Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi insisted on Friday that the EU's budget rules should be interpreted flexibly and that austerity should not be seen purely as an end in itself. Speaking at a joint news conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Angelaxa0Merkel, Renzi said: "I am of the belief tha...

Turin might silence its feast day fireworks to avoid distressing the town's pets. Photo: Atemporale Design/FlickrRepresentatives from the city council of Turin will meet on Monday to discuss plans to silence the traditional fireworks that make up the part of the city's San Giovanni feast day celebra...

Morricone, shown here with a European Film Award, will pick up his Golden Globe in Rome Photo: Johannes Eiselle/AFPItalian composer Ennio Morricone will be presented Saturday with his Golden Globes statuette for the soundtrack of "The Hateful Eight", the first such time the award is bestowed outside...

Two wanted mob bosses who were found living in a secret bunker. Photo: Polizia di Stato.Italian anti-mafia police nabbed two fugitive mobster bosses on Friday, after discovering them "living like animals" in a mountain hideout with an arsenal of weapons. Giuseppe Ferraro, 47, and Giuseppe Crea, 37, ...

Stockholm-based Italian surgeon Paolo Macchiarini. Photo: SVT/ExperimentenA prominent Italian surgeon could face dismissal from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute after Sweden’s state broadcaster SVT claimed that he had carried out an experimental operation on a woman in Russia without the Institute's ap...

The looted head of a Greek statue has finally come back to Italy. Photo: Ministero Degli Affari EstariThe head of an ancient Greek statue of extraordinary artistic and historical value will finally arrive back in Italy on Friday – almost three decades after being illegally ripped from the ground. Th...

His job was to come down hard on tax evaders, instead an Italian tax judge was arrested in December on suspicion of corruption in judicial acts. The man is accused of accepting bribes in a case linked to the Milan-based firm, Swe-Co Sistemi, a distributor of electrical goods. On Thursday, Italy’s fi...

The Italian navy said Thursday it had recovered six bodies from a sinking dinghy off Libya and pulled nearly 300 migrants to safety as they attempted the perilous crossing to Europe "The Aliseo ship recovered 74 migrants from a sinking dinghy along with sixxa0bodies," the navy said on its Twitter ac...

Matteo Renzi (L) says the EU is too dominated by Germany and France. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/AFPItaly's energetic Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is fed up with France and Germany stitching up Europe's big decisions. And he's not taking it lying down. Matteo Renzi first met the German Chancellor Angela M...

Leonardo DiCaprio met Pope Francis in Rome on Thursday mo ing. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFPHollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio had an audience with Pope Francis in Rome on Thursday mo ing. Blue-eyed DiCaprio was spotted listening ea estly as the Argentine pontiffxa0explained that he was presenting the actor...

An Italian town is celebrating its first baby in 28 years. Photo: FrancoFranco56/WikimediaThe remote alpine town of Ostana, in Piedmont, is celebrating its first new arrival in 28 years after a local resident gave birth to a baby boy. Just six days old, little Pablito became the youngest resident of...

Matteo Renzi has criticized France and Germany for playing to dominant a role in EU politics. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFPItaly's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Thursday criticized Franco-German dominance in EU decision-making, especially on the refugee crisis, speaking on the eve of a Berlin visit. Re...

Italy is demanding Google pay over €200 million ($218 million) in back taxes following an inquiry into its tax arrangements by the financial police, a judicial source said on Thursday. The technology giant is accused of failing to declare €100 million inxa0income and pay €200 million in royalty taxe...

A network of ancient Roman tunnels and tombs in Rome have become an illegal waste dump. Photo: Polizia Roma CapitaleKilometers of ancient Roman tunnels, including an early Christian catacomb, have been tu ed into a toxic waste pit by illegal dumping. Police made the discovery on Monday in a network ...

Gioachino Rossini's "Aureliano in Palmira" has been revived in recent years. Photo: Étienne Carjat/WikicommonsA long obscure Gioacchino Rossini opera set in Syria will be performed for the first time in the United States at New York's Caramoor summer festival. The festival, announcing its lineup on ...

Some of the nudes at the Rome museum. Photo: CZSABoadsAs the Italian media on Wednesday raged against a decision to cover up nude statues during a visit to a Rome museum by the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, mystery mounted over who actually endorsed it. Both the gove ment and the museum’s manage...

Five of Italy's best historic festivals. Photo: AFP/TheLocalItaly is full of history, but it's not all stashed away in crusty old museums and art galleries. From throwing oranges in Ivrea to masquerades in Venice, there are still plenty of historic festivals - some dating back as far as the 1300s - ...

Italian-American carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) said on Wednesday it made a net profit of €377 million ($410 million) last year, a 40 percent drop from 2014. The figure was way below the €539 million profit expected by analysts. But sales, including those of luxury sports car unit Ferrari,...

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said there had been no prior discussion between Italy and Iran over Italy’s decision to obscure nude sculptors during a visit to Rome’s Capitoline Museums on Monday. In a move that sparked widespread criticism in Italy and beyond, the statues were covered up with car...

AS Roma's Daniele De Rossi apologized for the slur against Juventus player Mario Mandzukic. Photo: Giuseppe CacaceRoma midfielder Daniele De Rossi has apologized after coming under fire for racially abusing Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic during a 1-0 defeat to the champions in Turin. De Rossi was ...