Italy

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Waterloo—You Know, Like in the ABBA Song

Italian exec with loose grasp of history becomes YouTube hit

(Newser) - An telecom exec came up short in a motivational speech to employees when he called the battle of Waterloo a victory for Napoleon. Now clips of the animated Italian manager urging his staff to "go ahead and score like Napoleon at Waterloo" have become a YouTube hit, the ANSA...

Venice Bar Uses Discount to Lure 'Poor Yanks'

Old Hemingway haunt bucks up faltering dollar with 20% off

(Newser) - Harry's Bar in Venice has offered hospitality to tourists and expatriates since the days of Ernest Hemingway. But in recent months Harry's has noticed a sharp drop in the number of Americans showing up at the home of the Bellini cocktail. So restaurant owner Arrigo Cipriani has a novel solution:...

Italy Recalls Famed Mozzarella
 Italy Recalls Famed Mozzarella 
Mar 28, 2008 1:15 PM CDT

Italy Recalls Famed Mozzarella

Fears that cheese contains carcinogen had prompted Korea, Japan to ban imports

(Newser) - Fear of contamination today forced Italy to recall its celebrated mozzarella cheese, Reuters reports. Rome is withdrawing the cheese of 25 companies in the Campania region near Naples, source of the country’s best buffalo mozzarella, after a garbage crisis is thought to have spread cancer-causing dioxin. The European Commission...

Prized Cheese in Italy at Risk
 Prized Cheese in Italy at Risk 
Mar 27, 2008 7:03 PM CDT

Prized Cheese in Italy at Risk

Toxins found in mozzarella after years of illegal trash dumping

(Newser) - More consumers are turning up their noses at Italy’s prized buffalo mozzarella, and not over its smell, the New York Times reports. Toxins have been found in samples of the delicacy, likely caused by illegal dumping of garbage around Naples. Sales are down 40%, and farmers and restaurateurs fear...

Prominent Italian Muslim Baptized by Pope

Convert Takes Big Step at Vatican During Easter Vigil

(Newser) - Italy's best-known commentator on Islam converted to Catholicism yesterday at the Vatican, during Easter vigil, and was baptized by the Pope himself, the AP reports. Though Magdi Allam was born a Muslim, he said he "never" practiced his native religion, and made his name criticizing Islamic fanaticism, receiving death...

Gorbachev Admits He's Christian
Gorbachev Admits He's Christian
Mar 19, 2008 9:00 AM CDT

Gorbachev Admits He's Christian

Ex-Soviet prez publicly atheist, but Reagan sensed 'closet believer'

(Newser) - Nearly 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union's atheist empire, Mikhail Gorbachev has admitted he is a Christian, reports the Daily Telegraph. On a visit to Italy the last president of the Communist state prayed at the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi, and later told priests the...

Air France Buys Alitalia in Cut-Rate Deal

Struggling Italian carrier sells for 81% below market value

(Newser) - Embattled Italian airline Alitalia has accepted a severely discounted buyout from Air France, the BBC reports. The $1.17-billion deal, which includes both the airline and its debt, sees Air France take over the Italian carrier at 81% below company's current share price. Alitalia has been in the red for...

Berlusconi Calls Rival an Obama Copycat

He ridicules the self-drawn comparisons

(Newser) - Silvio Berlusconi is calling his election opponent a Barack Obama copycat–and not in a good way. To keep his 7-point lead in the polls, Italy's former leader has distributed a package to his People of Freedom (PDL) candidates on how to bash Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni in the media....

Pizza Police Pursue Posers
 Pizza Police Pursue Posers 
Mar 12, 2008 3:20 PM CDT

Pizza Police Pursue Posers

Deep-dish, go home: Italian law governs aims to enforce Neapolitan authenticity

(Newser) - Think that pineapple-and ham-concoction is a pizza? Not according to Italian law, Julie Reno writes in the Smart Set. Only hand-kneaded dough, rolled to no more than 14 inches in diameter, topped with San Marzano plum tomatoes and baked in a brick wood-fired oven qualifies. La Pizza Polizia crown such...

US Played Role in '78 Murder of Aldo Moro

State Dept. wanted kidnapped Italian PM 'sacrificed': new book

(Newser) - A new book reveals the extent of American involvement in the fate of Aldo Moro, the Italian prime minister murdered by left-wing terrorists in 1978. In We Killed Aldo Moro, Steve Pieczenik, a State Department hostage negotiator, writes about his role in the "crisis committee" that leaked a false...

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,...

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