MILAN — Animal rights campaigners are calling for an end to the famed Palio bareback horse race in Siena after six of 10 horses crashed during the latest edition. The LAV animal rights group said Friday the accident on the first curve of the dirt-covered course in Siena's main square was just the "umpteenth confirmation that the Palio needs to put the safety of the horses and all the participants ahead of tradition.

Today at the Concorso Italiano — one of the largest gatherings of Italian vehicles in North America — the FIAT Brand introduced the new 2013 FIAT 500 Turbo, touting a 135-horsepower 1.4-liter MultiAir Turbo engine, sport-tuned suspension, track-proven brakes, dynamic exterior design and sport-styled interior.

 PESARO, ITALY — Last month the Caramoor International Music Festival in Katonah, New York, presented Rossini’s “Ciro in Babilonia” in a bel canto opera series that under the conductor Will Crutchfield’s informed leadership has gratified New York audiences since the 1990s...

 MILAN — Italian authorities have arrested a leading member of the Neopolitan Camorra crime group, who was considered one of the country’s most-dangerous criminals. More than 100 agents and a helicopter swooped to arrest Francesco Matrone — known as “The Beast” — near Salerno in Italy’s south on Friday.

The police have discovered and seized a sprawling marijuana farm in a tunnel in the capital built during the era of Mussolini. The crop had an estimated street value of $3.7 million.

Perhaps love was in the air. I was on my honeymoon in Italy, after all. But when I took my first bite of just-made stracciatella, thin strands of fresh mozzarella soaked in heavy cream, I knew I had found another true love.

For many Romans,this seaside neighborhood at the fringe of the capital has long been the site of summertime rituals, where crowds of children built wobbly castles of soot-colored sand, parents snoozed in clusters and beachfront resorts bustled with sun-soaked hordes of vacationers.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said on Thursday his government is not considering cutting income taxes, denying a newspaper report that he was looking to such a move to revive the stagnant economy.

The Greater Rockford Italian American Association (GRIAA) is inviting all Italian-Americans in the Rockford area to participate in “The Immigration Histories of Rockford’s Italian Families.”Through the association’s Culture and Education Committee, GRIAA wants to tell the stories of those who came from all of the provinces of Italy, from Venice in the north to Sicily in the south.

Fifty percent more Italians are staying home over the Ferragosto vacation than five years ago, about 14-15% of the population. Milan has become the most "alive" city in this period as 530,000 people decide to stay at home, with a greater number of shops staying open, many of which are managed by immigrants.