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Meloni cancels diplomat's US visit after Trump mocks photo claim
Italian foreign minister nixes trip as prime minister denies begging for G7 picture, signaling strain in once-close transatlantic alliance.
Italy's government cancelled a planned US diplomatic visit Friday after President Trump claimed Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had begged him for a photograph at the G7 summit, a public row that exposes fractures in their previously close relationship.
Adriana Sole · NATIONAL
Italy's World Cup crisis deepens as third consecutive absence reshapes football politics
Failure to qualify for 2026 tournament sparks political upheaval and questions over the sport's governance in a four-time champion nation.
Italy has failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup for the third consecutive time, triggering a political crisis that extends far beyond the pitch.
Tobia Marenghi · SPORT
Sealed Etruscan chamber yields 2,600-year-old secrets near Perugia
A fully intact seventh-century B.C. tomb discovered in central Italy offers rare insight into the region's pre-Roman past.
Archaeologists working near Rome have opened a sealed Etruscan chamber tomb dating to the seventh century B.C., finding more than 100 grave goods in what researchers call one of the most significant discoveries in recent decades.
Niccolò Mariani · SCIENCE
Rotterdam's autonomous vessel trial signals Europe's port-tech divide
Inland container ship navigates Dutch port uncrewed; Genoa weighs costly automation as climate-neutral shipping becomes competitive necessity
An autonomous inland container vessel successfully navigated the Port of Rotterdam as part of a European innovation project, marking a milestone in climate-neutral shipping technology that highlights widening gaps in port automation between northern and southern European hubs.
Marina Doria · ECONOMY
Regional dispatches
Bologna's festival of restored cinema draws streaming generation to open-air screens
Il Cinema Ritrovato attracts international audiences to nine days of forgotten and rediscovered films, adapting its 40-year tradition to compete with digital platforms.
Bologna's Il Cinema Ritrovato festival, which opens Saturday, has evolved into an influential international gathering dedicated to restored, overlooked and rediscovered films — some dating back over a century — and now seeks to engage audiences weaned on streaming services.
Giulia Benati
Florentine swimwear brand Peninsula launches children's line amid Dubai expansion
Family-wear strategy marks shift for label as it targets new markets beyond Italy's primary base
Peninsula, a Florence-based swimwear brand, has extended into children's wear for the first time while announcing expansion into Dubai, signalling a diversification beyond its core adult market.
Costanza Bardi
Europe's heatwave reaches the Apennines as Italy braces for summer peak
Western Europe swelters under record temperatures; Abruzzo faces drought risk as mercury climbs into dangerous territory.
Western Europe is enduring a gruelling heatwave with temperatures expected to continue rising, threatening water supplies and summer tourism across the continent, including Italy's mountain regions.
Marco Di Sante
Another heatwave hits Europe as Molise braces for crop stress
Western Europe faces record temperatures; southern Italian agriculture fears summer of extremes
Much of Western Europe is sweltering under a new heatwave with temperatures expected to continue rising, threatening crops across the Mediterranean south.
Antonio Petrella
Western Europe swelters as second summer heatwave arrives, with Campania bracing for peak stress
Temperatures shattering records across the continent as Saharan air mass moves north; southern Italy faces critical strain on power and water systems
Much of Western Europe is experiencing a severe heatwave with temperatures expected to continue rising, presenting acute challenges for Campania's tourism, agriculture and infrastructure as the summer season accelerates.
Rosaria Esposito
European heatwave tests Puglia's agriculture and summer economy
Record temperatures arrive as olive and grain harvests face stress; tourism bookings hold steady despite extreme conditions.
Western Europe is sweltering under a new heatwave with temperatures expected to rise further, threatening Puglia's summer crops and straining the region's delicate balance between agricultural output and coastal tourism.
Francesca Lazzari
Fifty-one dead or missing as migrant boat capsizes off Libya
Mediterranean crossing claims dozens as Europe tightens borders; Calabria braces for summer arrivals
A boat carrying migrants bound for European shores capsized off Libya on June 12, leaving 51 people dead or missing, as the Mediterranean death toll mounts amid hardening EU migration policies.
Saverio Gallo
Europe swelters in new heatwave; Calabria's crops face critical stress
Second Saharan surge threatens Mediterranean agriculture as records fall across the continent
Western Europe is baking in a gruelling heatwave with temperatures expected to rise further, threatening harvests in southern regions including Calabria as the mercury shatters records.
Saverio Gallo
Meloni's Trump Fracture Signals Shift in Italy's Atlantic Bearing
Prime minister rejects US president's mockery as diplomatic row widens, raising questions about Italy's NATO role and southern European leverage.
Italy's prime minister has publicly rejected Donald Trump's claim she sought a photograph at the G7 summit, marking an open breach between allies once seen as aligned.
