Front page
Bologna death in police restraint triggers investigation
Abderrahim Fakir's death while restrained by officers sparks protests and formal inquiry in Italy's civic heartland
A Moroccan-born man died while being forcibly restrained by Bologna police, prompting street protests, a prosecutorial investigation, and calls from the Prime Minister for a full accounting.
Giulia Benati · NATIONAL
Italy's federation implodes as Maldini quits, Pirlo ruled out
Technical director exits after 16 days as betting scandal derails coaching search; Guardiola and Ancelotti had already declined.
Paolo Maldini has resigned as technical director of the Italian Football Federation after just 16 days, following the collapse of the federation's bid to appoint Andrea Pirlo as head coach over links to a Russian betting company.
Tobia Marenghi · SPORT
Lyon-Turin railway clashes expose Alpine divide over EU infrastructure
Weekend violence in Piedmont signals deepening resistance to cross-border rail project as construction resumes
Violent protests over the Lyon-Turin railway line caused around one million euros in damage over the weekend, marking a fresh flashpoint in the Alps over EU-backed infrastructure.
Lorenzo Ferraris · NATIONAL
European Union Withdraws Venice Biennale Funding Over Russia's Return
Brussels pulls $2.3 million in support, citing concerns over democratic values and freedom of expression
The European Union has withdrawn approximately $2.3 million in funding from the Venice Biennale after the art event decided to restore Russia's participation, marking a sharp collision between artistic autonomy and geopolitical principle.
Eleonora Vanzetti · CULTURE
Regional dispatches
Lyon-Turin rail clashes expose Alpine autonomy tensions
Violent protests over cross-border infrastructure project signal deeper conflict between Rome and mountain communities over development.
Clashes at the Lyon-Turin railway construction site have reignited questions about how Rome makes decisions on Alpine infrastructure that affects local autonomy.
Camille Bréan
Milan's precision engineering extends into nuclear fusion
Genenta-backed Sòphia High Tech manufactures robotic systems for fusion reactor maintenance, signalling Lombardy's pivot toward advanced-technology sectors
A Milan-based precision-engineering firm has designed robotic inspection systems for a nuclear fusion experiment, combining aerospace manufacturing expertise with robotics to enter the nuclear domain.
Beatrice Comolli
Austria extends military service as Ukraine war reshapes Alpine security
Vienna plans to lengthen conscription from six to nine months, signalling Central Europe's strategic reorientation on Italy's northeastern border.
Austria's coalition government announced plans to extend military service to nine months from six, citing the security landscape altered by the war in Ukraine and the need to strengthen its armed forces.
Sergio Madrussan
Mediterranean crude routes shift as Red Sea threats reshape shipping
Saudi Aramco offers additional cargoes through Egypt, signalling new export patterns that could affect Genoa's energy trade
Saudi Aramco is offering additional crude oil cargoes through Egypt's Mediterranean port, a shift that trading sources attribute to escalating Houthi threats in the Red Sea.
Marina Doria
Pirlo exits Italy football job over betting firm row
Former Juventus manager steps down after backlash over Russian betting company links amid World Cup qualification crisis
Andrea Pirlo has stepped down as Italy's football manager after controversy over his association with a Russian betting firm, leaving the federation in disarray following a third consecutive World Cup qualification failure.
Giulia Benati
Tuscan theatres join UNESCO world heritage list
18th- and 19th-century community playhouses across central Italy gain international protection
A network of 18 historic community theatres spanning central Italy, including Tuscany, has been inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, recognising a distinctive model of cultural ownership that shaped European theatre.
Costanza Bardi
Florence's rail hub shuts for maintenance, disrupting Italy's north-south corridor
Second round of works at central station prompts travel warnings as the line that connects the country faces fresh cancellations
Florence's central railway station enters a second phase of maintenance this week, forcing cancellations and delays on a crucial artery linking Italy's industrial north to its Mediterranean south.
