AFP. Italian power company Enel said Friday that it had started up a ground-breaking hydrogen-powered electricity plant producing no greenhouse gases.

Enel said the 12 megawatt plant, at Fusina in Venice's industrial zone of Porto Marghera, was the first of its kind in the world to operate on such a scale. (Read the article)

The New York Times. MONTECAVOLO, ITALY  — The vaults of the regional bank Credito Emiliano hold a pungent gold prized by gourmands around the world — 17,000 tons of parmesan cheese. (Read the article)

Boston Herald. George Clooney is gearing up for a legal war in Italy, claiming invasive paparazzi climbed over the wall of his Italian home and shot a topless photo of a 13-year-old girl changing in one of his guest rooms. (Read the article)

ANSA.Milan is embarking on a major Leonardo da Vinci spree, with 24 mini-exhibits devoted to the largest collection of sketches, designs and writing by the Renaissance genius. (Read the article)

ANSA. One of Italy's oldest and most prestigious museums is gearing up for festivities to celebrate its 200th birthday. August 15 mark the day in 1808 that the Pinacoteca di Brera was officially thrown open to the public. (Read the article)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. In 1969, an obscure middle-aged novelist and pulp magazine journalist named ­Mario Gianluigi Puzo hit the literary jackpot. He wrote "The Godfather," he later told Larry King, "to make money." By his own admission, it wasn't well written. "If I'd known so many people were going to read it," he famously said, "I'd have written it better." (Read the article)