Italy

Stories 201 - 220 | << Prev   Next >>

Even Seasoned Volcanologists Are Floored by Etna

Spectacular spurts of lava have been lighting up the Sicilian sky each night

(Newser) - Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, has awed even seasoned volcanologists in recent days with spectacular spurts of lava lighting up the Sicilian sky each night. The latest eruption overnight petered out by around 4am EST Tuesday, according to Italy’s National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology. For over...

Attack on UN Convoy Kills Italian Ambassador

Luca Attanasio, who had been ambassador to the country since 2017, was killed in Congo

(Newser) - The Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, an Italian carabinieri police officer, and their Congolese driver were killed Monday in an attack on a UN convoy, per Italy's Foreign Ministry and locals. The ambush occurred as the convoy was traveling from Goma, Congo's eastern regional capital,...

Judges Overturn Music Ban for Jailed Mafia Boss

Law can't take away that 'residual personal freedom,' judges in Italy say

(Newser) - Even Mafia bosses have the right to music, judges in Italy have ruled. Domenic Strisciuglio, who has been in prison since 1999 for crimes including murder, has won a legal fight to be allowed to listen to music in his solitary prison cell, the Guardian reports. Judges in Sardinia ruled...

Quiet Island Has a Mystery on Its Hands

Italy's Capraia, with just 400 residents, has been hit by wave of thefts

(Newser) - It's like "having a thief in the family," says the deputy mayor of the tiny Italian island of Capraia. As the Guardian reports, he's referring to dozens of thefts on the island over the winter, a time when only about 400 residents live there. Unfortunately, the...

Stolen Copy of World&#39;s Most Expensive Painting Is Found
Stolen Copy of World's Most
Expensive Painting Is Found
in case you missed it
Jan 23, 2021 7:00 AM CST

Stolen Copy of World's Most Expensive Painting Is Found

Italian museum didn't realize 'Salvator Mundi' copy was missing

(Newser) - A 500-year-old copy of the world's most expensive painting has been returned to an Italian museum, whose staff didn't even realize it was stolen. During a search of an apartment in Naples, police came upon the copy of Salvator Mundi , a Leonardo da Vinci original depicting Jesus Christ...

Italy Launches Biggest Mob Trial Since 1980s
Massive Mafia Trial Is
'One for the History Books'
THE RUNDOWN
Jan 13, 2021 12:35 PM CST

Massive Mafia Trial Is 'One for the History Books'

More than 300 alleged 'Ndrangheta members are on trial in Calabria, Italy

(Newser) - It's the biggest Mafia trial Italy has seen in decades—with the added challenge of COVID-19 precautions. The "maxi-trial" of hundreds of members of the 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate began Wednesday in a fortified 1,000-capacity courtroom in Calabria, the heart of the group's territory, the Guardian...

Latest Stadium Upgrade Is to the Colosseum

A retractable floor will be added, covering tunnels that fighters used to pop up on cue

(Newser) - A modern ballpark typically serves a US city for 20 to 25 years, a sports economic expert says, per USA Today . Rome's Colosseum, by contrast, was used for four centuries, so it's not surprising that the place needs some work. Italy is now launching a renovation that will...

Cops Bust Dating Scam in 'Operation Casanova'

More than 2 dozen are under arrest in Italy, accused of scamming women online

(Newser) - Their jobs as pilots, sea captains, military or Interpol officials kept them on the go, unable to meet the women they were wooing online in person. That would happen, they told their victims, but first, they needed money for an emergency, such as a child's illness. Police in Italy...

Rome Museum Receives Apology From US Tourist

She confessed to swiping ancient Roman marble 3 years ago

(Newser) - A Canadian woman who returned artifacts swiped from Pompeii after experiencing terrible luck may have started a trend. The National Roman Museum says it recently received a chunk of ancient marble in a package sent from Atlanta, Georgia, along with a note in which a woman apologized for being an...

