Culture Ministry investigates Russian presence at Venice Biennale
Italy’s culture war over the 61st Biennale escalates. A government investigation and ministerial boycott are afoot with EU funding at risk over the Russian pavilion.
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Category: 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.
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AI reconstructs final moments of Pompeii victim
For the first time, the Pompeii Archaeological Park has used artificial intelligence (AI) to give a human face to one of history’s most documented catastrophes. It brings a fleeing man’s last hours to life through a collaboration between cutting-edge technology and rigorous archaeological science.
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University of Pisa is recruiting volunteers for a neuroaesthetics study.
The University of Pisa is recruiting volunteers for a neuroaesthetics study exploring how works of art trigger emotional responses. The only qualification you need is curiosity.
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La Fenice axes Venezi after nepotism furore
Venice’s storied opera house has terminated all ties with its controversial music director-designate Beatrice Venezi after comments she made to an Argentine newspaper. Venezi’s interview brought months of bitter conflict to an abrupt head and sparked scenes of jubilation inside the theatre itself.
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On this day: birth of chocolatier Michele Ferrero
Michele Ferrero inherited a small pastry shop in Piedmont and grew one of Italy’s favourite food empires. He was born on 26th April, 1925. There won’t be many Italians who haven’t had Nutella at some point in their lives!
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Palermo sets new record with 62kg arancina
Palermo has claimed its place in the record books with the creation of a giant arancina weighing 62.3 kilograms. Unveiled last Sunday on Palermo’s Mondello beach, it surpasses a previous record set in Messina in 2023.
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On this day: death of artist Canaletto
Born Giovanni Antonio Canal, Canaletto became the greatest view-painter of the 18th century. His luminous vedute of Venice, Rome and London still the definitive image of a city at the height of its gilded, fading glory.
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On This Day: children’s author Gianni Rodari dies
The creator of beloved vegetable rebel Cipollino, Gianni Rodari, winner of children’s literature’s highest honour, passed away on 14 April 1980.
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On this day: Futurist pioneer Gino Severini born
The painter and mosaicist Gino Severini was born on 7 April 1883 in the hilltop Tuscan town of Cortona. A leading figure in early 20th-century Italian art, Severini became one of the most internationally connected members of the Futurist movement, bridging artistic developments in Italy and Paris before moving through Cubism and later Neoclassicism.
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