Timeline Italy 2016-Present

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2016        Jan 9, Italian police opened a murder investigation after Ashley Olsen (35) of Summer Haven, Florida, was found dead in Florence, her neck bruised and scratched. Cheik Tidiane Diaw (27), who had arrived in Italy from Senegal in recent months, was arrested Jan14 at his brother's apartment after DNA evidence linked him to the murder. On Dec 22 Tidiane was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
    (AP, 1/10/16)(AP, 1/14/16)(AP, 12/22/16)

2016        Jan 13, Italian police arrested 11 people for allegedly running an illegal online gaming business which garnered millions of euros in bets every day.
    (Reuters, 1/13/16)

2016        Jan 14, Swiss authorities said they have returned to Italy 45 boxes of ancient Etruscan art stolen during illegal excavations and stashed away for more than 15 years, including two rare sarcophaguses.
    (AFP, 1/14/16)

2016        Jan 16, In northwest Italy a pre-dawn explosion blamed on a gas leak has killed five people in the apartment building where they lived in Arnasco.
    (AP, 1/16/16)

2016        Jan 23, In Italy tens of thousands demonstrated in almost 100 cities to urge the government to grant gay and lesbian couples civil unions and recognize their families.
    (SSFC, 1/24/16, p.A2)

2016        Jan 25, Italy and Iran signed billions of dollars of business deals at the start of a visit to Europe by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani aimed at rebuilding his nation's ties with the West after years of economic sanctions.
    (Reuters, 1/26/16)
2016        Jan 25, Giulio Regeni (28), an Italian Cambridge University PhD student, mysteriously disappeared in Cairo. On Feb 3 his corpse was found on the outskirts of Cairo. Regeni's body was stabbed repeatedly and exhibited cigarette burns and other signs of torture. Regeni had written articles critical of the Egyptian government, An autopsy later showed he was interrogated for up to seven days before he was killed.
    (AFP, 2/4/16)(AP, 2/11/16)(Reuters, 3/1/16)

2016        Jan 29, Italian anti-mafia police nabbed fugitive mobster bosses Giuseppe Ferraro (47) and Giuseppe Crea (37), after discovering them "living like animals" in a mountain hideout stocked with an arsenal of weapons.
    (AFP, 1/29/16)

2016        Jan 30, Hundreds of thousands of people protested in Rome's Circus Maximus arena against a civil unions bill for same-sex couples, a hot-potato issue for PM Matteo Renzi's government.
    (AFP, 1/30/16)

2016        Feb 8, President Barack Obama and Italian President Sergio Mattarella met to discuss efforts to fight the spread of the Islamic State in Libya.
    (AP, 2/9/16)

2016        Feb 19, Italian author Umberto Eco (b.1932) died at home in Milan. His books included the best-selling medieval thriller, "The Name of the Rose" (1980). The book was adapted for the big screen by Jean-Jacques Annaud in 1986, starring Sean Connery and Christian Slater.
    (AP, 2/20/16)

2016        Feb 23, It was reported that Italy has agreed that US forces can use an airbase in Sicily to launch drone strikes against Islamic State targets in Libya on a case-by-case basis.
    (AFP, 2/23/16)

2016        Feb 29, Italian police raided an abandoned slaughterhouse near Rosarno in Calabria that African migrant farmworkers use as a dormitory, part of a recently launched crackdown on labor exploitation.
    (AP, 2/29/16)

2016        Mar 8, Swiss authorities said they have arrested 15 people suspected of belonging to the powerful Italian 'Ndrangheta crime organization, and are holding them pending extradition.
    (AFP, 3/8/16)

2016        Mar 12, In the Italian Alps six backcountry skiers died in an avalanche, others were rescued and emergency workers were still looking for more possible victims.
    (AP, 3/12/16)

2016        Mar 18, Italian ships picked up some 600 migrants and recovered one body, as European leaders met in Brussels to try to stem the flow of migrants to the continent.
    (Reuters, 3/18/16)

2016        Mar 19, Italy's coast guard said more than 900 migrants were rescued in four separate operations in the Strait of Sicily.
    (Reuters, 3/19/16)

2016        Mar 24, Egyptian police reportedly identified people linked to the murder of Italian student Giulio Regeni, after killing four members of a criminal gang and finding the victim's passport at one of their apartments.
    (AFP, 3/25/16)

2016        Mar 27, Italian authorities announced the arrest of Djamal Eddine Ouali (40), an Algerian man who was part of a counterfeiting ring that provided forged documents to people involved in the Paris and Brussels terrorist attacks.
    (SFC, 3/28/16, p.A2)

2016        Mar 30, Italian policed arrested a nurse (55) on suspicion of murdering 13 elderly patients in the intensive care ward where she had worked for decades. The alleged murders all took place in 2014 and 2015, although she had worked there for many years prior to that.
    (AP, 3/31/16)

2016        Apr 6, It was reported that Chinese author Cao Wenxuan and German illustrator Rotraut Susanne Berner have been awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Prize for children's literature during the Bologna Children's Book Fair.
    (AP, 4/6/16)

2016        Apr 6, Italy's coast guard rescued more than 300 migrants from a packed boat in which they had traveled hundreds of km (miles) from Egypt to the Strait of Sicily.
    (Reuters, 4/7/16)

2016        Apr 11, In Italy a clutch of banks and other financial institutions agreed to create a fund called Atlante to bail out troubled rivals and thus allay fears of a systemic crisis in Italian banking.
    (Econ, 4/16/16, p.61)

2016        Apr 12, Italian PM Matteo Renzi became the highest-ranking European leader to visit Tehran since its nuclear deal with world powers. Renzi began a two-day visit to the Islamic republic aimed at restoring ties that before sanctions had seen Italy ranked as Iran's top European trading partner.
    (AFP, 4/12/16)
2016        Apr 12, Gianroberto Casaleggio (b.1954), Italian entrepreneur and political activist, died. He and Beppe Grillo co-founded the Five Star Movement (M5S) in 2009.
    (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gianroberto_Casaleggio)

2016        Apr 14, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain agreed to share information on company ownership to make it harder for criminals and tax cheats to avoid the law.
    (SFC, 4/16/16, p.A2)

2016        Apr 17, Italians voted in a referendum on the duration of offshore drilling concessions in territorial waters, as nine regional governments sought to wrestle some influence over energy policy from the central government in Rome.
    (AP, 4/17/16)

2016        Apr 28, Italian police arrested four people suspected of conspiring to join Islamic State in the Middle East in a probe that revealed a plan to carry out a militant attack in Italy.
    (Reuters, 4/28/16)

2016        May 2, A UN arbitration court ruled that India should release Italian marine Salvatore Girone, who has been detained in Delhi for more than four years, and allow him to return home.
    (Reuters, 5/2/16)

2016        May 5, Italian Premier Matteo Renzi hailed the new Alfa Romeo sedan by Fiat Chrysler, which he says will add 3,400 jobs in Italy and symbolizes the country's economic potential.
    (AP, 5/5/16)
2016        May 5, In Italy Renato Soru, a leftist politician and chairman of multinational telecoms company Tiscali, was handed a three year jail sentence for tax evasion. Soru Soru, who founded Tiscali in 1998, is the head of PM Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party (PD) in Sardinia and a PD member of the European Parliament.
    (Reuters, 5/5/16)

2016        May 6, In southern Italy Maria Chindoma (44), the mother of three small children, disappeared. In 2020 an informant told investigators that the businesswoman had refused to sell her land to the mafia and was kidnapped, murdered and fed to pigs after her body was ground up in a threshing machine.
    (The Telegraph, 1/7/21)

2016        May 11, Italy's parliament gave a green light for the introduction of gay civil unions in the last major Western country not to legally recognize same-sex relationships.
    (AFP, 5/11/16)

2016        May 21, Italy’s PM Matteo Renzi (41) launched his campaign to win an October referendum on constitutional reform, staking his political future on an attempt to finally give Italy stable governments.
    (Reuters, 5/21/16)

2016        May 25, The Italian navy said a large wooden fishing boat overcrowded with migrants capsized off the coast of Libya, with some 550 people rescued and five found dead so far. An estimated 100 people were missing from the smugglers' boat.
    (Reuters, 5/25/16)(AP, 5/29/16)
2016        May 25, Italy's Mount Etna, Europe's highest and most active volcano, erupted spewing red torrents of lava into the sky.
    (Reuters, 5/26/16)
2016        May 25, The European Union's agency for judicial cooperation said a Portuguese national and a Russian were arrested in Rome last week on suspicion of being involved in espionage for hire.
    (AP, 5/25/16)

2016        May 26, Italian officials said another migrant boat has capsized in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya. Some 20 bodies were spotted in the sea. Officials said 88 people had been rescued. Later estimates by police and humanitarian organizations ranged from around 400 to about 550 missing in the sinking of a wooden fishing boat being towed by another smugglers' boat from the Libyan port of Sabratha.
    (Reuters, 5/26/16)(AP, 5/26/16)(AP, 5/29/16)

2016        May 27, The Italian navy vessel Vega rescued 135 migrants and picked up 45 bodies in the Mediterranean.
    (AP, 5/28/16)

2016        May 28, Italian coast guard and navy ships, aided by an Irish naval vessel, saved more than 500 migrants from smugglers' boats in the Mediterranean off Libya.
    (AP, 5/28/16)

2016        May 29, In Italy Rome student Sara Di Pietrantonio (22) died before dawn after Vincenzo Paduano (27) first set her car afire. Investigators said her attacker used a cigarette lighter to set her face on fire after dousing her with alcohol.
    (AP, 5/30/16)

2016        May 31, French company Technip signed a preliminary $500 million deal to upgrade a key Libyan oil facility, along with Italy's Eni and Libya's state oil company.
    (AP, 5/31/16)

2016        Jun 5, In Italy an anti-establishment movement was the favorite as voters headed to the polls to pick a new mayor in Rome, among a handful of city hall contests in urban centers that tested the prime minister's governing Democratic Party. Virginia Raggi of the 5-Star Movement took 35.3 percent of the vote in Rome, trailed by Premier Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party candidate Roberto Giachetti, with just under 25 percent. Since no candidate took more than 50 percent in balloting, the top two face a runoff June 19.
    (AP, 6/5/16)(AP, 6/6/16)

