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 Wine growers in Italy's Piedmont region are celebrating a bountiful harvest despite the extreme heat but warn they have to cut production because of trade headwinds and changing consumer habits. https://www.thelocal.it/20260927/italy-winemakers-hail-bumper-harvest-but-cut-output Sun, 27 Sep 2026 16:06:31 +0200 italy-winemakers-hail-bumper-harvest-but-cut-output From a fishing trawler in the Adriatic, Italian scientists gently release thousands of tiny octopuses in the hope of fighting an invasive North American crab species that has devastated local fisheries. https://www.thelocal.it/20260819/octopus-to-the-rescue-how-italian-scientists-are-battling-invasive-blue-crabs Wed, 19 Aug 2026 10:58:10 +0200 octopus-to-the-rescue-how-italian-scientists-are-battling-invasive-blue-crabs 28-year-old Valerio Tuveri became known on social media as "the guy who cleans Rome" after he began posting videos of himself cleaning graffiti from the Italian capital's walls. https://www.thelocal.it/20260728/the-man-cleaning-romes-walls-one-graffiti-tag-at-a-time Tue, 28 Jul 2026 17:16:09 +0200 the-man-cleaning-romes-walls-one-graffiti-tag-at-a-time Without natural drinking water, residents of Italy's Aeolian Islands are mulling whether to build more desalination plants that will also cater to the large number of tourists, or continue bringing in water by ship. https://www.thelocal.it/20260713/almost-like-gold-water-debate-rages-on-italys-aeolian-islands Mon, 13 Jul 2026 15:55:08 +0200 almost-like-gold-water-debate-rages-on-italys-aeolian-islands Hovering over the volcano, a buzzing drone pauses in front of a laser beam on the crater's edge, as researchers test whether the devices can measure gases to predict eruptions. https://www.thelocal.it/20260712/in-sicily-drones-at-work-to-predict-volcanic-eruptions Sun, 12 Jul 2026 09:03:48 +0200 in-sicily-drones-at-work-to-predict-volcanic-eruptions While the vast majority of Italian beaches are clean, the latest data shows that there are dozens of spots swimmers should steer clear of. https://www.thelocal.it/20260625/map-the-polluted-italian-beaches-to-avoid-this-summer Thu, 25 Jun 2026 14:48:34 +0200 map-the-polluted-italian-beaches-to-avoid-this-summer The vast majority of Europe's beaches offer "excellent" water quality for swimming, the EU environment agency said on Tuesday ahead of the summer season, with coastal nations and inland Austria topping the list. https://www.thelocal.it/20260616/most-beaches-in-europe-offer-excellent-water-quality-study-says Tue, 16 Jun 2026 16:22:00 +0200 most-beaches-in-europe-offer-excellent-water-quality-study-says After standardising chargers for mobile phones, from Tuesday new computers sold in EU countries must also use the USB-C charging point, as the latest phase of EU anti-waste legislation comes into force. https://www.thelocal.it/20260428/eu-anti-waste-law-new-laptops-sold-in-europe-must-now-use-usb-c-chargers Tue, 28 Apr 2026 12:16:33 +0200 eu-anti-waste-law-new-laptops-sold-in-europe-must-now-use-usb-c-chargers Environmental pollution is linked to several mental health disorders in Europe, the European Environment Agency (EEA) has warned, arguing that enforcing legislation would result in Europeans being both less depressed and less anxious. https://www.thelocal.it/20260305/pollution-exposure-in-europe-linked-to-mental-health-problems Thu, 05 Mar 2026 14:10:55 +0100 pollution-exposure-in-europe-linked-to-mental-health-problems As the winter holidays draw to an end, you may be preparing to take down the Christmas tree and decorations in your Italian home. But how can you dispose of your ‘albero’ the right way? https://www.thelocal.it/20250102/how-to-properly-dispose-of-your-christmas-tree-in-italy Thu, 02 Jan 2025 17:43:34 +0100 how-to-properly-dispose-of-your-christmas-tree-in-italy