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Alpine valleys brace as southern Europe's deadly heat moves north
France records 5,700 excess deaths in June; Valle d'Aosta watches temperatures climb toward record peaks
As France counts more than 5,700 excess deaths from June's heatwave, the Alpine regions of northern Italy face their own surge in extreme temperatures, raising alarms about health and infrastructure stress in high-altitude valleys.
Camille Bréan · NATIONAL
Italy's citizenship rules face EU court test as diaspora claims reopen
Hundreds of thousands blocked by ancestry restrictions now urged to file new claims after constitutional referral
Hundreds of thousands of people descended from Italian emigrants have been urged to file new citizenship claims immediately after Italy referred restrictions on ancestry-based claims to Europe's highest court.
Elena Marcheggiani · NATIONAL
Saudi oil giant pivots cargoes to Mediterranean as Red Sea risks mount
Aramco's shift from Suez route signals sustained pressure on shipping lanes; Genoa positioned to absorb throughput
Saudi Aramco is offering additional crude oil cargoes to Mediterranean ports as Houthi threats and piracy escalate risks in the Red Sea, potentially redirecting Middle Eastern supply flows away from the Suez Canal.
Marina Doria · INTERNATIONAL
Luxury supply-chain probe widens as Italian police search fashion offices
Chanel, Moncler and Brunello Cucinelli among nine brands ordered to provide documents on labour practices
Italian prosecutors are expanding an investigation into alleged worker exploitation across the luxury fashion supply chain, with police searching offices of major brands and demanding corporate governance records.
Beatrice Comolli · ECONOMY
Regional dispatches
Veneto braces as southern Europe's heat toll climbs past 5,700
France's June deaths signal escalating climate peril across the Alpine region and Mediterranean coast
France recorded more than 5,700 excess deaths during June's heatwave, a grim marker of the extreme temperatures now reaching into the Alpine north and threatening Veneto's tourism and agriculture.
Tommaso Veronese
Sestri Levante emerges as Europe's quieter Riviera choice, drawing families from jet-setter haunts
Forbes highlights the town as alternative to Portofino and Cinque Terre; Liguria's coastal tourism adapts to demand shift
Sestri Levante, a peninsula town near Portofino and Cinque Terre, is drawing European families seeking accessible prices and authentic beaches, a shift that reflects broader changes in Riviera tourism away from overcrowded marquee destinations.
Marina Doria
Florence draws global hotel capital as investors target Italy's gateway cities
Nearly three-quarters of Italian property investors plan net purchases over next two years, with demand centred on Rome, Milan, Venice and Florence.
A surge in inbound capital is reshaping Italy's hotel market, with Florence among the primary destinations for investors seeking exposure to the country's tourism boom.
Costanza Bardi
Inland Italy braces as southern Europe's heat toll mounts
France's June deaths signal peril for Umbria's aging population and tourism-dependent summer economy
France recorded more than 5,700 excess deaths during June's heatwave as southern Europe endures record-breaking temperatures, raising alarms for vulnerable inland regions like Umbria.
Niccolò Mariani
Women-only Italy tours signal shift in how the world packages the inland experience
Perillo Tours launches exclusive itineraries as foreign operators refine their pitch to affluent female travelers
Perillo Tours has launched women-only itineraries across Italy, a move that reflects how international tour operators are segmenting and reshaping the foreign visitor experience in regions like Umbria.
Niccolò Mariani
Marche braces as southern Europe's deadly heat intensifies
France's June heatwave killed over 5,700; Italy faces mounting toll as temperatures soar across Mediterranean coast
France recorded more than 5,700 excess deaths during its June heatwave, with southern Europe now enduring another record-breaking period of extreme temperatures that threatens coastal and inland regions alike.
Elena Marcheggiani
Vatican defends secrecy as abuse trial of ex-Jesuit artist deepens transparency row
Church's closed proceedings in Rupnik case draw fire from lawyer for five women alleging spiritual and sexual abuse.
The Vatican has defended the secrecy of an ongoing trial against a former Jesuit priest accused of abusing women, even as his lawyer denounces the church's closed legal system as fundamentally unjust.
Davide Ruspoli
Italy refers citizenship law to EU court, reopening path for diaspora descendants
Hundreds of thousands blocked by ancestry rules may now file new claims after European court referral signals shift in restrictions
Italy has referred restrictions on citizenship by descent to Europe's highest court, the Local reported, potentially reopening pathways for hundreds of thousands of descendants of Italian emigrants whose claims were previously barred.
Marco Di Sante
Southern Europe's deadly summer reaches Molise as heat records fall
France's June toll exceeds 5,700 deaths; Italy's inland regions brace for sustained extreme temperatures
As France counts more than 5,700 excess deaths from June's heatwave, southern Europe enters another record-breaking period of extreme temperatures that threatens labour, agriculture and the elderly across Italy's poorest regions.
