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 The foulest stench is in the air, but the zombie-like creatures lurching through rubbish-strewn streets of Rome are not monsters in Michael Jackson's "Thriller", but heat-weary tourists and furious residents. https://www.thelocal.it/20170729/eternal-citys-woes-turn-up-heat-on-rome-mayor Sat, 29 Jul 2017 13:18:24 +0200 eternal-citys-woes-turn-up-heat-on-rome-mayor Lazio's regional administrative court has scrapped an ordinance from Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi that would have seen fireworks banned in the capital on New Year's Eve. https://www.thelocal.it/20161229/court-quashes-killjoy-rome-mayors-nye-firework-ban Thu, 29 Dec 2016 14:32:36 +0100 court-quashes-killjoy-rome-mayors-nye-firework-ban A small town in Cremona, northern Italy, has called in a team of ghostbusters to suss out any spooky goings-on in the town's public buildings. https://www.thelocal.it/20161104/italian-mayor-calls-in-ghostbusters-ostiano-paranormal Fri, 04 Nov 2016 13:30:05 +0100 italian-mayor-calls-in-ghostbusters-ostiano-paranormal Rome mayor Virginia Raggi remains reticent on her city's bid to host the 2024 Olympics, saying that it would be better to first think about "abandoned municipal installations". https://www.thelocal.it/20160831/rome-mayor-reticent-on-2024-olympic-bid Wed, 31 Aug 2016 15:20:39 +0200 rome-mayor-reticent-on-2024-olympic-bid Rome's first female mayor takes office on Thursday, pledging to raise more than €1 billion a year for flagging public services with a crackdown on waste, mismanagement and corruption. https://www.thelocal.it/20160623/romes-new-mayor-pledges-1bn-bonus-from-corruption-crackdown Thu, 23 Jun 2016 14:46:24 +0200 romes-new-mayor-pledges-1bn-bonus-from-corruption-crackdown Giovanni Malago, the president of Rome's Olympic bid, has called on new mayor Virginia Raggi to work with him on the campaign to bring the 2024 Games to the Eternal City. https://www.thelocal.it/20160622/rome-chief-calls-on-new-mayor-to-back-bid Wed, 22 Jun 2016 11:10:00 +0200 rome-chief-calls-on-new-mayor-to-back-bid The former mayor of Rome, Ignazio Marino, will stand a fast-track trial in September over the expenses scandal which saw him toppled from city hall last October. https://www.thelocal.it/20160621/ex-rome-mayor-to-face-fast-track-expenses-trial-in-september Tue, 21 Jun 2016 13:00:25 +0200 ex-rome-mayor-to-face-fast-track-expenses-trial-in-september As Rome's first female mayor, Virginia Raggi faces a series of challenges described by one expert as "mission impossible". https://www.thelocal.it/20160621/romes-new-female-mayor Tue, 21 Jun 2016 10:04:48 +0200 romes-new-female-mayor Italy's centre-left government was Monday counting the cost of stinging local election reverses that saw female mayors from the populist Five Star Movement elected in Rome and Turin. https://www.thelocal.it/20160619/rome-elects-virginia-raggi-as-first-female-mayor-exit-poll Mon, 20 Jun 2016 01:08:18 +0200 rome-elects-virginia-raggi-as-first-female-mayor-exit-poll Voters in the Italian capital went to the polls on Sunday with all signs indicating that they will elect Virginia Raggi as the first female mayor of the Eternal City. https://www.thelocal.it/20160619/rome-poised-to-vote-in-first-female-mayor Sun, 19 Jun 2016 08:54:58 +0200 rome-poised-to-vote-in-first-female-mayor Their leader has been dubbed the clown prince of Italian politics. And now the Five Star Movement (M5S) looks set to be given the chance to run the circus by taking control of the country's capital. https://www.thelocal.it/20160616/is-italys-five-star-movement-up-to-the-challenge-of-running-rome Thu, 16 Jun 2016 09:11:52 +0200 is-italys-five-star-movement-up-to-the-challenge-of-running-rome An Italian mayor has taken the unusual step of trying to sell his cash-strapped town on Facebook in order to boost its dwindling coffers. https://www.thelocal.it/20160609/mayor-of-broke-italian-town-offers-it-to-chinese-buyers-on-facebook Thu, 09 Jun 2016 13:28:22 +0200 mayor-of-broke-italian-town-offers-it-to-chinese-buyers-on-facebook Anti-establishment candidate Virginia Raggi easily took the lead in the first round of the Rome mayoral race, partial results showed on Monday, dealing a setback to Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's ruling party. https://www.thelocal.it/20160606/anti-establishment-candidate-leads-rome-mayoral-race Mon, 06 Jun 2016 10:12:15 +0200 anti-establishment-candidate-leads-rome-mayoral-race Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's party was locked in battle on Sunday, June 5, for control of Rome and other cities in municipal elections seen as a test for the ruling party and the country's divided right. https://www.thelocal.it/20160605/rome-the-top-prize-as-italians-vote-in-test-for-renzi Sun, 05 Jun 2016 18:44:37 +0200 rome-the-top-prize-as-italians-vote-in-test-for-renzi With the first round of voting in Rome's mayoral elections taking place on Sunday, it's time to brush up on why the elections matter. https://www.thelocal.it/20160602/five-things-to-know-about-rome-next-mayor-elections Thu, 02 Jun 2016 12:43:55 +0200 five-things-to-know-about-rome-next-mayor-elections "Bread and circuses" was the formula that ancient Rome's rulers hoped would keep the restless natives happy. Two millennia later, residents of the Eternal City just want their buses to turn up on time, holes in the roads filled and garbage collected and dealt with safely. https://www.thelocal.it/20160602/rome-is-on-track-to-get-its-first-ever-female-mayor Thu, 02 Jun 2016 10:59:16 +0200 rome-is-on-track-to-get-its-first-ever-female-mayor Rome mayor candidate, Georgia Meloni, has angered the city's Jewish community by promising to rename a road after a famous Italian fascist if elected. https://www.thelocal.it/20160523/jewish-community-angered-by-rome-mayor-hopefuls-vow-to-name-road-after-fascist Mon, 23 May 2016 12:56:46 +0200 jewish-community-angered-by-rome-mayor-hopefuls-vow-to-name-road-after-fascist A month ahead of Italian local elections, the spotlight is turning increasingly on Rome - where the anti-establishment frontrunner is vowing to clean up a city long dogged by corruption and negligence. https://www.thelocal.it/20160505/glamorous-five-star-candidate-tops-rome-mayor-race Thu, 05 May 2016 10:37:48 +0200 glamorous-five-star-candidate-tops-rome-mayor-race One of the frontrunners to be Rome's next mayor said on Tuesday the city is far from being able to host the Olympics, two months after the Eternal City was short-listed for the 2024 Games. https://www.thelocal.it/20160420/rome-mayor-hopeful-says-city-not-fit-for-hosting-olympics Wed, 20 Apr 2016 10:29:16 +0200 rome-mayor-hopeful-says-city-not-fit-for-hosting-olympics A Rome mayoral candidate has promised to solve the city's well-documented rat problem by deploying 500,000 cats to catch the rodents. https://www.thelocal.it/20160413/rome-mayor-hopeful-wants-to-deploy-500k-cats-to-combat-citys-rat-invasion Wed, 13 Apr 2016 15:01:07 +0200 rome-mayor-hopeful-wants-to-deploy-500k-cats-to-combat-citys-rat-invasion