Beppe Grillo, leader of the Five Star Movement. Photo: Giuseppe Cacace/AFPTheir leader has been dubbed the clown prince of Italian politics. And now the Five Star Movement (M5S) looks set to be given the chance to run the circus by taking control of the country's capital. With Virginia Raggi tipped ...

The fossilized footprints are thought to be 800,000 years old. Photo: Sapienza UniversityA team of Italian researchers have possibly uncovered the oldest ever fossilized footprint left behind by mode man's ancestor, Homo Erectus. The prints are thought to date back some 800,000 years and were uneart...

Syrian refugees after arriving at Rome's Fiumicino airport in February. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFPSome 81 refugees, mostly from Syria, will be flown to Rome’s Fiumicino airport on Thursday, as part of the ‘humanitarian corridor’ initiative, which aims to stop refugees from making the perilous jou ey ...

The book features illustrated scenes from the gospels of Mark and Matthew. Photo: Michele Abastante/WikimediaFollowing a lengthy restoration project, the world's oldest illustrated book will be put on display in the Calabrian town of Rossano - where it was discovered by chance 240 years ago. The 160...

The priest was arrested in Brescia for allegedly sexually abusing a child. Photo: Paval HadsinskiAn Italian priest, arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of sexually abusing a minor, allegedly told his victim that he would go to hell if he spoke out about the abuse. The 55-year-old, from Co a di Darfo pa...

Italy has taken back a stolen head of Emperor Augustus from a museum in Belgium. Photo: Ministero degli Affari Esteri.A 2000-year old marble head depicting the first emperor of Rome, Augustus, was retu ed to Italy on Tuesday, 46 years after it was pilfered by art thieves. The weather-wo sculptor is ...

Anyone for a slice of maggot-infested cheese. Photo: Rinux/FlickrItaly's culinary history is incredibly rich and varied but with spaghetti alla carbonara and Neapolitan pizza stealing the limelight, many of the country's most weird and wonderful dishes go uneaten by foreigners. Here are six bizarre ...

A photo of Massimo Bottura, whose Osteria Francescana has been crowned best restaurant in the world, taken in 2011. Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFPThe first Italian restaurant to be named the best in the world celebrated its win on Tuesday as controversy erupted over the selection, with several big name ...

(L) An image of Medhanie Hedego Mered previously issued by the NCA and the one, claiming to be him, released by the Italian police last week.A judge in Palermo has ruled that an Eritrean man extradited to Italy from Sudan last week, on suspicion of being the head of a migrant trafficking ring, must ...

Some 7,009 unaccompanied migrant children have arrived in Italy this year. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFPThe number of unaccompanied minors among Italy's refugees has doubled since last year, as smugglers' exploitative "pay as you go" deals attract cashless teens. Of the 7,567 migrants below the age of ...

80-year-old Antonio Pugliese - soon to tu 81 - is feeling confident as he sits the high school leaving certificate along with a class of 14-year-olds. “It went well," he was reported as telling local paper Brindisi Reportxa0after sitting the first exam on the Italian language on Monday. "I wrote a p...

A church in Messina reportedly refused to allow an autistic child to make her First Holy Communion. Photo: Lawrence OP/FlickrA church's alleged refusal to allow a 10-year-old autistic child to take Holy Communion became a national case on Monday after Italy's Education Undersecretary waded into the ...

Silvio Berlusconi will undergo open heart surgery on Tuesday mo ing. Photo: Gianni Schicchi/AFPItaly's controversial former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was undergoing cardiac surgery after a heart attack that his doctor said could have killed the 79-year-old. "At 8:00am (0600 GMT) this mo ing, ...

A troop of monkeys and other exotic animals have found a safe haven in Rome's Appia Antica. Photo: Emiliano FelicissimoIn ancient Rome, they would have been pitted against gladiators or served up at banquets. Now a caiman, a python and a troop of monkeys that have been confiscatedxa0from mobsters, d...

Gerardo Mastrangelo (L) and Gian Cristian Salimbene before their Saturday night shift. Photo: John HendersonJust how safe is Rome? Jou alist John Henderson goes on patrol on a Saturday night with two policemen to find out. About 75 percent of all businesses in Italy are family run, meaning three out...

Massimo Bottura's "Osteria Francescana" in Modena has been named the best restaurant in the world. Photo: Bryan Bedder/AFPItaly's "Osteria Francescana" was crowned world's best restaurant of 2016 at an awards ceremony in New York on Monday, the first Italian establishment to win the annual accolade....

Italy have got their Euro 2016 campaign off to a winning start. Photo:Jeff Pachoud/AFPGoals in either half from Emanuele Giaccherini and Graziano Pelle ensured Italy hit the ground running at Euro 2016 as the Azzurri confined highly-fancied Belgium to a 2-0 defeat on Monday. Marc Wilmot's Belgium, t...

Many Italians won't even say its name out loud in case it brings bad luck, but the town of Colobraro is hoping its attempt to win big in the lottery will help it shed its reputation as the country's 'most cursed' town. "Colobraro isn't unlucky," sighs its mayor, Andrea Be ardo, speaking to The Local...

A visitor walks along Via dell'Abbondanza. Photo: Nick Bramhall/FlickrRefugees could soon be collecting litter from Pompeii's Via Dell'Abbondanza or weeding flower beds in the gardens of the city's luxury Roman villas. At least that's if Massimo Osanna, the Archaeological Superintendent of Pompeii, ...

No 1: Calavino in Trento. Photo: Renzo CaliariVenice. Rome. Florence. Lake Como. These and many others are well-trodden tourist routes. But a group of Italian photographers have come together to showcase the country’s unexplored gems. From the pristine valleys of Val d’Aosta to the sun-drenched beac...