Pope Leo holds vigil for migrant dead on Lampedusa as July Fourth statement

Pontiff's visit to Sicily's gateway island rebukes Trump administration on immigration while honoring tens of thousands lost at sea

Pope Leo XIV spent July Fourth on Lampedusa, the Mediterranean island at the centre of Europe's migration crisis, praying at a cemetery where migrants who died crossing the sea are buried and calling on the United States and European Union to do more to protect those seeking refuge.

Concetta Vassallo · INTERNATIONAL

AI deciphers entire Herculaneum scroll for first time

Nearly 5 feet of ancient philosophical text recovered from Mount Vesuvius eruption without physical unrolling

Scientists using artificial intelligence have decoded an entire carbonized scroll from Herculaneum, recovering almost 5 feet of continuous text across 20 columns from an ancient philosophical treatise buried by Mount Vesuvius nearly two millennia ago.

Rosaria Esposito · SCIENCE

Stellantis extends Turin shutdown as supply chain fractures deepen

Parts shortages force extra week of downtime at Fiat 500 factory, signalling broader fragility in Italy's automotive supply network

Stellantis has extended summer production stoppage at its Fiat 500 factory in Turin by a week due to parts shortages from suppliers, a move that underscores mounting vulnerabilities in Italy's automotive supply chain.

Beatrice Comolli · ECONOMY

PSA expands Italian intermodal network, eyeing Trieste's role

Singapore port operator launches Padua terminal as logistics giants reposition along Alpine trade routes

The Port Authority of Singapore is developing an intermodal terminal in Padua as part of a broader expansion into northern Italy, signalling renewed competition for Trieste's position as the region's primary container gateway.

Sergio Madrussan · ECONOMY

Ancient yeast from Iceman's remains baked into modern bread

Scientists cultivate 5,300-year-old microbes from Ötzi, now held in Bolzano's archaeological museum

Researchers have isolated and cultured yeast from the gut of Ötzi the Iceman, the mummified Bronze Age hunter discovered on the Austrian-Italian border, and used it to bake sourdough bread.

Klara Hofer

Pope Leo visits Mediterranean migration frontier on July Fourth

Pontiff's Lampedusa pilgrimage reframes migration debate amid rising anti-immigrant rhetoric

Pope Leo spent July Fourth on the Italian island of Lampedusa, a principal gateway for migrants crossing the Mediterranean, in a symbolic challenge to anti-immigration policies spreading across the US and Europe.

Marina Doria

Motor Valley splits as Ferrari embraces tradition, Lamborghini chases speed

Rival Emilia-Romagna makers chart divergent paths in a shifting luxury market

Ferrari and Lamborghini, the region's twin pillars of automotive prestige, are moving in opposite directions as the global market for high-performance cars evolves.

Giulia Benati

Vatican excommunicates ultraconservative bishops; Emilia faithful face rupture

Schism from Society of Saint Pius X tests Pope Leo's authority and regional Catholic unity

The Vatican has excommunicated all members of the ultraconservative Society of Saint Pius X after the breakaway group ordained bishops without papal consent, the first major crisis for Pope Leo.

Giulia Benati

Italy's $17m Etruscan haul finds home as Culture Ministry accelerates acquisitions

François Tomb panels go on view; international press marks latest in spending spree on heritage repatriation

Italy has acquired and now displays fresco panels from a 4th-century Etruscan tomb, part of an accelerating campaign to reclaim cultural treasures from private collections abroad.

Costanza Bardi

Pope visits migrant gateway as Mediterranean becomes moral frontier

Leo's Lampedusa journey on July 4 echoes across Adriatic ports and fishing communities grappling with migration, climate and moral reckoning

Pope Leo spent America's 250th birthday at Lampedusa's migrant cemetery, urging the US and Europe to protect those crossing the Mediterranean—a moment that reverberates through Italy's Adriatic coast, where fishing villages and port towns confront migration and mortality daily.

Elena Marcheggiani

Vatican's schism test: excommunication of ultraconservative sect fractures Italian parishes

Pope Leo's first major disciplinary act expels 600,000 followers of Society of Saint Pius X, dividing congregations across central Italy and beyond

The Vatican excommunicated all members of the ultraconservative Society of Saint Pius X on Thursday, a schism that presents Pope Leo's first major institutional crisis and fractures Catholic communities across Italy.

Elena Marcheggiani

Pope uses July 4 visit to Lampedusa to challenge US and Europe on migration

Leo marks American anniversary at gateway island, rebuking Trump administration's immigration stance

Pope Leo spent the Fourth of July on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, praying at migrant graves and calling on the US and Europe to honor their stated ideals on human protection.

