Italy

Ancient Roman Pantheon to start charging entry from Monday

ROME, (Reuters) - Visitors to Rome's Pantheon, one of the ancient world's best preserved monuments, will have to pay a 5 euro ($5.45) entrance fee from Monday, Italy's tourism ministry…

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Italy aims to turn up renewable power to two thirds of total by 2030

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy aims to generate nearly two thirds of its electricity from renewable energy sources by the end of the decade, the energy ministry said, slightly improving targets…

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UK’s Sunak plans deal with Italy on Mediterranean migrants

Adds details from Telegraph and background, paragraphs 2-8 June 30 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is planning a deal with Italy to stem the flow of migrants across…

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Italy’s coalition postpones debate over European bailout fund for 4 months

ROME, June 30 (Reuters) - Italy's governing coalition parties will suspend for four months the parliamentary debate over the ratification of a reform to a euro zone bailout fund, a…

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Italian police blame couple from England for Colosseum graffiti

ROME, (Reuters) - Italian police have identified a couple from England as the likely culprits after graffiti was scribbled on a wall at the Colosseum in Rome last week, prompting…

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Deep distrust of EU leaves Italy’s Meloni in a corner over bailout fund

Italy dragging its feet on ESM reform approval Euro scepticism still lurking in the coalition Rome hopes for favourable deal on EU budget rules By Angelo Amante and Giuseppe Fonte…

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Italian Police dismantle international migrant smuggling network

Investigators in the northeastern Italian border city of Trieste have dismantled an international migrant smuggling network that reportedly beat migrants to make them walk and gave sleeping tablets to children…

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Italy energy minister sees LNG terminals covering 50% of gas needs

ROME, June 28 (Reuters) - Italy's Environment and Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said on Wednesday that deliveries by ship of liquefied natural gas (LNG) were a reliable source of…

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3.7 earthquake rattles Siena

A magnitude 3.7 earthquake rattled the Italian province of Siena on Wednesday afternoon. The epicentre, according to Ingv data, was recorded 4 kilometres northeast of Poggibonsi, at a depth of…

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Police in Italy searching for tourist who defaced Colosseum wall

ROME, (Reuters) - Italian authorities are looking for a tourist who scribbled graffiti on a wall of the Colosseum, with Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano calling for exemplary punishment for the…

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Italy to crack down on e-scooters after deaths and accidents

ROME, (Reuters) - The Italian government announced a crackdown on the use of electric scooters on city streets, looking to cut accidents, reduce injuries and prevent pavements from becoming cluttered…

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Italy’s competition watchdog urges banks to boost deposit rates

Italy's competition authority on Tuesday urged banks to better reward depositors when rampant inflation is eroding the value of savings and higher rates are helping to lift profits for the…

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Biden invites Italian PM Meloni to visit White House in July

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke on Monday with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni about the brief uprising by Russian mercenaries against the Kremlin and also invited her to visit the…

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Row in Italy over mountain crosses

The Italian Alpine Club (CAI) has caused a row after proposing that crosses should no longer be placed on mountain peaks. Tourism Minister Daniela Santanché said she was "stunned" by…

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Italy may grant ‘amnesty’ on surrogacy as stricter ban comes into force

ROME, June 23 (Reuters) - Italy may grant an "amnesty" to people who had children through surrogacy following the passage of a law extending criminal penalties to those who seek…

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Italy sees no need for new anti-inflation package as energy prices fall

Energy price spike has largely reversed Italy's Treasury has budget leeway to renew some measures New EU budget rules require fiscal prudence ROME (Reuters) - Italy does not plan to…

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New road safety rules in Italy, helmets, license plates and insurance mandatory for e-scooters

New road safety rules that are expected to come before the government on Thursday include lifetime revocation of driving privileges for repeat drink or drug drive offenders involved in fatal…

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Heat warning in 13 cities in Italy

A heat warning due to Italy's first heatwave of the summer will be in force in 13 cities Thursday as the 10 cities of Ancona, Bologna, Brescia, Florence, Frosinone, Latina,…

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Italy says ECB war against inflation will hit growth

Interest rate rises set by the European Central Bank (ECB) to curb inflation will take their toll in terms of lower economic growth, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Monday.…