2016        Jun 8, Italian officials said Medhanie Yehdego Mered (35), an Eritrean man suspected of running a huge human trafficking network that sent thousands of migrants to Europe, leaving many to die on the way, was extradited overnight from Sudan to Italy. A woman claiming to be his half-sister said he was just a simple carpenter.
    (Reuters, 6/8/16)(AFP, 6/10/16)
2016        Jun 8, Italian media reported that a policeman has shot dead a migrant who stabbed him during a brawl in the vast tent camp in San Ferdinando on the outskirts of Rosarno.
    (AFP, 6/8/16)

2016        Jun 9, Italian police arrested two Ukrainians suspected of trafficking Syrians to Italy on a sail boat, and launched a probe to find the criminal organization ultimately responsible.
    (Reuters, 6/10/16)

2016        Jun 11, Italy’s conservative Milan daily Il Giornal newspaper published Hitler's political manifesto "Mein Kampf," angering Premier Matteo Renzi and the country's tiny Jewish community. The daily is publishing volumes exploring Third Reich history and defended its decision by arguing that reading "Mein Kampf" is the "true antidote to the toxins of national socialism."
    (AP, 6/11/16)
2016        Jun 11, Italy's coast guard said it had picked up at sea 1,348 migrants in 11 rescue operations between Sicily and North Africa, bringing the total number of people saved over the past three days to more than 3,000.
    (Reuters, 6/11/16)
2016        Jun 11, Thousands of people marched in colorful gay pride events in Croatia, Italy, and Poland urging support for minority rights in the mostly Catholic nations.
    (AP, 6/11/16)

2016        Jun 12, In Italy at least 3 people were killed and several others injured in Milan when a residential building partially collapsed following an explosion due to a suspected gas leak.
    (Reuters, 6/12/16)

2016        Jun 19, Italians began voting for mayors of their largest cities in a ballot that will test PM Matteo Renzi's popularity. The anti-establishment M5S, founded by comic Beppe Grillo, triumphed in the mayoral runoff elections. Virginia Raggi (37), a lawyer from the 5-Star Movement with a three-year stint as a city councilwoman, took 67.2 percent of the vote in a two-person runof  to become the first woman to head Rome’s City Hall.
    (Reuters, 6/19/16)(AP, 6/20/16)

2016        Jun 22, Italy's highest court confirmed a lower-court decision making it easier for gays to adopt a partner's biological child but the decision did not give long-sought automatic recognition to the families of same-sex couples.
    (AP, 6/22/16)

2016        Jun 23, In Italy  Virginia Raggi, Rome's first female mayor, took office pledging to raise more than a billion euros a year for flagging public services with a crackdown on waste, mismanagement and corruption.
    (AFP, 6/23/16)

2016        Jun 26, Ernesto Fazzalari (46), Italy's second most sought-after fugitive, was captured as he slept in his bed in a hideout in the Calabrian mountains after 20 years on the run. Prosecutor Federico Cafiero De Raho described Fazzalari as "a merciless killer" and a protagonist of the 1991-1992 turf feud between 'ndrangheta clans that bloodied the Taurianova town area.
    (AP, 6/26/16)(SFC, 6/27/16, p.A2)

2016        Jun 27, Italian police, in a crackdown on the Lo Russo crime clan, arrested 24 suspects in an alleged extortion scheme targeting bread sales in grocery stores, supermarkets and street vendors.
    (AP, 6/27/16)

2016        Jun 29, The Italian navy said it has recovered the migrant ship that sank off Sicily April 18, 2015, with an estimated 700-800 people aboard in one of the worst known tragedies of the Mediterranean migrant crisis.
    (AP, 6/29/16)

2016        Jun 30, Italian authorities significantly lowered the estimated number of migrants who died in the April 18, 2015, shipwreck that spurred Europe to beef up Mediterranean rescue efforts, suggesting the final death toll could be around 500 rather than 800.
    (AP, 6/30/16)
2016        Jun 30, Italy’s coast guard said 10 women died in a sinking boat packed with migrants off the coast of Libya today and hundreds of other people were rescued in two separate operations.
    (Reuters, 6/30/16)
2016        Jun 30, Colombian, Italian and US police seized 11 tons of cocaine and arrested 33 people today and over the last few days from a mafia-linked ring which refined the drug in the jungles of Colombia and smuggled it out in containers of tropical fruits.
    (Reuters, 6/30/16)
2016        Jun 30, In Italy Wisconsin student Beau Solomon (19) disappeared in Rome a day after arriving there. On July 4 police discovered his body in the Tiber river in Rome. A suspect identified as Massimo Galioto (40), who lived in an encampment under a bridge near where Solomon was last seen, was soon arrested and accused of pushing Solomon in the river after a fight.
    (AP, 7/4/16)(AP, 7/5/16)(AP, 5/8/18)

2016        Jul 2, In Italy US Staff Sgt. Halex Hale (24) was last seen at a friend's cookout in Sacile, near Aviano Air Base north of Venice. His body, clad in a swimsuit, was found on July 12 in a river in Sacile.
    (AP, 7/10/16)(AP, 7/12/16)

2016        Jul 4, Italian police arrested 25 Eritreans, 12 Ethiopians and an Italian who they said belonged to an organization that had smuggled thousands of migrants into Europe from Africa.
    (AP, 7/4/16)

2016        Jul 5, In Italy Amedeo Mancin, described as a local soccer club hooligan, beat Emmanuel Chidi Namdi of Nigeria in the north-central town of Fermo when he tried to defend his wife after Mancin insulted her with a racial slur and started to drag her. Namdi was bludgeoned, fell into a coma and died the next day.
    (AP, 7/7/16)

2016        Jul 6, Italian police arrested 11 people accused of crimes linked to public events, including last year's Milan Expo, and channeling money they collected to the Sicilian mafia.
    (Reuters, 7/6/16)

2016        Jul 12, In Italy at least 27 people were killed in a head-on collision between two passenger trains in the southern Italian region of Puglia.
    (AFP, 7/12/16)(Reuters, 7/13/16)

2016        Jul 13, In Italy convicted Cosa Nostra "boss of bosses" Bernardo Provenzano (b.1933), who reputedly led the Mafia's powerful Corleone clan, died in Milan. He was captured in 2006 in Sicily following decades of hiding in the countryside.
    (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernardo_Provenzano)(AP, 7/13/16)

2016        Jul 14, Qatar Airways announced an agreement to purchase a 49-percent stake in Italy's second largest carrier, Meridiana.
    (AP, 7/14/16)

2016        Jul 15, Rescuers saved 366 migrants from rickety boats trying to cross the Mediterranean to Italy but at least 20 people were reported to have drowned. The survivors were mainly from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Bangladesh.
    (Reuters, 7/16/16)

2016        Jul 18, In northern Italy a court in Ivrea convicted former Olivetti executive Carlo De Benedetti and 12 others of manslaughter and other offenses over workers' deaths or illnesses blamed on asbestos exposure. The industrialist received a 5-year-2-month prison term. He will not be jailed while his appeals are heard.
    (AP, 7/18/16)

2016        Jul 20, The Italian coast guard coordinated five separate rescue operations that saved 567 migrants. The bodies of 21 women and one man were found in a pool of fuel at the bottom of one smuggler’s boat.
    (AP, 7/21/16)

2016        Jul 26, The Vatican and the Bank of Italy signed a key cooperation agreement aimed at regularizing their relations and ending years of Italian mistrust over Holy See finances.
    (Reuters, 7/26/16)

2016        Aug 2, Italian financial police arrested the former CEO of Veneto Banca and seized millions in cash, shares and property as part of a wide-ranging investigation.
    (AP, 8/2/16)

2016        Aug 4, Italy's anti-corruption authority (ANAC) confirmed that it is investigating Rome's public rubbish management agency as concerns grew that waste problems plaguing the capital could turn critical.
    (Reuters, 8/4/16)

2016        Aug 24, A magnitude 6-6.2 earthquake struck central Italy. 17 deaths were confirmed in Amatrice alone. The preliminary death toll was 38. The death toll soon climbed to 290. A Polish geologist said it was caused by the slow but constant under-surface movement of the African Plate toward Europe.
    (AP, 8/24/16)(AFP, 8/25/16)(AP, 8/27/16)

2016        Aug 29, The Italian coastguard rescued some 6,500 migrants off the coast of Libya in one of its busiest days of life-saving in recent years.
    (AFP, 8/29/16)

2016        Sep 5, The Italian navy rescued nearly 500 boat migrants off the coast of Libya and recovered the bodies of six people who fell out of a leaking rubber vessel.
    (Reuters, 9/5/16)

2016        Sep 6, Italian police said they had broken up a criminal network that smuggled mostly Syrian refugees across the Balkans to Western Europe.
    (Reuters, 9/6/16)

2016        Sep 7, Italian rescuers brought more than 350 migrants to shore in Sicily, along with the bodies of five women and two men who had died on the perilous journey.
    (Reuters, 9/7/16)

2016        Sep 12, A government source said Italy will set up a military hospital and deploy 300 doctors, nurses and soldiers in Libya at the request of the United Nations-recognized government in Tripoli.
    (Reuters, 9/12/16)

2016        Sep 13, In Italy Tiziana Cantone (31) committed suicide after failing in a long legal battle to get a pornographic video removed from the internet. On Sep 16 Italian prosecutors in Naples said they have opened an investigation into possible charges of instigation to suicide.
    (AP, 9/16/16)

2016        Sep 15, The European Union's border agency Frontex said some 23,000 irregular migrants arrived in Italy in August, most crossing the Mediterranean from Libya on what has become the main immigration route into Europe.
    (AP, 9/15/16)

2016        Sep 16, In Italy Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (b.1920), former PM (1993-1994) and President (1999-2006), died. He was a highly respected economist who helped usher in the euro as treasury minister.
    (AP, 9/16/16)

