Italy's news in English

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Italy's Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan. Photo: Gabriel Buoys/AFP

Italy in favour of a European Monetary Fund

Italy is in favour of tighter European integration and the creation of a European Monetary Fund, its finance minister said on Tuesday. READ

Refugees camped outside Rome's Tiburtina station in June. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

Rome 'too crowded' for more migrants: mayor

Rome receives the second-largest number of refugees among Italian cities, but Mayor Ignazio Marino has warned that the Italian capital is reaching saturation point. READ

One of the temples that make up the Unesco site. Photo: Poudou 99

Blaze damages ancient Italian Unesco site

A fire broke out on Monday at the Pietro Griffo archaeological museum in the Valley of the Temples, near Agrigento in Sicily. READ

Lecce is cracking down on rogue cyclists. Photo: Armando G.Alonzo/Flickr

Rogue cyclists send Lecce around the bend

Italy is not renowned for its lawful drivers, but what about its cyclists? One bike rider has learnt the hard way after his rule-bending left him with a whopping €482 fine. READ

The men were attacked on a bus in Genoa. Photo: Rinaldo Mazzoni/Flickr

Men savagely attacked on bus for 'being gay'

An attempted murder investigation has opened after two men were attacked by a woman and her friends on a bus in Genoa for supposedly 'being gay' – leaving one of them in a life-threatening condition. READ

Glaciers high up in the Italian Alps are melting faster due to the heatwave. Photo: Twiga269

Italy’s heatwave is melting glaciers faster

Glaciers in the Italian Alps are melting faster due to the country’s lingering heatwave, experts have warned. READ

Matera, the European Capital of Culture for 2019. Photo: Maryn Ve

Why Italy's south is far better than the north

Following a report last week warning that southern Italy risked "permanent under-development”, we came up with ways in which the long-suffering south is far better than the north. READ

Italy's south is worse off than Greece »

A coffin is removed from a patrol vessel in Palermo. Photo: Marcello Paternostro /AFP

Over 550 migrants saved off Italy, five found dead

More than 550 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean arrived in Sicily on Monday aboard a ship operated by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which also carried the bodies of five people who died at sea. READ

Italian-based investment company Exor, controlled by the Agnelli family, has struck a $6.9 billion deal to buy PartnerRe. Photo: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP

Exor strikes $6.9bn deal to buy PartnerRe

Italian-based investment company Exor, controlled by the Agnelli family, said on Monday it had struck a $6.9 billion (€6.3 billion) deal to buy reinsurer PartnerRe. READ

Michael Day (L), the author of "Being Berlusconi: The Rise and Fall from Cosa Nostra to Bunga Bunga”. Photos: The Local Italy (L) and Andreas Solaro/AFP (R).

How Silvio Berlusconi fascinated and appalled

Love him or loathe him, there’s no question that Silvio Berlusconi has left an indelible mark in Italy. We spoke to Michael Day, the author of a witty new book about his life to find out more about the ambitious businessman from Milan who went on to lead Italy three times. READ

Features

Diego Angemi and Francesco Ceccarini. Photo: private

Italian couple tie the knot at Swedish Pride festival

UPDATED: Two Italian expats in Sweden got married in front of hundreds of thousands of people at the Stockholm Pride Parade on Saturday afternoon – to send a message about gay rights to their home country. READ

Of the almost 6,000 minors who landed on Italy’s shores during the first six months of this year, more than 3,830 arrived alone. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

What happens to Italy’s missing migrant kids?

Almost 5,000 refugee children have disappeared after arriving on Italy’s shores since last summer, with many passing through the small Sicilian port town of Pozzallo. The Local spoke to one woman there, who has witnessed both their fear and determination to survive. READ

The Local List

Athlete Gianmarco Tamberi and his half-beard. Photo: Screengrab/YouTube

Six dodgy fashion trends to emerge from Italy

The Italians are generally known as a pretty stylish bunch, but someone should tell that to Gianmarco Tamberi, the high-jumper who is currently sporting a half-beard. READ

The ill-fated hotel is much loved by local pigeons. Photo: agrigentonotizie.it

Ghost hotel 'celebrates' 61 years without guests

Work began on Italy's Grande Hotel San Calogero more than 60 years ago, but in spite of being renovated and inaugurated twice, the hotel has never entertained a single guest. READ

A tourist in an Italian fountain. Photo: Giuseppe Cacace / AFP

Tourists in hot water for Rome fountain dips

As temperatures in Italy soar thanks to the latest heatwave dubbed "“Caronte”", tourists have started leaping into the country's historic fountains to keep cool. But little do they know it's against the law. READ

