All suitcases and bags were stolen from a bus with Russian tourists in Rome when the bus driver left for a cup of coffee, a guide for the Russian group said Saturday.
“The most terrible thing is that the baggage contained not only the tourists’ cash but also all their documents and return flight tickets,” she [...]

Italy captain Marco Bortolami has been ruled out of Saturday’s winner-takes-all Pool C clash with Scotland in St Etienne because of injury.
The Gloucester lock has not trained this week because of hamstring and neck problems, and he has failed to recover in time to make coach Pierre Berbizier’s line-up.
Bortolami is replaced by the fit-again Santiago [...]

Carolyn Hart reviews Delizia! The Epic History of the Italians and Their Food by John Dickie and A Late Dinner: Discovering the Food of Spain by Paul Richardson
In 1931, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, founder of the Futurist Movement, launched the Manifesto of Futurist Cooking at the Taverna del Santoplata in Turin, a restaurant constructed from floor [...]

The following is a city-by-city guide to some of Italy’s top art exhibitions: BELLUNO – Palazzo Crepadona: Titian – The Last Act; this two-part show is also taking place in Palazzo della Magnifica Comunita’ di Cadore in Titian’s home town of Pieve di Cadore; it gathers some 100 pieces from the final years of the [...]

Stylish, cultured, good humoured and volatile – Italy, with its golden light, stunning landscapes and rich cultural heritage, has inspired poets and painters for centuries. Perhaps more than any other country, it has influenced the course of European development, particularly in culture and political thought.
The most important early settlers were the enigmatic Etruscans, who had [...]

If you are planning a trip to one of Italy’s “natural” attractions, read the following informations:
Surprisingly, Italy can offer many protected natural areas and National Parks that are definitely worth a visit. Imagine peaceful lakes located high up in the mountains, or the prosperous marine life along the coasts, with an opportunity to spot rare [...]

Palermo president Maurizio ‘Zampa’ Zamparini seems resigned to losing star talent Amauri in the summer transfer window.
The Brazilian striker arrived in Sicily at the start of last season, a marvellous debut campaign being cut short by injury, but his recent return to form has seen eyebrows raised across Italy and beyond.
To read the whole text, [...]

News that British
regulators have decided in principle to allow the creation of
hybrid human-animal embryos for research has provoked horror
in the Vatican and among Catholics in Italy.
The first reaction from the Vatican came from Monsignor
Elio Sgreccia, head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, who
called the decision “a monstrous act against human dignity”.
“The scientific community must mobilise [...]

Romano Prodi struggles to form another government
THE parliamentary tornado that ripped through Romano Prodi’s centre-left government on Wednesday February 21st, prompting its leader to resign, showed how dangerous it can be for a European government to be seen to be backing the Bush administration. The same day that Tony Blair, George Bush’s closest ally, announced [...]

Italian people think that genetically modified food are not good for health – it’s what comes out from a survey drawn up by Coldiretti, the main Italian farmers’ organization, in collaboration with Ispo. In particular, among the people interviewed, the 74 per cent of them is against this kind of products. In this latest days [...]