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Italy

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Italy. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Rome

Head of State

President Sergio Mattarella

Head of Government

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

Dani Alves was sentenced to 4½ years in jail in February last year for raping a young woman in the VIP bathroom of a Barcelona nightclub in 2022. Photo: AFP

Crime

Brazil footballer Dani Alves’ rape conviction annulled

Alves was sentenced to 4½ years in jail in February last year for raping a young woman in the VIP bathroom of a Barcelona nightclub in 2022.

3 hours agovideocam

TikTok

TikTok Shop to expand to Germany, France, Italy next week amid uncertainty in US

5 hours agovideocam

Pope Francis

Doctor reveals how Pope Francis was pulled back from the brink of death

25 Mar 2025 - 8:47PM

Tourism

5 crowd-free museums to visit in Europe this year

Even in the most visited European cities, such as Rome and Prague, there are museums and places of historical relevance that offer respite from crowds.

27 Mar 2025 - 2:47PM

The Mucha Museum in the newly renovated Savarin Palace, Prague, Czech Republic. Photo: courtesy Mucha Museum

Pope Francis

Pope Francis back home after 5-week hospital stay for double pneumonia

The 88-year-old pope made his first public appearance since February 14.

24 Mar 2025 - 11:05AM

Pope Francis

Pope Francis will be released from hospital on Sunday, doctors say

The pontiff will need at least two months of rest after spending nearly 40 days battling a life-threatening case of pneumonia in both lungs.

23 Mar 2025 - 1:43AM

Trending in China

‘Never mess with a Chinese woman’: student chases Italy phone thief, goes viral

With help of police and passers-by, China student trio snare subway phone thief, sending powerful anti-crime message to would-be lawbreakers.

22 Mar 2025 - 9:03AM

A female student who chased a phone thief in Italy and retrieved her stolen property has been widely praised on mainland social media. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/Douyin

Food and Drinks

Italy’s oldest barista, still serving at 100, asks: ‘Why should I stop?’

Since her last holiday 67 years ago, Anna Possi has opened her cafe in northern Italy every day. ‘I’m around people. I feel good,’ she says.

20 Mar 2025 - 4:15AM

Catholic Church

Vatican releases first photo of Pope Francis in hospital

The 88-year-old pope has been receiving treatment at a Rome hospital since February 14, and has not been seen in public since then.

17 Mar 2025 - 9:07AM

Food and Drinks

Cappuccino after noon? 100-year-old barista in Italy thinks it’s fine

Coffee with milk in the afternoon is a no-no for many Italians. Not Anna Possi, a barista since 1958 who’ll happily pour it past midnight.

15 Mar 2025 - 7:15PM

Drinking a cappuccino – an espresso with frothed milk – is frowned upon in Italian coffee culture. But 100-year-old barista Anna Possi says, “everyone can do as they please”. Photo: Shutterstock

Celebrity children

Who are Donatella Versace’s children, Allegra and Daniel Versace?

Donatella Versace is stepping down from her role as creative director at Versace after almost 3 decades – here’s what we know about her 2 grown-up children, Allegra and Daniel Versace.

14 Mar 2025 - 6:03PM

Fashion

Profile | Donatella Versace, out at namesake fashion label, overcame many obstacles

Versace, 69, took over her brother’s label after his 1997 murder. Carrying on his legacy has been ’the greatest honour of my life’, she says.

14 Mar 2025 - 10:34AM

Ukraine war

Rubio vows to block ‘antagonistic’ language on Russia at G7 meeting

US wants softer tone on Russia when G7 foreign ministers meet in Quebec from Wednesday.

11 Mar 2025 - 10:05AM

Artificial intelligence

China’s iFlyTek eyes Europe expansion as US trade war heats up

iFlyTek plans to expand in Europe, diversifying its supply chain amid rising US-China trade tensions and aiming for new markets.

7 Mar 2025 - 10:03AM

The iFlyTek stand at MWC Barcelona 2025. Photo: Reuters

South Korea

‘One size’ fashion store in Korea sparks concern over thin-body ideals

Brandy Melville defies conventional fashion marketing strategies, promoting the idea that customers should fit into its clothes.