2016        Sep 21, Italian prosecutors said they have dropped a money laundering case against the son of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. The allegation that Bilal Erodogan, 35, was involved in money laundering while studying in Italy last year was first made by Murat Hakan Uzan, an exiled member of one of Turkey's richest families and an opponent of the president.
    (Reuters, 9/21/16)

2016        Sep 25, In Italy protesters took to small boats in Venice this evening to demonstrate against huge cruise ships being allowed to pass through the Italian city's canals.
    (AP, 9/26/16)

2016        Sep 26, Italian officials warned that Switzerland could face consequences after voters in the border canton of Ticino approved a referendum calling on authorities to grant preference to Swiss workers over foreigners in employment.
    (AP, 9/26/16)

2016        Sep 30, Investigators said Italian police have found two Van Gogh paintings that were stolen from an Amsterdam museum in 2002 hidden in a farmhouse near an organized crime syndicate's Naples-area stronghold. Investigators seized some 20 million euros ($22 million) worth of assets, including farmland, villas and apartments, which they say are linked to two Camorra drug kingpins, Mario Cerrone and Raffaele Imperiale.
    (AP, 9/30/16)

2016        Oct 3, Some 6,055 migrants bound for Europe were rescued in the Mediterranean Sea off North Africa and 22 found dead, one of the highest numbers in a single day according to Italian and Libyan officials.
    (AP, 10/4/16)

2016        Oct 5, Italian police arrested Antonio Pelle, a fugitive top mob boss who escaped from a hospital in 2011 — finding him at home in a bunker built between the bathroom and his son's bedroom.
    (AP, 10/5/16)

2016        Oct 6, In Italy a British woman (50) was subjected to multiple rapes in the Hotel Alimuri  in Sorrento. In 2018 arrest warrants were issued for five workers at the hotel. Investigators had seized the cell phones of male personnel at the hotel and discovered that the suspects had chatted about the attack and exchanged photos taken of the woman while she was being raped. The employees had slipped her a date rape drug, filmed and took photos of the assault. Some were identified by tattoos on their bodies. In 2019 the five men were sentenced to prison terms of between four and nine years.
    (The Telegraph, 12/15/19)(AP, 5/14/18)

2016        Oct 13, In Italy Dario Fo (90), playwright and 1997 Nobel Prize laureate, died. His plays included “The Accidental Death of an Anarchist” (1970).
    (SFC, 10/14/16, p.D10)(Econ, 10/22/16, p.82)

2016        Oct 15, Shareholders of Italy’s Banco Popolare and Banca Popolare de Milano approved their merger. The new bank will be called Banco BPM.
    (Econ, 10/22/16, p.62)

2016        Oct 17, Italian PM Matteo Renzi flew to the United States for a high-profile visit that he hopes will boost his flagging campaign for a referendum on constitutional reform.
    (Reuters, 10/17/16)

2016        Oct 18, Pres. Obama threw his support behind efforts that Italian PM Matteo Renzi is taking to overhaul the country’s political system and enhance its economy. Obama hosted Renzi for the final official visit and state dinner of his presidency.
    (SFC, 10/19/16, p.A4)

2016        Oct 20, In Italy the Milan city council bestowed honorary citizenship on the Dalai Lama over the objections of Chinese Embassy, which said the gesture would have a negative impact on bilateral relations and regional cooperation.
    (AP, 10/20/16)

2016        Oct 23, Italian officials said that 14 bodies have been recovered in a two-day period on smugglers' boats packed with migrants. In all 5,700 migrants were rescued from dozens of small boats and rubber dinghies over the previous two days.
    (AP, 10/23/16)

2016        Oct 26, In central Italy a pair of strong earthquakes struck late today in the same region hit by a deadly quake in August. The only death in the aftermath was attributed to a heart attack in a 73-year-old man.
    (AP, 10/27/16)

2016        Oct 30, Italy's most powerful earthquake in 36 years stuck the country's mountainous center, panicking shell-shocked residents for the third time in two months and flattening a world famous 600-year-old basilica. The 6.6 magnitude quake hit near the small mountain town of Norcia. There were no reports of anyone dying.
    (AFP, 10/30/16)

2016        Oct 6, In Italy a Kent woman (50) was subjected to multiple rapes in the Hotel Alimuri  in Sorrento. In 2018 arrest warrants were issued for five workers at the hotel. Investigators had seized the cell phones of male personnel at the hotel and discovered that the suspects had chatted about the attack and exchanged photos taken of the woman while she was being raped. The employees had slipped her a date rape drug, filmed and took photos of the assault. Some were identified by tattoos on their bodies. In 2019 the five men were sentenced to prison terms of between four and nine years.
    (AP, 5/14/18)(The Telegraph, 12/15/19)

2016        Nov 15, In Italy more than 1,000 people marched under torchlight through the Medieval center of Soave where the mayor is fending off plans to house more than 100 migrants.
    (AP, 11/16/16)
2016        Nov 15, A group of 188 Eritreans headed to Germany from Italy as the first tranche of 500 that Germany pledged to take monthly from Italy.
    (SFC, 11/16/16, p.A2)

2016        Nov 22, Italy's coastguard said that 1,400 people had been saved in 12 separate migrant rescue operations over the last 24 hours with least eight people dead and an unknown number missing.
    (AFP, 11/22/16)

2016        Dec 4, Millions of Italians voted in a knife-edge constitutional referendum that left PM Matteo Renzi sweating on his future and the rest of Europe braced for the fallout if he is forced to quit. PM Renzi won just over 40 percent of the vote in the referendum, a far worse result than polls had predicted.
    (AFP, 12/4/16)(Reuters, 12/5/16)

2016        Dec 7, Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said he would resign this evening now that Parliament has approved the 2017 national budget, a step required by the nation's president before he would let the leader step down. Pres. Mattarella had asked him to stay long enough to secure passage of the budget.
    (AP, 12/7/16)(Econ, 12/10/16, p.51)

2016        Dec 11, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni was tapped to form a new, Democrat-led government and end a political crisis so the country can quickly tackle pressing problems.
    (AP, 12/11/16)

2016        Dec 12, Italian energy company Eni said it would sell a 30 percent stake in an offshore Egyptian gas field to Rosneft. The Russian company will pay $1.125 billion for the holding in the Shorouk concession, which contains the giant Zohr gas field, and $450 million to cover past expenditures on the project.
    (AP, 12/12/16)

2016        Dec 13, Italy convicted Mohammed Ali Malek (28), a Tunisian man accused of being the captain of a migrant boat that sank on April 18, 2015, killing almost 700 people. He was found guilty of multiple manslaughter and people-smuggling and sentenced to 18 years in jail. The court also sentenced Syrian Mahmud Bikhit (26) to five years in prison on charges of people-smuggling. Survivors said Bikhit had been Malek's cabin boy.
    (Reuters, 12/13/16)
2016        Dec 13, Italy's largest bank, UniCredit, said it will unload 17.7 billion euros ($18.8 billion) in soured loans, raise billions in new money and shed thousands of jobs as it seeks to re-launch the company under new management.
    (AP, 12/13/16)

2016        Dec 14, Italian PM Paolo Gentiloni won the backing of the fragmented Senate, allowing his government to formally take office as a new threat emerged to the legacy of predecessor Matteo Renzi.
    (Reuters, 12/14/16)

2016        Dec 16, The governments of Italy's two biggest cities came under judicial scrutiny, with Milan's mayor suspending himself from his duties and a top aide in Rome's administration put under arrest. Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala was under investigation in a case involving tender bids at last year's Expo world fair. Raffaele Marra, an aide to Mayor Virginia Raggi of the 5-Star Movement, was arrested on suspicion of corruption linked to a 2013 real estate deal.
    (Reuters, 12/16/16)

2016        Dec 17, Rome's Mayor Virginia Raggi was stripped by her populist Five Star Movement (M5S) party of the power to make "important decisions" after a close advisor was arrested for suspected corruption.
    (AfP, 12/18/16)

2016        Dec 19, An Italian court convicted an Italian woman and her Albanian husband in absentia on terrorism charges for traveling to Syria to join the Islamic State group. This was the first trial in Italy involving foreign fighters operating inside the war zone.
    (AP, 12/19/16)
2016        Dec 19, A draft report released by a European Parliament probe accused France, Italy and Spain of trying to slow down the introduction of tougher auto emissions tests despite knowing that the old ones were causing more pollution.
    (AP, 12/19/16)

2016        Dec 23, In Italy  Anis Amri, the Tunisian man suspected in a deadly attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, was killed early today in a shootout with police in Milan during a routine patrol outside a train station.
    (AP, 12/23/16)

2016        Dec 30, Italy said it will seek to deport more migrants who have no right to be in the country and will open new detention centers to hold them before their expulsion.
    (Reuters, 12/31/16)

2016        Italy ranked as the world’s 8th biggest economy, just ahead of Brazil.
    (Econ, 1/30/16, p.68)

2017        Jan 1, In Italy a bomb squad officer in Florence lost an eye and had to have a hand amputated after a suspicious package he was examining exploded before dawn.
    (AP, 1/1/17)

2017        Jan 4, Italy vowed to increase deportations of migrants whose asylum requests have been rejected, after a riot in a reception center sparked by the death of a young woman.
    (AFP, 1/4/17)

2017        Jan 9, Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement voted to cut its ties with the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) and to hook up instead with the Liberals in the European Parliament. The liberal group rejected the request, ending a short-lived courtship.
    (Reuters, 1/9/17)(AP, 1/9/17)

2017        Jan 10, UKIP founder Nigel Farage said Farage said that all differences with 5-Star had been resolved and that Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement has backtracked from plans to quit the UKIP grouping in the European Parliament.
    (Reuters, 1/10/17)
2017        Jan 10, Italian police announced the arrest of a London-resident nuclear engineer and his sister on suspicion of running a cyber snooping operation targeting politicians, public bodies and companies. Media cited charge sheets which identified them as Giulio Occhionero (45) and his sister Francesca Maria Occhionero.
    (AFP, 1/10/17)

