Italy News
So, it’s probably not the stuff you’d find on the front page of the dailies in Italy, but it’s Italian news nonetheless.
Italian News Snippets: 07.06.08
Some Italian news for your Sunday reading pleasure:
World happiness studies indicate that people in Italy aren’t as happy as some of their European neighbors - Italy ranks only 45th in overall happiness, whereas Ireland is 6th. Britain comes in at 21st, the United States is 16th, France is 36th, Spain is 43rd and Portugal is 46th. Denmark is listed as the happiest country, with Puerto Rico, Colombia, Iceland and Northern Ireland rounding out the top 5.
One of those celebrities who lives in Italy that I wrote about some time ago, Debi Mazar, sometimes posts cooking videos …
Date: July 6th, 2008 |
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Italian News Snippets: 06.29.08
Some Italian news for your Sunday reading pleasure:
If the idea of a “Pope Casanova” seems surprising to you (as it did to me), then check out this Times Online article about the young man’s entry into Rome before his more legendary days as a, well, a Casanova.
Rick Steves writes about why he loves the Cinque Terre, even after all these over-touristed years.
If Nutella isn’t addictive enough for you already, consider that some young Italians are eating some of the hazelnut goo that’s been “enhanced” with psychedelic mushrooms.
Now that “Angels & Demons” is nearly …
Date: June 29th, 2008 |
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New “Homemade Gelato” Label in Italy Points You to the Real Thing
There are so many things to keep in mind when you’re hunting down a scoop of high-quality gelato in Italy, you’d be forgiven for just giving up and choosing whichever gelateria is closest to you. But in addition to my tips on finding good Italian gelato, some folks in Florence are trying to make it even easier on you by creating the “Real Homemade Gelato” designation.
Think of this “Real Homemade Gelato” designation, which is “vero gelato artiginale” in Italian, as you might think of a verification that a certain cheese is really parmigiano reggiano and not a …
Date: June 24th, 2008 |
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“Unicorn” Found in Italian Nature Park near Florence
Who says genetic flaws are inherently bad? This baby deer found in a park in Tuscany would be just one of the crowd if not for its genetic mutation - instead of two horns, this little fellow has one. And it’s smack dab in the center of its forehead, making it - sort of - a real-life unicorn.
The deer/unicorn in question can be found near Florence, in a Prato park called the Center of Natural Sciences, and it’s already attracting quite a bit of attention from the international media. The park …
Date: June 17th, 2008 |
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Couple Caught Having Oral Sex in Cathedral Confession Box
Italy is, not surprisingly, a profoundly Catholic country - in name at least, if not in practice. The overwhelming majority of Italians self-identify as Catholics, although it’s a much smaller number who regularly attend any kind of church services. Still, when I’m told that one of the worst Italian swear words is “porco dio” (coupling the words “pig” with “god”), I know that it doesn’t matter how religious the Italians are in practice - the Catholic church is still central to the Italian identity.
So, you can imagine the consternation when a couple was discovered in a cathedral in the …
Date: June 10th, 2008 |
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The Most Popular Museums in Italy for 2007
Anyone waiting in the long line to get into the Uffizi Gallery or the Vatican Museums on a hot summer day will recognize that they’re standing outside one of Italy’s top museums. But if you’re looking for a list of Italy’s most popular museums based on the actual number of visitors, Touring Club Italia has come to the rescue.
Touring Club Italia puts out a guide to Italy’s museums each year, and they’ve just released the 2008 edition (PDF, in Italian). In it, they have produced a list of the 30 most popular museums in Italy (using …
Date: July 1st, 2008 |
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Milan #41 in World for Overall Quality of Expat Life
Mercer has just released its 2008 Quality of Living survey - it ranks cities around the world in terms of cost of living, personal safety, recreation opportunities, public transportation, and many other factors to come up with an overall ranking on “quality of living for expatriates.” Needless to say, I was curious where Italian cities had ended up.
Milan ranks 41st (up from 49th last year) on Overall Quality of Living, and that’s it. That’s the only appearance of any Italian city in the top 50 for either Quality of Living or Personal Safety. Yes, folks, that’s kind of …
Date: June 28th, 2008 |
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Italian News Snippets: 06.22.08
Some Italian news for your Sunday reading pleasure:
Yay! After a disastrous start, the Italian soccer team has actually made it out of the first round at the Euro 2008 soccer tournament. They have to play Spain today, and it’s win or go home. Keep your fingers crossed…
Well, you don’t hear this everyday. A dentist in the Ligurian city of Genoa has announced that he’ll perform his dental services for free in return for sex.
Italian actress Asia Argento seems to regret having French-kissed a dog for a scene in the movie, “Go Go Tales,” and …
Date: June 22nd, 2008 |
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Italian News Snippets: 06.15.08
Some Italian news for your Sunday reading pleasure:
Remember the couple who was caught having oral sex in a cathedral confessional box? They’ve apologized to the archbishop, who accepted their apology.
Tom Hanks is in Rome at the moment, filming “Angels & Demons,” the prequel to Dan Brown’s hit “The Da Vinci Code.”
Apparently Italy can’t clean up its own trash - Germany is hauling 160,000 tons of the garbage in and around Naples back to Germany in order to incinerate it.
It’s official from the Guinness Records folks - Italy has created the world’s …
Date: June 15th, 2008 |
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Italian News Snippets: 06.08.08
Some Italian news for your Sunday reading pleasure:
After a couple was caught having sex in the Cesena cathedral’s confessional box, the cathedral had to be purified before it could be used again for normal services.
Someone’s wishing they had a satellite navigation device for figuring out how to get where you want to go in Venice. I think that would spoil all the fun.
SMS flood alerts for Venice are, however, not a bad idea.
Italy’s first game in the Euro 2008 championships is tomorrow - and last week captain …
Date: June 8th, 2008 |
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