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Italy braces for first heatwave of the year

The first heatwave of the year is set to hit Italy on Monday, with temperatures rising to 40 degrees Celsius in Sardinia and reaching 33-37 degrees Celsius in other parts,…

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Italy PM Meloni in Paris next week to support Rome’s Expo 2030 bid

ROME, June 17 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will travel to France next week to show support for Rome's bid to host the Expo 2030, a government source…

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A quarter of Italians at risk of poverty or social exclusion

Just under a quarter of the Italian population, 24.4%, was at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2022, Istat said this week. The national statistics agency said this was…

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Italy launches ‘Berlusconi’ legal reform to bolster rights of accused

By Emilio Parodi MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's cabinet approved a justice reform aimed at strengthening the rights of defendants, measures long advocated by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who died…

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Tajani to be Forza Italia interim leader

Deputy Premier, Foreign Minister and centre-right Forza Italia (FI) national coordinator, Antonio Tajani, is to step up to become interim FI leader after the death of founder and leader Silvio…

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Telecom Italia CEO confident grid sale will go well

Telecom Italia's (TIM) plan to sell its prized landline grid asset to reduce debt "should and can go well", CEO Pietro Labriola said on Thursday, as sources said bids have…

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Italy bids farewell to Berlusconi on contested day of mourning

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi continued to divide his country even after death, as a decision by the government, which includes his former party, to honour him with a…

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Berlusconi’s funeral to be held on Wednesday

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will have a state funeral at Milan's Cathedral Il Duomo , to be held on Wednesday at 1300 GMT, a spokesman for the Catholic…

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UPDATED: Italy’s former PM Silvio Berlusconi has died; State funeral on Wednesday

MILAN, June 12 (Reuters) - Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire media mogul and former Italian prime minister who transformed the nation's politics with polarising policies and often alarmed his allies with his brazen…

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Extreme weather events register 135% increase in Italy

Italy suffered 122 extreme weather events in the first five months of 2023, a 135% increase on the 52 registered in the equivalent period last year, Legambiente said in a…

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UPDATED: Big search underway for 5-year-old girl that disappeared in Florence

A big search in underway in the Italian city of Florence for five-year-old Cataleya Alvarez, known as Cata, of Peruvian origins. The girl went missing in the Novoli district of…

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Italy’s former PM Berlusconi back in hospital for leukaemia scheduled checks

MILAN (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was re-admitted to hospital in Milan for a scheduled medical checkup at the begining of the weekend and will remain there…

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Italy special forces board Turkish vessel after alert over unidentified passengers

ROME, June 10 (Reuters) - A Turkish cargo vessel that Italian special forces boarded after the crew detected a group of unidentified people on board is now sitting off the southern city…

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Italy forces board Turkish cargo vessel to ‘liberate’ crew

ROME, June 9 (Reuters) - Italian special forces boarded a Turkish cargo vessel on Friday after the crew detected a group of unidentified people onboard, some of them armed, Rome's defence ministry…

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UPDATED: Italy says it can’t approve ESM treaty without deal on new EU budget rules

ROME, June 9 (Reuters) - Italy is unwilling to ratify the reform of the euro zone bailout fund without first knowing how European budget rules will change, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said…

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Italy struggling to meet reform policy targets agreed for EU for post-COVID funds

By Giuseppe Fonte ROME (Reuters) - Italy is struggling to meet some important reform and investment targets agreed with European Union in return for post-COVID funds, a government report said,…

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Italy could abandon coal by 2024

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy could shut down its coal-fired power stations in 2024, a year earlier than planned, if gas prices remain at current low levels, Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto…

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Italy to see stronger 2023 growth on firm domestic demand

The Italian economy will grow by 1.2% this year, national statistics bureau ISTAT said on Tuesday, raising a previous projection of 0.4% made in December on the back of a…

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Salvini insists League not joining EPP

Deputy Premier and Transport and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini dismissed talk of his League party joining the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), saying such a move "is not on the…

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25 arrested in Italy, Belgium and Germany in raids linked to the ‘Ndrangheta

