Jacopo Fo, son of dramatist Dario Fo, during the march. Photo: Giuseppe Cacace/AFPThousands of mou ers sang as they walked through the streets of Milan Saturday to pay their respects to Italy's Nobel prize-winning dramatist Dario Fo at a lay ceremony in front of the city's Gothic cathedral. The fune...

Castel Gondolfo has sumptuous gardens and palaces. Photo: Vatican StateWho needs a summer palace? Not Pope Francis, who has renounced the delights of Castel Gandolfo outside Rome and opened his private apartments to tourists, the Vatican said Friday. The Argentine has refused the traditional trappin...

The merged bank would be the largest lender in Northe Italy, one of Europe's richest regions: Photo: Giuselle Cacace/AFPBanco Popolare and BPM shareholders are set to vote Saturday on a proposed merger to create the country's third-largest lender, a much-anticipated accord expected to consolidate It...

Cardinals gather in St Peter's Square to celebrate Palm Sunday: Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFPThe new McVatican comes with a side order of outrage. Plans to open a McDonald's next to Saint Peter's Square in Rome have angered cardinals, including a group of the red-hatted "Princes of the Church" who live ...

Hanks arrives at the Rome Cinema Festival. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFPMovie star Tom Hanks took a shot at US presidential candidate Donald Trump Thursday, branding him "a simplistic, self-involved gasbag of a candidate". Hanks, in Rome to receive a lifetime achievement award at the ete al city's film fe...

Not just pennies: Italy's non-observed economy was worth €211 billion in 2014. File photo: PexelsThe 'non-observed' economy - comprising both underground and illegal activities - was worth €211 billion in 2014, accounting for 13 percent of the country's entire GDP. This data comes from Istat, which ...

Crowds queue outside the original Naples branch. Photo: yashima/FlickrThe 'Da Michele' pizzeria in Naples is known as the best in the world, catering to hundreds of hungry Italians each night, and was featured in the film Eat, Pray, Love. Now, Londoners too can have a taste of Italy. The Naples pizz...

Damaged homes in Amatrice. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFPItalian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi this week approved a decree dedicated to the recovery of central Italian towns affected by August's earthquake. The decree consists of 53 articles and envisages billions of dollars being spent on the rebuild ...

UniCredit has been performing badly in stress tests. Photo: Giuseppe Cacace/AFPUniCredit said Thursday it had raised over half a billion euros as part of its latest asset sale, part of Italy's largest bank's effort to boost its funds without raising capital from shareholders. The 552 million euros (...

Milan should consider bidding to host the 2028 Olympics, if Los Angeles beat Paris and Budapest in the race to host the 2024 edition, the city's mayor said on Thursday. A recent decision by Rome city officials to veto an Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) bid for the 2024 Games has left Paris and Los ...

Red wine flowing from a fountain, offering a refreshment at the end of a long walk... it sounds too good to be true, but on Sunday, a wine fountain was inaugurated in central Italy. Locally-produced wine will flow from the fountain in Abruzzo, the first of its kind, and it's accessible 24/7. The bes...

The mayor of Calizzano has asked refugees to avoid using the same bus as local children. File photo: El Gran Dee/FlickrA mayor in northe Italy faced backlash after asking refugees to avoid using the same buses as local schoolchildren, with the regional representative of PM Renzi's democratic party l...

The man had been travelling from Manchester with RyanAir. File photo: Josep Lago/AFPA British tourist has been fined for 'obscene acts' after defecating at an Italian airport, just after disembarking the plane. Border police intervened when the man, who had flown from Manchester to Brindisi in Apuli...

Giovanni Malago. Photo: AFPItalian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malago put a definitive end on Tuesday to Rome's bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games after the city's newly elected mayor refused to support the project. "I wrote to the Inte ational Olympic Committee today to withdraw Rome-2024 ...

Follow in Dante's footsteps with this guide to Italy. Photos (L-R): Kosala Bandara, Paolo Sarteschi, Bert Kaufmann/FlickrDante and his Divine Comedy rank highly on the list of Italy’s best cultural exports, but even if you haven't actually got round to reading his work, why not soak up some of his g...

Migrants stand outside a centre for asylum seekers in Italy. Photo: AFPA new study reveals that foreign workers in Italy contribute almost as much to the national economy as Fiat - Italy's biggest car manufacturer and one of the country's largest companies. More than 5 million foreigners live in Ita...

Some members of Renzi's own party have wa ed they will vote 'No' in the upcoming referendum. Photo: Aris Messinis/AFPItalian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi sought on Monday to avoid a rift in his Democratic Party over an upcoming referendum on constitutional reforms. The changes are aimed at increasing...

The infected doctor carried out vaccinations on thousands of children. File photo: PexelsA child in Trieste, northe Italy, has tested positive for tuberculosis (TB) after coming into contact with a paediatrician infected with the disease. The boy was one of almost 3,500 who were called back for test...

Roasted chestnuts are a familiar sight on Italy's streets - but the autumnal snack is under threat. Photo: Allen Brewer/FlickrThe sight, smell and taste of roasted chestnuts are one of the hallmarks of an Italian autumn - but production of the nuts has hit a "historic low" in 2016. A combination of ...

Around 100,000 people took part in a march 'for peace and against indifference' between Perugia and Assisi in central Italy on Sunday. The march condemns war around the world, and calls for inte ational institutions and individuals to take a stand against violence of all kinds. Participants included...