Italy

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Italy's 'Week of Hell' Reaches Its Apex

Some 23 cities are on red alert due to the heat

(Newser) - Europe is baking yet again on Wednesday, with the BBC putting a spotlight on Italy and its "settimana infernale," as the media are calling it: The "week of hell." In that country, 23 cities—"from Trieste in the northeast to Messina in the southwest"—...

After Groping Ruling, Italians Share Unsettling Videos

Judges acquitted man because groping of teen only lasted around 10 seconds

(Newser) - "Palpata breve," meaning "a brief groping," and the #10secondi hashtag are trending on social media in Italy after the acquittal of a school janitor accused of groping a 17-year-old girl. The teen, a student at a Rome high school, said the man put his hand inside...

Tourist Says Sorry for Marring Colosseum
Colosseum Vandal
Has an Odd Excuse
Jul 6, 2023 9:13 AM CDT

Colosseum Vandal Has an Odd Excuse

Ivan Dimitrov, 31, of Bristol, England, claims he didn't realize how old the Rome landmark was

(Newser) - A tourist from the UK who was tracked down after etching the names of himself and his girlfriend into Rome's famous Colosseum has been fully identified and is now offering his apologies. "I admit with deepest embarrassment that it was only after what regrettably happened that I learned...

Teacher Fired for Skipping Work for 20 Years

'Sorry, but right now I'm at the beach,' Italian teacher tells reporters

(Newser) - If skipping work was an Olympic sport, Cinzia Paolina De Lio could have brought home a lot of gold medals for Italy. She was hired to teach literature and philosophy at a high school near Venice, but education authorities say she was absent for 20 of the 24 years she...

No, That&#39;s Not an Ancient Pizza
No, That's Not an Ancient Pizza
Jun 28, 2023 12:08 PM CDT

No, That's Not an Ancient Pizza

2K-year-old Pompeii fresco looks like pizza, but the ingredients weren't around at the time

(Newser) - A still-life fresco discovered recently in Pompeii looks like it depicts a pizza, but it doesn't, experts at the archaeological site said Tuesday. They noted that key ingredients needed to make Italy's iconic dish—tomatoes and mozzarella—were not available when the fresco was painted some 2,000...

Vatican: Let's Look at New Leads Over Missing Teen

40 years after 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi vanished, new hope for solving her cold case

(Newser) - Exactly 40 years after the teenage daughter of a Vatican employee disappeared, the Vatican said Thursday that new leads "worthy of further investigation" had surfaced hopes of finally getting to the bottom of one of the Holy See's enduring mysteries. Emanuela Orlandi vanished June 22, 1983, after leaving...

Silvio Berlusconi Is Dead at 86
Silvio Berlusconi
Is Dead at 86
OBITUARY
Jun 12, 2023 6:05 AM CDT

Silvio Berlusconi Is Dead at 86

Billionaire was Italy's longest-serving prime minister, despite a slew of scandals

(Newser) - Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died Monday, according to his television network. He was 86. Mediaset announced his death with a smiling photo of the former PM on its homepage and the...

Boat Disaster Kills 4, Including Intel Agents, Captain's Wife

Vessel with more than 20 tourists capsizes in severe weather near Italy-Switzerland border

(Newser) - A boat ride on a lake that crosses the Italy-Switzerland border turned tragic Sunday when a severe storm hit, sending 20-plus passengers overboard, killing four, including the boat captain's wife, Anya Bozhkova. The BBC reports that two of the victims were in Italian intelligence—62-year-old Claudio Alonzi and Tiziana...

Mystery Solved on Why Venice Canal Turned Bright Green

Authorities know nontoxic chemical fluorescein is the cause; they just don't know who put it in water

(Newser) - Venice environmental authorities have now pinned down the "what" behind the city's suddenly fluorescent green Grand Canal—they just don't have the "who" yet. Per the Guardian , an analysis of samples showed that the color shift was caused by the presence of fluorescein in the water,...

Zelensky Lobbies Pope, Italy&#39;s Leaders
In Rome, Zelensky
Pressures Pope
May 13, 2023 5:15 PM CDT

In Rome, Zelensky Pressures Pope

President asks Francis for a direct condemnation of Russian invasion

(Newser) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went to Rome on Saturday to make a direct appeal to the pope to support his government's approach to achieving peace—after finding Francis' proposals unsettling. While there, Zelensky also met with Italy's president and prime minister, who offered enthusiastic backing. "We bet...

