Italy

2 Art Havens in the Hudson Valley Offer Nature Indoors and Out

Back in 1967, Arte Povera artists in Italy, the radicals of their time, hung out at the Piper Club, a discothèque of, by and for the avant-garde in Turin. During one nocturnal happening, young women danced in tunics made of polyurethane birch logs and ponchos studded with foam rocks to look like riverbeds. Like nature […]

Covid’s New Divide: Risk Takers vs. the Risk Averse

ROME — The entire family is vaccinated, even the relatives, and all abide by masking requirements and respect Italy’s tough coronavirus restrictions. They are also all over the place in how they are living their lives. Mariagiovanna Togna is willing to accompany her children to outdoor play dates after school. But her husband, more anxious […]

Italian Lawmakers Say They Have Agreed to Re-Elect Sergio Mattarella as President

For days, the competing political parties engaged in all sorts of tactics to pursue their narrow interests, gain the upper hand or defend against partisan candidates. They cast blank ballots and floated symbolic candidates used to measure the compactness of their voting blocs. They timed their own voters to make sure they were not writing […]

Viral Photograph of Munzir El Nezzel Helps Bring Syrian Refugee Family to Italy

SIENA, Italy — The award-winning photograph — of a man who had lost a leg in a bomb attack in Syria, hoisting into the air his son, born without limbs, another casualty of the country’s civil war — went viral last year in Italy. On Friday, Munzir El Nezzel, the man in the picture, and […]

Silvio Berlusconi Angles for Italy’s Presidency, Bunga Bunga and All

ROME — Early this month, Silvio Berlusconi sat at a dining room table in his mansion with his girlfriend, more than a half-century younger, and an old political ally. As they feasted on a pumpkin souffle and truffle tagliatelle, the 85-year-old Italian former prime minister and billionaire made hours of phone calls, working his way […]

Italy Ponders a New Role for Draghi. Let the Politicking Begin.

The secrecy, and self-interested nature, of the vote makes it ripe for influence peddling. In recent days, opening gambits took the form of government-collapsing ultimatums, with Mr. Berlusconi saying that he would pull his party out of government if Mr. Draghi became president. Secret negotiations between the nationalist League, led by Matteo Salvini, and the […]

Venice to Replace Glass on Santiago Calatrava’s Slippery Bridge

VENICE — As tourists wandered obliviously on the glass floor of the footbridge, locals proceeded with caution. Venetians made sure to walk on the narrow stone strip at the center, some lifting fogged glasses to keep their eyes on the ground. When a visitor tripped, they barely lifted their gaze. “That is not a bridge,” […]

Europeans Ponder Living With, Not Defeating, Covid

MADRID — Covid-19 infections were rising all across Spain, but the message from the country’s leader was clear: The government was not entering 2022 with the restrictions of 2020. “The situation is different this time, and because of that, we’re taking different measures,” Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister, said this week, adding that he understood […]

Italian Bishop Gives Children Harsh News: There Is No Santa Claus

ROME — All that separated the giddy Sicilian school children from meeting Old Saint Nick — arriving on horseback with his long white beard, crimson robe and bag full of gifts — was a Christmas message from the bishop of Noto. “Santa Claus,” thundered Bishop Antonio Staglianò, “is an imaginary character.” Children’s jaws dropped and […]