting maggots in your food is generally a sign that it needs to be tossed, quickly. When it comes to the Sardinian cheese casu marzu, it's a sign that everything is going as planned. At CNN , Agostino Petroni takes a deep dive into what Guinness World Records has called...

Bottle of Sand Just Cost This Guy $1.2K

French tourist wasn't successful in bid to take home 4.4 pounds of the stuff from Sardinia

(Newser) - Since 2017, taking sand home as a souvenir from the beaches of Sardinia has been illegal —but yet another visitor to the Italian island apparently didn't get that memo. Local authorities say a French tourist was busted at Cagliari Elmas Airport on Sept. 1, trying to leave with...

Airline Flies to Italy, Forgets to See if Airport Is Open

After 'sightseeing tour,' Eurowings took 2 passengers back to Germany

(Newser) - A plane carried passengers from Germany to Italy before turning around midair because its intended airport is closed until next month. A spokesperson for German airline Eurowings confirmed the Saturday mix-up, which played out over four hours, per CNN . Flight EW9844 set off from Düsseldorf, intending to make the...

Sardinia to Tourists: Stop Using Google Maps

It's sending travelers to places they really shouldn't be

(Newser) - Sardinia has a message for tourists: Maybe don't blindly follow Google Maps. Authorities in Baunei say that over the past two years there have been 144 emergency calls for cars and hikers requiring rescue in the village, located in the eastern province of Ogliastra on the Italian island in...

Tourists Face Jail Over Odd Crime: Sand Theft

French couple caught taking white sand from beach in Sardinia

(Newser) - A French couple who visited the Italian island of Sardinia swear they just wanted to bring home a reminder of their visit. Now they're facing possible jail time as a result, reports the Local . Their offense? Alleged sand theft. And not just a thimbleful: Authorities confiscated 90 pounds of...

A Newlywed Was Drowning. Then Came the Olympian
A Newlywed Was Drowning.
Then Came the Olympian
in case you missed it
Jul 13, 2019 9:55 AM CDT

A Newlywed Was Drowning. Then Came the Olympian

Italy's Filippo Magnini credited with saving man in Sardinia

(Newser) - "When I became conscious my first thought was about my husband." A few hours later, newlywed Andrea Benedetto "realized that Filippo Magnini was the man who saved my life." Magnini, an Olympic swimmer for Italy and former world champion in the 100m freestyle, was at Sardinia'...

Island Fights Tourists Trying to Steal Tons of Sand

Sardinia will fine you up to $3.4K if you take sand, rocks, or shells from its beaches

(Newser) - Do the crime, pay the fine—and on the island of Sardinia, the fine for collecting sand as a souvenir can be quite steep. The Telegraph reports a 40-year-old British tourist now has to fork over nearly $1,200 after local police say he was found with a plastic bottle...

George Clooney Hit by Car in Italy
George Clooney
Hit by Car in Italy 
Jul 10, 2018 10:05 AM CDT

George Clooney Hit by Car in Italy

Actor is 'fine,' escaped with only minor injuries, after collision on his motorbike

(Newser) - George Clooney is "fine" but recovering after he was hit by a car in Sardinia on Tuesday. Clooney had departed his Costa Corallina hotel on what's variously described as a motorbike or scooter when he was hit by a car around 8:15am local time. Per CNN , Clooney—...

Sardinians Feud Over DNA 'Secret to Longevity'

Prosecutors seize 14K samples

(Newser) - Does the secret of longevity lie in the DNA of elderly Sardinians? Researchers think it might, which has led to confusion and feuding over a "biobank" that includes around 14,000 DNA samples from residents of an eastern region of the Italian island, where people lead exceptionally long lives,...

Why a Biotech Company Bought Sardinians' DNA

About one in every 2,000 people in Ogliastra lives to be 100

(Newser) - About one in every 2,000 people in Ogliastra, a province in eastern Sardinia, lives to be 100, the Financial Times reports. According to Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News , that's five times the normal rate in the developed world and nearly 50 times greater than the rate in the...

The Lost City of Atlantis May Be Hiding in Plain Sight

Sergio Frau suspects Plato was writing about a tidal wave on Sardinia

(Newser) - Some say the lost city of Atlantis lies not at the bottom of the ocean but in plain sight off the coast of Italy on the island of Sardinia. Herodotus and Aristotle were two who thought Plato's description of a land beyond the strait between Sicily and Tunisia, which...

'Apocalyptic' Storm Ravages Sardinia

17 confirmed dead amid widespread flooding

(Newser) - The Mediterranean island of Sardinia, prized by the jet-set for its white sand beaches and crystal-clear seas, was a flood-ravaged mudbath today after a freak torrential rainstorm killed at least 17 people, downed bridges, and swept away cars. Italian Premier Enrico Letta declared a state of emergency and set aside...

Sleeping Gas Bandits Robbing Italy's Rich

Burglary victims waking up dizzy, poorer

(Newser) - In the billionaires’ retreat of Porto Cervo on Sardinia, burglars are causing sleepless nights for some rich families—and soporific ones for others. Police say thieves who are apparently pumping sleeping gas into homes before breaking in robbed at least two homes on the island last week, making off with...

Thieves Steal $16M From Saudi Princess in Italy

(Newser) - Thieves made off with $16 million in cash and jewels from the safe of a Saudi princess in Sardinia, the BBC reports. Investigators believe the burglars used a master key to gain access to her room in a chic resort and rip the safe from the wall. The theft sparked...

Italy Seeks to Move G8 to Quake-Hit Town

Berlusconi wants world leaders to meet in L'Aquila in July

(Newser) - Silvio Berlusconi pledged today to move this summer's G8 summit to L'Aquila, where an earthquake killed 296 people and destroyed the homes of 65,000, Reuters reports. The meeting is set to take place on a small island off Sardinia, but the Italian PM said he would rather see the...

Divorced Berlusconi Challenges Communion Ban

He confronts startled bishop at mass

(Newser) - Beleaguered Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi caused a scene in a church over the weekend, loudly demanding from a startled bishop in the middle of mass: "When are you going to change this rule that stops me taking communion?" Berlusconi, like other divorced Catholics who remarry, is banned from...

10 Most Expensive Hotel Suites
10 Most Expensive Hotel Suites
Aug 29, 2007 11:37 AM CDT

10 Most Expensive Hotel Suites

Where you can shell out $53K a night (breakfast not included)

(Newser) - When New York's Four Seasons opened a new penthouse suite costing a cool $30,000 a night, they boasted that it was the world's most expensive hotel room. Think again. The Times of London lists the world's most astronomically priced hotel rooms.
  1. Royal Penthouse Suite, Hotel President Wilson, Geneva ($53,
...

18 Stories