Dozens of firefighters were on Wednesday continuing to tackle a series of wildfires on the slopes of Italy's Mount Vesuvius. On Wednesday mo ing, the national fire service said it was involved in 441 operations across the country, including 288 wildfires, of which those at Vesuvius were among the m

Umberto Bossi pictured speaking when he was leader of the Northe League. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFPAn Italian court on Monday jailed Umberto Bossi, founder and former chief of the anti-immigrant and anti-EU Northe League, for over two years after finding him guilty of fraud while he led the party

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble pictured during last week's G20 summit in Hamburg. Photo: Christina Sabrowsky / dpa / AFPGerman Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Monday wa ed that eurozone banking rules required reform, amid criticism that recent rescues of Italian banks failed to h

Anti-mafia prosecutor Giovanni Falcone. Photo: Gerard Foulet/AFPUnknown vandals in the Sicilian capital Palermo broke the head off a statue of murdered anti-mafia prosecutor Giovanni Falcone on Monday. The statue's head was then rammed against the wall of thexa0Falcone-Borsellino, which it stood out...

Fires at Vesuvius visible from Naples. Photo: Jonathan Hill/The LocalTourists and residents were reportedly evacuated from parts of Mount Vesuvius for the second time in a week on Tuesday, after several separate blazes broke out close to the volcano. Firefighters and workers from the Civil Protectio

More than 1,200 Fiat 500s from across Europe revved into the Italian foothills on Saturday to mark the 60th birthday of the iconic little car. The Italian classic took its first spin on July 4, 1957. Eighteen years later, more than 4.2 million had rolled off the factory line. Production then took a

Going down the employee route is not always wise in Italy, says relocation coach Damien O'Farrell. File photo: PexelsDamien O’Farrell’s story will resonate with many people who have fallen for Italy’s charm: he moved to Rome for a three-month stay, which has now tu ed into almost three decades. He

Australian Cardinal George Pell looks on as he makes a statement at the Holy See Press Office. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFPVatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell arrived back in Australia on Monday ahead of a court appearance later this month over historical sex abuse charges. The 76-year-old, a t

Pope Francis celebrates the Eucharist during the Ash Wednesday mass opening Lent. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFPThe unleavened bread used to celebrate the Eucharist during Catholic masses can be made with genetically modified organisms, the Vatican said on Saturday, but they cannot be entirely gluten-fre

Marco Gottardi with girlfriend Gloria Trevisan. Photo: Facebook/Gottardi familyThe body of Marco Gottardi, an Italian architect who lived in the London tower block which went up in flames last month, has been identified, according to Italian media reports on Monday. Twenty-seven-year-old Gottardi ha

File photo of Italian police on patrol at Rome's Fiumicino airport. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFPA 48-year-old man was on Sunday deported from Italy for "reasons of danger to society", the Interior Ministry said. The man had threatened "to carry out massacres [in Italy] in the name of the Caliphate", the

Stricter regulations over the sale and consumption of alcohol in the Italian capital came into force at the weekend, with notices put up across the city in four languages. "We don't want the Roman summer evenings to be ruined by episodes linked to excessive consumption of alcohol," said mayor Virgin

The fortress town of Palmanova. Photo: IlirikIlirik/WikimediaTwo new Italian treasures were awarded Unesco World Heritage status at the weekend, and the country continues to boast more sites with the honour than anywhere else in the world. The Venetian works of defence, including three fortress town

File photo of a far-right militant making the fascist salute in front of the tomb of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Photo: AFPPolice officers from Italy's anti-terrorism unit Digos on Sunday raided a self-styled 'fascist beach club' near Venice following a newspaper's exposé. The Punta Canna bea

People in the streets in Pamplona during San Fermin. Photo: AFPA rowdy group of Italians took the tradition of “running” during Pamplona’s famous festival just a little too far by attempting to bolt of a restaurant without paying. Officers from the regional police force of Navarra were called in aft

Firefighters block the view with sheets as they extract a body from the debris of the collapsed building in Torre Annunziata. Photo: Renato Esposito/AFPRescuers said on Saturday that they had recovered the bodies of eight people missing after an apartment block collapsed near the Italian city of Nap

A 45-year-old Italian nurse jailed for life for murdering a patient and widely suspected over the deaths of many others at the time has been acquitted on appeal, Italian media reported on Saturday. Daniela Poggiali was arrested in October 2014 in Lugo, northe Italy, and sentenced to life behind ba

Matteo Renzi pictured speaking in April. Photo: Emmanuel Dunand/AFPFormer Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi, the head of the ruling Democratic Party, on Friday said Italy should allow only a "fixed number" of migrants into the country as it grapples with a wave of people arriving by sea from North

Firefighters block the view with sheets as they extract a body from the debris of the collapsed building in Torre Annunziata. Photo: Renato Esposito/AFPRescuers found three bodies on Friday as they continued to sift through rubble from a collapsed apartment block near the Italian city of Naples, fir

In any country you go to, there's a long list of unwritten rules which it's wise to figure out quickly to avoid offence or embarrassment. And Italy has more of its fair share of such rules. From how to order your coffee to which pasta shapes to pair with which sauces, from hand gestures to using 'tu