Pope John Paul II&#39;s Blood Stolen in Broad Daylight
Pope John Paul II's Blood 
Stolen in Broad Daylight
in case you missed it
Nov 21, 2020 12:51 PM CST

Pope John Paul II's Blood Stolen in Broad Daylight

Cops have a suspect, who's been known to lift sacred relics, but vial of blood is still missing

(Newser) - Pope John Paul II died more than 15 years ago, but people still try to get their hands on relics of the Polish pontiff when they can—even his blood. That's what a man from Tuscany is accused of swiping, and Italian authorities are now trying to track down...

Look What Just Turned Up in Pompeii
Look What Just
Turned Up in
Pompeii
Nov 21, 2020 11:20 AM CST

Look What Just Turned Up in Pompeii

'The victims were probably looking for shelter'

(Newser) - Skeletal remains of what are believed to have been a rich man and his male slave attempting to escape death from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago have been discovered in Pompeii, officials at the archaeological park in Italy said Saturday. Parts of the skulls and...

After Friend Falls to His Death, Man Gets COVID Fine

Runners had breached Italian restrictions

(Newser) - An Italian man's run in the Alps with a friend ended in tragedy—and a fine of around $500 for breaching coronavirus restrictions. Simone Massetti, 34, fell around 650 feet to his death during the run on Mt. Palino Saturday, the BBC reports. After Castello Dell'Acqua called for...

Italy Puts 'Economic Engine' Under Lockdown

Premier Giuseppe Conte says, 'United, we can do it'

(Newser) - Four Italian regions are being put under "red-zone" lockdown, with severe limits imposed on the circumstances under which people can leave home, Premier Giuseppe Conte announced on Wednesday night, the AP reports. What he called "very stringent" restrictions begin on Friday for Lombardy, Piedmont, and Valle d'Aosta...

In One Nation, Infected Doctors Are Asked to Keep Working

Overwhelmed Belgium needs asymptomatic medical workers to continue treating people

(Newser) - A sign of how bad things are in Belgium in regard to COVID-19: Doctors and nurses who've tested positive but have no symptoms are being asked to continue working in some overwhelmed hospitals, reports the Washington Post . "The situation is catastrophic," says an ICU doctor in the...

Mob Allegedly Plotted to Kill Mayor, Her Family

Virginia Raggi says she's become a target of organized crime

(Newser) - The mayor of Rome announced Monday that the mob was plotting to kill her and her family, Reuters reports. Virginia Raggi said in a pre-recorded TV interview that she has been fighting powerful organized crime families that operate in the city, and that the Casamonica family targeted her after she...

Discovery of Intact Brain Cells From 79 AD Is &#39;Unprecedented&#39;
Discovery of Intact Brain Cells
From 79 AD Is 'Unprecedented'
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Oct 10, 2020 2:00 PM CDT

Discovery of Intact Brain Cells From 79 AD Is 'Unprecedented'

25-year-old man died when Mount Vesuvius erupted

(Newser) - The skeleton of a man killed when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79 was discovered in the 1960s. But it was only recently that a forensic anthropologist made another startling discovery: "incredibly well-preserved" brain cells in the man's skull. Pier Paolo Petrone was working around the skull in...

In Italy, Masks Are Now Mandatory Outdoors

Offenders face fines of more than $1K

(Newser) - Italy imposed a nationwide outdoor mask mandate Wednesday with fines of up to 1,000 euros ($1,163) for violators, as the European country where COVID-19 first hit hard scrambles to keep rebounding infections from spiraling out of control. The government passed the decree even though Italy’s overall per...

Boy's Suicide Linked to Macabre Online Challenge

But media reports should be viewed with some skepticism

(Newser) - A boy's suicide has been linked to a possible online "horror challenge" enticing children to take their own lives—if, that is, such challenges even exist. ANSA reports that an 11-year-old boy killed himself Wednesday by jumping off a balcony at his family's home in Naples, Italy....

Italian Official: 'Escape Genius' Bear 'Must Live Free'

He says 'Papillon' shouldn't be treated like a criminal

(Newser) - An "escape genius" bear in Italy is back in a wildlife enclosure after being recaptured for a third time—but friends in high places might help "Papillon" win his freedom permanently. Sergio Costa, Italy's environment minister, said Wednesday that it "hurts to know Papillon is in...

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...

Stories 201 - 220 | << Prev   Next >>