ROME – A 51-year-old architect living in Limbiate, Monza, was arrested on suspicion of aiding mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro by allegedly allowing the boss to use his identity, police said.
Massimo Gentile, originally from Campobello di Mazara in Sicily, was one of three suspects arrested by the Carabinieri Special Task Force early on Wednesday morning, accused of helping mafia boss Messina Denaro.
ROME – A 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck Friuli Venezia Giulia late on Wednesday night, the INGV seismic surveillance centre said.
The epicentre was five kilometres south west of Socchieve, Udine, with an estimated depth of 12 kilometres. According to data from the INGV, the strongest tremors were felt in nearby villages of Ampezzo and Ovaro.
ROME – Across from Via di Campo Marzio’s Davide Cenci, a family-owned tailor shop since 1926, last week, Roman shopowners joined Forza Italia members to promote a proposed measure intended to publicize and protect historic businesses.
ROME – Hundreds of female students and staff at the University of Turin have spoken out about “systematic” violence and harassment they have suffered, after interrupting a meeting held by the university dean on gender violence.
Activists from the Mai più Zitt3 movement, which strives for women to be protected at the university, interrupted the dean, accusing him of not doing enough to help women on campus.
The university currently only has one anti-violence centre, located in the main hall of the main campus, which has been criticised as not private enough for victims.
ROME – Security around Rome and throughout Italy has been heightened for the Easter weekend following terrorist attacks in Moscow, after a Committee for Order and Security meeting chaired by Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, police said.
As hundreds of thousands descend on the Italian capital city for Easter, a higher police presence is expected at places of worship, shopping centres and diplomatic buildings, as well as crowded places. There will also be a police presence at Easter services.
ROME – Three Sicilian orchestra members were suspended with cut pay for criticising "inconsistent" guest conductor Beatrice Venezi whose admirers include Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, orchestral sources said.
The superintendent of Fondazione Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, Andrea Peria, took disciplinary action against three members of his orchestra after they criticised Venezi, 34, in an interview with Repubblica in January, calling her “unsuited for the role” and said her conducting was “inconsistent with the musical performance.”
ROME — Florence prosecutors said they seized more than 10 million euros, including 920,000 gifted by late prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, from Forza Italia founder, former senator, and Mafia conspirator Marcello Dell'Utri.
Dell'Utri spent two decades in the management corps of Berlusconi businesses, then two more as a Forza Italia mainstay. Through stints in the Chamber of Deputies, in European Parliament, and the Italian Senate, in which he served three terms, Dell'Utri remained one of Berlusconi's closest allies.
VATICAN CITY – More concern has been raised over Pope Francis’s health after he failed to read the homily on Palm Sunday.
The pontiff’s health has worsened in the previous months after suffering bouts of bronchitis over winter and visiting hospital for lung scans.
He was expected to read the homily on Sunday, but after a moment’s silence, the speakers announced the pope would not be giving a homily. This is the first time the pontiff, 87, has not given a homily on Palm Sunday, although he has previously skipped homilies on Easter Sunday.
