Italy

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Italy Tests Its Controversial Olympic Sliding Track

Athletes from 12 countries will give the track a go through Saturday

(Newser) - As construction continues on a rebuilt sliding track for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, Italian skeleton competitor Mattia Gaspari on Tuesday became the first athlete to give it a go—albeit under a temporary roof fashioned from wood and white plastic. The track's very existence has been a contentious...

In Vesuvius, a Human Brain Turned Into Stunning Glass

Vesuvius victim's brain liquified at up to 1,100 degrees, then quickly cooled: study

(Newser) - They are tiny pieces of black glass. They are also, technically, fossilized brains. The pea-sized pieces of shiny glass, actually quite beautiful close up, were discovered around 2018 inside the skull of a man who died when Italy's Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79AD, destroying Roman cities including Herculaneum and...

AA Flight Requests Diversion While Over the Caspian Sea

It was flying to India, which has seen a record number of hoax bomb threats

(Newser) - An American Airlines flight carrying 199 passengers and 15 crew members made an unexpected landing in Rome on Sunday due to a bomb threat. The airline said Flight AA292, which had departed New York's JFK Airport for New Delhi, touched down in the Italian capital around 5:30pm local...

Officials: Tourists Make Things 'Extremely Dangerous' at Etna

As visitors flock to see eruption, it's creating a 'wild scene,' and a perilous one, authorities say

(Newser) - Gone are the days of running away from an erupting volcano. In Italy, tourists are flocking to Mount Etna, which began spewing ash and lava on Feb. 11. This has created an "extremely dangerous" situation in the city of Catania, at the base of the volcano, says Sicily's...

Biggest Sting Against Casa Nostra Since '80s Nabs 150-Plus
Sicilian Mob Suffers
a 'Historic Blow'
in case you missed it
Feb 16, 2025 3:30 PM CST

Sicilian Mob Suffers a 'Historic Blow'

Dawn raids, arrests of 150-plus in Palermo followed a 2-year investigation into La Casa Nostra

(Newser) - The Mafia "continues to maintain its grip" in Sicily, according to local police, but that grip just loosened somewhat after dawn raids this week led to scores of arrests. The numbers are still settling, but various outlets report that between 150 and 180 individuals were detained and weapons were...

She Said Her Virgin Mary Wept Blood. Not So Fast

DNA tests suggest blood was actually from Italy's Gisella Cardia, not some sort of supernatural event

(Newser) - About a decade ago, Gisella Cardia purchased a statue of the Virgin Mary at Bosnia and Herzegovina's Medjugorje, where thousands of religious pilgrims flock annually. The Sicilian native created her own pilgrimage site in the town of Trevignano Romano, on the outskirts of Rome, using the statue as the...

American Importers Stock Up on Prosecco

They're apparently worried tariffs could affect the popular Italian wine

(Newser) - American importers have been stockpiling Italian bubbly Prosecco as a hedge against the possible impact of tariffs, the AP reports.
  • US imports of Italian sparkling wine—90% of that Prosecco—surged by 41% in November, after President Trump's election, far exceeding consumer demand as importers filled the pipeline for
...

Trump Jr. in Trouble Over Italian Duck Hunt

Italian lawmaker says president's son killed a rare bird and violated law

(Newser) - Donald Trump Jr.'s love of hunting is well documented, including by the president's son himself—and that habit has gotten him into some hot water in Italy over the demise of a rare duck. As AFP reports, Trump Jr. posted video to his Field Ethos side hustle...

Italy Investigating Its Own PM Over Libyan's Release

'I cannot be blackmailed,' said a defiant Giorgia Meloni

(Newser) - Italy's prime minister took to social media on Tuesday to announce that she is being investigated but sounded a defiant note: "I cannot be blackmailed," Giorgia Meloni said. "I will not let myself be intimidated." Italian prosecutors are looking into the alleged role Meloni played...

Italy's Top Court Upholds Knox's Slander Conviction

Her lawyer calls ruling 'totally injust'

(Newser) - Italy's highest court on Thursday confirmed a slander conviction against Amanda Knox for accusing an innocent man of murdering her British flatmate 17 years ago. Knox, seeking to fully clear her name of wrongdoing, had appealed the conviction based on a European Court of Human Rights ruling that said...

