https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Millions of shoppers have used the Italian 'cashback' scheme to claim back part of the cost of card purchases this year, but the government has now decided to end the scheme early amid concerns about effectiveness and abuse. https://www.thelocal.it/20210629/italy-to-scrap-cashback-scheme-on-card-payments-from-june-30th Tue, 29 Jun 2021 15:16:10 +0200 italy-to-scrap-cashback-scheme-on-card-payments-from-june-30th While Italy isn't ready to swear off paperwork just yet, there are a growing number of official matters that you can get done online. https://www.thelocal.it/20210204/beat-the-queues-19-bits-of-italian-bureaucracy-you-can-do-online Thu, 04 Feb 2021 18:57:16 +0100 beat-the-queues-19-bits-of-italian-bureaucracy-you-can-do-online Italy's parliament overwhelmingly approved the government's huge European Union-funded pandemic recovery plan Tuesday, just days before the deadline to submit it to Brussels. https://www.thelocal.it/20210426/less-red-tape-italy-announces-post-covid-economic-recovery-plan Mon, 26 Apr 2021 12:29:46 +0200 less-red-tape-italy-announces-post-covid-economic-recovery-plan Some 200 rural municipalities in Italy are to get publicly-subsidised fiber-optic broadband under the country's economic recovery plan. https://www.thelocal.it/20210425/waiting-for-wifi-italys-digital-divide Sun, 25 Apr 2021 12:08:29 +0200 waiting-for-wifi-italys-digital-divide A cashback scheme is among Italian government incentives intended to give struggling shops a boost while cracking down on tax evasion. https://www.thelocal.it/20201209/italy-launches-christmas-cashback-scheme-in-push-for-digital-payments Wed, 09 Dec 2020 18:27:04 +0100 italy-launches-christmas-cashback-scheme-in-push-for-digital-payments The Italian government on Monday launched a new "cashback" scheme, including a lottery aimed at encouraging people to make more electronic payments. https://www.thelocal.it/20201019/how-you-could-win-1500-just-for-making-electronic-payments-in-italy Mon, 19 Oct 2020 17:10:38 +0200 how-you-could-win-1500-just-for-making-electronic-payments-in-italy Move over, "smart working". Italy's remote workers now have the chance to join Zoom calls from the middle of the Adriatic sea, as a competition aims to highlight the benefits of working remotely in southern Italy. https://www.thelocal.it/20200904/sea-working-how-you-could-swap-your-office-for-a-boat-in-southern-italy Fri, 04 Sep 2020 12:17:18 +0200 sea-working-how-you-could-swap-your-office-for-a-boat-in-southern-italy Italian government ministers have drafted a law aimed at preventing and treating the rising phenomenon of addiction to mobile phones and the internet, particularly among young people. https://www.thelocal.it/20190722/italian-government-unveils-plan-to-tackle-smartphone-addiction Mon, 22 Jul 2019 16:33:54 +0200 italian-government-unveils-plan-to-tackle-smartphone-addiction We want to hear your experiences of being online outside of Italy's big cities - is your connection good? Or do you find yourself constantly staring at the spinning wheel of doom? https://www.thelocal.it/20190717/tell-us-just-how-bad-is-the-internet-in-rural-italy Wed, 17 Jul 2019 17:19:02 +0200 tell-us-just-how-bad-is-the-internet-in-rural-italy The Italian government has launched a new scheme introducing free wifi to the central squares of more than 100 Italian towns and cities from July. https://www.thelocal.it/20190711/italy-starts-rolling-out-free-wifi-for-every-piazza-project Thu, 11 Jul 2019 15:48:17 +0200 italy-starts-rolling-out-free-wifi-for-every-piazza-project International residents in Italy are less satisfied with digital services, such as the internet or being able to pay for things without cash than anywhere else in Europe. Foreigners in Germany, France and Spain also had gripes, however Denmark and Sweden fared better. https://www.thelocal.it/20190522/italy-is-the-worst-place-in-europe-to-use-internet-or-pay-without-cash-internations-digital-survey Wed, 22 May 2019 18:17:19 +0200 italy-is-the-worst-place-in-europe-to-use-internet-or-pay-without-cash-internations-digital-survey Online retail colossus Amazon on Wednesday said that one of its senior executives will take two years off to work for free for the Italian government. https://www.thelocal.it/20160211/top-amazon-executive-to-lead-italys-digital-drive Thu, 11 Feb 2016 09:42:56 +0100 top-amazon-executive-to-lead-italys-digital-drive