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 Pope Francis on Sunday brought to a close the Catholic Church's "Year of Mercy," shutting the Holy Door at Saint Peter's after a packed 12 months. https://www.thelocal.it/20161120/pope-to-bring-his-year-of-mercy-to-a-close Sun, 20 Nov 2016 10:08:29 +0100 pope-to-bring-his-year-of-mercy-to-a-close The Vatican's Jubilee Year was supposed to draw 20 million Catholics to Rome, where hotels and restaurants were rubbing their hands with glee, waiting to cash in. https://www.thelocal.it/20161118/phantom-pilgrims-fail-to-boost-rome-tourism-in-jubilee-year Fri, 18 Nov 2016 17:52:43 +0100 phantom-pilgrims-fail-to-boost-rome-tourism-in-jubilee-year The Pope's "Jubilee of Mercy" year, which ends this month, has brought more than 20 million pilgrims to Rome, the Vatican said on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.it/20161111/popes-jubilee-year-brought-20-million-tourists-to-rome Fri, 11 Nov 2016 15:32:05 +0100 popes-jubilee-year-brought-20-million-tourists-to-rome One thousand prisoners - including some lifers - will take part in a special event at the Vatican this weekend, along with 3,000 family members, prison staff and volunteers. https://www.thelocal.it/20161104/vatican-to-open-its-doors-to-1000-prisoners Fri, 04 Nov 2016 09:48:18 +0100 vatican-to-open-its-doors-to-1000-prisoners Pope Francis's Jubilee Year of Mercy has got off to a sluggish start, to the disappointment of Rome's hoteliers, restaurateurs and souvenir sellers. https://www.thelocal.it/20160101/popes-jubilee-year-off-to-slow-start Fri, 01 Jan 2016 16:37:27 +0100 popes-jubilee-year-off-to-slow-start Images of clouds, lions and butterflies - alternating with polluted air and parched farmland - were projected on the famous facade of St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Tuesday night as global leaders try to thrash out a historic climate deal in Paris. https://www.thelocal.it/20151209/giant-animals-light-up-vatican-for-environment-show Wed, 09 Dec 2015 09:40:45 +0100 giant-animals-light-up-vatican-for-environment-show UPDATED: Pope Francis on Tuesday marked the start of an extraordinary Jubilee year for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics by opening a "Holy Door" in the walls of St Peter's basilica. https://www.thelocal.it/20151208/pope-opens-the-door-to-catholic-jubilee Tue, 08 Dec 2015 09:53:39 +0100 pope-opens-the-door-to-catholic-jubilee An Italian journalist is in trouble after entering St Peter's square with a fake gun to film a feature about security during the Catholic Jubilee of Mercy. https://www.thelocal.it/20151207/journalist-charged-for-st-peters-fake-gun-stunt Mon, 07 Dec 2015 11:19:01 +0100 journalist-charged-for-st-peters-fake-gun-stunt Airspace over Rome will be closed-off to drones during the upcoming Catholic Holy Year, or Jubilee, over fears that the remote-controlled aircraft could be used by the Isis militant group in a terror attack. https://www.thelocal.it/20151117/rome-airspace-closed-off-to-drones-amid-jubilee-terror-threat Tue, 17 Nov 2015 13:35:53 +0100 rome-airspace-closed-off-to-drones-amid-jubilee-terror-threat Italy will send an extra 700 troops to Rome for the 2016 Jubilee of Mercy amid fears terrorists could strike the capital. https://www.thelocal.it/20151114/rome-to-deploy-700-more-troops-amid-jubilee-threat Sat, 14 Nov 2015 15:09:19 +0100 rome-to-deploy-700-more-troops-amid-jubilee-threat Forced evictions of ethnic Roma in the Italian capital have more than tripled since Pope Francis announced a special "year of mercy" which sent the city on a clean-up spree, campaigners said on Monday. https://www.thelocal.it/20151005/roma-evictions-triple-in-italian-capital Mon, 05 Oct 2015 18:26:04 +0200 roma-evictions-triple-in-italian-capital