ROME, June 5 (Reuters) - Authorities have arrested 25 people in Italy, Belgium and Germany in pan-European raids linked to an alleged drug- trafficking ring run by the 'Ndrangheta mafia,…

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Italy accuses European Commission of fanning domestic conflict

The Italian government accused the European Commission late Friday of intervening in a domestic political issue that has "no basis in reality," signaling a major escalation of a row over…

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German rescue ship defies Italy over migrant disembarkation rules

ROME, June 2 (Reuters) - German charity Mare*Go said on Friday it had challenged migrant disembarkation rules introduced by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing administration as part of its…

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Florence wants to ban Airbnb rentals apartments from city centre

By Federica Urso and Federico Maccioni ROME, (Reuters) - Florence wants to ban residential properties in its historic centre from being used for short-term rentals by platforms such as Airbnb…

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Italian senator reads AI-generated speech in parliament ‘to stir debate’

ROME, June 1 (Reuters) - An Italian senator has surprised his colleagues by reading out in parliament a speech drafted by a chatbot, saying afterwards that he pulled the stunt…

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Italy approves bill to set up $1.1 billion fund for strategic firms

Fund aims to ease procurement of critical raw materials Can invest in listed non-financial companies, draft shows Rome seeks at least 500 mln euros from private investors By Giuseppe Fonte…

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Italy police arrest 40 ‘Ndrangheta mafia suspects for drug smuggling via Chinese money brokers

MILAN, (Reuters) - Italian police arrested 40 people on Tuesday in a new crackdown targeting the 'Ndrangheta mafia, with suspects accused of drugs trafficking with counterparts in Latin America using…

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Around 15 million Italians expected to travel over June 2 holiday weekend

Around 15 million Italian people will be taking trips over the upcoming long weekend created by the Republic Day national holiday on Friday, hoteliers' association Federalberghi said on Monday. It…

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Venice canal patch mysteriously turns fluorescent green near Rialto Bridge

(Reuters) - The waters in Venice's main canal turned fluorescent green on Sunday in the area near the Rialto bridge and authorities are seeking to trace the cause, Italy's fire…

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UPDATED: Four dead after tourist boat capsizes on Italy’s Lake Maggiore

MILAN, May 29 (Reuters) - Four people died late on Sunday after a tourist boat capsized on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy due to a sudden whirlwind, the fire brigade…

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Italy PM says good ties with China possible without Belt and Road

MILAN, May 28 (Reuters) - Good relations with China are possible even without being part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) deal, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in…

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Charity vessel rescues almost 600 migrants off Italy

ROME (Reuters) - A vessel operated by the charity Doctors without Borders (MSF) rescued nearly 600 migrants sailing on an overcrowded boat which was in distress off the island of…

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EU to give Italy 6 bn to reduce exposure to natural disasters – von der Leyen

The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday the EU-funded post-Covid National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) includes six billion euros of funding to reduce Italy's exposure…

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Italy’s central bank sees sharp rise in rents amid student housing protests

By Federico Maccioni and Alvise Armellini MILAN/ROME (Reuters) - Italy is experiencing a surge in rent prices, the country's central bank said, against the backdrop of growing student protests over…

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Italy’s Industry Ministry reports ‘heavy’ cyberattack

MILAN, May 26 (Reuters) - The Italian Industry Ministry's web portal and applications were hit by a "heavy cyberattack" on Friday and were out of order, it said. Technicians were…

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Italy arrests raiders of ancient art, recovers 3,500 items

ROME, May 24 (Reuters) - Sixteen people were arrested and more than 3,500 artefacts were recovered as Italian police broke up what they called a ruthless network of archaeological looters…

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Italy approves $2.2 billion relief package for flood-hit areas

Italy approved an emergency relief package worth more than 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) to help flood-hit areas in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on…

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Sicily’s Catania airport reopens after Mount Etna ash disruption

ROME, May 22 (Reuters) - Catania airport has reopened after being forced to suspend flights on Sunday when nearby Mount Etna spewed volcanic ash onto its runways, the airport operator…

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Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Italy’s Unipol join forces to help Italians hit by flooding

MILAN (Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX and Unipol Gruppo agreed to join forces to help people hit by flooding in northern Italy connect to the Internet, facilitating rescue operations, the…

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