ROME - Antonino Pizzolato, a two-time Olympic medalist in weightlifting, is currently on trial for aggravated group sexual violence. The charges stem from an incident on July 22, 2022, when Pizzolato and three friends are accused of raping a 27-year-old Finnish tourist in a residence on the Trapani seafront, according to Il Fatto Quotidiano. The victim, who had been drinking, was allegedly left alone by her friends and taken to the residence, where the assault occurred. The violence reportedly stopped only when she tearfully requested to return to her hotel.

 ROME - Italian Foreign Secretary Antonio Tajani has confidently denied the possibility of Italy sending its own troops into Ukraine after the question of British and French intervention resurfaced this week. 

 PADUA-As the gate opened, I was struck by the centrepiece in the courtyard, a gigantic statue of Hercules which was sculpted by Bartolomeo Ammannati during the sixteenth century. Ammannati, who closely followed the style of Michaelangelo, is also known for his other works such as the Neptune Fountain in the Piazza della Signoria which was commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici. The Hercules statue was commissioned by Marco Mantua Bevavideas, the original owner of the Palazzo and a highly successful Lawyer in Padua during that time period.

 ROME - Italy won the Davis Cup in 1976 and had to wait 47 years to win it a second time in 2023. That victory signaled the ascendancy of Jannik Sinner who went on to dominate the tennis tour in 2024, taking the Australian Open title and then the US Open. Sinner’s presence gave all of Italy good reason to expect a second consecutive Davis Cup title in 2024. In the absence of Germany’s Alexander Zverev, only Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz figured to have the firepower to contend with Sinner.