Photo: Guiseppe Cacace/AFP

Doggy love works wonders at model Italian prison

With a bark of excitement, Titti, Tato and Carmela scamper down the corridors of the Bollate prison near Milan and are enveloped by prisoners who shower them with treats, pats and hugs. READ

Photo: Vincenzo Livieri/AFP

Topless Femen activist grabs Baby Jesus in St Peter's Square

An activist from the feminist group Femen bared her breasts in St Peter's Square on Christmas Day and rushed the Nativity scene, grabbing the Baby Jesus figurine. READ

14/11 Topless feminists target 'political' Pope »

Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

Pope slams persecution in Christmas address

Pope Francis roundly condemned jihadist violence and the "brutal persecution" of religious minorities this year in a Christmas message to the world's 1.2 billion Catholics and millions of others. READ

25/12 Pope urges 'tenderness' in Christmas homily »

Photo: Donato Fasano/AFP

Italy to nationalize troubled steel plant

Italy's cabinet on Wednesday said the country's loss-making Ilva steel plant, one of the most polluting in Europe, would be nationalized for up to three years. READ

01/12 Troubled steel plant may be nationalized »

Apart from the Swedes, Italians have the highest life expectancy of any European country. Health photo: Shutterstock

Italians upbeat about health in 2014

Italians are feeling upbeat about their health and can expect to live a long life despite their economic worries, according to the latest government statistics released on Tuesday. READ

The Local List

If you're in Italy this December, you may come across some unusual traditions that come from the home of the Catholic Church. Colosseum photo: Shutterstock

Ten traditions that make an Italian Christmas

Did you know that cannons are fired in Rome to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus, or that Italians ski down the slopes bearing flaming torches each Christmas Eve? For details of these and other festive traditions, check out The Local's list. READ

12/12 Naples gets anti-theft Christmas trees »
10/12 How to party with Italians this Christmas »
03/12 Top ten Christmas markets in Italy »

"Those who take photographs during concerts are badly educated," said conductor Daniel Barenboim. Photo: Dieter Nagl/AFP

La Scala conductor outburst at fan's photos

Conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim has become the latest artist to interrupt a concert to tick off the audience for taking photographs, slamming flash-happy fans at Milan's prestigious opera house as "badly educated". READ 3 comments

Pompeii was destroyed by a sudden volcanic eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Pompeii photo: Shutterstock

Pompeii restored with help of artefact thieves

The ruins of Pompeii are being restored with the aid of a most unlikely source – thieves with a conscience who are returning fragments once stolen from the ancient Roman city. READ

Panettone, Italy's traditional Christmas cake, was one of the products seized by police. Panettone photo: Shutterstock

Christmas cake seized by Italy health police

Italian police have seized more than 60 tonnes of seasonal pastries and sweets in a nationwide campaign targeting fraudulent food producers ahead of Christmas. READ

One of the chow chow dogs seized by police. Photo: Corpo Forestale dello Stato

Circus tricked kids with dogs painted as pandas

Two painted chow chow dogs posing as pandas have been seized from a circus in northern Italy, after tricking children into handing over cash, police have said. READ 8 comments

Features

JobTalk Italy

David Geisser has also authored a cookbook filled with popes' favourite recipes. Photo: David Geisser

Life as an elite Vatican Swiss Guard

Despite being better known today for their colourful uniforms than their reputation as fearless warriors, the Swiss Guards have been a powerful symbol of the Vatican for centuries. The Local speaks to David Geisser, one of the latest recruits, about a career protecting popes. READ

Quiz

Italian history: Shutterstock

Test your Italian history with The Local's quiz

Italy is home to some of the world’s most iconic monuments and is the birthplace of a long list of artists, inventors and composers...but how well do you know its history? READ

The Local List

Tourists in Italy: Shutterstock

Top ten: Travel warnings for Italy

Many of us tend to leave our brains at home when heading abroad on holiday, and with that in mind governments issue travel warnings. From volcanoes to thieves distracting tourists with pizza, here are some of the most striking — and bizarre — warnings about Italy. READ

The Local List

German novelist Thomas Mann was struck by the "flattering and suspect beauty" of the city of Venice. Venice photo: Shutterstock

Top ten: Famous quotes about Italy

Italy has been a source of inspiration for many a traveller over the centuries. From Lord Byron to George Clooney, here are ten quotes about the country from some of the peninsula’s most famous visitors. READ

Opinion - Working in Italy

Italy came ninth in a survey ranking the most desirable places in the world to work. Italy worker:Shutterstock

Is Italy a desirable place for foreigners to work?