Costanza Bardi
Umbria's 18th-century community theatres join UNESCO World Heritage List
A system of intimate 'teatri condominiali' across central Italy wins international recognition for their architectural and social significance.
Eighteen community theatres built across central Italy between the 18th and 19th centuries have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, marking a rare international acknowledgment of the region's vernacular cultural architecture.
Niccolò Mariani
Adriatic wildfire forces sea evacuation of 700 as coastal town burns
Italian Coast Guard deploys boats as only escape route; tourism and fishing communities face summer fire threat
The Italian Coast Guard evacuated more than 700 people by sea on Sunday as a wildfire approached a seaside town on the Adriatic coast, marking an escalating threat to the region's summer economy.
Elena Marcheggiani
Marche's 18th-century theatres join UNESCO World Heritage list
Community playhouses across central Italy recognized; Urbino region's cultural architecture gains international status
A network of 18 community-owned theatres built in the 18th and 19th centuries across central Italy, including structures in the Marche region, has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Elena Marcheggiani
Italy's 18th-century community theatres win UNESCO World Heritage status
Central Italy's 'teatri condominiali' recognised for architectural and social significance
Eighteen historic community theatres across central Italy have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, marking international recognition of a distinctive form of civic cultural infrastructure.
Davide Ruspoli
Central Italy's 18th-century theatres gain UNESCO protection, raising questions about preservation in depopulated regions
The inscription of 18th- and 19th-century community theatres highlights cultural heritage under threat as mountain villages empty
UNESCO has inscribed a network of 18th- and 19th-century community theatres across central Italy on its World Heritage List, a recognition that also underscores the vulnerability of cultural assets in regions losing population to emigration.
Marco Di Sante
Hundreds evacuated as wildfire sweeps Puglia coast
Southern Italy's Adriatic shore faces summer of extremes as climate stress spreads across the Mediterranean basin
Hundreds of people were evacuated by sea on Sunday as a wildfire swept through parts of Puglia's southern coast, with coastguard operations expected to continue.
Antonio Petrella
Florence rail works split Italy's transport as south waits for connectivity
Maintenance at central hub threatens Molise's already fragile link to national network
A second round of maintenance work at Florence's central station will cause widespread train cancellations and delays this week, exposing the vulnerability of southern Italy's rail infrastructure.
Antonio Petrella
Venice's theatrical legacy joins UNESCO World Heritage as Italian culture gains recognition
Eighteen condominial theatres across central Italy inscribed; Veneto's Palladian playhouses now part of protected ensemble
A network of 18th- and 19th-century community theatres across central Italy has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, securing international protection for a cultural system that shaped European performance.
Tommaso Veronese
US military surveillance system sparks family discord in rural Sicily
A new documentary examines how a communications installation reshapes life and politics in a Sicilian town
A documentary about a young woman navigating self-reliance in a Sicilian town where a US military surveillance system has ignited local protest and family tension.
Rosaria Esposito
Adriatic wildfire forces 700 to flee by sea off Puglia coast
Coast Guard mounts emergency evacuation as flames reach seaside towns; tourists and residents flee to beach and water
The Italian Coast Guard evacuated more than 700 people by sea on Sunday as wildfires forced beachgoers and residents into the water along Puglia's Adriatic shoreline.
Francesca Lazzari
Wildfires sweep southern Italy as arson tactics grow brutal
Authorities probe deliberate fires across Calabria and Puglia; animal cruelty reported in latest blazes
Wildfires ravaging southern Italy have exposed new arson methods, with investigators finding cats with flammable-soaked rags tied to their tails used to ignite blazes across Calabria.
Pietro Lasorsa
US military surveillance system divides Sicily's rural communities
Documentary 'Valentina and the MUOSters' captures family splits over MUOS communications array
A new film examines how the US military's MUOS satellite communications system has fractured families and communities in rural Sicily, pitting economic interest against security concerns.
