The Vatican stays open to help Abruzzo earthquake victims

Seeded on Sat May 9, 2009 4:47 AM EDT (Newsweek)

This Sunday, the Vatican Museums are opening their doors and donating all admission fees to families left homeless by the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that rocked Abruzzo, a region northeast of Rome, on April 6.

travel, italy, vatican, rome, italy-travel, abruzzo-earthquake

Pope to visit mosque on sensitive Holy Land tour

Seeded on Sat May 9, 2009 4:44 AM EDT (euronews)

For the second time since becoming head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict will visit a mosque today, as his delicate trip to the Middle East continues.

vatican, religion, pope

Dating Profiles in 140 Characters or Less -- the Tweet Factor

Seeded on Sat May 9, 2009 4:43 AM EDT ()

For people who think online dating questionnaires are just too much work, Montreal-based Radaroo offers something much, much simpler.

technology, romance, online-dating, dating, twitter

Tuscany Walking Festival

Seeded on Sat May 9, 2009 4:37 AM EDT ()

Tuscany, with its beautiful vistas and thousands of hectares of nature preserves and woodlands, offers numerous opportunities for serious hikers and casual trekkers alike.

travel, italy, tuscany, italy-travel, walking-vacations

Pasta la Vista, Baby: The Changing Italian Diet

Seeded on Sat May 9, 2009 4:35 AM EDT ()

25 years ago, Italian families ate more meat, drank more wine but put less fish and pasta on the table. La famiglia also usually shopped in small local stores — there were five times fewer supermarkets — and 85% of the time ate at home.

travel, italy, italian-food, pasta, italian-culture

US art student confesses to killing Italian

Seeded on Sat May 9, 2009 4:33 AM EDT (Telegraph)

a 24-year-old student at Michigan's Olivet College, was found "covered with blood" about 200 yards from where the body of the victim, Riccardo Nistri, 62, was discovered in front of a shop on a quiet Florence street, said Carabinieri police Lt. Col. Ferdinando Musella.

italy, crime, world-news, students-abroad

Why I can't help but love Italy

Seeded on Sat May 9, 2009 4:30 AM EDT (The Globe and Mail)

My newspapers are delivered by a jolly young man on a scooter. Make that not delivered; as often as not, they do not arrive on the same day. It is Monday morning and I am dropping my kids off at the bus stop outside our apartment.

italy, italian-culture, italian-life

Italian Beaches Get Flying Colors from Eco Group

Seeded on Fri May 8, 2009 4:59 AM EDT (Corriere.it)

Every year, consumer and environmental groups rate the health of Italy's beaches, this year 12 more stretches of coast passed the test...

italy, world-news, italy-travel, italian-beaches

Madame Bovary Meets the Mouse Click

Seeded on Fri May 8, 2009 4:56 AM EDT (Wall Street Journal)

Gustave Flaubert is meeting modern technology thanks to a website (www.bovary.fr) allows visitors to explore Flaubert's 4,500-page manuscript using various entry points, via keywords, metaphors, maps and so on.

technology, digital-books, manuscripts, flaubert, french-literature, madame-bovary

Live butterfly in Mother's Day gift box creates stir

Seeded on Thu May 7, 2009 2:17 AM EDT ()

News that live butterflies will be packaged as Mother's Day gifts and sold has been criticised by the Animal Rights Party (PvdD) and the Dutch Butterfly Conservation in the Netherlands.

world-news, holland, butterflies, mothers-day

Meet Italy's Hot New Ministers

Seeded on Wed May 6, 2009 8:42 AM EDT ()

Seeing as Berlusconi seems to want to put the glamour back into dull old Italian politics, I thought you might like to see the candidates he may be fielding for his next government.

italy, women-in-politics, italian-politics