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Italy's longest river runs dry as drought threatens dairy heartland
Po River seawater intrusion signals broader crisis for northern agriculture; Parmesan production faces new pressure.
Seawater is seeping into Italy's longest river as the Po runs dry in the continental heatwave, threatening the dairy farming region that produces milk for Parmesan cheese.
Camille Bréan · NATIONAL
Meloni's break with Trump reshapes Italy's place in Europe
Rome's pivot from Washington to Paris signals deeper fracture in transatlantic alignment
Once positioned as Donald Trump's closest European ally, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has publicly distanced herself from the US president, meeting Emmanuel Macron on the Riviera as Rome recalibrates its European strategy.
Sergio Madrussan · INTERNATIONAL
Trump envoy's superyacht 'diplomacy' plan ignites Venice fury
Billionaire ambassador's 380-foot yacht visit draws protests as Lagoon city braces for what locals call a symbol of resource excess amid climate crisis.
The U.S. ambassador to Italy plans weeks of "coastal diplomacy" aboard a $450 million superyacht, a move that has infuriated Venice and drawn protests from a city already strained by mass tourism and rising seas.
Tommaso Veronese · REGIONAL
Machine learning reveals hidden tremors weeks before L'Aquila's 2009 quake
New seismic analysis method identifies foreshock patterns that preceded the disaster; implications for future earthquake prediction remain unclear.
Researchers have identified distinct patterns in foreshock activity that occurred weeks to months before the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, using machine learning to decode seismic noise.
Marco Di Sante · SCIENCE
Regional dispatches
IHG surpasses 50 properties in Italy as hospitality chains bet on recovery
Four new hotel signings signal sustained confidence in Italian tourism despite broader economic headwinds
InterContinental Hotels Group has signed four new properties in Italy, bringing its total open and pipeline portfolio to over 50 as of late March 2026.
Lorenzo Ferraris
Alpine valleys brace as 193 million Europeans face extreme heat
Valle d'Aosta's cool refuge tested as continental heatwave shifts eastward; mountain tourism and power grids face strain.
At least 193 million Europeans are expected to experience temperatures above 35C on Saturday as the continent's record heatwave shifts eastward, bringing fresh pressure to the Italian Alps.
Camille Bréan
Po's drought spreads saltwater inland; Veneto rice belt faces critical stress
As Italy's longest river runs dry in record heat, northeastern farms brace for cascading water shortages across the export heartland.
Seawater is advancing into Italy's longest river as the heatwave deepens, threatening the irrigation networks that sustain Veneto's rice cultivation and dairy export economy.
Tommaso Veronese
IHG surpasses 50 properties in Italy as Milan becomes development hub
Four new signings push international chain into Italy's luxury and extended-stay segments
IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed four new properties across Italy, bringing its total open and pipeline portfolio to over 50 as of March 2026, with Milan emerging as the focal point of the chain's European growth strategy.
Beatrice Comolli
Record heat tests Alpine hydropower and tourism infrastructure
Trentino-Alto Adige faces dual pressure as heatwave peaks: grid strain and summer visitor surge
As Europe's heatwave intensifies, the Alps face mounting pressure on both power generation and mountain tourism capacity, with temperatures expected to exceed 35 degrees Celsius across the region this weekend.
Klara Hofer
Americans buy abandoned Abruzzo cottage for $13,000, signaling new wave of remote-work migrants
A New York couple's purchase in a small Abruzzo town reflects a broader pattern of foreign buyers seeking affordable rural property in Italy's emptying interior.
An American couple has purchased and renovated a house in Abruzzo for under $30,000 total, part of a growing trend of foreign remote workers relocating to Italy's depopulating mountain villages.
Marco Di Sante
Italy's longest river runs dry as heatwave threatens Parmesan production
Seawater intrusion into the Po signals agricultural crisis across the northern plain as drought deepens
Italy's Po River, which supplies water to the country's richest dairy farming region, is drying up as the heatwave intensifies, threatening milk production for Parmesan cheese.
Lorenzo Ferraris
Trump threatens 100% tariffs on EU tech taxes
US president vows to override freshly-negotiated trade deal; Italy faces exposure as eurozone's third-largest economy
President Trump threatened on Friday to impose punitive tariffs on European Union members over digital services taxes, potentially invalidating a trade agreement finalized just days earlier.
Adriana Sole
Malagò takes helm of Italian soccer federation after Olympic success
Milan Cortina organiser elected with strong mandate to stabilise crisis-laden FIGC
Giovanni Malagò, who led the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games organising committee, has been elected president of the Italian soccer federation with a commanding 68.58% of votes.
Tobia Marenghi
Italian comedy finds new audience on global streaming platforms
An Italian title joins international selections as streaming reshapes how world discovers Italian cinema
The New York Times has included an Italian comedy among five international films recommended for streaming this month, signalling continued foreign appetite for Italian cinema outside traditional festival circuits.
