Culture
Mattarella jibe to the powerful at Strega Prize reception
Italy’s president used a reception for the Strega Prize 80th anniversary to deliver a pointed message about the value of reading to world leaders. The country’s most prestigious literary award, meanwhile, prepares for its most symbolically charged finale yet.
Life in Italy
Binge drinking: 4.5 million Italians indulge
A new study from Italy’s National Alcohol Observatory paints a stark picture of drinking habits across the country, with binge drinking almost doubling among women in a decade and the elderly among the most at-risk and least-treated groups.
Environment
Wolf death toll rises to 18 in Abruzzo Park
Laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of agricultural pesticides in wolf carcasses recovered from one of Italy’s oldest and most celebrated national parks. Conservationists and opposition politicians demand urgent government action and call for a planned parliamentary bill to cull wolves to be shelved.
Damaged Russian tanker may explode Italy warns
A damaged Russian tanker carrying liquefied natural gas is drifting unmanned in the Mediterranean, raising fears of a potential environmental disaster off the southern coast of Italy.
Storms and heavy snow sweep Italian peninsula
A low-pressure system sweeping across Italy has brought heavy rain, strong winds and heavy snow to large parts of the country, with the worst conditions reported in the north-west and further storms forecast for the south.
