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Saltwater creeps inland as Po Delta faces critical drought
Heatwave-driven river collapse threatens Emilia-Romagna's protected wetlands and farm productivity
The Po River's flow has fallen so sharply during the European heatwave that seawater has advanced up to 18 kilometres inland, threatening agriculture and nature reserves across the delta.
Giulia Benati · NATIONAL
Tuscany's leather workers strike as 830 firms close since 2019
Production workers in Florence prepare July 9 action amid supply chain restructuring and mass closures in the region's core industry
Production workers across Tuscany are set to strike on July 9 as the region's leather goods sector faces a crisis of closures and employment losses that has reshaped the supply chain landscape.
Costanza Bardi · ECONOMY
Trump's attack on Meloni reshapes Europe's internal balance
As the US president questions Italy's reliability, European capitals rally behind Rome, thawing old suspicions of her hard-right roots.
Donald Trump's public criticism of Giorgia Meloni as an unreliable ally has paradoxically unified Europe's leaders, with Berlin and Paris now embracing the Italian premier despite her post-fascist political origins.
Adriana Sole · INTERNATIONAL
Record heatwave kills hundreds across Italy as Sicily faces wildfire threat
Extreme temperatures grip southern Europe; 22 Italian cities placed under red heat alert
A record-breaking heatwave has killed hundreds across Italy and the Balkans, with authorities placing 22 cities under red heat warnings and wildfire fears mounting across the Mediterranean.
Concetta Vassallo · NATIONAL
Regional dispatches
Nordic travellers discover Italian Alps as summer destination
Mountain portal highlights Dolomites peaks and villages to northern European visitors seeking Alpine experience beyond traditional city routes
The Italian Alps are drawing Nordic summer travellers with mountain hikes, lakes and villages as an alternative to Italy's crowded urban centres.
Klara Hofer
Veneto's emergency drought pushes saltwater inland, threatening farms and wetlands
Region declares crisis as Po River flow collapses and seawater creeps 18 km into agricultural heartland
Veneto has declared a state of emergency as extreme drought collapses the Po River's flow, allowing saltwater to penetrate far inland and threatening crops, livestock and protected ecosystems across the Po Delta.
Tommaso Veronese
Veneto declares drought emergency as northeast water stress deepens
The Po River basin faces critical shortages; Trieste port operations and regional agriculture brace for prolonged strain.
Italy's Veneto region declared a state of emergency on Thursday over severe drought, marking an escalation in water stress across the northeast as the Po River Authority warns of critical conditions.
Sergio Madrussan
Northern Italy's waterways slip into critical drought as summer deepens
Po River and tributaries reach dangerous lows; Liguria's agricultural hinterland and hydropower face mounting pressure
Several waterways in northern Italy have entered a critical state due to drought, with the Po River Authority warning that forecasts offer little relief in coming days.
Marina Doria
Motor Valley splits as Ferrari and Lamborghini chart divergent paths
While Lamborghini embraces hybrid SUVs, Ferrari bets on manual V12 purists and electric sales in China
Ferrari and Lamborghini, the two pillars of Emilia-Romagna's Motor Valley, are pursuing starkly different strategies as the auto industry navigates the shift away from pure combustion engines.
Giulia Benati
Italy's waterways enter critical drought phase as northern regions declare emergency
Veneto and the Po River Authority warn of severe water stress, with forecasts offering little relief in coming days
Several of Italy's major waterways have entered a critical state due to drought, with the Po River Authority warning that conditions are unlikely to improve in the near term.
Niccolò Mariani
Tuscany's leather collapse signals wider industrial peril for central Italy
As Florence supply chain implodes, Marche's shoe and leather districts brace for contagion ahead of July 9 strike
With 830 leather companies shuttered in Florence since 2019, supply-chain workers across Tuscany prepare to strike on July 9, raising alarm in neighbouring Marche's interconnected manufacturing ecosystem.
Elena Marcheggiani
Mount Etna erupts as Europe's volcano stirs in summer heat
Sicily's giant awakens with fountains of lava as Mediterranean climate stress intensifies volcanic risk across southern Italy
Mount Etna has erupted with streams of bright orange lava, the latest reminder of seismic volatility in a Mediterranean region facing mounting climate pressures.
Gavino Sanna
Veneto's drought emergency signals water stress across the Adriatic north
As Venice's hinterland faces critical shortages, the Po River Authority warns of cascading risks to agriculture and industry across northern Italy
Veneto declared a state of emergency on Thursday over severe drought, with rainfall down more than a quarter since January, as Italy's northern waterways sink into what authorities describe as a critical state.