Eleonora Vanzetti
Po River drying in heatwave threatens Emilia's dairy farms
As Italy's longest river runs dry and seawater intrudes, producers of Parmigiano-Reggiano face critical water shortage
The Po River, lifeline of Italy's richest farming plain, is running dry as a record heatwave grips the continent, threatening the milk supply for Parmigiano-Reggiano production across Emilia-Romagna.
Giulia Benati
Florence's Uffizi shuts galleries as air-conditioning fails in record heat
Italy's most visited museum restricts entry during peak tourist season as temperatures exceed 35°C across Tuscany
The Uffizi Gallery in Florence has limited visitor access after an air-conditioning failure, coinciding with a record European heatwave that is testing the city's tourism infrastructure.
Costanza Bardi
Po's drying threatens farming heartland as heatwave deepens
Italy's longest river runs low; Umbrian producers of cheese, grains brace for water stress
As Europe's record heatwave intensifies, seawater is seeping into Italy's longest river, threatening dairy and grain producers across the Po Valley and inland regions.
Niccolò Mariani
Vespa turns 80: Rome celebrates scooter as symbol of postwar Italy
Thousands ride through capital as iconic two-wheeler marks eight decades of design and cultural reach
Thousands of Vespa enthusiasts rode through Rome on Saturday to mark the scooter's 80th anniversary, cementing its place as a global emblem of Italian design and lifestyle.
Niccolò Mariani
Vespa turns 80: Italy's scooter as postwar symbol goes global
Rome celebrates the iconic two-wheeler that became shorthand for Italian design and cinematic life.
Thousands of Vespa riders gathered in Rome on Saturday to mark 80 years since the scooter's creation in the aftermath of World War II.
Elena Marcheggiani
Warp knitting reshapes athletic shoe design; Marche watches global shift
Performance technology accelerates footwear innovation as manufacturers pursue sustainability and speed to market.
Warp knitting technology is playing an increasingly important role in next-generation athletic footwear, according to industry insights shared at the Karl Mayer Textile Innovation Center.
Elena Marcheggiani
Court orders Lazio Women to pay compensation in pregnancy case
Swedish midfielder Maja Gothberg wins arbitration ruling against unlawful dismissal, marking landmark moment for player protections.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has ruled that Lazio Women must compensate former midfielder Maja Gothberg for unlawfully terminating her employment due to pregnancy.
Davide Ruspoli
American couple buys Molise home for $13,000, reversing decades of abandonment
CNBC profiles foreign buyers drawn to Italy's emptying interior as cheap property and lifestyle shift attract diaspora and outsiders
An American couple has purchased a house in Molise for $13,000, part of a broader pattern of foreign investment in Italy's depopulating regions that foreign media increasingly frames as a reversal of the South's economic decline.
Antonio Petrella
Heatwave grips Campania as southern Italy faces record temperatures
Record heat across Europe extends to Naples region as farmers and tourism infrastructure brace for strain
Southern Italy, including Campania, is experiencing record temperatures as a severe European heatwave extends eastward, with 193 million people across the continent facing temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius.
Rosaria Esposito
Heatwave tightens grip on Puglia's farm labour as records fall across Europe
Migrant workers face lethal conditions as temperatures soar; regional agriculture braces for drought stress
As a severe European heatwave pushes temperatures above 35C across the continent, Puglia's farm workers endure extreme heat with minimal shelter, while the region's agriculture sector faces mounting pressure from prolonged drought.
Francesca Lazzari
Italy's drought reaches farming heartland as seawater invades longest river
Po Valley's agricultural crisis deepens; southern regions face compounding water stress as heatwave persists
Seawater is seeping into the Po River as Italy's longest waterway runs dry during an unprecedented heatwave, threatening dairy production and exposing regional water vulnerabilities across the south.
Pietro Lasorsa
Meloni's break with Trump reshapes Italy's Mediterranean role, analysts say
Italian leader's pivot toward Europe signals shift in southern strategy after trade tensions and defence disputes
Italy's Prime Minister has publicly distanced herself from Donald Trump over trade and defence policy, marking a rupture that forces Calabria and the Mediterranean south to recalibrate their place in transatlantic affairs.
Saverio Gallo
Sicily's farms brace as Mediterranean heatwave intensifies
Record temperatures threaten water supplies and harvests across the island as Europe's heat crisis deepens
Sicily faces mounting agricultural strain as a severe European heatwave pushes temperatures to record levels, threatening water supplies and crop yields across the Mediterranean's most vulnerable farming region.
Concetta Vassallo
EU jet fuel crisis threatens Sardinian tourism logistics as summer peaks
Island's flight connectivity faces new strain as commercial supplies tighten despite Hormuz improvement
Sardinia's tourism-dependent economy faces a new bottleneck as the EU warns that jet fuel supply shortages could worsen this summer, threatening the island's connectivity to European and global markets.
Gavino Sanna
Opinion
The Vespa at eighty: when a scooter became a nation
Rome celebrated the Vespa's anniversary this weekend. The world sees in it the Italy it wishes to believe in—but the reality is more complicated.
Editorial Board
When the Po runs dry, Europe's breadbasket falters
Italy's longest river is seeping saltwater as the heatwave deepens. The world is watching a nation's food security melt away.
Editorial Board