Phrixus and Helle are depicted in vibrant colours with exquisite artistry in remarkable discovery
In a remarkable discovery at the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, archaeologists have unearthed a fresco depicting the Greek mythological siblings Phrixus and Helle.
Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of Pompeii Archaeological Park, described the find as a poignant reflection of history unfolding once more.
Continue reading...The film-maker, who won the Palme d’Or for 1977’s Padre Padrone, was a towering presence for more than three decades, creating politically engaged works with his brother Vittorio
The Italian film-maker Paolo Taviani, whose gritty biopic Padre Padrone won top prize at the Cannes film festival, has died aged 92, Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, said on Thursday.
For more than three decades Taviani and his brother Vittorio formed one of cinema’s greatest directorial duos. “Paolo Taviani, a great maestro of Italian cinema, leaves us,” Gualtieri said on X. The brothers “directed unforgettable, profound, committed films which entered into the collective imagination and the history of cinema”, Gualtieri added.
Continue reading...Eight-metre statue dating from fifth century BC restored and assembled piece-by-piece to be displayed in Valley of the Temples
A colossal statue of Atlas that lay buried for centuries among ancient ruins has been reconstructed to take its rightful place among the Greek temples of Agrigento in Sicily, after a 20-year research and restoration project.
The statue, standing at 8 metres (26ft) tall and dating back to the fifth century BC, was one of nearly 38 that adorned the Temple of Zeus, considered the largest Doric temple ever built despite never being completed.
Continue reading...Defendants are being tried in absentia over kidnapping and murder of Italian student in 2016
Four Egyptian security officials have gone back on trial in absentia in Rome on charges related to the kidnap and murder of an Italian student in Cairo.
Giulio Regeni, 28, had been conducting research when he was abducted in January 2016. His body was found nine days later, dumped on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital, bearing extensive signs of torture.
Continue reading...Florence museum boss compares process to cleaning a bathroom as media are granted privileged access
Michelangelo’s David is recognised as one of the most sublime works in the history of sculpture, but according to the director of Florence’s Accademia Gallery, dusting it is much like cleaning a bathroom.
“You know when you clean a bathroom, you clean and clean and think you’ve done a great job but then you spot some dust and wonder ‘where did that come from?’,” Cecilie Hollberg said on Monday. “This is what it’s like. Dust is everywhere.”
Continue reading...Six were known to Rome’s criminal underworld for tenacity in carrying out burglaries at post offices
A gang of six alleged robbers in their 60s and 70s known in Rome’s criminal underworld for their tenacity in carrying out a series of armed burglaries at post offices in the city have been arrested by police in Italy.
The gang’s leaders were 70-year-old Italo De Witt, nicknamed “the German”, who became renowned in the mid-1990s after a sophisticated heist of a bank near the Spanish Steps, and a 75-year-old who played the role of lookout.
Continue reading...Italy’s data protection body investigates claims police shared names and addresses with firm collecting penalties for TfL
The names and addresses of thousands of EU drivers were unlawfully accessed by Italian police and shared with the company that collects Ulez penalties on behalf of Transport for London (TfL), investigators believe.
The Italian data protection authority is investigating claims by Belgium’s government that an unnamed police department misused official powers to pass the personal details of Belgian drivers to Euro Parking Collections, which is employed by TfL to issue fines to enforce London’s low emission zone (Lez) and ultra-low emission zone.
Continue reading...Massimiliano Melargo, who was stopped at airport, has permission to enter and leave UK while awaiting settlement decision
An Italian man has been removed from the UK despite holding a Home Office certificate explicitly stating he has a right to travel in and out of the country while officials process his application to live and work in the country post-Brexit.
Massimiliano Melargo, 27, told how he was detained overnight, separated from his Ukrainian partner, and put on the first plane to Venice by Border Force officials in a step lawyers say contravenes the withdrawal agreement between the EU and the UK.
Continue reading...Gun Ufuk, 29, sentenced to 20 years in prison over deadly sinking that occurred metres from shore
An Italian court has sentenced a people smuggler to 20 years in prison for involvement in a shipwreck last year that killed at least 94 migrants.
The court in the southern city of Crotone found Gun Ufuk, a 29-year-old Turkish national, guilty of crimes including causing a shipwreck and aiding illegal immigration. It also ordered him to pay a €3m fine and pay damages to civil plaintiffs.
