Gisella Cardia allegedly made €365,000 in donations from pilgrims to shrine in lakeside town near Rome
A self-styled mystic who drew hundreds of pilgrims to a town near Rome by claiming a statue of the Virgin Mary wept tears of blood has been sent to trial for alleged fraud.
Gisella Cardia, who also claimed the statue was transmitting messages to her, will be tried along with her husband, Gianni Cardia, in April next year.
Continue reading...Groups from Italy and elsewhere alleged to have paid Serb soldiers to shoot Sarajevo residents during siege
Prosecutors in Milan have opened an investigation into Italians who allegedly paid members of the Bosnian Serb army for trips to Sarajevo so that they could kill citizens during the four-year siege of the city in the 1990s.
More than 10,000 people were killed in Sarajevo by constant shelling and sniper fire between 1992 and 1996 in what was the longest siege in modern history, after Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia.
Continue reading...Southern European country has more than double the number of people aged over 100 than it did in 2009
The number of people in Italy living to 100 continues to grow sharply, with more than 2,000 reaching the milestone age in 2025, the vast majority of them women.
There are now 23,548 residents in Italy who are 100-years-old or over, compared with 21,211 in 2024, according to the latest figures from Istat, the national statistics agency. Italy has more than double the number of centenarians than it had in 2009, Istat said.
Continue reading...YouGov study of six countries finds those in Denmark most likely to approve of nudism and have been naked in public
Germans may have a hard-won reputation for being Europe’s most enthusiastic nudists, but a survey suggests Danes are not only more accepting of stripping off in public, but more likely to have actually done so.
The YouGov survey of six western European countries – the UK, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain – found that Danes were the most likely to say it was perfectly OK to bare all in public places – and to have followed through.
Continue reading...Osama Almasri Najim was arrested in Italy in January on an ICC warrant, only to be released and flown back to Libya
A Libyan general wanted by the international criminal court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity has been arrested in Tripoli.
Osama Almasri Najim, the former chief of Libya’s judicial police, was arrested over allegations of torturing prisoners, leading to the death of one, at Tripoli’s main prison, Libya’s prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Contractor was trapped for 11 hours under fallen masonry at medieval landmark near the Colosseum
Prosecutors have opened a manslaughter investigation over the death of a worker trapped when a medieval monument in central Rome partly collapsed.
Octav Stroici, 66, was rescued on Monday night after 11 hours under fallen masonry but died of his injuries at the city’s Umberto I hospital. Romanian foreign affairs officials, who said he came from their country, thanked rescuers for their efforts to save him during a long, complex and delicate operation.
Continue reading...Three others rescued at the Torre dei Conti, which was undergoing restoration works
A medieval tower in central Rome has partly collapsed twice during renovations, injuring one worker and trapping another.
Falling debris from the initial collapse of the Torre dei Conti, just after 11.30am (0930 GMT), close to the Roman Forum ruins, hit a 64-year-old worker, the Ansa news agency reported. He was taken to San Giovanni hospital in a critical condition although Francesco Rocca, Lazio’s regional president, said his injuries were not life threatening.
Continue reading...Bodies of missing man and 17-year-old daughter who had fallen 200 metres found on Sunday morning in South Tyrol
Five German climbers, including a 17-year-old girl, have died after being swept away by an avalanche in the Italian Alps, rescuers have said.
Italian media said three groups of climbers – believed to have been travelling independently of one another – had been caught in the torrent of snow as it pulsed down a mountain near the Swiss border in the north-eastern region of South Tyrol on Saturday.
Continue reading...Price increases of as much as 40% will make sport exclusive privilege of the wealthy, says Assoutenti
“Completely unjustified” prices rises for ski passes in Italy this winter mean the sport is at risk of becoming the exclusive privilege of the wealthy, the president of an Italian consumers’ association has warned.
From the Alps and the Dolomites in the north to the slopes of the central Italian region of Abruzzo, prices are poised to rise by as much as 40% compared with 2021, according to a report compiled by the watchdog, Assoutenti.
Continue reading...Prime minister says CGIL head is ‘clouded by resentment’ and accuses the left of hypocrisy towards women
Giorgia Meloni has condemned the boss of Italy’s biggest trade union after he referred to the prime minister as the “courtesan” of Donald Trump.
Maurizio Landini, the leader of CGIL, which organised several pro-Palestinian protests before the Gaza ceasefire deal, made the remarks on TV on Tuesday, the day after world leaders, including Meloni, met in Egypt for a Middle East peace summit.
Continue reading...Rudimentary but powerful device detonates outside home of Report presenter Sigfrido Ranucci in Campo Ascolano
A prominent Italian investigative journalist has been targeted in a bomb attack, with the rudimentary but powerful device almost destroying his car and damaging a neighbour’s home.
