Italy is now seriously threatened by its own ungovernability. The collapse of the so-called “Second Republic” dominated by Silvio berlusconi and the end of Mario Monti’s 18 months in power have left a cobbled-together, right-left-centrist government under Enrico Letta  with grim valleys of austerity to traverse and steep mountains of reform to climb.

  Over the last two years, multiple cultural events in Sicily have been forced to close or dramatically scale back. And last year, when major budget woes hit the island’s Taormina Film Festival, it appeared the storied event could be next.

 Andrea Pirlo will celebrate his 100th cap at Brazil's famed Maracana Stadium this Sunday as Italy  takes on  Mexico at the FIFA Confederations Cup (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 3 p.m. ET).At 34, Pirlo is slowly starting to show is age, a step slower and a tad thinner. But the Italian midfielder's ability to find teammates on the field remains like no other.

 Harley Davidson, the iconic American motorcycle company, has donated two of its bikes and a leather jacket to Pope Francis.According to the Holy See, the gift was in honor of an upcoming gathering of bikers at the Vatican June 14-16. On Saturday thousands of bikers will ride in a parade through the center of the Eternal City and past the Vatican.

 Finally, Italian cinema might be enjoying a resurgence fit for grown-ups. First came the Tavianis' Caesar Must Dieand Matteo Garrone's Reality and now, punching out of the Walter Reade's annual Italian survey this week, Marco Tullio Giordana's Piazza Fontana, a darkling slice of history originally titled Story of a Massacre.