Italian News Snippets: 08.26.07

Your Sunday news snippets from Italy:

• A politician in Bologna has suggested that the city create a “red light” district where prostitution would be legal – but to have that area move around the city so no one neighborhood becomes a permanent den of iniquity. He’s surprised that not everyone thinks it’s a great idea, and I’m surprised that some people do.
• Italians hit the beaches in droves every August, and apparently they routinely leave more than footprints in the sand – one report says Italians lost about €18 million in the space of one month.
• You think it’s hot in Europe now? Some experts are predicting that 50C summers (that’s more than 120F) will be normal in the future.
• When you’re 98 and your 70-year-old son suggests that you and your 24-year-old caregiver hop into the car for a night of dancing, you can probably assume that you’re going to get the short end of the stick. In this case, the 98-year-old mother was left in the car while the other two hit the dance floor. And the son is confused now why the police are pressing charges.
• There’s more than just a scattered whisper or two about doping scandals in the Opera world these days. And you thought doping stories were just found in sports…
• Prices on some foods in Italy will be going up next month due to higher costs for wheat and other grains, but the farmer’s union says the rise in prices is unjustified.
• Roman Polanski’s next film will be about Pompeii, set 2000 years in the past, because of what Polanski sees as similarities with modern times.
• Want to seduce your loved one with an intimate candlelit meal in Italy, but you don’t know how to cook? It’s Lunapiena’s “kit for two” to the rescue.
• Officials fear vendetta killings after six Italians were murdered in Germany last week.
• No matter that the Mafia is a very real threat in some parts of Italy – tourists just love Mafia T-shirts.
• New excavations in Sardinia may produce the remains of an ancient Phoenician colony.
• A rare giant squid has been caught off the Isle of Elba in one piece, not decomposed like most of them are. Needless to say, marine biologists are giddy.
• Fires continue to plague southern Italy – three died recently in Sicily.
• Fans of the AC Milan soccer team are prohibited from attending the opening game in Genoa today as the Italian soccer league tries to recuperate from last year’s riot-filled calendar.
• Tourists in Venice might like the pigeons that fill St. Mark’s Square (though I can’t for a second understand why), but they’re costing Venetians a pretty penny in general upkeep and maintenance – €275 each, to be exact. And if you ask me, no pigeon is worth even half that amount.
• How do you combine Italy’s flair for fashion with its plethora of museums? Simple – open an Armani museum in Milan.
• Groups which organize wine-focused tours in Italy are asking that drivers for said tour groups be allowed to have a higher blood alcohol content than is currently legal. Perhaps this is a good point to raise with the operator of your wine-centric Italian tour.
• The Veneto region is paying tribute to one of its artistic sons – Titian has a multi-stop retrospective of his final years in various cities throughout the region. Think of it as a progressive art exhibit.
• A Vatican official is notably upset over the coverage of sex abuse cases involving Italian priests. Methinks he should be more upset about the abuse.
• Art isn’t all about Renaissance masters and altarpieces – sometimes it’s about time. The “Artempo” exhibit is part of the Venice Biennale, and runs through October 7th.
• If you’re in Italy in early October and want a little taste of American sports mania, the first game of the pre-season for the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics will be held in Rome.