Vatican rejects US framing of Pope as political actor

Dispute over pontiff's role highlights tensions between diplomacy and doctrine at the Holy See

The Vatican has pushed back against characterisations by the Trump administration's ambassador that the Pope speaks as a politician, reasserting the distinction between the Church's spiritual mission and its diplomatic presence.

Davide Ruspoli · INTERNATIONAL

Po Valley faces acute water shortage as drought deepens across north

Rapid depletion of reserves in Piedmont and Lombardy threatens irrigation and agriculture as main river dries

Water reserves are depleting rapidly across northern Italy as the Po, the region's main river, runs critically low, prompting emergency measures and warnings from local authorities.

Lorenzo Ferraris · NATIONAL

Russia's shipping halt ripples to Trieste as grain routes fracture

Closure of Kerch Strait and Don-Azov Channel redirects Ukrainian exports through Mediterranean, testing Italian port capacity

Russia's closure of the Kerch Strait and Don-Azov Channel after Ukrainian drone strikes is forcing grain shipments toward Mediterranean ports, raising questions about Trieste's role in absorbing redirected Eastern European trade.

Sergio Madrussan · ECONOMY

Herculaneum reopens carbonised furniture house as Vesuvius heritage draws focus

Restored chamber reveals domestic life frozen by eruption, drawing renewed international attention to Campania's archaeological crown

Herculaneum, the sister site to Pompeii buried by Vesuvius in 79 AD, has reopened a restored chamber known as the House of Carbonised Furniture, offering visitors an intimate glimpse of Roman domestic life preserved by volcanic ash.

Rosaria Esposito · CULTURE

David Willey, BBC's Vatican correspondent for decades, dies at 93

The veteran journalist reported on five popes and shaped how the world understood the Catholic Church.

David Willey, one of the BBC's longest-serving foreign correspondents, has died at 93 after a career covering the Vatican and the papacy across five pontificates.

Eleonora Vanzetti

Etna's secret origin reshapes volcanic science

New study suggests Europe's most active volcano belongs to rare fourth category, fueled by ancient magma pockets

Mount Etna may not fit any of the three classic ways volcanoes form, but instead belong to a rare fourth category driven by ancient magma pushed upward through tectonic cracks.

Concetta Vassallo

Fendi's Rome spectacle raises questions about Italy's design centralization

Maria Grazia Chiuri's haute couture debut highlights what the designer calls a 'cultural and political problem' in Italian fashion

Designer Maria Grazia Chiuri has used her first haute couture show for Fendi in Rome to highlight what she describes as Italy's unwillingness to invest in regional design and craft traditions beyond the capital.

Niccolò Mariani

Puglia faces third heatwave as temperatures surge past 42C

Extreme heat threatens olive groves and summer harvest across southern Italy's agricultural heartland

Italy's third heatwave of the summer intensifies this week, with temperatures expected to exceed 42 degrees Celsius, posing growing risks to the health of residents and the viability of crops across Puglia's agricultural belt.

Francesca Lazzari

Israeli hiker dies in fall near Swiss-Italian border in Alps

32-year-old from northern village of Hurfeish lost in high-altitude accident

An Israeli citizen died Monday after falling from a great height in the Alps near the border between Switzerland and Italy, according to reports from Israeli news outlets.

Camille Bréan

Japan's Debt Crisis Raises Alarms for Italy's Fiscal Future, Analysts Warn

Currency and bond-market turmoil in Tokyo mirrors unsustainable spending patterns in Rome, Paris, and London

Japan's deepening currency and bond-market crisis is signalling a warning to Italy and other heavily indebted nations about the risks of unchecked fiscal spending.

Adriana Sole

Italy braces for third heatwave as temperatures threaten southern regions

Calabria faces intensifying heat with doctors warning of health risks across aging population

Italy's third summer heatwave is intensifying, with temperatures expected to reach 42 degrees Celsius, posing acute risks to vulnerable populations in southern regions including Calabria.

Saverio Gallo

Kerch Strait closure threatens Genoa's grain corridor

Russian shipping halt diverts Black Sea exports, testing Mediterranean port capacity

Russia's closure of the Kerch Strait after Ukrainian drone strikes has halted grain shipments through the Don-Azov Channel, forcing exporters to seek alternative routes that may funnel more traffic through Genoa.

Marina Doria

Maldini appointed Italy technical director as federation seeks rebuild

Former AC Milan defender joins Leonardo as federation reshapes national team structure under new president Malagò

The Italian football federation appointed Paolo Maldini as technical director and Leonardo as advisor on Saturday, signalling a strategic overhaul of the Azzurri's technical setup.

