Looking ahead and going forward: A new horizon of confidence and prosperity is what governments are asked to provide their citizens. In times of economic turmoil we refer to such a goal as a commitment to growth. I am ready to subscribe to this definition, but only if we all agree that no growth is possible without culture, and that prosperity is possible only if deeply rooted in a common ground of values and history.

WASHINGTON — Michelangelo's "David-Apollo" will be showcased publicly beginning Thursday at the National Gallery of Art to open a yearlong celebration of Italian culture in more than 30 U.S. cities. The sculpture from 1530 was unveiled Wednesday by Italy's foreign minister to launch "2013: The Year of Italian Culture," which will showcase Italy's art, science, music, design and innovations. Events and exhibits are planned in Los Angeles, Houston, Cleveland, New York, Boston and points in between, involving about 70 cultural institutions.  

  Washington - Italy's foreign affairs minister will inaugurate The Year of Italian Culture in the United States event Wednesday with the loan of a Michelangelo sculpture to a major American gallery.
Giulio Terzi will open the year-long event at Washington's prestigious National Gallery of Art by unveiling the famous David-Apollo sculpture by Michelangelo.

 Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti warned against a slide into populism on Tuesday as Silvio Berlusconi attacked his technocrat government, accusing it of failed "Germano-centric" policies that had dragged Italy into recession.

 Renato Brancaleoni learned the craft of aging cheese from his father, who started in Italy in 1937, but he has taken the techniques in new directions. Mr. Brancaleoni (at right) is from Roncofreddo, in the Emilia-Romagna region. He buys young cheeses, often pecorino, and carefully ages them in caves or in huge terra cotta containers. 

Adventures in house-hunting: a writer chronicles her attempt to find the perfect home in Italy. I found it. Well, I maybe found it. I was with my friend Lisa, whom I’d recruited to join me in real estate reconnaissance, and we were driving over a small, rolling, verdant hill — the last in a two-hour series of small, rolling, verdant hills — and then there it was: a crumble of stones that vaguely resembled a house. It was set in the middle of a field, and from every conceivable angle it had a view of Tuscany to snap, frame and hang on the wall. It was perfect.

(ANSA) - Rome, December 6 - Ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi will stand again in the next general election so his People of Freedom (Pdl) party will no longer hold primaries, PdL Secretary Angelino Alfano said Thursday.