Continue reading...Vittorio Sgarbi, who denies allegations over painting, cites separate antitrust investigation in resignation
An Italian art critic who was recently placed under investigation over allegations that a 17th-century painting in his possession was stolen from a castle more than a decade ago has resigned as a junior culture minister.
“I am resigning with immediate effect as undersecretary of the government and will inform [the prime minister, Giorgia] Meloni in the next few hours,” Vittorio Sgarbi said on the sidelines of a conference in Milan.
Continue reading...Marco Raduano broke out of high-security wing of a prison in Sardinia in February 2023
A notorious mafia boss who escaped from a high-security prison in Italy last year using bedsheets has been recaptured in France, according to authorities in both countries.
Marco Raduano, recognized as dangerous on Europol’s list of most wanted criminals, was captured in Bastia on the French island of Corsica, authorities said on Friday.
Continue reading...First cameras were torn down by someone calling themselves Fleximan – now traffic calming measures are being targeted
Renzo Bergamini, the mayor of Gualtieri, was on his way to buy the newspapers on Tuesday morning when he noticed something was amiss with one of the two speed humps positioned on the town’s ring road.
“I saw that the sections of the hump were slightly misaligned,” he said. “The bolts had been unscrewed.”
Continue reading...Nutrinsect defies Italian food purists with cricket flour that can be incorporated into range of foods
A company that produces flour made from crickets has become the first in Italy to be given the green light to sell food made from insects for human consumption, defying Italian food purists and even a government attempt to curb its use.
Josè Francesco Cianni, the chief executive of Nutrinsect, said: “a new page in the history of food has been opened” now that his nutrient-packed flour can be incorporated into an array of food items.
Continue reading...Red two-seater named after Emperor Haile Selassie’s daughter abandoned in 1936 after Italy invaded country
Almost nine decades after it was stolen by Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime, the Italian government has officially returned Ethiopia’s first plane.
The official handover of the aircraft, named Tsehay in honour of the princess daughter of Emperor Haile Selassie, was celebrated on Tuesday by the Ethiopian prime minister, Abiy Ahmed.
Continue reading...Hungarian ambassador summoned amid national uproar at treatment of Ilaria Salis, accused of attacking neo-Nazis
Italy’s government has said that authorities in Hungary went “too far” in putting in chains an Italian woman who is awaiting trial for allegedly attacking neo-Nazis.
Italian ministers summoned Budapest’s ambassador in protest on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Roads around Zeebrugge could be obstructed until midnight on Wednesday, hitting commercial trade
The Belgian port of Zeebrugge was blockaded on Tuesday, causing gridlock on surrounding roads as a wave of farmer protests spread across Europe.
Authorities at the North Sea port, one of the biggest in Europe, said all access roads were blocked by 5pm (1600 GMT) on Tuesday, in a demonstration that will hit commercial trade, including imports and exports of food to and from the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia.
Continue reading...Cecilie Hollberg sparks outrage in remarks about capital city of Tuscan region being ‘crushed by tourism’
Mass tourism has turned Florence into a “prostitute”, one of the city museum’s directors has said, sparking outrage from politicians including Italy’s culture minister.
“Once a city becomes a prostitute, it is difficult for it to become a virgin again,” Cecilie Hollberg, director of the Galleria dell’Accademia, which houses Michelangelo’s statue of David, told reporters on the sidelines of an event.
Continue reading...Moussa Faki welcomes Giorgia Meloni’s plan to strengthen relations but says ‘we are not beggars’
The chair of the African Union Commission has said “we are not beggars” as the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, outlined a plan aimed at helping African countries to prosper in return for curbing illegal immigration.
Speaking at the much anticipated Italy-Africa summit in Rome, Moussa Faki welcomed Italy’s overtures for a mutually beneficial strengthening of relations with the African continent, but said: “We cannot be satisfied with mere promises that can’t be kept.”
Continue reading...Renowned figure in Italian film died in her sleep at her residence in Rome, according to a family statement
The Italian actor Sandra Milo, a renowned figure in Italy’s film industry known for her performance in Federico Fellini’s 8½, has died aged 90.
Milo died in her sleep at her residence in Rome surrounded by her family and her dogs, Jim and Lady, according to a statement from the family carried by state-run RAI television.
Continue reading...European Commission president says this is ‘moment of intense cooperation’ at Italy-Africa summit as Meloni announces plans. This live blog is now closed
Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the African Union Commission, said at the Italy-Africa summit today that partnership is based on liberty and consensus, with no side imposing anything.
Africa engages in partnership based on mutual advantages, he added.
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