2017        Jan 18, In Italy four powerful earthquakes, magnitude 5.1-5.7, reverberated through the Amatrice area still recovering from deadly tremors last year. More than 130,000 homes were without electricity.
    (AFP, 1/18/17)
2017        Jan 18, In Italy the four-star spa Hotel Rigopiano in the central Abruzzo region was struck by an avalanche following earthquakes in the region. At least 30 people were missing, including at least two children. By Jan 21 rescuers found 11 survivors, but 24 people remained missing. By Jan 26 the final death toll reached 29 as all remaining bodies were pulled from the rubble.
    (AP, 1/19/17)(AFP, 1/20/17)(Reuters, 1/22/17)(SFC, 1/27/17, p.A2)

2017        Jan 20, In northern Italy a bus carrying Hungarian students home from a school ski trip to France slammed into a highway barrier and burst into flames just before midnight, killing at least 16 people. 39 others survived, but some were seriously injured.
    (AP, 1/21/17)

2017        Jan 23, Pope Francis blasted the "money stained with blood" and "evil power" wielded by Italian organized crime as he met the heads of the country's anti-mafia squad.
    (AFP, 1/23/17)

2017        Jan 24, In central Italy a helicopter ferrying an injured skier off the slopes crashed into a mountainside and killed all six people aboard in the Abruzzo area.
    (AP, 1/24/17)

2017        Jan 25, Hundreds of Italians whose homes were devastated in a series of deadly earthquakes protested in Rome at the slow pace of government aid as the death toll from the Jan 18 avalanche-hit hotel rose to 24.
    (AFP, 1/25/17)

2017        Jan 30, Italian police said they had dismantled a major people smuggling network responsible for trafficking hundreds of people across Europe.
    (AFP, 1/30/17)

2017        Jan 31, Italian police arrested three citizens on suspicion of smuggling helicopters and surface-to-air missiles into Libya and Iran between 2011 and 2015 in violation of international embargoes.
    (Reuters, 1/31/17)

2017        Jan 16, It was announced the Italy’s Luxottica, a maker of fancy specs, will merge with Essilor, a French producer of eye lenses.
    (www.essilor.com/en/investors/essilor-and-luxottica/)(Econ, 1/21/17, p.54)

2017        Feb 1, Italy launched a new fund to help African countries control their borders, in the latest of a slew of measures pushed by the European Union to stop migrants reaching Europe.
    (Reuters, 2/1/17)

2017        Feb 4, In Italy dozens of the illegal fliers appeared mysteriously around Rome picturing a stern-looking Pope Francis, a list of accusations against him, and the words "Where's your mercy?".
    (AFP, 2/6/17)

2017        Feb 5, Italy's premier emphasized the significance of NATO and outlined a new agreement between Italy and Libya to fight human trafficking during a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump.
    (AP, 2/5/17)

2017        Feb 10, Italy adopted measures to accelerate the asylum process, easing pressure on shelters and speeding deportations of those whose appeals are rejected.
    (Reuters, 2/10/17)

2017        Feb 11, Police in Sicily confiscated four olive companies, farmland, villas and other property that anti-Mafia prosecutors contend belong to the business empire of Italy's top Mafia boss, who has been on the run for more than 20 years.
    (AP, 2/11/17)

2017        Feb 14, An Italian court convicted a Moroccan-born man and his wife on charges of international terrorism in connection with an Islamic State plot to carry out attacks in Rome during the Holy Year in 2016. Abderrahim Moutaharrik, and his wife, Salma Bencharki were sentenced to six years and five years in jail, respectively.
    (AP, 2/14/17)

2017        Feb 16, In Italy taxi drivers in Rome, Milan and Turin staged wildcat strikes to protest proposed legislation they say will favor Uber and other car-sharing services.
    (AP, 2/16/17)

2017        Feb 19, Italy's ex-prime minister Matteo Renzi resigned as head of the center-left Democratic Party (PD), triggering a leadership battle as the country's ruling party grapples with the threat of a split.
    (AFP, 2/19/17)

2017        Feb 20, A Portuguese court ordered police to extradite former CIA agent Sabrina de Sousa to Italy, where she is due to serve a four-year prison sentence. De Sousa was among 26 Americans convicted for kidnapping suspect Osama Moustafa Hassan Nas, also known as Abu Omar, from a Milan street on Feb. 17, 2003.
    (AP, 2/21/17)

2017        Feb 21, Investigating magistrates in Italy froze millions of euros worth of assets belonging to prominent banker Giampietro Nattino, who they believe used the Vatican bank and another Holy See financial department for market manipulation.
    (Reuters, 2/21/17)
2017        Feb 21, Thousands of Italian taxi drivers protesting legislation they say will favor Uber clashed with riot police, intensifying a weeklong cab strike that has crippled transportation in Rome, Milan and Turin.
    (AP, 2/21/17)

2017        Feb 24, Italian police said nearly 100 staff at the Loreto Mare hospital in Naples have been questioned in connection with a widespread absenteeism scandal, including a doctor who skived off to play tennis.
    (AFP, 2/24/17)

2017        Feb 28, The Italian foreign ministry said in a statement that an inspection had found "irregularities" in granting visas at its consulate in the Iraqi city of Irbil and that the head of the visa section has been replaced. Visa-seekers, including Syrians, Arab and Kurdish Iraqis, had allegedly paid as much as 10,000 euros ($10,600) for visas instead of the actual 90-euro ($96) fee.
    (AP, 2/28/17)

2017        Mar 2, In Italy three skiers were killed in an avalanche in the northern Alps. Another five people were injured at Plan de la Gabba.
    (AP, 3/2/17)
2017        Mar 2, In southern Italy two African workers were killed late today after fire broke out at a camp housing hundreds of migrants who pick fruit and vegetables near Foggia.
    (Reuters, 3/3/17)(AP, 3/3/17)

2017        Mar 9, In Italy an overpass collapsed onto the A14, the main Adriatic coast highway, crushing a car and reportedly killing two people inside.
    (AP, 3/9/17)

2017        Mar 10, Fugitive Italian mobster Giulio Perrone, who had been living in Mexico under a false identity, was jailed in Rome after being extradited from Mexico. He had been tracked down by Italian police on Facebook.
    (AFP, 3/11/17)

2017        Mar 11, Italian riot police moved in to quell violent protests in Naples sparked by the first major rally in the southern city by the anti-immigrant Northern League leader.
    (AP, 3/11/17)

2017        Mar 21, In Italy Don Luigi Ciotti, an anti-mafia priest campaigner, kicked off a day of national protest against organized crime, urging Italians to resist the mob and denouncing recent threats against him as cowardly.
    (AP, 3/21/17)

2017        Mar 22, In southern Italy police in Calabria detained  Santo Vottari (45), a fugitive mobster, who authorities say is the boss of an 'ndrangheta crime clan involved in a feud that culminated in a 2007 gangland-style massacre in Germany.
    (AP, 3/22/17)

2017        Mar 25, On the 60th anniversary of the founding of the EU, 27 European leaders signed a document in Rome enshrining a pledge to give member nations more freedom to form partial alliances and set policy when unanimity is out of reach.
    (AP, 3/25/17)
2017        Mar 25, In Italy a woman's body was found stuffed in a suitcase that was floating at a marina in the Adriatic port of Rimini.
    (AP, 3/27/17)

2017        Mar 28, A Gambian boy (16) was rescued by a Spanish frigate after a rubber boat packed with 147 migrants sank in the Mediterranean shortly after leaving Libya a few days earlier. The sole survivor was transferred to an Italian Coast Guard ship. 140 others disembarked at a different port March 30 and several identified the boy as having been on the same boat. Aid groups said this reduced the death toll to five.
    (Reuters, 3/29/17)(Reuters, 3/31/17)

2017        Mar 29, Italy's parliament gave final approval to a law outlining comprehensive standards of care for unaccompanied migrant children arriving in Italy, including a strict prohibition of turning them away at the border.
    (AP, 3/29/17)

2017        Mar 30, Italian police arrested three Kosovans in the lagoon city of Venice after one was caught on a phone intercept proposing they bomb the famed Rialto bridge while others lauded the recent attack in London. A minor was also detained.
    (AP, 3/30/17)

2017        Apr 3, Italy-based Menarini-Silicon Biosystems, Inc. announced it has completed the agreement to purchase all the assets and relevant business related to the CELLSEARCH® Circulating Tumor Cell System from Janssen Diagnostics, LLC. The acquisition includes the CELLSEARCH® Circulating Tumor Cell Test — the first and only clinically validated blood test cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration for detecting and enumerating circulating tumor cells (CTCs) to help manage patients with metastatic breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers.
    (http://tinyurl.com/yckqtdel)

2017        Apr 9, In Italy former Mexican governor Tomas Yarrington was arrested for alleged involvement in laundering drug money after a five-year manhunt. He led the northern state of Tamaulipas from 1999-2005 and is being sought by the United States for alleged drug money laundering.
    (AFP, 4/9/17)
2017        Apr 9, Italian Gabriele Del Grande (34) was clapped in cuffs by Turkish police during interviews with people who had fled Syria for a book he is writing on the conflict and the birth of the Islamic State (IS) group. Grande was released after two weeks and returned home on April 24.
    (AFP, 4/19/17)(AP, 4/24/17)

2017        Apr 10, The new US administration of Donald Trump scuppered efforts by the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries in Rome to reach a common stance on energy when it asked for more time to work out its policies on climate change.
    (Reuters, 4/9/17)

2017        Apr 11, G7 industrialized nations meeting in Rome urged Russia to pressure the Syrian government to end the six-year civil war, but rejected a British call to impose new sanctions on Moscow over its support of President Bashar Assad.
    (AP, 4/11/17)

2017        Apr 13, In Italy the takeover of AC Milan was completed, with Silvio Berlusconi selling the club to a Chinese consortium, after 31 years in charge. The deal valued Milan at 740 million euros (about $800 million) and required the investors, led by businessman Yonghong Li, to spend 350 million euros ($372 million) over three years on improvements.
    (AP, 4/13/17)

2017        Apr 15, In northern Italy Emma Morano (117), the oldest person in the world, died at her home in Verbania.
    (SSFC, 4/16/17, p.A3)(Econ, 4/29/17, p.74)

