Italy

Stories 1141 - 1160 | << Prev   Next >>

Court: Italian Women Can Lie About Adultery

Judges say they can fib, even to police, to protect their honor

(Newser) - Italian adulterers have made their bed, and now the country’s top appeals court says they can lie in it: The Court of Cassation has ruled that married women can tell fibs to cover up an affair to protect their honor, the BBC reports. The judgment stems from the case...

Beloved Italian Saint Exhumed
Beloved Italian Saint Exhumed
Mar 4, 2008 4:25 PM CST

Beloved Italian Saint Exhumed

Padre Pio unearthed overnight to duck protests, legal challenge

(Newser) - One of Italy's most revered saints was exhumed without warning Sunday night, evading protesters and preempting a legal challenge, the Guardian reports. The body of Padre Pio was "in surprisingly good condition," said the archbishop of Puglia, where the saint's shrine draws millions of visitors every year. "...

Vatican Goes to Confessional in an Art Museum

Church reveals Inquisition artifacts

(Newser) - Sure, thousands of accused witches and blasphemers were burned and tortured during the Roman Catholic Church’s centuries-long Inquisition in the Middle Ages—but, with the help of a new art exhibition, the Vatican hopes to show that it wasn't so bad after all, Newsweek reports. The “Rare and...

Old Chess Guide May Have Drawings From Da Vinci

500-year-old book of puzzles has illustrations in the master's style

(Newser) - Sections of a recently unearthed manuscript, dating back to about 1500 and describing chess strategy, were likely illustrated by Leonardo da Vinci, the BBC reports. The book, De ludo scacchorum, is a collection of puzzles by Italian mathematician and Franciscan friar Luca Pacioli, a friend of da Vinci's. The striking...

Only Italians Can Call It Parmesan
Only Italians Can Call It Parmesan
Feb 26, 2008 7:36 PM CST

Only Italians Can Call It Parmesan

EU's high court rules against German cheese makers

(Newser) - Europe's high court ruled today that only Italians can call their cheese Parmesan, Bloomberg reports. The judges shot down an argument by German cheese-makers that the term is generic. "This is absolutely wonderful news," said the author of an Italian cheese guide. "There is no more risk...

Made in Italy — in a Chinese Sweatshop

Italian luxury goods made by Chinese labor cost 90% less

(Newser) - For consumers of luxury goods, the "Made in Italy" designation remains so prestigious that it can add 300% to an item's price. But the days of artisans plying their trade in little workshops are largely over, the Los Angeles Times reports, replaced by thousands of Tuscan factories employing Chinese...

Foes Mobilize to Block Blair as First Euro Prez

Iron support for US still rankles

(Newser) - Stiff opposition is mounting against the possibility of former British prime minister Tony Blair being named the first president of Europe. A "Stop Blair" website has been launched, and a cross-party caucus in the European parliament is forming to campaign against him. A new treaty about to be ratified...

Venice Squawking Over Pigeons
Venice Squawking Over Pigeons
Feb 13, 2008 12:58 PM CST

Venice Squawking Over Pigeons

City wants to say arrivederci to the foul fowl

(Newser) - Venice's pigeons are nearly as famous as its gondolas, but the days of tourists feeding pigeon in St. Mark's Square could be numbered, reports Der Speigel. Venice has one of the highest pigeon-to-person ratios of any city in the world, and fed-up city politicians want to remove the square's exemption...

Path Clear for Berlusconi in Italy
Path Clear for Berlusconi in Italy
Feb 6, 2008 12:39 PM CST

Path Clear for Berlusconi in Italy

Election set for April 13-14; third term as PM likely for media titan

(Newser) - Italians will elect a new parliament April 13-14, and if polls are correct, Der Spiegel reports that Silvio Berlusconi will return to office only 20 months after his last defeat. Immediately after today's announced poll date, PM Romano Prodi announced he won't stand, ceding leadership of the center-left to Rome...

Italy Ready for Snap Poll After Talks Fail

Polls suggest Berlusconi will win third term as PM

(Newser) - Italy will turn to a snap election in April to form a new government after 4 days of negotiations led by the speaker of the Senate failed to form an interim coalition. Parliament will be dissolved, and polls suggest that Silvio Berlusconi will win a third term as prime minister,...