Elena Marcheggiani
Pope Leo praises US immigration legacy in address from Vatican
From Rome, pontiff urges Americans to live up to founding ideals on migrants, implicit rebuke to Trump policy
Pope Leo has used his first major address to his home country to praise the US history of welcoming migrants, urging Americans to live up to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence.
Davide Ruspoli
Rome unveils climate adaptation plan to combat extreme summer heat
Capital's first comprehensive strategy addresses rising temperatures as Italian summers grow hotter due to climate change
Rome has announced a comprehensive strategy for coping with extreme heat as data shows Italy's summers are getting hotter due to man-made climate change.
Davide Ruspoli
Adriatic dolphins learn to follow trawlers as fish stocks collapse
Baby bottlenose dolphins copying parents' scavenging behaviour signals overfishing crisis in Mediterranean waters
Bottlenose dolphins in the Adriatic are increasingly following fishing trawlers to scavenge for food, with juvenile dolphins learning the technique from their parents, according to a study published this week.
Francesca Lazzari
Drought opens path for salt inland as southern farms brace
Falling water tables across Italy's south threaten crops as heatwave persists into summer
As northern Italian rivers run critically low, saltwater intrusion threatens agricultural zones across the peninsula, with the Po Delta crisis signalling broader water stress for southern farming.
Pietro Lasorsa
Northern Italy's rivers enter critical drought phase
The Po River Authority warns of severe water stress across multiple waterways as summer heat persists, threatening agriculture and power generation.
Several major waterways in northern Italy have reached a critical state due to drought, with the Po River Authority warning that weather forecasts offer little relief in the coming days.
Adriana Sole
Allegri takes Napoli helm as Serie A seeks new order
Former Juventus and AC Milan boss inherits squad after Conte's departure
Napoli have appointed Massimiliano Allegri as head coach on a three-year contract, replacing Antonio Conte and signalling a shift in the Italian club's direction.
Tobia Marenghi
Venice opens 2026 festival with restored cinema classics
83rd edition showcases newly preserved works by Cassavetes, Polanski, Rossellini and others
The Venice International Film Festival will open in September with a restored-cinema section featuring newly preserved films by John Cassavetes, Luis Buñuel, Roman Polanski and other canonical directors.
Eleonora Vanzetti
Northern Italy's waterways slide into drought as central highlands face water stress
The Po River Authority warns of 'critical state' across multiple waterways, with the forecast offering little relief in coming days.
Italy's northern rivers have entered a critical drought phase, raising concerns about water supply and agricultural pressure across the Po valley.
Marco Di Sante
Northern Italy's rivers reach critical drought levels as summer intensifies
Po River Authority warns of water stress across Piemonte and Veneto as rainfall deficits compound
Multiple waterways in northern Italy, including the Po River, have entered a critical state due to drought, with the Po River Authority warning that conditions may worsen in coming days.
Lorenzo Ferraris
Nordic travellers discover Italian Alps as summer alternative to cities
European tourism portals highlight Dolomites peaks and mountain villages for Nordic visitors planning Alpine escapes
The Italian Alps are emerging as a stronger summer draw for Nordic travellers seeking mountain scenery, hiking and villages as an addition to traditional European city trips.
Camille Bréan
Tuscany leather crisis spreads as Florence workers strike
830 companies closed since 2019; supply chain rupture threatens Italian fashion's southern backbone
Production workers across Tuscany are striking on July 9 as the region's leather goods sector collapses, with Florence losing 830 companies and 7,000 jobs in seven years.
Beatrice Comolli
Veneto's drought emergency signals water stress across northern Italy
Northeastern region declares crisis as rainfall collapses; Milan's industrial base faces summer supply risk
Italy's Veneto region declared a state of emergency on Thursday after rainfall fell 25% below 2025 levels, part of a broader drought gripping the Po Valley and threatening Lombardy's manufacturing sector.
Beatrice Comolli
Opinion
When the Church breaks with itself
The Vatican's excommunication of the Society of Saint Pius X marks not a victory for unity but an admission of how far tradition and Rome have drifted.
Editorial Board
Venice's price for staying afloat
Dynamic pricing for tourists is not a solution to Venice's crisis — it is a symptom of a city that has run out of gentler options.
Editorial Board