It was mocked for its wilting needles and bare branches, but Rome's Christmas tree has captured the hearts of locals and tourists alike and there are now plans afoot to save it from the chipper. The Ete al City's tree, affectionately nicknamed "Spelacchio", which translates as "Mangy"or "Baldy", may...

Juventus players hold the trophy after winning the Italian Tim Cup final in May 2017. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFPDouglas Costa and Mario Mandzukic scored in either half as defending champions Juventus advanced to the semi-finals of the Italian Cup on Wednesday with a 2-0 win over city rivals Torino. B...

Exports of Italian wine reached a record six billion euros ($7.2 billion) in 2017, up 7.0 percent on the previous year thanks largely to Russia, Italy's largest agricultural union said on Wednesday. Sales of everything from the full-bodied to the fruity were glugged with glee in established markets,...

Juventus' midfielder Blaise Matuidi. Photo: Marco Bertorello/AFPSerie A club Verona have been fined €20,000 ($24,000) for racist chants by their fans toward Juventus midfielder Blaise Matuidi last weekend. The abuse of the French inte ational took place as he opened the scoring six minutes into the ...

Livo o port official Gregorio De Falco is an M5S parliamentary hopeful. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFPThe man hailed a hero in Italy after ordering the captain of a stricken cruise ship to retu aboard was on Thursday one of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement's parliamentary hopefuls. Livo o po...

A woman from Veneto is the first Italian to be fitted with a bionic hand. Almerina Mascarello, who lost her hand in a workplace accident in 1993, was fitted with the prosthetic as part of a six-month experiment at Rome’s Policlinico Gemelli hospital in June 2016. The hand, which has a sense of touch...

Walter Mazzarri was handed the reins at Torino on Thursday. Photo: Oli Scarff/AFPFormer Inter Milan and Watford coach Walter Mazzarri was handed the reins at Torino on Thursday after the Serie A side sacked Sinisa Mihajlovic. Mihajlovic was fired following Torino's 2-0 Italian Cup defeat to holders ...

A child mummy in Italy was thought to display the oldest medieval evidence of smallpox, but a new DNA analysis shows the disease was actually hepatitis B, researchers said on Thursday. The small child was buried in the Basilica of Saint Domenico Maggiore in Naples, Italy during the 16th century, acc...

Some 12,000 people were stranded in the Val D'Aosta region after a road leading to the Breuil-Cervinia ski area was closed due to the danger of an avalanche amid heavy snowfall. The avalanche risk wa ing has been upgraded to four (strong).xa0 Skiers have packed resorts across Italy’s north, making t...

A 56-year-old woman from Treviso in Veneto has given birth without assisted fertility treatment, according to reports in the Italian press. The woman gave birth to a girl, called Beatriz, at Angelo di Mestre hospital in late December. She also has two other daughters, aged 34 and 28 years. The repor...

The number of migrants arriving by sea fell 34 percent in 2017. Photo: Abdullah ElgamoudiAFPThe number of migrants who arrived in Italy in 2017 was 34 percent down on 2016, according to figures published on Friday by the EU border agency, Frontex. Around 119,000 people arrived by sea in 2017 compare...

Six people including two children were killed on Tuesday in an explosion on a motorway in northe Italy, when a family car was shunted into a petrol tanker, police and media reports said. Five of the victims -- three adults and the children -- were travelling together in the car, a Kia, which had a F...

Rome mayor Virginia Raggi. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFPRome Mayor Virginia Raggi has asked to be put on trial immediately for allegedly making a false statement to an anti-corruption official, as she is confident of her innocence. More serious charges of abuse of office against the embattled mayor were d...

Former seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher suffered head injuries in a skiing accident in December 2013. Photo: Orlando Kissner/AFPItalian Formula One team Ferrari paid tribute to Michael Schumacher on Wednesday as the former seven-time world champion tu ed 49 years. "Today Michael tu s 49,...

Venice's Doge's Palace. Photo: Olivier Morin/AFPJewels worth several thousands of euros were stolen from a show at Venice’s Doge’s Palace on Wednesday mo ing, police said. The jewels were taken from a case on display at the ‘Treasures of the Mughals and Maharaja' show, which had been due to close on...

Back at your desk after the Christmas break and wondering where the national holidays fall in 2018? The bad news is that two this year are lost to the weekend – starting with the Epiphany on Saturday. But with a little planning, you can elongate a weekend or holiday in between those that fall toward...

Two people are feared dead after an avalanche hit a group of off-piste skiers in Val Venosta, Alto Adige. Two others were pulled alive from the snow in the area of Malga San Valentino, close to the Haideralm ski centre, Corriere reported. Alpine rescuers have been able to reach the scene but the use...

Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFPPresident Sergio Mattarella has urged parties to put together “realistic programmes”, with a strong emphasis on jobs, ahead of general elections in March. “Given the scale of the problems our country faces, the duty to make realistic and ...

Tourists take pictures near the controversial Christmas tree at Piazza Venezia in Rome. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFPIt was mocked by Romans as being “the world’s saddest Christmas tree”, but the 65ft Norway spruce which captured inte ational attention is destined for a museum as opposed to a rubbish d...

Hardy thrillseekers plunged into Italy's Tiber river on Monday, continuing a decades-old New Year's tradition. Like every January 1st since 1946, several courageous divers braved the cold and rain to kick off 2018 by jumping from a bridge in central Rome into the famous river, which is barely above ...