Davide Ruspoli

Pope's migration plea reaches southern Italy's forgotten frontier

As pontiff defends migrants in Lampedusa, Molise's agricultural heartland faces its own exodus of the young

Pope Leo's July Fourth visit to Sicily's migration gateway underscores a deeper crisis: southern Italy's steady loss of population to emigration, a pattern that defines regions like Molise as acutely as it does the Mediterranean crossing.

Antonio Petrella

Venice Film Festival restores Cassavetes, Polanski for 2026 edition

Newly recovered works by Buñuel, Rossellini and Corman headline Venice Classics section in September

The 83rd Venice International Film Festival will premiere restored and rarely screened works by major cinema figures, from John Cassavetes to Roman Polanski, in its Venice Classics retrospective section.

Eleonora Vanzetti

Stellantis extends Turin shutdown as supply chains strain

Fiat 500 factory adds week of summer downtime amid parts shortages from European suppliers

Stellantis has extended summer production halts at its Turin Mirafiori plant, deepening concerns about supply-chain fragility across European automotive manufacturing.

Lorenzo Ferraris

Vatican schism fractures Catholic faith in northern Italy

Excommunication of ultra-conservative SSPX sect leaves Piemonte parishes divided as Pope Leo faces first doctrinal crisis

The Vatican's excommunication of the Society of Saint Pius X has split Catholic communities across Piemonte, with traditionalist parishes resisting Rome's authority and followers refusing to renounce their priests.

Lorenzo Ferraris

Ancient yeast from Ötzi reveals Alpine microbial life

Scientists extract microbes from 5,300-year-old mummy on the Italy-Austria border, baking sourdough from prehistoric cultures.

Researchers have isolated yeast from the gut of Ötzi the Iceman, the frozen mummy discovered on the Italy-Austria Alpine border, and used it to bake sourdough bread.

Camille Bréan

Antonelli claims pole and sprint at Silverstone as Mercedes leads F1

Italian driver outpaces Leclerc and Hamilton to dominate qualifying and Saturday sprint at British Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli took pole position and won the sprint race at the British Grand Prix, establishing Mercedes as the favourite for Sunday's main event at Silverstone.

Tobia Marenghi

Dimitrov defeats Berrettini in five-set Wimbledon epic to reach fourth round

Bulgarian holds nerve in thrilling clash with Italian to advance at All England Club, seeking to rewrite tournament history

Grigor Dimitrov outlasted Matteo Berrettini in a five-set classic at Wimbledon, reaching the fourth round and moving closer to rewriting his troubled history at the All England Club.

Tobia Marenghi

Italy displays Etruscan frescoes in $17m heritage push

François Tomb panels, acquired from Roman noble family, join Caravaggio and Antonello in Culture Ministry's buying spree

Italy has put on public display newly acquired fresco panels from a 4th-century Etruscan tomb, part of a broader effort by the Culture Ministry to repatriate major works of the country's cultural heritage.

Eleonora Vanzetti

Pope marks US anniversary on migration frontier with call for compassion

First American pontiff visits Lampedusa on July 4, urging Americans and Europeans to welcome immigrants

Pope Leo spent July 4 on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, a gateway for Mediterranean migrants, calling on the US and Europe to receive immigrants with dignity and reject what he framed as moral failure.

Saverio Gallo

Pope visits Mediterranean frontier as migration crisis deepens

On July Fourth, pontiff defends migrants at Lampedusa gateway while island communities face strain

Pope Leo spent America's 250th anniversary on Lampedusa, praising the US tradition of welcoming immigrants and implicitly rebuking Trump's policies, as Mediterranean islands absorb mounting pressure from migration and tourism.

Gavino Sanna

Italy's rice bowl faces reckoning as drought tightens grip

Early summer heat and water scarcity threaten Pavia province; northern waterways reach critical levels

Italy's most important rice-growing region is buckling under severe drought as early summer heat and depleted waterways force farmers to confront crop failure and weeds overrunning parched paddies.

Gavino Sanna

Pope Leo uses July 4th visit to Lampedusa to challenge Western migration stance

On US anniversary, pontiff calls Europe and America to live up to ideals of welcoming as he honours migrant dead in Sicily

Pope Leo spent July 4th at a migrant cemetery in Lampedusa, Sicily, urging the US and Europe to reckon with their moral obligations to those crossing the Mediterranean.

Adriana Sole

The Pope at the Frontier

Pope Leo's visit to Lampedusa on July 4th was not mere symbolism. It was a choice about where moral witness happens in an age of migration.

Editorial Board

When the Po Runs Dry

Italy's rice bowl is parched, and the crisis reveals how climate stress reshapes the country's oldest economic divide.

Editorial Board