Italy

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Leo Brings Back the Papal Summer Vacation

He'll spend 2 weeks in Castel Gandolfo, which is hoping for a tourism boost

(Newser) - Pope Leo XIV is reviving a 400-year-old tradition this July, becoming the first pontiff in over a decade to summer in Castel Gandolfo, a small community about an hour south of Rome. The move, confirmed by the Vatican, has locals eager for a surge of tourists to the hillside...

Rosie O'Donnell Goes After Jeff Bezos' Wedding Guests

Comedian wasn't impressed with excess of nuptials to Lauren Sanchez, nor with stars who attended

(Newser) - Speaking out the loudest against the extravagant Jeff Bezos-Lauren Sanchez wedding on Friday in Venice, Italy: environmentalists, Venetian locals, and ... Rosie O'Donnell. BuzzFeed reports that the comedian has some thoughts on the nuptials— thought to cost around $25 million and even up to $50 million-plus—as revealed on her...

Lauren Sanchez's Wedding Dress Took 900 Hours to Make
What Was Up With Those
Bezos-Sanchez Invites?
THE RUNDOWN
Jun 28, 2025 7:00 AM CDT

What Was Up With Those Bezos-Sanchez Invites?

'Clip art,' one columnist described them, though the rest of the affair in Venice was rife with luxury, celebs

(Newser) - The event we've all been hearing about for months has finally wrapped. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez are now husband and wife, after an elaborate wedding in Venice, Italy, that attracted a fair amount of pushback from locals and activists and backlash overall . Both USA Today and...

Stars Descend on Venice for Bezos-Sanchez Nuptials

Among those said to be attending in Venice: Oprah, Bill Gates, Mick Jagger, and more

(Newser) - Oprah Winfrey arrived in Venice, Italy, on Thursday, leading a star-studded guest list of celebrities descending on the lagoon city for the weekend wedding of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez. Winfrey's private jet landed at Venice's Marco Polo Airport. Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner, and...

Bezos' Venice Wedding Illustrates Rise of Tackiness

Flaunting one's wealth is in, writes Amy Odell

(Newser) - "Stealth wealth" is out. "Swaggy and braggy" is in, or so it seems as we approach the nuptials of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez. The occasion has Amy Odell taking a look at how wealth is manifesting itself these days: Being understated and quiet about it is no...

After 20 Years, Florence Sheds Its Ugly Crane

City's skyline is finally clear as Uffizi Galleries' construction crane comes down

(Newser) - Florence's skyline, long defined by Renaissance landmarks like Brunelleschi's dome and Giotto's bell tower, has finally shed an unexpected addition: a 197-foot yellow crane that stood above the Uffizi Galleries for almost two decades. The crane, installed in 2006 to support museum expansion efforts, became a...

Venetians to Block Guests From Bezos Wedding

Activists say rumored $10M event is a symbol of 'exploitation'

(Newser) - Activists in Venice are protesting against Jeff Bezos' plans to take over an island in the city next week for his wedding to Lauren Sanchez, which has a rumored $10 million budget. Banners reading "No Space for Bezos" were unfurled from the bell tower of the San Giorgio Maggiore...

Top 10 Countries for Life Expectancy

Monaco has world's highest life expectancy, at 88.6 years on average, per Visual Capitalist rankings

(Newser) - Life expectancy in the United States is an average of 78.6 years , but that doesn't hold a candle to how long people can expect to live in some other nations. Using data from the UN's World Population Prospects portal, Visual Capitalist looked at life expectancy at birth...

Tourists Flee as Etna Erupts Again
Mount Etna Reawakens
Jun 2, 2025 7:44 AM CDT

Mount Etna Reawakens

Strombolian eruption triggers high ash cloud over Sicily

(Newser) - Europe's most active volcano has awakened from its brief nap. Mount Etna, which drew tourists from around the world when it began spewing lava in February , began erupting anew on Monday morning, sending ash high into the air above the Italian island of Sicily. Italy's National Institute of...

Art Thief Behind Churchill Heist in Canada Is Sentenced

Jeffrey Wood stole a renowned photo of former British PM from a hotel

(Newser) - The man who pulled off a brazen art theft in Canada will spend the next two years behind bars. A judge in Ottawa sentenced Jeffrey Wood on Monday, reports the CBC . At some point during the pandemic, Woods stole a renowned photograph of Winston Churchill from Ottawa's Chateau...

