Italy News: 10.05.08

Some news from Italy for your Sunday reading pleasure:

• According to a study from 2007, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese is the #1 shoplifted food item in Italy. I just have a hard time picturing how anyone would hide a giant wheel of cheese in their purse.
• Ever wondered what they’re actually eating in the famous painting of “The Last Supper” in Milan? Well, thanks to restorations, now we know: eel.
• What would Italians want to have if they were stranded on a desert island? Why, Pasta, trousers, soap and a radio, of course.
• A new study released last week in Italy indicates that having an affair can lead to crippling migraine headaches. I’m just not sure what else to say about that.
• Inmates in Italian prisons aren’t restricted to opening prison restaurants. No, they can also start soccer teams, too.
• Fans of Saturday Night Live who are traveling in Italy may want to check out the new SNL-like show that’ll soon appear on Tuesday nights in Italy. It’ll apparently “focus on the country’s news and comic gags and politically incorrect humor” – but when an Italian comedian actually faces jail time for making a joke about the Pope, I’m not sure how long such a program can last.
• Scientists in Turin have found the first case of mad cow disease in Italy in more than two years.
• During comments marking World Tourism Day, the Pope said that travelers should respect the environment and local cultures. He has spoken before of environmental issues, and apparently the Vatican is even going to be putting some solar panels on some of its buildings.
• Earlier this year, an Italian judge seemed to rule that all Italian blogs are illegal. This month, an Italian politician is going even further, “warning that most web activity is likely to be against the law.”
• CNN’s “The Screening Room” has rated its top 10 Italian films – how many have you seen?
• Even if you don’t live in Italy, if you’ve got an Italian parent or grandparent, have a basic knowledge of the Italian language, and you’re a woman who’ll be between the ages of 17 and 26 by December 31, 2009, then you, too, can enter the Miss Italia nel Mondo competition.
• Police near Naples have reportedly arrested several suspected members of the Mafia, including three who the police think were involved with the killings of six African immigrants in September.
• Job-hunting in Italy? Perhaps the new position of “museum czar” might be of interest. Of course, being the person who oversees all the museums in a country with a boatload of ‘em isn’t exactly going to be a relaxing job.
• Spike Lee’s new film, “Miracle at St. Anna,” is set in Italy and based on the story of “the all-black 92nd Buffalo Division which helped liberate Italy in 1944-45″ – and it’s not sitting well with all Italian survivors of the war.
• Visiting Rome any time soon with teenagers? Then check out this list of suggestions to keep teens entertained in The Eternal City.
• The LA Times spoke recently with a couple of women in the town of San Luca about the role women play in the ‘Ndrangheta, the local Mafia.
• Many of the people working in Italian vineyards are Albanian immigrants – strict Muslims who don’t even drink the alcohol they help produce.
• Italofile has their regular listing of what’s going on for the next month in Italy – if you’re going to Italy in October, be sure to check it out.
• You may not realize it, but in addition to being one of the most famous Roman ruins on earth, the Colosseum in Rome is also an art gallery that showcases rotating exhibits (you get to check them out when you tour the inside of the Colosseum). The show that’s on right now is displaying art and artifacts that have been recovered from tomb raiders for hundreds of years.
• There is no shortage of saint celebrations in Italy, so don’t be surprised if you haven’t heard of the ones for Saint Cosma and Saint Damiano. Before reading about their celebrations here, I hadn’t heard of them, either.
• Only a few weeks after 6 African immigrants were killed near Naples, a Chinese immigrant has been beaten severely near Rome.
• With one more addition to the EU’s list of “protected” foods, Italy remains the EU country with the most protected foods. Fully one-quarter of the foods on the EU’s list are Italian, with France coming in at 2nd.
• Archaeologists have found the remains of a Bronze Age village on the Sicilian island of Ustica.
• I have yet to develop a taste for the famous – and prized – white truffle, but for anyone whose trip to Italy isn’t complete without sampling the delicacy, you’ll be pleased to know that white truffle season has officially started.
• Despite the fact that people have actually been tripping over the steps, Venice officials have no plans to modify their newest Grand Canal bridge.
• “Big” dogs will still be allowed to travel on Italian trains for now, according to officials.
• Not that unemployment rates in Italy were low to begin with, but they jumped another 20% during the second quarter of 2008.