2017        Apr 19, UNESCO awarded its prestigious Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize to migrant rescue association SOS Mediterranee and Lampedusa Mayor Giuseppina Nicolini, whose tiny Italian island is on the frontline of the refugee crisis.
    (AFP, 4/19/17)

2017        Apr 20, US Pres. Donald Trump met with Italy’s PM Paolo Gentiloni for talks on trade and security.
    (SFC, 4/21/17, p.A5)

2017        Apr 21, Italy handed the Libyan coast guard the first two of 10 boats to rescue migrants from foundering smugglers' boats, as part of a strategy Rome hopes will reduce the huge numbers of the rescued from reaching Italian shores.
    (AP, 4/21/17)

2017        Apr 22, Veteran Italian cyclist Michele Scarponi (37) was killed after colliding with a van while out training on his bike, plunging the cycling world into mourning.
    (AFP, 4/22/17)

2017        Apr 24, In Italy some two-thirds of Alitalia employees in a referendum nixed the industrial plan the government had linked to the airline’s survival. Alitalia has been losing 2 million euros ($2.2 million) daily and faced bankruptcy.
    (AP, 4/25/17)

2017        Apr 30, Italians voted for a new Democratic Party chief. The primary was expected to return Matteo Renzi to its leadership.
    (AP, 4/30/17)

2017        May 2, A prosecutor based in Sicily told Italian senators his office has found no links or contacts between migrant smugglers and humanitarian organizations operating rescue boats in the Mediterranean.
    (AP, 5/2/17)

2017        May 3, Italian health authorities announced they would recall up to 7,000 children in northern Italy to be re-vaccinated after determining that some children didn't receive the necessary doses. A nurse, identified by authorities only as P.E., is accused of having botched thousands of vaccinations from 2009-2015, intentionally or not.
    (AP, 5/3/17)

2017        May 7, Two groups of survivors told the Italian and Libyan coastguards that hundreds drowned when their rubber boats began to deflate before rescuers arrived. At least two boats sank over the weekend. As many as 245 migrants were feared to have died in the Mediterranean.
    (Reuters, 5/8/17)(AP, 5/9/17)

2017        May 10, Italian police said they have found indirect links between Islamic militants and a Somali-run migrant trafficking and money transfer ring that was busted in overnight raids in southern Italy.
    (AP, 5/10/17)
2017        May 10, In Italy three sisters, ages 4, 8 and 20, died after their camper burst into flames as they slept, in what news reports said might have been an intentional attack aimed at Roma, also known as Gypsies.
    (AP, 5/10/17)

2017        May 12, In Italy G7 finance ministers began two days of talks on the global economy, taxation and terrorist financing in the southern city of Bari. Officials raised concerns about risks to global growth from the Trump administration's policy proposals including tax reform.
    (Reuters, 5/12/17)

2017        May 13, In Bari, Italy, G7 financial leaders pledged stronger cooperation against cyber-crime and not to use foreign exchange to gain competitive advantage, but stuck to their cautious wording on trade, their final communique showed.
    (Reuters, 5/13/17)

2017        May 15, Italian police arrested 68 people, including a priest and the head of a Catholic volunteer group called "Mercy," accusing them of being in cahoots with a major mafia clan that skimmed millions in public funds destined for one of Italy's biggest migrant welcome centers.
    (AP, 5/15/17)

2017        May 18, In Italy Ismail Hosni (20) stabbed a policeman and two army officers in Milan after they asked to see his identity papers.
    (Reuters, 5/19/17)

2017        May 19, Italy's government declared a new law making a series of childhood vaccinations a condition of school inscription in a move triggered by a spike in measles cases.
    (AFP, 5/19/17)

2017        May 20, Comic Beppe Grillo, the head of Italy's populist 5-Star Movement, led thousands in a 15-mile march to demand a guaranteed minimum income for citizens.
    (AP, 5/20/17)
2017        May 20, The Italian coast guard said some 2,100 migrants have been rescued at sea to be brought to safety in Italy over the last 24 hours. Some 5,000 migrants bound for Italy were rescued in waters off the coast of Libya over the last 48 hours by Italian and Libyan coastguards.
    (AP, 5/20/17)(AFP, 5/20/17)

2017        May 23, US Pres. Donald Trump arrived in Rome following his Middle East visit.
    (AP, 5/23/17)
2017        May 23, The US government filed a civil lawsuit accusing Italy-American Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV of using software to bypass emission controls in diesel vehicles.
    (AP, 5/23/17)

2017        May 25, Italy's culture minister promised to fight a court ruling that removed the directors of five museums credited with helping boost revenues after years of poor management. The administrative court for the Lazio region, which surrounds Rome, had ruled that the evaluation process was confused and opaque, and questioned the hiring of foreigners to some of the posts.
    (Reuters, 5/25/17)
2017        May 25, An Italian court opened the way for a class action lawsuit against automaker Volkswagen over its emissions scandal.
    (AP, 5/25/17)   

2017        Jun 1, The European Commission said it had agreed to in principle to a bail-out by the Italian government of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world’s oldest bank.   
    (Econ 6/10/17, p.74)

2017        Jun 3, In Italy two women died in a soccer stampede in Turin. In 2019 four young men were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to just over ten years in prison for using irritating spray to trigger panic so that they could steal wallets and phones from fans who had jammed a public square to watch a soccer match.
    (SFC, 5/18/19, p.A2)

2017        Jun 6, Authorities in Sicily said they have detained 15 people accused of running a high-end migrant smuggling racket that planned to bring to Italy even people sought by Tunisian authorities for alleged links to jihadist groups.
    (AP, 6/6/17)

2017        Jun 11, Italy held mayoral elections in some 1,000 towns and small cities across the country. The anti-establishment populist 5-Star Movement (M5S) suffered a big setback after failing to make the runoff vote in almost all the big cities being contested.
    (AP, 6/11/17)(AFP, 6/12/17)
2017        Jun 11, In Italy G7 environment chiefs meet for potentially difficult talks 10 days after Donald Trump sparked a rift with US partners by pulling out of the Paris climate change accord.
    (AFP, 6/11/17)

2017        Jun 12, In Italy a two-day meeting of environment chiefs from the Group of Seven club of industrialized democracies ended with the US again disassociating itself from a statement underlining the importance of implementing the 2015 Paris deal on curbing carbon emissions.
    (AFP, 6/12/17)

2017        Jun 16, Italians and tourists alike struggled to get around as a nationwide transport strike forced the cancellation of Alitalia flights, the closure of subway stations and the suspension of bus service.
    (AP, 6/16/17)

2017        Jun 19, In Italy Carla Fendi (79), one of the five sisters who transformed the family leather goods business into a global luxury fashion house long known for its furs, died following a long illness.
    (AP, 6/20/17)

2017        Jun 23, The European Central Bank declared that Italy’s Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca were failing or likely to fail. Two days later the Italian government pronounced them dead.
    (Econ 7/1/17, p.61)

2017        Jun 25, People in more than 100 Italian towns and cities voted to pick municipal mayors in a run-off ballot. Center-right parties hammered their center-left rivals in the mayoral elections, putting pressure on the ruling Democratic Party (PD) ahead of a national vote due in less than a year.
    (Reuters, 6/25/17)( Reuters, 6/26/17)

2017        Jun 26, Three migrants died off the Libyan coast this evening, during Italian-led rescue operations in which thousands more were pulled to safety from rickety boats.
    (Reuters, 6/27/17)

2017        Jun 28, Former CIA agent Sabrina de Sousa said she is returning to Italy this week to serve a three-year sentence for taking part in the kidnapping of a Muslim cleric in Milan 14 years ago.
    (AP, 6/28/17)
2017        Jun 28, A cyber-attack wreaked havoc around the globe, crippling thousands of computers, disrupting operations at ports from Mumbai to Los Angeles and halting production at a chocolate factory in Australia. ESET, a Slovakian company that sells products to shield computers from viruses, said 80 percent of the infections detected among its global customer base were in Ukraine, with Italy second hardest hit with about 10 percent. The malware seemed to be a variant of past campaigns, derived from code known as Eternal Blue believed to have been developed by the US National Security Agency (NSA).
    (Reuters, 6/28/17)

2017        Jun 29, Italy's Premier Paolo Gentiloni pressed his European Union allies to take in more migrants, saying the relentless arrival of tens of thousands on Italy's shores is putting his country under enormous strain.
    (AP, 6/29/17)

2017        Jul 3, France, Germany and the European Union pledged more money for Libya's coast guard and more support for Italy to cope with a surge of migrant arrivals from Africa.
    (AP, 7/3/17)

2017        Jul 5, Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said the government is taking control of bank Monte dei Paschi under a relaunch plan agreed by European officials that includes the disposal of a massive 28.6 billion euros ($32.5 billion) in bad loans.
    (AP, 7/5/17)
2017        Jul 5, Italian authorities arrested Eli Bombataliev (38) of Chechnya on terror charges. He was accused of fighting with the Islamic State group in Syria and participating in a deadly attack on foreign and Russian journalists in Chechnya.
    (AP, 7/8/17)

2017        Jul 7, Former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi, the head of the ruling Democratic Party, said Italy should allow only a "fixed number" of migrants into the country as it grapples with a wave of people arriving by sea from North Africa.
    (AFP, 7/7/17)
2017        Jul 7, In Italy part of a four-storey apartment block in Torre Annunziata, near the port city of Naples, collapsed. Over the next 24 hours eight bodies were pulled from the rubble.
    (Reuters, 7/7/17)(AP, 7/8/17)

2017        Jul 11, In Italy Chloe Ayling (20) was reportedly abducted after coming to Milan for a photo shoot, apparently a phony setup. She was drugged by her abductor and held in a small town in the northwestern Piedmont region. The suspect dropped her off near the British Consulate in Milan on July 17. On July 18 Lukasz Pawel Herba, a Polish citizen living in Britain, was arrested in the kidnapping of the British model.
    (AP, 8/5/17)(AP, 8/8/17)(SFC, 8/8/17, p.A2)
2017        Jul 11, Iran Railways said it has signed a preliminary agreement with Italy's state railway to construct two high-speed links in Iran. Four memoranda of understanding were signed worth some $1.36 billion.
    (AP, 7/11/17)