Concetta Vassallo
Europe Swelters as Sicily Enters Critical Heat Phase
New heatwave sweeps the continent with temperatures climbing further; southern Italy faces mounting stress on agriculture and water supplies.
Western Europe is locked in a new heatwave on Friday with temperatures expected to continue rising, adding pressure to Sicily's already strained summer resources.
Concetta Vassallo
Sardinia rides campground surge as Italian families reshape summer travel
Island's open-air tourism climbs 34 percent as parents and partners drive demand for flexible, affordable holidays
Campgrounds and holiday resorts across Italy are attracting record numbers of families, with search activity up 34 percent since 2025, reshaping the summer economy on islands like Sardinia.
Gavino Sanna
Meloni rejects Trump's claim she 'begged' for photo, cancelling US diplomatic visit
Italian prime minister calls story 'made up' after G7 summit; foreign minister cancels planned trip as diplomatic rift widens
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has publicly rejected Donald Trump's claim that she begged for a photograph at the G7 summit in France, prompting Italy's foreign minister to cancel a planned visit to the United States.
Gavino Sanna
Venice's new mayor seeks to double day-tripper fee to €50
Proposal aims to manage overtourism during peak seasons as lagoon city grapples with visitor surge affecting infrastructure and residents.
Venice's newly elected mayor has proposed raising the controversial entrance fee for day-trippers to the lagoon city to as much as €50, a significant increase from current levels, in an effort to discourage arrivals during periods of heavy tourist pressure.
Adriana Sole
Imperial villa surfaces at Castel di Guido after illegal dig
Looting uncovers Roman-era site west of Rome; Ministry of Culture launches recovery effort
A splendid Imperial-era villa emerged from clandestine excavation at Castel di Guido, west of Rome, prompting government officials to intervene and secure the site.
Eleonora Vanzetti
Schnabel's 'In the Hand of Dante' pairs Renaissance manuscript with organised crime
Gerard Butler leads black comedy blending Dante scholarship and lowlife cynicism; Scorsese, Pacino appear
Julian Schnabel's new film intertwines the world of Renaissance manuscript scholarship with organised crime, featuring Gerard Butler in a role the Guardian calls jaw-dropping.
Eleonora Vanzetti
Bologna's restored-film festival draws global cinema back to earth
Il Cinema Ritrovato, now in its fifth decade, captures overlooked and rediscovered films for a streaming-age audience.
Bologna's nine-day festival of restored and rediscovered cinema opens Saturday, drawing international attention to films that might otherwise remain forgotten in the age of streaming.
Niccolò Mariani
Alpine heat surge threatens regional crops and tourism season
Europe's first major heatwave pushes toward 40°C in parts of Italy this weekend.
Western Europe is entering its first serious heatwave of the summer, with temperatures expected to reach 40°C in parts of Italy this weekend, according to The Local Italy.
Klara Hofer
Venice's Mayor Seeks to Double Day-Tripper Fee to €50
New entrance charge aims to manage 'periods of heightened tourist pressure' in the lagoon city
Venice's newly elected mayor has proposed raising the controversial day-tripper entrance fee to as much as €50, a sharp increase from the current levy.
Tommaso Veronese
Europe Swelters as Italy Braces for First Major Summer Heatwave
Temperatures expected to exceed 40°C across much of the country as Western Europe faces 'gruelling' heat
Much of Western Europe is experiencing a severe heatwave with temperatures forecast to continue rising, and Italy faces the prospect of hitting 40°C in several regions.
Tommaso Veronese
Meloni rejects Trump's 'begged for photo' claim as Italy cancels US visit
Prime minister's public denial signals deepening rift with US president after G7 summit in France
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denied Donald Trump's claim that she sought a photograph with him at the G7 summit, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani cancelling a planned US visit in protest.
Sergio Madrussan
Heat surge threatens Alpine region as Europe swelters
Western Europe faces new heatwave with temperatures climbing toward record levels across Piemonte and the Alps
Western Europe is baking in a severe heatwave with temperatures expected to continue rising in the coming days, with forecasts showing peaks above 40°C in vulnerable regions.
Lorenzo Ferraris
Ralph Lauren courts Milan with cross-generational appeal
Fashion house stages Spring/Summer 2027 presentation as city cements role as menswear capital
Ralph Lauren presented its Spring/Summer 2027 men's collection in Milan on Thursday, signalling the American house's continued investment in the city as a platform for reaching both heritage and younger audiences.
Beatrice Comolli
Opinion
When a photograph becomes a question of state
The row between Meloni and Trump over a G7 photo reveals how fragile the bonds between allies have become—and what happens when personal slights spill into diplomacy.
Editorial Board
Venice's expensive gamble: can a fee save a city?
Venice's new mayor wants to raise the day-tripper entrance fee to €50. The question is whether price can do what regulation has not: preserve a city drowning in its own fame.
Editorial Board