More News

A tree in Florence felled by strong winds during the storm. Photo: Claudio Giovanni/AFP

Florence mulls refugees for storm clean-up

Tuscany's leaders are considering making refugees help clean up Florence after the Tuscan jewel was the battered by a violent storm on Saturday evening. READ

An identikit image of Matteo Messina Denaro, designed by the police in 2006. Photo: Polizia di Stato/Wikicommons

Italy cracks sheep code in mafia sweep

UPDATED: Italian police on Monday arrested 11 suspects linked to the fugitive head of the Sicilian mafia, including a former boss who ran a secret message system for the mobster using a sheep-based code. READ

Video

Over 1,000 musicians performing there performing the group’s “Learn to Fly” in a park in Cesena. Screengrab/YouTube

Foo Fighters pledge Italy visit after viral video

Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters has promised to bring the American band to a central Italian town after a video put together by Italian musicians performing the group’s “Learn to Fly” went viral. READ

Luigi Di Maio, 29, is the youngest deputy president of the lower house of parliament in Italian history. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP

Italy's anti-establishment party 'ready to govern'

Italy's anti-establishment Five Star party, founded in 2009 by former comedian Beppe Grillo, is itching to govern and has a man primed for the top job. READ

Rome last held the summer Games in 1960. Photo: Valery Hache/AFP

Rome rules out using Vatican for Olympic bid

Rome will not use the Vatican for events in its 2024 Olympic bid, a top Italian sports official said on Sunday, as Toronto gave stronger hints that it will join the campaign. READ

Ancient Roman amphorae, once used to transport wine. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

Thank the ancient Romans for 'street food'

Grabbing something hot and tasty on the move? You have the ancient Romans to thank. "Street food" was their invention, generally enjoyed with wine, gambling or even prostitutes. READ

Snoop Dogg. Photo: Theo Wargo / Getty Images North America / AFP

Rapper Snoop Dogg held by Italian customs

Rap star Snoop Dogg has been stopped by police in Italy while carrying $422,000 (€384,000) in cash, authorities say. READ

Simone Ruffini proposing to his girlfriend on the podium. Photo: Roman Kruchinin / AFP

Italy's Ruffini wins gold and girlfriend's hand

Italy's Simone Ruffini won the world championship men's marathon 25km open water gold medal on Saturday and celebrated by proposing to his girlfriend on the podium. READ

Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi defended his labour reform programme on Friday. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

Renzi defends reforms as jobless rate rises

Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi defended his labour reform programme on Friday, playing down gloomy unemployment data and insisting the debt-laden country was on the right path to growth. READ

The 'blond' bear was caught on camera by a farmer in Lombardy. Photo: Screengrab/YouTube.

VIDEO: 'Blond' bear finds internet fame in Italy

A blond-haired bear has become something of a sensation in Italy after being caught on video by a farmer in Lombardy. READ

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From our other editions:

Mary Vetsera. Photo: ÖNB

Mary Vetsera's suicide letters found

Suicide letters believed to have been written by the mistress of Austria’s Crown Prince Rudolf, 17-year-old Mary Vetsera, before her untimely death have been found in an archive of the private Schoeller bank. READ

The Thai Airways flight continued to Bangkok. Photo: Faisal Akram

Drunk Swiss man tied up on flight to Bangkok

Passengers on a flight from Zurich to Bangkok were forced to tie up a drunk Swiss man who caused a fracas during the journey. READ

The Local List

Photo: DPA

Six odd ways Germans talk about the weather

Is it absolutely roasting, or raining cats and dogs? Neither if you live in Germany. Here are six wonderfully weird expressions Germans use to talk about the weather - some more literal than others. READ

The Faroese 'whale grind'. Photo: Sea Shepherd

Anti-whaling activists 'hypocrites': Danish MP

With Danish MPs being spammed by thousands of emails from anti-whaling protesters, one angry MP has said animals in other countries have far worse lives than the whales hunted off the Faroe Islands. READ

A couple stand on a beach in Spain during a storm. Archive photo: Josep Lago / AFP

Finally! Spain's heatwave to end with fierce storms

One of the hottest July's on record will come to a close amid stormy weather and a drop in temperature of up to six degrees, Spain's weather agency has announced. READ

Here is the full list of the new proposed capitals. Photo: Philippe Huguen/AFP

France names capital cities for new regions

French officials have revealed their suggestions for the capital cities of the country's newest regions. But not everyone is happy about the choices. READ

A Viking longship burning at the end of Edinburgh's Torchlight Procession. Photo: viking2

Norway starts school for Vikings

A Norwegian further education college is starting a programme for want-to-be Vikings where students will learn essential Viking crafts, such as sword forging, jewellery making, and roof thatching. READ