Italy Frees Iranian US Sought in Drone Attack

Iran had freed an Italian journalist this week

(Newser) - Italy on Sunday released an Iranian citizen wanted by the US over a drone attack in Jordan that killed three Americans a year ago, after the Italian justice minister asked a court to revoke his arrest. Mohammad Abedini has already returned to Iran, Iranian state TV said on Sunday afternoon,...

Italy: Journalist Reporting in Iran Has Been Arrested
Iran Frees Detained
Italian Journalist
UPDATED
Jan 8, 2025 9:21 AM CST

Iran Frees Detained Italian Journalist

Cecilia Sala's release is part of an apparent deal that includes Italy releasing Iranian businessman

(Newser) - An Italian journalist detained in Iran last month for murky reasons has been released. The AP reports that 29-year-old Cecilia Sala was freed Wednesday and has already left the country on a flight out of Tehran, after "intensive work on diplomatic and intelligence channels," per the office of...

Mayor Warns Locals: Don't Even Think About Getting Sick Here

Italian village of Belcastro announces joke ban on illness and injury to highlight health care issues

(Newser) - Feeling under the weather? If you're a resident of the Italian village of Belcastro, you're breaking the law—kind of. Mayor Antonio Torchia has announced that locals are "ordered to avoid contracting any illness that may require emergency medical assistance," as well as to avoid any...

US, Italy, Iran Are in a Diplomatic Tangle

Tehran holds Italian journalist, while Iranian engineer was arrested in Milan on US warrant

(Newser) - Iran warned Italy on Friday that it risks harming bilateral relations if it bows to the "political and hostile goals" of the US by detaining an Iranian engineer on an American warrant in connection with a drone attack in Jordan last year that killed three American troops. Tehran issued...

Rescuers in Italy Scramble to Free Trapped Cave Explorer

Expert spelunker Ottavia Piana has been trapped since Saturday night after fall in Bueno Fonteno cave

(Newser) - A major rescue operation was underway Monday northeast of the Italian city of Bergamo to free a woman considered an expert spelunker who was blocked in while exploring a cave with eight others. Ottavia Piana is trapped deep inside the Bueno Fonteno cave, reports the AP , where the temperatures were...

Catholic Nun Accused of Working With Mafia

She allegedly passed messages to jailed mafia members in Italian prisons

(Newser) - A Catholic nun in Italy was giving inmates messages from the Mob instead of spiritual guidance, prosecutors say. Sister Anna Donelli was among 25 people arrested in raids Thursday targeting members and associates of the 'Ndrangheta mafia gang, CNN reports. The 57-year-old, who volunteered at Milan's San Vittore...

Sicilian Businessman Sent a Severed Horse's Head
Someone Just Pulled a Bloody
Godfather Stunt in Sicily
in case you missed it
Nov 24, 2024 3:50 PM CST

Someone Just Pulled a Bloody Godfather Stunt in Sicily

Severed horse's head found on businessman's property near Palermo, an apparent Mafia warning

(Newser) - It's one of the most famous scenes in moviemaking history, and it just played out in real life on the Italian island of Sicily. The Guardian reports that a severed horse's head was found on the property of a local contractor, located in Altofonte near Palermo, placed on...

She's Not an Art Historian. She's a 'Fruit Detective'

Smithsonian details the unusual niche of Isabella Dalla Ragione of Italy

(Newser) - Isabella Dalla Ragione spends a lot of time poring over Renaissance paintings and centuries-old frescoes. But as the Smithsonian explains, the 67-year-old isn't an art historian, exactly. Instead, she might be the world's most renowned "fruit detective." Dalla Ragione is an Italian agronomist who discovered that...

Italian Village Is Offering Homes for a Buck

Ollolai, on the island of Sardinia, is looking at you, disgruntled Americans

(Newser) - For the 48.3% of Americans who might be feeling sore about the 2024 election results, the offers from abroad continue to roll in : As CNN reports, the tiny Italian village of Ollolai says that if you've got about a buck, you can buy a house. Located on the...

After Theft, Roaring Lion Is Back Home

Portrait of Winston Churchill by Yousuf Karsh that was stolen a few years ago is now back in Ottawa

(Newser) - A stolen portrait of Winston Churchill that was swapped with a forgery during the pandemic has returned to its rightful place, after two Ottawa police detectives traveled to Rome to retrieve it. Police said The Roaring Lion was stolen from the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa, sometime between Christmas...

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