Environmental campaign group Greenpeace has slammed the fact that budget flights between destinations in Europe are still often significantly cheaper than travelling by train. https://www.thelocal.it/20250822/unfair-budget-flights-in-europe-up-to-26-times-cheaper-than-train-routes Fri, 22 Aug 2025 18:32:46 +0200 unfair-budget-flights-in-europe-up-to-26-times-cheaper-than-train-routes Wildfires have so far ravaged more than one million hectares of land in European Union countries this year, a record since recording began in 2006, according to AFP analysis of official data. https://www.thelocal.it/20250822/record-eu-wildfires-burnt-more-than-1mn-hectares-in-2025 Fri, 22 Aug 2025 10:56:46 +0200 record-eu-wildfires-burnt-more-than-1mn-hectares-in-2025 Managers of a now-defunct chemical plant in northern Italy were handed jail terms of up to 17 years on Thursday for contaminating water used by hundreds of thousands of people with "forever chemicals". https://www.thelocal.it/20250627/italian-chemical-plant-executives-convicted-in-historic-water-pollution-trial Fri, 27 Jun 2025 11:32:57 +0200 italian-chemical-plant-executives-convicted-in-historic-water-pollution-trial Europe has thousands of incredible swimming spots around its beaches, lakes and rivers, but which countries have the cleanest and dirtiest waters? https://www.thelocal.it/20250621/revealed-where-in-europe-has-the-cleanest-and-dirtiest-swimming-spots Sat, 21 Jun 2025 11:12:22 +0200 revealed-where-in-europe-has-the-cleanest-and-dirtiest-swimming-spots Strict limits on the circulation of older diesel cars are set to come into force in four northern Italian regions in October as part of contested plans to curb emissions and improve air quality. https://www.thelocal.it/20250611/four-italian-regions-to-introduce-ban-on-old-diesel-cars-from-october Wed, 11 Jun 2025 15:33:29 +0200 four-italian-regions-to-introduce-ban-on-old-diesel-cars-from-october The British government has introduced temporary restrictions on travellers from European countries from bringing meat and dairy produce – even in sandwiches – into the country. https://www.thelocal.it/20250415/travellers-from-europe-banned-from-taking-meat-and-dairy-products-into-uk Tue, 15 Apr 2025 18:33:18 +0200 travellers-from-europe-banned-from-taking-meat-and-dairy-products-into-uk "Alarming" levels of microplastic have been found in major rivers across Europe according to scientists in 14 studies published simultaneously Monday. https://www.thelocal.it/20250407/europes-great-rivers-hit-by-alarming-microplastic-pollution Mon, 07 Apr 2025 15:53:21 +0200 europes-great-rivers-hit-by-alarming-microplastic-pollution Managers of a chemical plant accused of knowingly contaminating the water of hundreds of thousands of people are on trial in Italy's Veneto region in one of Europe's biggest environmental disaster lawsuits. https://www.thelocal.it/20250213/were-terrified-of-tap-water-families-seek-justice-in-italys-forever-chemicals-trial Thu, 13 Feb 2025 16:44:54 +0100 were-terrified-of-tap-water-families-seek-justice-in-italys-forever-chemicals-trial A new report from environmental watchdog Legambiente has revealed the Italian cities with the worst levels of air pollution. Is yours on the list? https://www.thelocal.it/20250205/revealed-do-you-live-in-one-of-italys-most-polluted-cities Wed, 05 Feb 2025 17:28:40 +0100 revealed-do-you-live-in-one-of-italys-most-polluted-cities The European Court of Human Rights found on Thursday that Italy failed to deal with the burying and dumping of toxic waste by organised criminal groups in the southern Campania region, giving Rome two years to fix the situation. https://www.thelocal.it/20250130/european-rights-court-condemns-italy-over-toxic-waste-dumping-by-mafia Thu, 30 Jan 2025 12:54:38 +0100 european-rights-court-condemns-italy-over-toxic-waste-dumping-by-mafia