Sigfrido Ranucci, who hosts Report, an investigative programme aired by the state broadcaster, Rai, said the explosion happened about 20 minutes after he returned to his home in Campo Ascolano, close to Rome, on Thursday night.
Continue reading...Two men and one woman arrested after explosion in Castel d’Azzano, which police believe to have been intentional
An explosion at a farmhouse near Verona killed three police officers and injured at least 13 others, officials said on Tuesday.
Police were attempting to conduct an eviction when the house blew up overnight in Castel d’Azzano, in northern Italy, in what is suspected to be an intentional act of violence.
Continue reading...US president’s threat to impose 92% tariffs targeting major manufacturers put family-run firms in the firing line as well
“It’s a real pity,” laments Antonio Rummo of Donald Trump’s latest target in his ever-evolving tariff war: Italian pasta. Rummo is the sixth-generation grandson of the founder of Pasta Rummo, who opened a wheat mill in Benevento in southern Italy in 1846, using the family’s three horses to lug grain from the surrounding Campania region and Puglia to produce fresh pasta.
“Demand for premium pasta in the US has been growing,” says Rummo. Appreciated by consumers for a traditional processing method that guarantees it will cook to al dente perfection, sales of Pasta Rummo have been thriving.
Continue reading...Protest vessel intercepted in the early hours of Friday morning 42.5 nautical miles from the coast of Gaza
The last boat of the 42 vessels in the Gaza humanitarian flotillathat sought to breach Israel’s 16-year maritime blockade has been intercepted by Israeli forces.
A live stream from the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) had late on Thursday evening shown the Polish-flagged sailing boat Marinette still “sailing strong towards Gaza” after the Israeli government claimed to have halted the flotilla carrying about 500 parliamentarians, lawyers and activists including Greta Thunberg.
Continue reading...Musicians and staff at the theatre say Beatrice Venezi is not experienced enough for the role and should be replaced
Venice’s prestigious La Fenice opera house is embroiled in controversy over the hiring of a conductor with close ties to Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government.
The theatre’s orchestra musicians and staff are calling for Beatrice Venezi’s appointment as music director to be revoked, claiming she does not have enough experience for the high-profile role and was picked only because of her government connections.
Continue reading...The Global Sumud Flotilla, with over 500 people including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, aims to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza
Italy has said it will stop tracking an international flotilla attempting to deliver aid to Gaza with a military vessel, as activists on board announced they were on “high alert” as they moved closed to their destination.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, consisting of more than 40 civilian boats with over 500 people including parliamentarians, lawyers and Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, aims to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
Continue reading...Show at Milan fashion week saw use of adjustable elastics and pull-tapes to unexpectedly sophisticated effect
At Fendi, where Silvia Venturini Fendi is leading the house founded by her grandparents through its centenary year, family is as much part of the sales pitch as the Baguette bag. “I have been thinking about childrenswear, because I have a big family, and my daughter is pregnant with twins,” she said backstage. Two grandsons made a cameo appearance on the catwalk earlier this year while her 18-year-old granddaughter is her “fiercest critic”, the 64-year-old creative director says. (“When she calls after my show, I tremble.”)
This season, Fendi adapted the adjustable elastics that feature in clothes made for growing bodies, making a feature of elegant grosgrain pull-tapes to add gentle definition at the hem of the jacket or the waist of a dress. The result was unexpectedly sophisticated. The casting, featuring men and women of all ages and sizes, was a triumphant showcase for how beautifully the shapes worked on different bodies.
Continue reading...Millions of Italian workers expected to get day off every 4 October in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi
Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government in Italy has revived a national holiday in honour of the country’s popular patron saint, Francis of Assisi, in a nod to “the very core of our nation’s identity”.
Millions of Italian workers are expected to get a day off each 4 October, the feast day of Saint Francis, after the lower house of parliament approved overwhelmingly a bill making it a public holiday. The measure will pass to the senate for the final nod.
Continue reading...Schools and stations closed and ports blocked in one of Europe’s biggest demonstrations opposing Israel’s offensive
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in dozens of cities across Italy – shutting schools, disrupting trains and blocking ports and roads – in one of Europe’s largest nationwide protests against Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
The protests came as France and several other countries prepared to recognise Palestinian statehood at the UN general assembly on Monday after the UK, Australia, Portugal and Canada did so on Sunday.
Continue reading...Essex-based John Brandler seeking final loan payments as well as three murals from exhibitions company
A bitter row has broken out between a British art dealer and an Italian exhibitions company over three enormous Banksy murals that were loaned three years ago and which the dealer insured for £15m.
John Brandler, an Essex-based specialist in work by the graffiti artist, is pursuing legal action after losing patience with Metamorfosi in Rome, which stages temporary touring exhibitions.
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