New DNA Found on Slain British Student's Bra

Latest traces don't match suspects' in Italy murder case

(Newser) - Mystery DNA found on the bra of Meredith Kercher could point to more players in the November murder of the British student in Italy, the Telegraph reports, though police maintain the traces indicate only that others handled it. "All we know for certain is that it does not match...

Italy Headed for Caretaker Government
Italy Headed
for Caretaker Government
Jan 31, 2008 10:33 AM CST

Italy Headed for Caretaker Government

Elder statesman will form interim coalition before elections

(Newser) - Italy's president has asked Senate speaker Franco Marini to form an interim government in a last-ditch effort to reform election laws ahead of a snap poll, reports the BBC. Marini was invited to head a temporary administration to change Italy's crippling voting system, which privileges small parties and has led...

Berlusconi Eyes 3rd Term as Prime Minister

Italy's richest man may be back in office in months

(Newser) - Italy's president will begin crisis talks tonight with top politicians after last night's resignation of PM Romano Prodi. While a technocrat will probably take the helm of the country for a few months, Silvio Berlusconi is waiting in the wings, and the richest man in Italy has his sights set...

Italian PM Prodi Resigns
Italian PM Prodi Resigns
Jan 24, 2008 3:27 PM CST

Italian PM Prodi Resigns

He loses confidence vote in the Senate

(Newser) - The fat lady has sung for Italian PM Romano Prodi. After losing a confidence vote in the Senate, Prodi resigned today, the BBC reports. President Giorgio Napolitano now has to make the decision of calling a snap election or appointing a caretaker government. Former PM Berlusconi's center-right coalition would be...

Prodi's Choice: Resign Today or Lose Tonight

Italian PM may bail ahead of evening no-confidence vote

(Newser) - Italy's PM Romano Prodi may resign today rather than face defeat in a confidence vote scheduled for late this evening. After this week's defection of a small coalition party deprived Prodi of his one-seat Senate majority, his government looks set to fall. A handful of left-wing senators have also said...

Italian Govt. on Brink of Collapse
Italian Govt.
on Brink
of Collapse
Jan 22, 2008 10:48 AM CST

Italian Govt. on Brink of Collapse

PM faces no-confidence vote after allies withdraw support

(Newser) - The Italian government looks set to collapse after a key ally unexpectedly withdrew his support from Romano Prodi's coalition yesterday. The PM will face a no-confidence vote tomorrow, and if he loses, the president will have to decide whether to give Prodi another mandate or dissolve parliament and call early...

Disease Imperils Mozzarella From Italy

Bacteria infects 30% of water buffalo herd responsible for famous cheese

(Newser) - A bacterial disease sweeping through the water buffalo whose milk is used to make mozzarella is threatening production of Italy's famous cheese, the BBC reports. As many as 30% of the buffalo in Campania, near Naples, are infected with brucellosis, which leads to reduced milk production and infertility. Italy's government...

Angry Students Block Pope Visit
Angry Students Block Pope Visit
Jan 16, 2008 4:31 AM CST

Angry Students Block Pope Visit

Profs say appearance would be affront to 'people of science'

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI has scrapped plans to speak at a prestigious Italian university after unprecedented protests by furious students and professors who accused him of justifying Galileo's trial and "affronting" people of science, the Los Angeles Times reports. The pope once described as "reasonable" the 400-year-old heresy trial...

Italy's Favorite Saint to Be Exhumed

Preservation procedure sparks controversy among some devotees

(Newser) - The body of Padre Pio, one of Italy’s most beloved saints, will be exhumed this year for a “checkup” and to be put on display for public veneration, the Guardian reports. "It is our duty to allow the generations that come after us the ability to venerate...

Trash Overwhelms Naples
Trash Overwhelms Naples
Jan 7, 2008 2:40 PM CST

Trash Overwhelms Naples

Italian Army struggles to bulldoze massive heaps of garbage

(Newser) - The Italian army has been brought in to clear away some of the mountains of trash blanketing the area around Naples. The region's garbage crisis, which has festered for years, reached crisis proportions when all waste-collection stopped before Christmas. Meanwhile, protesters are trying, in occasionally violent clashes, to stop the...

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