Antonio Petrella
Stellantis reshuffles North American brands as sales pressure mounts
New CEOs take charge of Jeep and Ram as Turin automaker navigates dealership valuations and product revival
Stellantis has appointed two automotive veterans to lead its Ram and Jeep brands as the group manages slumping sales and declining dealership values across North America.
Lorenzo Ferraris
Calabria wildfires: arson investigation uncovers grim tactic
Authorities probe use of animals in deliberate fire-setting as southern Italy battles record heat and blazes
Calabrian authorities investigating wildfires that swept the region this week have found evidence that arsonists tied flammable-soaked rags to cats' tails to ignite fires, according to CNN.
Saverio Gallo
Southern Europe's deadly summer tests Sicily's agriculture and workforce
As France counts 5,700 excess deaths during June's heatwave, Sicily faces mounting pressure on farming, tourism and labour as extreme temperatures persist.
France's June heatwave killed more than 5,700 people; as similar conditions grip southern Europe, Sicily's economy faces strain from heat stress on agriculture, tourism and outdoor work.
Concetta Vassallo
Italy refers citizenship restrictions to EU court as diaspora seeks redress
Hundreds of thousands blocked by ancestry rules urged to file new claims after referral to Europe's highest court.
Italy has referred restrictions on citizenship claims by descendants of emigrants to the European Court of Justice, opening a path for hundreds of thousands previously barred by Italian law.
Adriana Sole
Venice film festival trains lens on media power
Boyle and Herzog join McDonagh in lineup dominated by male directors scrutinizing moguls, influence and digital transformation
The 2026 Venice Film Festival opens with films examining Rupert Murdoch's rise and Elon Musk's influence, but gender imbalance in competition remains stark.
Eleonora Vanzetti
Dance Biennale stretches beyond the body at Venice
British choreographer Wayne McGregor directs festival exploring quantum physics, geopolitics and the boundaries of movement itself
This year's Venice Dance Biennale under McGregor's direction features performances that challenge what dance can be, including a work with barely any dancing at all.
Eleonora Vanzetti
Japanese beetle documented in northern Italy; southern regions watch for spread
Invasive pest reaches Valle d'Aosta in July; agricultural threat widens across Europe
The Japanese beetle, documented in Italy's Alpine north in July, poses a potential threat to the nation's agriculture as the invasive pest continues to spread through European vineyards and orchards.
Antonio Petrella
Japanese beetle spreads through northern Italy; southern regions watch advance
The invasive pest has ravaged Valle d'Aosta's vineyards. Agricultural officials elsewhere monitor the situation.
The Japanese beetle has devastated Valle d'Aosta's vineyards in northern Italy, according to AP News, raising questions about its potential spread to other regions.
Pietro Lasorsa
Campania braces as southern Europe's deadly heat intensifies
Record temperatures fuel wildfires across the region; France counted over 5,700 excess deaths in June alone
Southern Europe is enduring a sustained heatwave that has killed firefighters, forced evacuations across Italy, Spain and France, and claimed thousands of lives, with Campania facing mounting pressure on its healthcare and emergency services.
Rosaria Esposito
Japanese beetle swarms Valle d'Aosta vineyards as pest spreads north
Iridescent invader from Japan leaves lattice damage on leaves; growers report crop losses in Alpine wine region
The Japanese beetle, a pest unfamiliar to Europe until recently, is now swarming through Valle d'Aosta's vineyards and orchards, weakening plants and threatening the region's wine and fruit production.
Camille Bréan
Vertiv doubles data-centre cooling capacity near Padua for AI boom
US technology company invests in manufacturing expansion at Tognana campus to meet rising demand from artificial intelligence infrastructure
Vertiv is expanding manufacturing capacity at its technology campus near Padua to double production of data-centre cooling systems by the end of 2026, capitalising on surging demand from artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Beatrice Comolli
Alpine region braces as southern Europe's deadly heat spreads northward
France's June heatwave killed 5,700; Italy faces mounting summer toll as temperatures climb toward the mountains
Southern Europe's record-breaking heat, which killed more than 5,700 people in France alone during June, is advancing toward the Alps, raising alarms for Trentino-Alto Adige's vulnerable populations and tourism-dependent summer economy.
Klara Hofer
Opinion
Bologna and the question of accountability
The death of Abderrahim Fakir under police restraint has prompted international comparisons to George Floyd—but Italy's moment of reckoning is its own.
Editorial Board
Heat and the fragility of southern Europe
France's excess deaths during June's heatwave signal a continental crisis that Italy cannot ignore as wildfires claim lives across the Mediterranean.
Editorial Board