Tobia Marenghi

Italian curator Gioni named director of New York's New Museum

Massimiliano Gioni rises from artistic director to lead role at influential contemporary art institution.

Massimiliano Gioni, an Italian curator who joined the New Museum in 2006, has been promoted to director of the New York institution after a decade as its artistic director.

Eleonora Vanzetti

Molise solar scheme stalls: €200m unspent as businesses fail to apply

Southern Italy's self-consumption incentive reaches only half its targets; Molise farms and small manufacturers lag in uptake

More than €200 million remains unallocated under Italy's €262 million photovoltaic support program for southern businesses, with only 566 projects approved so far.

Antonio Petrella

Naples braces for 42-degree heat as third summer wave intensifies

Doctors warn of health risks as Campania enters critical phase of longest heatwave season in years

Italy's third heatwave of the summer is pushing temperatures toward 42 degrees Celsius across the country, with medical authorities warning of mounting health risks after weeks of extreme heat.

Rosaria Esposito

Pagani marks founder's 70th with manual roadster

Motor Valley's elite carmaker joins Ferrari in reviving gated shifter for limited-edition V12

Pagani has unveiled the Huayra 70 Derecho, a roofless celebration of founder Horacio Pagani's birthday that pairs a twin-turbo AMG V12 with a traditional gated shifter.

Giulia Benati

Sardinia faces extreme fire danger as third heatwave peaks

Mediterranean island braces for 42°C temperatures amid warnings of rapid spread across interior and coast

Sardinia enters its most dangerous wildfire season in weeks as Italy's third summer heatwave intensifies, with temperatures expected to reach 42 degrees Celsius.

Gavino Sanna

Sicily's water frontier: Aeolian Islands weigh desalination against sea transport

Without natural drinking water, Mediterranean archipelago confronts tourism pressure and climate stress in choosing water future

The Aeolian Islands face a stark choice: build more desalination plants to serve residents and tourists, or continue shipping water by boat—a question that exposes Sicily's wider vulnerability to drought.

Concetta Vassallo

Italy's heatwave intensifies with temperatures reaching 42C

The third summer heatwave pushes across the peninsula as doctors warn of growing health risks to vulnerable populations.

Italy's latest heatwave has pushed temperatures toward 42 degrees Celsius, with doctors warning of mounting health risks across the country.

Marco Di Sante

Aeolian Islands weigh water strategy as tourism strains scarce supply

Island communities debate desalination plants to serve residents and summer visitors amid chronic freshwater shortage

The Aeolian Islands, lacking natural drinking water, are confronting a strategic choice between expanding desalination capacity or continuing costly water shipments as tourism peaks.

Gavino Sanna

Alpine summer heat intensifies as Trentino faces new drought warnings

Third heatwave pushes temperatures toward 42°C, threatening water reserves already strained by spring drought

Italy's third summer heatwave is intensifying across the peninsula, with doctors warning of health risks after weeks of extreme heat; Trentino-Alto Adige faces particular strain as Alpine water reserves deplete.

Klara Hofer

Italy's third heatwave strains southern crops as temperatures near 42C

Basilicata's agricultural sector faces mounting pressure as extreme heat intensifies across the peninsula.

Italy's third heatwave of the summer is intensifying with temperatures expected to reach 42 degrees Celsius, posing growing health and economic risks across the country, including to the farming regions of the South.

Pietro Lasorsa

Tuscany braces for third heatwave as harvest season looms

Extreme heat threatens wine grapes and olive oil production across the region as temperatures approach 42 degrees Celsius

Italy's third major heatwave of the summer is intensifying across Tuscany, raising concerns among winemakers and farmers about damage to the region's signature crops as harvest season approaches.

Costanza Bardi

Veneto's beach clubs caught in Italy's packed-lunch standoff

Private resorts ban homemade food as row over access and pricing spreads to the Adriatic coast

As Italian beach clubs impose bans on homemade lunches to protect revenue, the practice has sparked fury among families and raised questions about public access to Italy's coastline.

Tommaso Veronese

Veneto braces for third summer heatwave as temperatures near 42°C

Medical authorities warn of health risks as extreme heat persists across northern Italy

Italy's third heatwave of the summer intensified this week, with doctors warning of growing health risks to the general population following weeks of extreme heat.

Tommaso Veronese

When heat becomes a public health crisis

Italy's third summer heatwave brings temperatures to 42°C as doctors warn of mounting health risks across the population.

Editorial Board

Beach clubs and the price of belonging

When private resorts ban packed lunches, they are pricing out the Italy that built the country's idea of itself.

Editorial Board