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 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Rome and the Vatican this week, an Italian government source said Sunday, just weeks after a clash between Donald Trump and Pope Leo. https://www.thelocal.it/20260503/us-secretary-of-state-rubio-to-visit-vatican-and-rome-after-trump-row Sun, 03 May 2026 10:58:54 +0200 us-secretary-of-state-rubio-to-visit-vatican-and-rome-after-trump-row Alex Zanardi, the Italian Formula One driver who became a Paralympic champion after losing both legs in an accident, has died aged 59, his family announced Saturday. https://www.thelocal.it/20260502/italys-ex-f1-driver-turned-paralympic-legend-zanardi-dies Sat, 02 May 2026 16:19:21 +0200 italys-ex-f1-driver-turned-paralympic-legend-zanardi-dies In a workshop in Turin -- the historic home of Italian carmaker Fiat -- vintage 500 models are getting a makeover with electric engines. https://www.thelocal.it/20260502/second-life-vintage-fiat-500s-get-electric-makeover Sat, 02 May 2026 08:48:00 +0200 second-life-vintage-fiat-500s-get-electric-makeover The international jury of the upcoming Venice Biennale Art Exhibition resigned Thursday in a row over the organisation's decision to allow Russia to participate in this year's event. https://www.thelocal.it/20260501/jury-of-italys-venice-biennale-resigns-over-russia-row Fri, 01 May 2026 16:49:08 +0200 jury-of-italys-venice-biennale-resigns-over-russia-row Italian authorities on Friday evacuated some 3,500 people in the Tuscany region as they tried to tame a wildfire that has been raging for more than 24 hours. https://www.thelocal.it/20260501/thousands-flee-tuscany-wildfire Fri, 01 May 2026 15:14:18 +0200 thousands-flee-tuscany-wildfire The European Union's mammoth trade deal with South American bloc Mercosur provisionally enters into force Friday, despite a pending court ruling on its legality. https://www.thelocal.it/20260501/blockbuster-eu-mercosur-trade-deal-enters-into-force Fri, 01 May 2026 09:52:06 +0200 blockbuster-eu-mercosur-trade-deal-enters-into-force Italy on Thursday extended by three weeks a temporary cut in fuel excise taxes in an attempt to curb price rises due to the Middle East conflict. https://www.thelocal.it/20260501/italy-extends-fuel-excise-tax-cuts Fri, 01 May 2026 08:58:47 +0200 italy-extends-fuel-excise-tax-cuts The career diplomat succeeds Ed Llewellyn, who left Rome in December to take up a new role at the Foreign Office. https://www.thelocal.it/20260430/uk-names-stephen-hickey-as-new-ambassador-to-italy Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:51:23 +0200 uk-names-stephen-hickey-as-new-ambassador-to-italy Italy on Thursday called for the immediate release of Italian nationals on board a Gaza-bound aid flotilla raided by Israeli forces in international waters off Greece. https://www.thelocal.it/20260430/italy-demands-release-of-citizens-on-gaza-flotilla-stopped-by-israel Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:42:18 +0200 italy-demands-release-of-citizens-on-gaza-flotilla-stopped-by-israel Ryanair, Transavia, Volotea and other low-cost airlines are feeling the financial pain from high jet fuel prices as a result of the Middle East war and are cutting flights. https://www.thelocal.it/20260428/budget-airlines-first-to-cut-flights-as-jet-fuel-prices-soar Tue, 28 Apr 2026 08:39:16 +0200 budget-airlines-first-to-cut-flights-as-jet-fuel-prices-soar The Eurovision Song Contest is famous for celebrating everything from cross-dressing ballad singers to heavy metal bands in monster masks, but geopolitics is threatening its 70th anniversary edition. https://www.thelocal.it/20260426/geopolitics-threatens-70th-anniversary-of-eurovision Sun, 26 Apr 2026 13:03:11 +0200 geopolitics-threatens-70th-anniversary-of-eurovision A woman on a hen night became the latest to climb on the 16th-century monument on Saturday night, causing around €5,000 of damage. https://www.thelocal.it/20260423/tourist-charged-after-climbing-florences-neptune-fountain-on-hen-night-dare Thu, 23 Apr 2026 10:14:12 +0200 tourist-charged-after-climbing-florences-neptune-fountain-on-hen-night-dare The EU has moved to tighten rules on pet passports, closing a loophole that has been used by many British second-home owners since Brexit. https://www.thelocal.it/20260422/eu-tightens-rules-for-brits-travelling-to-europe-with-pets Wed, 22 Apr 2026 09:29:35 +0200 eu-tightens-rules-for-brits-travelling-to-europe-with-pets Germany and Italy on Tuesday rebuffed calls to suspend an EU cooperation deal with Israel, despite rising anger over the war in Lebanon and the situation in the West Bank. https://www.thelocal.it/20260421/germany-and-italy-reject-suspending-eu-israel-cooperation-deal Tue, 21 Apr 2026 15:56:42 +0200 germany-and-italy-reject-suspending-eu-israel-cooperation-deal The European Union said on Tuesday that it was considering importing more jet fuel from the US and requiring member states to hold minimum reserves as the Middle East war squeezes supplies. Brussels will lay out a series of measures on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20260421/we-must-be-ready-eu-to-lay-out-its-plan-to-deal-with-jet-fuel-crisis Tue, 21 Apr 2026 14:48:22 +0200 we-must-be-ready-eu-to-lay-out-its-plan-to-deal-with-jet-fuel-crisis Popular flight routes around Europe are almost impossible for passengers to book by train because of a "stone age" ticketing system, a new report has found as the EU is set to unveil plans for it single ticket system. https://www.thelocal.it/20260421/stone-age-ticket-system-preventing-travellers-in-europe-from-taking-trains Tue, 21 Apr 2026 12:50:54 +0200 stone-age-ticket-system-preventing-travellers-in-europe-from-taking-trains Far-right leaders from Europe gathered in Milan on Saturday for a rally against irregular immigration and Brussels bureaucracy, the first since the electoral defeat of nationalist Viktor Orban in Hungary. https://www.thelocal.it/20260419/europes-far-right-rails-at-migration-tsunami-in-milan-after-orban-defeat Sun, 19 Apr 2026 08:29:17 +0200 europes-far-right-rails-at-migration-tsunami-in-milan-after-orban-defeat The head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Friday called on authorities to put "well-coordinated plans in place" in the event of jet-fuel rationing due to the Middle East war. https://www.thelocal.it/20260418/airlines-fear-jet-fuel-rationing-due-to-mideast-war Sat, 18 Apr 2026 09:14:22 +0200 airlines-fear-jet-fuel-rationing-due-to-mideast-war An Italian court has cleared mafia bestseller "Gomorrah" author and journalist Roberto Saviano of defamation charges brought by far-right deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, his lawyer said on Friday. https://www.thelocal.it/20260417/gomorrah-author-cleared-of-defaming-italian-deputy-pm Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:58:54 +0200 gomorrah-author-cleared-of-defaming-italian-deputy-pm Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air said on Friday it had seen jet fuel shortages at Italian airports, following warnings about supplies around Europe. https://www.thelocal.it/20260417/wizz-air-reports-problems-with-jet-fuel-supply-in-italy Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:11:09 +0200 wizz-air-reports-problems-with-jet-fuel-supply-in-italy