2017        Jul 20, In Italy a Rome court convicted dozens of defendants in a wide-ranging corruption trial that revealed a system of kickbacks and intimidation to gain control of city contracts, but acquitted all of the defendants on key charges of mafia-style association. Massimo Carminati (59) was sentenced to 20 years in prison. His right-hand man and fellow defendant Salvatore Buzzi (61) was handed a 19-year jail term.
    (AP, 7/20/17)(AFP, 7/20/17)

2017        Jul 23, Vatican authorities began to turn off some 100 fountains, including two Baroque masterpieces in St. Peter's Square, due to a prolonged drought affecting the tiny city state and the city of Rome which surrounds it.
    (Reuters, 7/24/17)

2017        Jul 28, Italy approved sending Italian naval ships to help the Libyan coast guard combat migrant trafficking following a request by the North African nation.
    (AP, 7/28/17)
2017        Jul 28, Italy's parliament gave final approval to a new program making a slate of childhood vaccinations mandatory for school children up to age 16.
    (AP, 7/28/17)

2017        Aug 2, The Italian parliament gave the go-ahead to a naval mission aimed at boosting the Libyan coastguard in its fight against human traffickers and further reducing the number of migrant arrivals on Italy's coasts.
    (AFP, 8/2/17)
2017        Aug 2, Italian authorities impounded a German NGO's migrant rescue boat on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration. The Iuventa was operated by the Jugend Rettet organization.
    (AFP, 8/2/17)
2017        Aug 2, Qatar said it has concluded a 5 billion euro deal with Italy for seven navy vessels, part of a military cooperation agreement between the two countries.
    (Reuters, 8/2/17)

2017        Aug 5, In Italy Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi (b.1934), once seen as a possible contender to become pope, died. A prolific writer, Tettamanzi helped Pope John Paul draft some of his encyclicals and was seen by some Vatican watchers as a potential candidate to replace the Polish pontiff when he died in 2005.
    (Reuters, 8/5/17)

2017        Aug 9, In southern Italy four men were shot dead in an apparent gangland killing. Mario Luciano Romito, a well-known local crime boss, and his brother-in-law Matteo De Palma were traveling together when a car drew alongside and fired at them. Police said two other victims, believed to be farmers, were targeted because they had witnessed the attack in the Puglia region.
    (Reuters, 8/9/17)

2017        Aug 11, Police in southeastern Italy arrested four suspects late today and seized weapons to head off more gangland-style murders in a region popular with vacation-goers where four people were killed.
    (AP, 8/12/17)

2017        Aug 13, The Italian government welcomed Libya's decision to bar foreign vessels from a stretch of water off its coast. Libya's navy last week ordered foreign vessels to stay out of a coastal "search and rescue zone" for migrants headed for Europe, saying the measure was aimed at non-governmental organizations it accuses of facilitating illegal migration.
    (AFP, 8/13/17)

2017        Aug 14, In Italy Maurizio Diotallevi (62) confessed to authorities to killing his sister, Nicoletta Diotallevi (59), whose hacked-off legs were accidentally found in a Rome trash bin while her head and remaining body parts were later discovered in a garbage container on another street.
    (AP, 8/16/17)

2017        Aug 16, British police arrested Michal Konrad Herba (36), the brother of Lukasz Pawel Herba, a man accused of the recent abduction of British model Chloe Ayling in Italy, following a request from the Italian authorities.
    (AFP, 8/16/17)

2017        Aug 21, Italy’s health ministry said two of 114 tested egg samples have shown traces of the insecticide fipronil, making the country the latest to become embroiled in a Europe-wide scandal.
    (AFP, 8/21/17)
2017        Aug 21, In Italy an earthquake hit the tourist-packed holiday island of Ischia this evening, killing two people, injuring dozens and trapping three young brothers who survived for up to 16 hours before being rescued.
    (Reuters, 8/22/17)

2017        Aug 24, In Italy migrants in a Rome piazza threw rocks, bottles and gas cans at police in riot gear who were using water jets to clear out about 100 mostly Ethiopian and Eritrean asylum-seekers as part of a security operation criticized by humanitarian groups.
    (AP, 8/24/17)

2017        Aug 27, Five mountain climbers died in the Austrian Alps in Wildgerlostal on Mount Gabler, east of Innsbruck. Two Italian mountain climbers died after falling into a crevasse in the Italian Alps. A day earlier Another Italian climber died after being hit by boulders in the Valtellina Alpine area.
    (AP, 8/27/17)

2017        Aug 28, The leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Spain met in Paris with counterparts from Libya, Niger and Chad to discuss ways to curb illegal migration across the Mediterranean Sea to European shores.
    (AP, 8/28/17)

2017        Aug, In Italy anonymous hackers broke into the 5-Star's web platform, called "Rousseau" after the 18th century Swiss-born philosopher, and obtained secret data on its members and donors.
    (Reuters, 10/5/17)

2017        Sep 1, In Italy Chinese artist Ai Weiwei’s documentary "Human Flow," premiered at the Venice Film Festival. He used the film to make viewers see both the scale and the humanity of the migrant crisis.
    (AP, 9/1/17)

2017        Sep 2, Italian news agency ANSA said that about 800 Algerians had reached Sardinia aboard smugglers' boats directly from their homeland so far this year. Gov. Francesco Pigliaru has asked Italy's government to work with Algerian authorities to stop the flow.
    (AP, 9/2/17)

2017        Sep 3, In Italy Guerlin Butungu (20), Congolese asylum-hopeful who was rescued at sea and brought to Italy in 2015, was nabbed aboard a train by police as the last of a gang of four young males suspected of raping a Polish tourist on a beach, beating her companion unconscious and raping a Peruvian woman barely an hour later in the resort town of Rimini. Three others were arrested a day earlier.
    (AP, 9/3/17)
2017        Sep 3, In Uruguay  Rocco Morabito (51), a top crime syndicate boss convicted of drug trafficking and on the run from Italy since 1994, was arrested in Montevideo. He was living in a luxury villa in a seaside resort town under an alias and using a false Brazilian passport.
    (AP, 9/4/17)

2017        Sep 8, In Italy prosecutors in Florence were investigating allegations by two US students that they were raped by Carabinieri policemen who escorted them home in a patrol car from a nightclub. The women accused the officers of raping them early Sep 7 in their apartment building.
    (AP, 9/8/17)

2017        Sep 10, In Italy torrential rain triggered flooding that killed at least six people in the Tuscan port of Leghorn, including a family of four who were trapped by rising water in a basement. Two persons were reported missing.
    (AP, 9/10/17)

2017        Sep 14, In Italy fans of the old Latin Mass descended on Rome for their 10-year anniversary pilgrimage. In 2007 Pope Benedict XVI passed a law allowing greater use of the Latin Mass.
    (AP, 9/14/17)

2017        Sep 23, Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star movement picked lawmaker Luigi Di Maio (31) to lead the movement.
    (Reuters, 9/24/17)

2017        Sep 26, Italian police arrested the mayor of a city near Milan on corruption charges as part of an investigation into the infiltration of the 'ndrangheta organized crime clan of southern Italy in the north's business and political establishment. Police issued 27 arrest warrants, many accused in the 'ndrangheta's cocaine trafficking operations and hailing from the mob's Calabrian hub in San Luca.
    (AP, 9/26/17)   

2017        Sep 29, A London judge said Polish-born Michal Herba (36), a man accused of being part of a July plot to kidnap a British model in Milan, should be extradited to face charges in Italy. Herba is also the brother of the model's alleged kidnapper.
    (Reuters, 9/29/17)

2017        Oct 1, Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said North Korea's ambassador to Italy will be expelled from the country in protest over Pyongyang's recent nuclear and ballistic missile tests. Italy, however, would not sever its diplomatic relations with North Korea because he said it was useful to maintain a channel of communication.
    (Reuters, 10/1/17)
2017        Oct 1, Qatar Airways said it has completed the acquisition of a 49 percent stake in Italy's AQA Holding, the new parent company of Italy's second largest carrier Meridiana.
    (AP, 10/1/17)

2017        Oct 4, Italian police said they have seized 11 million euros ($13 million) in assets and arrested 37 people, including two Carabinieri officers, accused in a Sicilian Mafia extortion racket involving fruit, fish and drugs.
    (AP, 10/4/17)

2017        Oct 7, In Italy Anis Hanachi (25) was arrested on an international warrant issued by France while riding a bicycle in the center of the northern city of Ferrara. He is believed responsible for radicalizing his elder brother Ahmed Hanachi, who stabbed two women to death on Oct 1 in Marseille.
    (AP, 10/9/17)

2017        Oct 11, The Italian government won the first of three confidence votes on a fiercely contested electoral law that would allow the formation of multi-party coalitions before the ballot, a factor likely to hurt 5-Star Movement.
    (Reuters, 10/11/17)

2017        Oct 12, The Italian government won the last of three confidence votes it had called on a contested electoral law that is likely to penalize the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement in next year's election.
    (Reuters, 10/12/17)

2017        Oct 19, In Italy a Spanish tourist (52) was struck and killed in one of the aisles at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence.
    (AP, 10/19/17)

2017        Oct 20, Meeting in Italy G7 countries and tech giants including Google, Facebook and Twitter agreed to work together to block the dissemination of Islamist extremism over the internet.
    (AFP, 10/20/17)
2017        Oct 20, Italian news reports said a Moroccan father and three of his four children have died in an apartment fire in the northern lakeside city of Como. Fire crews found flammable material inside the apartment, suggesting the blaze might have been set intentionally by someone there.
    (AP, 10/20/17)

2017        Oct 22, Voters in the northern Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto voted in referendums on autonomy.
    (AP, 10/22/17)

2017        Oct 23, Political leaders in northern Italy claimed an overwhelming mandate to seek greater autonomy from Rome after referendums backed the party's autonomy bid by more than 95 percent in Lombardy and Veneto. In Lombardy less than half of the electorate turned out. The votes were legal, but not binding on Rome.
    (AP, 10/23/17)