Pope Francis: I Told Off Woman With Dog

Pontiff warns against pets replacing kids amid Italy's demographic crisis

(Newser) - In numerous countries in the EU, birth rates are declining, including in Italy, which could lose nearly 20% of its residents by 2050. Those stats are apparently putting Pope Francis on edge, enough to spur him to warn Italian citizens not to let their anxieties about the future keep them...

Historian Claims to Have Solved a Mona Lisa Mystery

Bridge above subject's shoulder still stands in Tuscany, says Silvano Vinceti

(Newser) - Few eyes gazing upon Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa likely notice the tiny bridge painted just above the subject's left shoulder, on the right side of the painting. But that piece of architecture stood out to Italian historian Silvano Vinceti, who believes he's identified it as a...

Ousted Florida Principal Sees David in Person
Ousted Principal Sees David
Apr 30, 2023 3:00 PM CDT

Ousted Principal Sees David

Florida educator goes to Florence to view Michelangelo's masterpiece in person

(Newser) - When Hope Carrasquilla and her family arrived in Florence on Friday, they went straight to the Accademia Gallery. The Floridians had traveled to Italy to see the museum's main attraction: Michelangelo's David, who was sculpted without clothes—an artistic decision that, more than 500 years later, cost Carrasquilla...

US-Born Princess Kicked Out of Roman Villa

Texas-born Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi said it was a 'brutal ending' to her time at Villa Aurora

(Newser) - On Thursday, Texas-born "princess" Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi was evicted from Rome's 16th-century Villa Aurora, the climax of a long-running conflict between her and her stepchildren that began after the 2018 death of her husband, Prince Nicolo Boncompagni Ludovisi. The prince's adult children from his first marriage have...

Bear That Killed Italian Runner Sees Its Execution Stayed

Bear JJ4 mauled a jogger to death in a nature reserve

(Newser) - After 26-year-old runner Andrea Papi was mauled by a bear named JJ4 in a Trentino, Italy, nature preserve, Papi's mother released a letter through her attorney, reports Italian publication Today . "As a mother," Franca Ghirardini wrote, "I can't accept such a horrible death." But,...

Italy's PM Backs $109K Fines for Using English

Proposed law backed by Brothers of Italy party aims to fight 'Anglomania'

(Newser) - "Saying 'bru-shetta' instead of 'bru-sketta' could be a punishable offense" in Italy, where Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has thrown her support behind legislation that would forbid use of a language other than Italian in public administration offices and schools, as well as establish a committee to rule...

Wild Twist in the Surrogate Baby Case That's Roiling Spain

68-year-old Spanish actress now says surrogate baby is her granddaughter

(Newser) - A heated debate in Spain triggered by a 68-year-old celebrity who was reported to have used a surrogate mother in Miami to have a baby took a twist Wednesday when the woman announced that the baby is actually the daughter of her son who died of cancer in 2020. Actress...

Italian Driver, 80, Had Trick to Dodge Tolls

Authorities say he traveled for free for 2 years by squeezing through behind other drivers

(Newser) - Highway authorities in Italy are not amused by the antics of an 80-year-old retirement home resident who loves traveling as much as he hates paying tolls. Mario—nicknamed "nonno Mario," meaning "grandfather Mario"—is accused of dodging more than $4,300 in highway tolls by tailgating...

Watchdog in Italy Blocks GPT
Watchdog in Italy
Blocks GPT
Mar 31, 2023 4:45 PM CDT

Watchdog in Italy Blocks GPT

Nation to investigate OpenAI over data protection, privacy concerns

(Newser) - Italy has become the first western country to ban ChatGPT, at least temporarily, per the BBC and the AP . The country's data-protection authority said Friday that it would immediately block OpenAI's chatbot and investigate it for compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation, a piece of European Union...

Mafia Boss Escapes Prison on Rope Made From Sheets

Italian prison officials say Marco Raduano took advantage of staff shortages

(Newser) - A reputed Mafia boss escaped from an Italian prison Friday, and it's no mystery how. A surveillance video captured 40-year-old Marco Raduano climbing down a makeshift rope made from knotted bedsheets before jumping to the ground outside the maximum security prison Badu 'e Carros in Sardinia. In the...

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