DNA Connects 5 Men to Leonardo da Vinci

One of them invented a new plane propellor

(Newser) - An 89-year-old man in Italy who built model airplanes before acquiring a pilot's license, and whose inventions included a new plane propellor, has a better idea now where those interests came from. Dalmazio Vinci and four other men living in Tuscany all have DNA matching segments of the Y...

Cops: Italian Visitor Kidnapped in NYC Over Bitcoin Password

Suspect is charged after victim escapes Manhattan apartment

(Newser) - Police in New York City have charged a man in a bizarre case that involves bitcoin and allegations of torture. Authorities arrested John Woeltz, described as a 37-year-old cryptocurrency investor, and accused him of holding a visitor from Italy prisoner in a Manhattan apartment for about two weeks, reports CBS...

US, Italy Push to Recover Missing WWII Soldiers' Remains

New agreement also pledges to safeguard archaeological sites in Italy in the process

(Newser) - The United States and Italy have formalized an agreement aimed at intensifying the search for the remains of American soldiers who went missing in action during World War II and are still unaccounted for. The pact, announced Tuesday, was signed by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and Italy'...

Fugitive Killer Jumps to His Death From Milan Landmark

Convicted murderer on work-release program stabbed colleague, may have killed another

(Newser) - "They were looking for him everywhere, and in the end, he was right at the Duomo," a passerby told Il Messaggero after a fugitive murderer jumped to his death from Milan's famous cathedral. Emanuele De Maria, 35, was serving a 14-year sentence for the murder of a...

American Impaled at Rome's Colosseum
US Tourist Nearly Dies
in Colosseum Stunt
in case you missed it
May 10, 2025 3:55 PM CDT

US Tourist Nearly Dies in Colosseum Stunt

Man ran into trouble while trying to scale fence: reports

(Newser) - An American tourist was impaled on a fence around Rome's Colosseum on Friday and left hanging for 20 minutes, according to reports. The 47-year-old US man living in Taiwan was vacationing with friends and family when he tried to climb over the metal fence in the large square in...

Charred Vesuvius Scroll Gives Up Its Author

PHerc. 172 identified as part of Greek philosopher Philodemus' 'On Vices'

(Newser) - There's been a "very exciting development" in the two-year-old Vesuvius Challenge, an effort to decode ancient scrolls charred by the AD79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius. As unrolling the 2,000-year-old carbonized scrolls unearthed in Herculaneum guarantee damage, if not total destruction, scholars have been using powerful 3D X-rays...

The Conclave Stove Is Now in Place
The Conclave Stove
Is Now in Place
May 3, 2025 11:30 AM CDT

The Conclave Stove Is Now in Place

It's where ballots will be burned in Sistine Chapel during voting for new pope that starts Wednesday

(Newser) - Vatican workers have installed the simple stove in the Sistine Chapel where ballots will be burned during the upcoming conclave to elect a new pope, as jockeying continued over who among the cardinals is in the running. The Holy See released a video Saturday of the preparations for the May...

After Chat With Zelensky, Trump Doubts Putin's Intentions

Ukrainian president says brief talk covered 'a lot'

(Newser) - President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met briefly on Saturday before the funeral for Pope Francis as the American leader steps up pressure to end Russia's war against Ukraine. It was the first face-to-face encounter between the presidents since they argued during a heated Oval Office meeting at...

Francis Built 'a Poor Church for the Poor'

US Presidents Trump and Biden, heads of state, Catholic faithful honor pope at Vatican funeral

(Newser) - World leaders and Catholic faithful bade farewell to Pope Francis in a funeral Saturday that highlighted his concern for the "most peripheral of the peripheries" and reflected his wishes as pastor. Though presidents and princes attended the Mass in St. Peter's Square, prisoners and migrants were also set...

Cops: Man Who Killed Gucci Shot Son, Then Himself

Both men survived, Italian authorities say

(Newser) - The man who was hired to assassinate Maurizio Gucci in 1995 completed his prison sentence two years ago, but Benedetto Ceraulo is likely to find himself back behind bars when he is out of the hospital. Police say the 63-year-old shot his son in the face during an argument at...

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