2017        Oct 24, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) reported a 50 percent increase in third quarter net earnings, with all markets contributing to growth even as sales were flat globally.
    (AP, 10/24/17)

2017        Oct 26, Italy's upper house Senate approved a new electoral system that is expected to handicap the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement at a forthcoming national election and favor mainstream political blocs. The bill has already been approved by the lower house and now only needs a green light from the head of state to become law.
    (Reuters, 10/26/17)

2017        Oct 30, The leaders of India and Italy held talks in New Delhi and signed a slew of agreements that mark a thaw in their relations following the fatal 2012 shootings of two Indian fishermen by Italian marines who mistook them for pirates.
    (AP, 10/30/17)
2017        Oct 30, Montenegro’s defense minister said the Greek and Italian air forces will protect the airspace over the newest NATO-member state. Montenegro joined NATO in June as the military alliance's 29th member.
    (AP, 10/30/17)

2017        Nov 3, An Italian court said police have seized 50 million euros worth of Tramadol tablets, a synthetic opiate, destined to be sold by the Islamic State (IS) group in Libya to raise funds for attacks.
    (AFP, 11/3/17)
2017        Nov 3, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands issued a statement late today critical of Egypt’s detention of Ibrahim Metwaly, who was helping investigate the 2016 murder of Italian student Giulio Regeni. Metwaly was taken by airport security in September while heading to Geneva to attend a UN conference on enforced disappearances.
    (Reuters, 11/5/17)

2017        Nov 5, Sicilians cast their ballots in a regional vote seen as a barometer for Italy's general election next year, with the populist Five Star Movement (M5S) challenging a resurgent right as a divided left flounders.
    (AFP, 11/5/17)

2017        Nov 6, In Italy G7 health ministers meeting in Milan issued a joint statement that says “climate and environmental-related factors can aggravate existing health risks and create new threats”.
    (AP, 11/6/17)

2017        Nov 10, The Italian government said the country will phase out the use of coal for national electricity needs by 2025 as part of developing a sustainable and competitive energy strategy.
    (AP, 11/10/17)

2017        Nov 14, The Italian diocese of Como defended its decision to ordain a seminarian accused in a book and an investigative TV report of having engaged in gay sex with a fellow teenager while both studied at the Vatican's youth seminary.
    (AP, 11/14/17)

2017        Nov 16, Italy's former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi won an appeal against paying his ex-wife alimony, as a court told Veronica Lario to repay checks totaling some 60 million euros ($70 million). Berlusconi had insisted Lario was wealthy enough to support herself with her portfolio of 16 million euros, family jewels and publishing house.
    (AFP, 11/16/17)

2017        Nov 17, In Italy Mafia boss Salvatore "Toto" Riina (87) died in a hospital in Milan while serving 26 life sentences as the mastermind of a bloody strategy to assassinate Italian prosecutors and law enforcement trying to bring down the Cosa Nostra.
    (AP, 11/17/17)

2017        Nov 24, Italian police launched a campaign to reduce the murder rate against women on the eve of the UN-backed International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Femicides now account for 37 percent of the total compared to 24 percent a decade ago.
    (AFP, 11/24/17)

2017        Dec 1, The Palestinians accused the organizers of the Giro d'Italia cycle race of being "complicit in Israel's military occupation" by starting the 2018 race from Jerusalem.
    (AFP, 12/1/17)

2017        Dec 6, In Italy Mattia Del Zotto (27) was arrested on suspicion he poisoned his entire family with a chemical once used to kill rodents, leading to the deaths of his grandparents and an aunt, and the hospitalization of five others.
    (AP, 12/7/17)

2017        Dec 8, Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and Italy called on the United States to put forward detailed proposals for peace between Israel and the Palestinians and described as "unhelpful" a decision by President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
    (Reuters, 12/8/17)

2017        Dec 9, Italy's governing Democrats led a rally in Como to warn about fascism making a comeback in the nation that once suffered under fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and which is now seeing a rash of right-wing protests against migrants.
    (AP, 12/9/17)
2017        Dec 9, Libya said it will set up a joint commission with Italy in a bid to fight back against people traffickers and tackle the problem of illegal migration following talks in Tripoli between Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti and Libya's PM Fayez al-Sarraj.
    (AFP, 12/9/17)

2017        Dec 13, In Italy Ahmed Fdil (64) was burned alive in a car in the town of Zevio, south of Verona. Police later identified a 13-year-old and a 17-year-old as the prime suspects in the fiery killing of the homeless Moroccan man.
    (AP, 1/12/18)

2017        Dec 14, Italian police in Sicily searched the homes and businesses of known allies of mobster Matteo Messina Denaro (55), looking for hidden bunkers where the fugitive godfather may be hiding.
    (AFP, 12/14/17)

2017        Dec 15, In Spain Norbert Feher (36) of Serbia killed three people, including two Civil Guards, who were investigating a Dec. 5 shooting that injured two people in Teruel province. Feher was arrested the next day. Italy had already issued a European arrest warrant for Feher for homicides and home invasion robberies.
    (AP, 12/15/17)

2017        Dec 17, The remains of Victor Emmanuel III, who reigned as Italy's king through two world wars and died in exile in 1947, were flown back from Egypt for reburial at a family mausoleum near Turin.
    (Reuters, 12/17/17)

2017        Dec 19, Police in southern Italy said they have arrested seven people on charges of trafficking Nigerian women for prostitution.
    (AP, 12/19/17)

2017        Dec 20, In Italy the current and former CEOs of oil giant Eni were ordered to face trial on corruption charges for the alleged payment of bribes over the $1.1 billion sale of one of Africa's richest oil blocks in Nigeria. CEO Claudio Descalzi and his predecessor Paolo Scaroni were among 15 defendants who will face trial in Milan.
    (AP, 12/20/17)

2017        Dec 22, Italy organized a first airlift of refugees from Libyan detention centers after coming under international criticism for helping the Libyan coast guard block migrants from leaving by boat.
    (AP, 12/22/17)

2017        Dec 24, Italian PM Paolo Gentiloni said he would propose to parliament transferring some of the country's 1,400 troops stationed in Iraq to Niger to fight people smuggling and terrorism.
    (Reuters, 12/24/17)

2017        Ian Campbell authored “The Addis Ababa Massacre: Italy’s National Shame.”
    (Econ 7/22/17, p.66)

2018        Jan 3, In Italy surveillance footage of a theft at the Doge's Palace in Venice showed one of the thieves calmly opening a showcase window, putting the jewels in his pocket and sauntering off. The Al Thani Collection hasn't revealed the pieces' value, but news reports estimate they are worth millions of euros.
    (AP, 1/5/18)

2018        Jan 6, The Italian coast guard said at least eight migrants died and 86 were rescued from a smugglers' foundering rubber dinghy in the waters off Libya. An aid group said dozens of migrants could still be missing. A Libyan navy spokesman said at least 25 migrants had drowned. The boat had been carrying 150 migrants with many of the dead vanishing beneath the waves.
    (Reuters, 1/8/18)(AP, 1/6/18)
2018        Jan 6, Norway’s justice minister said that Najmaddin Faraj Ahmad (aka Mullah Krekar), an Iraqi-born cleric suspected of enticing recruits to fight in Iraq and Syria, will be extradited if a court in Italy convicts him. Italian prosecutors allege that Krekar is behind Rawti Shax, a European network aimed at violently overthrowing the government in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and replacing it with a radical caliphate.
    (AP, 1/6/18)

2018        Jan 9, In Germany and Italy 169 people, including mayors, businessmen and local administrators, were arrested in a large anti-mafia blitz against clan members who controlled restaurants, garbage collection and funeral services.
    (Reuters, 1/9/18)

2018        Jan 18, Italy ordered the arrest of 33 people on suspicion of running a Chinese mafia group involved in gambling, prostitution, and drugs and which dominated the transport of Chinese goods across Europe.
    (Reuters,  1/18/18)

2018        Jan 25, In Italy at least three people were killed and about 12 seriously injured after a packed Italian commuter train derailed near the northern city of Milan.
    (AFP, 1/25/18)

2018        Jan 31, In Italy the dismembered body of Pamela Mastropietro (18) was found in two suitcases near Macerata. The teenager had run away from a drug rehabilitation center on Jan. 29 and met a Nigerian asylum seeker, Innocent Oseghale, the next day. Witnesses said they had earlier seen Oseghale with the suitcases.
    (AP, 2/3/18)

2018        Feb 3, In central Italy Luca Traini (28) opened fire on African migrants in the city of Macerata, injuring six people in the racially motivated attack before he was captured.
    (Reuters, 2/3/18)

2018        Feb 6, Italian financial police raided the offices of Massimo Mantovani, a member of the Eni management and the group's former legal director. Fifteen people were arrested ion suspicion of having "adjusted" lawsuits in favor of energy giant Eni.
    (AFP, 2/7/18)

2018        Feb 9, Turkish warships stopped a rig belonging to the Italian energy firm ENI as it headed toward an area southeast of Cyprus.
    (AP, 2/11/18)

2018        Feb 16, Italian police clashed with hundreds of anti-fascist demonstrators in Bologna who were trying to disrupt a planned campaign appearance by the head of the neo-fascist Forza Nuova.
    (AP, 2/17/18)

2018        Feb 24, In Italy students opposing a neo-fascist party scuffled with police in Milan at one of at least a dozen rallies being held across the country on the last weekend for political action before the March 4 national election.
    (AP, 2/24/18)

2018        Feb 26, An Arctic storm dubbed the "Beast from the East" saw temperatures across much of Europe fall to their lowest level this winter and even brought a rare snowstorm to Rome, paralyzing the city and giving its residents the chance to ski, sled and build snowmen in its famous parks and piazzas.
    (AP, 2/26/18)

2018        Feb 27, Rome’s Mayor Virginia Raggi announced plans to ban diesel cars from the center by 2024. Rome has no major industries, so nearly all of the air pollution in the Italian capital is caused by motor vehicles.
    (Reuters, 2/28/18)

