Italy

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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...

Grazie, Obama: Campaign Alum Wins in Italy

Dual national Elly Schlein is the surprise new leader of Italy's Democratic Party

(Newser) - Elly Schlein, a 37-year-old US-Italian national and longtime left-wing political operative who worked on two presidential campaigns for former President Obama, defied polls to become the first woman to head Italy’s opposition Democratic Party. Schlein’s surprise victory Sunday over the popular governor of Emilia-Romagna, a traditional left-wing stronghold,...

At Least 43 Drown After Wreck Off Italy's Coast

Italian leader blames deaths of migrants on human traffickers

(Newser) - At least 43 migrants perished when their overcrowded wooden boat smashed into rocky reefs just off southern Italy at dawn Sunday, the Italian Coast Guard said. “As of now, 80 persons were recovered alive—some of whom succeeded in reaching the shore after the shipwreck—and 43 bodies were...

You&#39;re Out of Luck in Italy, Grandpa
You're Out of Luck
in Italy, Grandpa
in case you missed it
Feb 5, 2023 1:10 PM CST

You're Out of Luck in Italy, Grandpa

Nation's high court rules grandkids can't be forced to see their grandparents

(Newser) - Sorry, Grandpa—you don't get to visit with the grandkids unless they want to. At least that's now the case in Italy, where the nation's high court has handed down the decision that grandchildren can't be forced to see their grandparents, reports the Guardian . It's...

Cops: Pizza-Maker in France Wasn't What He Seemed

Mob suspect Edgardo Greco, tied to Italy's 'ndrangheta, found after 16 years on the run

(Newser) - Police in southeastern France have arrested a convicted murderer linked to Italy's most powerful organized-crime group, the 'ndrangheta, after he eluded authorities for 16 years, Interpol and Italian police said on Thursday. Italy's ANSA news agency reported that the 63-year-old had been working for the past three...

'James Dean of Bears' Killed in Car Accident

Rebellious bear was hit by a car on a mountain road in Italy

(Newser) - Italy is mourning Juan Carrito, a rare Apennine brown bear that captured the public's attention with exploits including drinking from fountains, playing with dogs, and breaking into a bakery . The bear, one of an estimated 60 members of the critically endangered subspecies in the Apennine mountains, died after he...

Inside Mob Boss's Hideouts: Cellphones, Viagra

2 hideouts found in close proximity, just 5 miles from Matteo Messina Denaro's birthplace

(Newser) - Italian police have uncovered two hideouts believed to have been used by Cosa Nostra mob boss Matteo Messina Denaro toward the end of his 30 years on the run. Car keys in his possession during his arrest on Monday led authorities to a home in the Sicilian town of Campobello...

What Gave Away One of Italy's Biggest Mob Bosses

Matteo Messina Denaro's sickness led cops right to a Sicilian health clinic

(Newser) - In a story that seems made for Hollywood, Italian police this week captured one of Italy's most famous fugitives: Matteo Messina Denaro, who helped lead the Cosa Nostra mob syndicate even as he was on the run for the past three decades. And it was a routine, somewhat expected...

This Pompeii Home Stands Out From the Rest

House of the Vettii fully reopens to public after 20 years of restoration work

(Newser) - Two men freed from enslavement came to live a life of luxury in ancient Pompeii. Now their ornate home, dubbed "Pompeii's Sistine Chapel," has fully opened to the public for the first time in 20 years. The House of the Vettii—built in the second century BC,...

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