Italy was ranked the ninth most desirable place in the world to work in a survey this week, but some foreigners who live and work here beg to differ. READ

More News

Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

Pope urges 'tenderness' in Christmas homily

Pope Francis led Christmas Eve mass in the Vatican on Wednesday calling for "tenderness" and "warmth" after a violence-plagued year as millions of Christians began marking the holiday. READ

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was one of a number of politicians the group aimed to target. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

Renzi a target in neo-fascist terrorist plot

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi were to be the targets of deadly terrorism attacks allegedly planned by members of a banned neo-fascist network, police claimed on Monday. READ

The outspoken Pope warned against greed, egoism and people who think they are "immortal". Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

Pope lambasts lust for power within Vatican

Pope Francis lambasted the Vatican's bureaucracy on Monday, saying some within the Church lusted for power and suffered from "spiritual Alzheimer's" in comments likely to outrage his adversaries. READ

Italy's original outline for the budget prompted objections from the European Union. Budget photo: Shutterstock

Italian parliament adopts budget after EU battle

The Italian parliament adopted the government's 2015 budget late on Monday, after the European Union forced Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to redraft the text to rein in the country's deficit. READ

TripAdvisor has 30 days to pay the fine. TripAdvisor photo: Shutterstock

TripAdvisor fined for fake reviews in Italy

Italy's competition watchdog slapped TripAdvisor with a €500,000 fine on Monday for failing to warn users some of the opinions posted on the popular review website may be fakes. READ

Gallery

The Dream of Venice book was published earlier this month. Photo: Charles Christopher Photography

New photo book shows beauty of Venice

To mark the release of a new photography book on Venice, The Local speaks to editor JoAnn Locktov about falling in love with Italy’s canal city. READ

The Italian doctor is being treated at Rome's Spallanzani Institute. Photo: Gabriel Bouys/AFP

Italy's Ebola patient is getting better

An Italian doctor who contracted Ebola in west Africa is recovering but is still in an isolation unit, the specialist clinic in Rome treating him said on Monday. READ

Arabic graffiti on a wall in Iraq reads "Death to Islamic State" (Isis). Photo: Haidar Hamdani/AFP/Getty Images

Mum says toddler taken to Syria by Isis dad

A mother has claimed to have recognized her three-year-old boy in photos distributed on jihadist forums promoting terrorist organization Isis (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria), more than a year after he disappeared from northern Italy. READ

The man was paragliding in Italy's Friuli-Venezia Giulia region when the accident happened. Paraglider photo: Shutterstock

Italian paraglider saved from electricity cables

A paraglider in north-east Italy was saved on Sunday afternoon after his parachute became trapped in high-voltage electricity cables. READ

Migrants arriving in Sicily in July 2014. Photo: Giovanni Isolino/AFP

Migrants find homes in Italian convents

Catholic convents and other institutions in Italy have responded enthusiastically to Pope Francis' appeal to thrown open their doors to aid the wave of refugees landing in the country from Syria, Iraq and African nations. READ 3 comments

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From our other editions:

A neighbour photographed the damage. Photo: Grossenzersdorf council

Egyptian man cuts down 'eyesore' Jesus on cross

An Egyptian man who moved into a house in Grossenzersdorf in Lower Austria told his neighbours the 60-year-old figure of Jesus on a cross outside his home was an 'eyesore' - so he cut it down with an angle grinder. READ

In the streets rather than on the pistes. Photo: www.soaktuell.ch

Swiss head to shops rather than slopes

The lack of snow in many Swiss ski resorts has had a beneficial effect on the shops, with many people shopping rather than skiing on the Sundays leading up to Christmas. READ

Demonstrators protest against PEGIDA. Photo: DPA

Germans hit back at anti-immigrant movement

Business leaders, the political class and average Germans are pushing back against a growing anti-immigrant movement, saying it threatens the values and image the country fought hard to establish since the war. READ

An estimated 500 people took part in Friday's protest action. Photo: Jens Nørgaard Larsen/Scanpix

Eritreans protest against disputed Danish report

Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers march through Copenhagen to denounce the results of Denmark's controversial fact-finding mission to the east African country. READ

The area around the head office of Spain's ruling Popular Party in Madrid was off by police after the attack. Photo: George Mills/The Local

Attack on ruling party HQ targeted 'all politicians'

Updated: The man who rammed a car loaded with gas bottles into the headquarters of Spain's ruling Popular Party in Madrid on Friday morning has said any party could have been the target of the attack as "all politicians are the same". READ

Photo: Shutterstock

French ex-airline boss: Missing MH370 a cover up

A former airline boss is making waves in France after he claimed that the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in March had been covered up, and that the aircraft was likely hijacked by a hacker and possibly shot down by the US. READ

The judges in the Court of Appeal on Thursday. Photo: Torstein Bøe/NTB scanpix

Housemaid jailed for killing boss over will

A Norwegian housemaid who was set to inherit a fortune from her millionaire employer has lost her appeal against her conviction for his murder. READ

Opinion

Homeless people queueing for food in Bucharest. File photo: TT

Romanians go hungry as mega-cathedral rises

The EU should demand that Romania meets its membership obligations and prioritizes its destitute people ahead of 'pharaoh-esque' building projects, the Liberal Party's Jenny Sonesson argues. READ