5 Mar 2025 - 7:05PM

Fast fashion Brandy Melville in Hong Kong. Brandy Melville defies conventional fashion marketing strategies. Instead of offering clothes that fit various body types, it promotes the idea that customers should fit into its clothes. Photo: Sun Yeung

Pope Francis

Pope Francis resting after 2 episodes of ‘acute respiratory failure’

The 88-year-old pope has not been seen in public since entering hospital on February 14.

4 Mar 2025 - 4:15PM

Pope Francis

Pope Francis no longer needs ventilation, is stable, Vatican says

The pope, 88, was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 with a respiratory infection that degenerated into double pneumonia.

3 Mar 2025 - 2:21AM

Ukraine war

Europeans embrace Ukraine’s Zelensky at London summit after Trump row

UK’s Starmer says ‘Europe must do the heavy lifting’ as leaders agree to steps for Ukraine peace.

3 Mar 2025 - 8:08PMvideocam

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky at a summit on Ukraine in London, on Sunday. Photo: AP

Milan Fashion Week

Milan Fashion Week 2025: from Gucci’s transition to Fendi’s 100th anniversary

Gucci offers a ‘foundational’ collection as it awaits a new creative director, while Marni’s Francesco Risso wows with creative collaborations; Fendi’s family affair meanwhile hits it out of the park.

28 Feb 2025 - 11:09AM

China-EU relations

Exclusive | Your best friend has abandoned you: inside China’s EU charm offensive

As bloc’s ties with US plummet over Donald Trump’s embrace of Russia, Beijing pitches itself as a more reliable partner than Washington.

28 Feb 2025 - 8:06PMvideocam

Natural disasters

Mount Vesuvius eruption turned man’s brain into glass. Here’s how it happened

The disaster that obliterated two cities also created the intense heat and rapid cooling behind the one-of-a-kind transformation.

28 Feb 2025 - 12:57PM

A fragment of organic glass was found inside the skull of a man killed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Photo: Pier Paolo Petrone via Reuters

Indonesia

Indonesia’s budget battles sink its aircraft-carrier dreams

Financial constraints and strategic concerns look set to overshadow the Indonesian navy’s ambitions of owning a dual-use carrier.

24 Feb 2025 - 8:00AM

The Italian aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi pictured in 2016. Indonesia is reportedly considering buying the recently retired vessel. Photo: AFP

United States

Flight from New York to New Delhi lands in Rome after ‘security’ issue

American Airlines flight 292 was escorted by fighter jets, but the security concern later proved to be ‘non-credible’.

24 Feb 2025 - 4:07PM

Pope Francis

Pope in critical condition with early kidney failure, remains alert as prayers pour in

Doctors have said 88-year-old Francis’ condition is touch-and-go, given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease.

24 Feb 2025 - 5:29AMvideocam

Pope Francis

Pope begins second week in hospital, cancels Sunday prayer

Francis is alert but still ‘not out of danger’ according to his doctors, while top cardinals sought to dampen speculation about his future.

22 Feb 2025 - 8:26PM

Nuns pray next to the statue of late Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis is being treated, in Rome on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

European Union

Europe can defend itself without US but needs more coordination: study

Europe needs to spend around €250 billion (US$261.6 billion) annually in defence investments to secure itself without US support.

21 Feb 2025 - 9:05PMvideocam

An informal summit of European leaders to discuss the situation in Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris on February 17, 2025. Photo: dpa

TikTok

TikTok to expand e-commerce in more countries as US business remains in limbo

TikTok Shop is expected to enter Italy, Germany, France, Japan and Brazil this year, according to sources.

19 Feb 2025 - 7:00AMvideocam

Tourism

In pictures: 2025 Venice Carnival dedicated to Casanova opens

Giant inflatable rat leads Grand Canal boat parade, then explodes raining confetti to open 2025 Carnival honouring legendary philanderer.

18 Feb 2025 - 1:45PM

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