Pietro Lasorsa
Wildfires force 700 to flee by sea as Mediterranean inferno spreads
Calabria confronts new scale of fire risk as arson investigations reveal deliberate tactics targeting vulnerable coastal towns
More than 700 people evacuated by sea from an Adriatic coastal town as wildfires swept through southern Italy this week, part of a broader European conflagration that authorities say includes deliberate arson.
Saverio Gallo
Sicily's wildfire season reignites questions of organized arson
As blazes sweep the island, foreign press revisits the Mafia's historical role in sparking flames for profit and control
NBC News investigation into Sicily's current wildfires has surfaced the island's long history of organized arson, a tactic the Mafia historically used to extort landowners and clear territory for development.
Concetta Vassallo
US military surveillance system deepens tensions in rural Sicily
Documentary reveals family and community discord over MUOS communications base; island autonomy concerns resurface
A new documentary explores how the US military's MUOS communications system has triggered sustained protest and family conflict in a rural Sicilian town, reopening questions about American military presence in Italy.
Gavino Sanna
Italy's citizenship crackdown faces EU court test
Constitutional Court refers restrictive law to European justice system, offering diaspora new legal avenue
Italy's Constitutional Court has suspended challenges to the country's 2025 citizenship-by-descent restrictions and referred the dispute to the European Court of Justice, potentially reopening a path for hundreds of rejected applicants.
Adriana Sole
Inter closes in on Stones as English defender heads to Milan
The 32-year-old left Manchester City on a free transfer and is in advanced talks with the Serie A champions.
Inter Milan are in advanced talks to sign English defender John Stones on a free transfer after the 32-year-old departed Manchester City in June.
Tobia Marenghi
Italian authorities seize major cocaine shipment hidden in bananas
Law enforcement intercepts drug haul concealed in fruit containers in what officials described as a major anti-trafficking operation.
Italian authorities seized approximately 1,700 pounds of pure cocaine hidden inside banana containers, in what law enforcement called one of the largest anti-drug operations in recent years.
Sergio Madrussan
Record migrant crossing signals shift in Mediterranean smuggling tactics
A 165-person boat reaching the UK reflects broader changes in trafficking routes
The arrival of a record 165 migrants in a single vessel off Dover points to a recalibration of smuggling networks across the Mediterranean.
Saverio Gallo
Hundreds evacuated by sea as wildfire sweeps Puglia coast
Southern Italy's Adriatic shore faces evacuation as summer fire season intensifies across the Mediterranean basin
Hundreds of people were evacuated by sea on Sunday as a wildfire swept through parts of Puglia's southern Adriatic coast, with the coastguard preparing for further rescues.
Rosaria Esposito
Lyon-Turin rail project deepens Alpine divisions over infrastructure and autonomy
Violent clashes at Italian construction site reflect broader tensions over EU transit corridors
Clashes this weekend at the Lyon-Turin railway construction site in Italy caused damage estimated at around one million euros, with Prime Minister Meloni condemning the violence as the project faces mounting opposition in the Alpine region.
Klara Hofer
Wildfire forces sea evacuation on Adriatic as heat extremes spread northward
Hundreds flee Puglia by boat as southern Italy's summer fire season intensifies; northern regions brace for similar threat
A major wildfire on Italy's southern Adriatic coast forced hundreds of people to evacuate by sea on Sunday, marking the latest in a series of heat-driven emergencies sweeping the Mediterranean.
Tommaso Veronese
Stellantis navigates electrification costs as European demand stays cautious
Carmaker balances heavy battery investment against margin pressure in shifting European market
Stellantis stock reflects investor focus on how the automaker manages disciplined costs while ramping electrification spending amid uneven European demand.
Lorenzo Ferraris
Opinion
The cost of losing the plot
Italy's football federation lurches from one crisis to another, each one a symptom of an institution that has lost sight of its purpose.
Editorial Board
When the fire moves faster than policy
Europe's wildfires are outpacing the political will to confront them. Italy, caught between the Mediterranean and the Alps, has nowhere to hide.
Editorial Board