CENTO, ITALY — The devastating 2009 earthquake in the central city of L’Aquila was bizarrely back in the news this past week when six scientists and a bureaucrat were sentenced to six years in prison for failing to warn of what even insurance companies call an “act of God.”

MILAN -- An Italian court on Friday convicted former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of tax evasion and sentenced him to four years in prison. But the verdict did not mean that Berlusconi will go to prison anytime soon.

A 70-year-old Italian man is on pace to set a world record for long-distance running over a sustained period of time. Battista Marchesi, known locally as Tista, will have run for 239 straight days, covering 19,100 kilometers with an average of 80 kilometers per day, if he continues his pace through Sunday.

Giovanni Rana, a 50-year old Italian pasta company, will open its first restaurant on Monday, a combination pasta store and dining room in the Chelsea Market, with its own entrance on Ninth Avenue. The company, headquartered near Verona in Northern Italy, specializes in filled pastas, made with extra thin wrappers so the fillings almost show through the gossamer dough. That pinkish color you see in the ravioli is lobster.

  Italy's annual food-tasting show, Salone del Gusto, joining the sixth world conference of the SlowFood movement, opens today at the Lingotto expo halls in Turin. The show's 1000 exhibitors, 11 authors and 50 chefs from 100 countries will lead the tastings of 1200 wines, 19 master cooking classes, and 20 family-oriented activites as well as 128 tasting labs.

The Italian Army — as it readies its new Aster missile-based air defense capability — says it is looking to give the system a role in knocking out tactical ballistic missiles as well as aircraft. Known as the Surface-to-Air Missile Platform/Terrain (SAMP/T), the MBDA-built system should reach initial operating capability with the Italian Army’s 4th Air Defense Regiment by the end of this year and full operating capability by the end of 2013.

Italian newspaper publisher Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso gave a grim outlook on Wednesday as its nine-month net profit fell 36 percent, dragged by an economic downturn and internet competition. Net profit at the group controlled by prominent Italian businessman Carlo De Benedetti was 26.4 million euros ($34.2 million) in the first nine months.

Chicken cacciatore and chicken marsala are considered the ultimate in Italian-American chicken recipes. They're hearty, rich and are often times drenched in a great sauce.

The scholarship will be available to British students who want to study at Perugia's University for Foreigners, which is well known for its Italian language and art courses. Kercher, 21, of Coulsdon, Surrey, was at the start of a year's course when she was found stabbed to death in the hillside cottage she shared with Amanda Knox, a fellow exchange student.

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi confirmed on Wednesday he would not lead his center-right People of Freedom (PDL) party in next year's election.