2018        Mar 2, Police in western Germany arrested a leading member of the Italian mafia who is wanted in his home country since 2013.
    (AP, 3/2/18)

2018        Mar 4, Italy held national elections. More than half of the electorate backed populist, eurosceptic parties. Partial election results showed 5-Star emerged as by far the biggest party with about 32 percent of the national vote. The center-left coalition took less than 23% of the vote; the center-right coalition took 37%.
    (AP, 3/4/18)(AP, 3/5/18)(Reuters, 3/5/18)(SFC, 3/7/18, p.A2)
2018        Mar 4, Nigeria-born Tony Iwobi became Italy’s first black senator in the parliamentary vote. Iwobi arrived in Italy with a visa in 1976, and joined the Northern League 24 years ago.
    (AP, 3/8/18)
2018        Mar 4, The archdiocese of Naples said it has sent the Vatican a 1,200-page dossier compiled by a male escort identifying 40 actively gay priests and seminarians in Italy.
    (AP, 3/4/18)

2018        Mar 5, In Italy a man (66) shot an African street vendor to death in Florence, one of Italy's most popular tourist destinations. Police found a suicide note in the suspect’s apartment and that checks on social media had shown he had a passion for guns.
    (Reuters, 3/5/18)

2018        Mar 7, It was reported that between 10,000 and 30,000 Nigerian prostitutes are estimated to be walking Italian streets, often to pay off the debts they incurred to get there.
    (AP, 3/7/18)

2018        Mar 14, Italian police said they have dismantled a macrobiotic "sect" that denied its followers contact with the outside world. Authorities said that followers in the central Marche and Emilia Romagna regions were manipulated to follow a rigidly controlled diet known as "Ma.Pi." and that the weight of one follower plunged to 35 kilos (77 pounds).
    (AP, 3/14/18)

2018        Mar 19, Italian authorities impounded a migrant rescue boat operated by a Spanish non-governmental organization Proactiva Open Arms on suspicion it was aiding illegal immigration.
    (AFP, 3/19/18)

2018        Mar 24, Italian lawmakers elected the speakers of both chambers of parliament following an inconclusive March 4 election. Forza Italia Sen. Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, a longtime Berlusconi ally, became the first woman to be elected Senate president. The 5-Stars' Roberto Fico was elected president of the lower Chamber of Deputies.
    (AP, 3/24/18)

2018        Mar 27, Police in southern Italy detained Mohy Eldin Mostafa Omer Abdel Rahman (59), an Egyptian imam, who ran a cultural center where he allegedly preached extremist and violent interpretations of Islam to children.
    (AP, 3/27/18)

2018        Mar 30, Russia ordered new cuts to the number of British envoys in the country, escalating a dispute with the West over the poisoning of an ex-spy in Britain. Scores of foreign ambassadors streamed into the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow to receive the notices given to 23 nations: Albania, Australia, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine.
    (AP, 3/30/18)

2018        Apr 2, Israel announced it had reached a deal with the UN refugee agency to cancel a controversial plan to deport African migrants and replace it with a new one that will see thousands sent to Western countries. PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that Canada, Italy and Germany will take in some of Israel's African migrants under an agreement Israel reached with the UN refugee agency.
    (AfP, 4/2/18)(Reuters, 4/2/18)

2018        Apr 8, Pope Francis told worshippers in St Peter's Square that he hoped Roma Day could foster greater understanding of Roma culture through the "goodwill of getting to know one another" and "mutual respect". Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy's far-right League, urged them to "steal less".
    (AFP, 4/8/18)

2018        Apr 10, Italian authorities said they have arrested 13 suspects in a high-speed migrant trafficking ring operating between Tunisia and Sicily whose members espoused radical jihadist views.
    (AP, 4/10/18)

2018        Apr 19, Italian police claimed progress in closing in on Italy's most-wanted Mafia fugitive, Matteo Messina Denaro, arresting 21 suspected associates in western Sicily, including family members to whom he had given leadership roles in the clan.
    (AP, 4/19/18)

2018        Apr 20, In Italy Alagie Touray (21), an immigrant from Gambia, was arrested as he was leaving a mosque in Licola, near the southern city of Naples, after local authorities received a tip off from Spanish intelligence. He was suspected of planning an attack on behalf of the Islamic State (IS) militant group.
    (Reuters, 4/26/18)

2018        Apr 23, The Italian city of Turin announced that has moved to fill a legal loophole by registering three babies born to gay parents who conceived abroad via artificial insemination.
    (AP, 4/23/18)

2018        May 2, In Rome Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto (74), the interim leader of the Order of Malta, the world's oldest chivalric order, was elected as Grand Master for life. The influential mission was founded in Jerusalem and recognized by the pope in 1113.
    (AFP, 5/2/18)

2018        May 8, Lawyers said Nigerian migrants, who survived a deadly sea crossing last year, filed a lawsuit last week against Italy for violating their rights by supporting Libya's efforts to return them to North Africa.
    (Reuters, 5/8/18)

2018        May 10, Italian anti-terrorism police dismantled a suspected international network that smuggled migrants across Europe and then funneled some of the proceeds to Islamist militants in Syria.
    (AP, 5/10/18)

2018        May 11, An Italian tribunal lifted a ban on veteran center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi from holding public office, meaning he could run to be prime minister in the next national election.
    (Reuters, 5/12/18)(AP, 5/12/18)

2018        May 17, Leaders of Italy's far-right League and the 5-Star Movement agreed the basis for a governing accord that would slash taxes, ramp up welfare spending and pose the biggest challenge to the EU since Britain voted to leave the bloc two years ago.
    (Reuters, 5/17/18)
2018        May 17, Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the far-right League planned to halt the sale of Italy's insolvent national airline Alitalia.
    (Reuters, 5/17/18)

2018        May 18, Italy's two anti-establishment parties promised to ramp up spending in a program for a new coalition government, putting them on a collision course with the European Union despite having dropped some of their most radical proposals.
    (Reuters, 5/18/18)

2018        May 21, In Italy the League and 5-Star coalition asked Pres. Sergio Mattarella to appoint Giuseppe Conte (54) to lead their mooted administration. Instead of endorsing their choice immediately, the head of state played for time, seeking further consultations.
    (Reuters, 5/22/18)

2018        May 24, Italy's foreign minister proudly announced the return to Italy of a young Pakistani woman (19) who was taken by her family to Pakistan to have an abortion against her will after she got pregnant by her Italian boyfriend.
    (AP, 5/24/18)

2018        May 27, Italy remained mired in a political stalemate over the president's rejection of Paolo Savona (81), the finance minister proposed by the populist coalition. Anti-establishment forces abandoned their efforts to form a ruling coalition after a standoff with President Sergio Mattarella, who vetoed their choice of a eurosceptic as economy minister.
    (AFP, 5/27/18)(Reuters, 5/28/18)

2018        May 28, Italy's Pres. Sergio Mattarella set a path back to fresh elections, appointing a former International Monetary Fund official as interim prime minister with the task of planning for snap polls and passing the next budget.
    (Reuters, 5/28/18)

2018        May 29, Italy's political turmoil sent a wave of concern through Europe's 19-country currency union, with serious tremors hitting the country's government debt market.
    (AP, 5/29/18)

2018        May 30, Italy's political crisis moved into unchartered waters, as the head of state sought a last-minute political compromise to end the three-month search for a government and restore calm to financial markets.
    (Reuters, 5/30/18)

2018        May 31, In Italy the populist Five Star Movement and League parties reached a new coalition deal reviving their plans to take power with Giuseppe Conte at the helm. The role of economy minister was given to Giovanni Tria.
    (AFP, 6/1/18)

2018        Jun 1, Italy's President Sergio Mattarella presided over a ceremony in which 18 ministers — five of them women — were taking the oath of office to officially form a government coalition of the 5-Star Movement and the League party after three months of political deadlock. Italy Paolo Savona, who was rejected as the economy minister by the president due to his hostility to the euro, was instead sworn in as European affairs minister in the country's new populist government.
    (AP, 6/1/18)(AFP, 6/1/18)
2018        Jun 1, In Italy Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler, announced a big investment push to make more electrified cars, while acknowledging that traditional engines will continue to dominate production for some time.
    (AP, 6/1/18)

2018        Jun 3, Angry protests rocked cities across Jordan overnight against IMF-backed austerity measures including a new income tax draft law and price hikes, hours after the government and unions failed to reach an agreement to end the standoff.
    (AFP, 6/3/18)

2018        Jun 5, Italy's new PM Giuseppe Conte promised to bring radical change to the country, including more welfare and a crackdown on immigration.
    (Reuters, 6/5/18)

2018        Jun 6, Italian police said five Romanians have been arrested in Sicily for allegedly exploiting other Romanians as unpaid farmworkers and prostitutes.
    (AP, 6/6/18)

2018        Jun 9, The SOS Mediterranee's vessel Aquarius rescued 629 migrants from human traffickers' boats in the Mediterranean Sea. Italy and Malta refused to let the ship dock. On July 11 Spain's PM Pedro Sanchez offered to let it port in Valencia.
    (AP, 6/11/18)

2018        Jun 11, In Italy Lukasz Pawel Herba, a Polish man, was sentenced to 16 years and nine months in prison for kidnapping British model Chloe Ayling in Milan last July.
    (Reuters, 6/11/18)

2018        Jun 12, Italian news agency ANSA said local police have arrested five suspects accused in the theft last year of paintings by the masters Rubens and Renoir valued at 26 million euros ($30 million.) The paintings were stolen in April 2017 from two art dealers in Monza, outside Milan.
    (AP, 6/12/18)

2018        Jun 13, In northern Italy finance police searched a bank as part of an investigation into possible money laundering by the far-right League party.
    (Reuters, 6/13/18)
2018        Jun 13, Rome's long-delayed plans to build a new stadium hit another major obstacle when nine people were arrested for alleged corruption linked to bureaucratic matters involving the venue.
    (AP, 6/13/18)

2018        Jun 14, Italy's far-right agriculture minister said his government would not ratify an EU-Canada free trade deal, claiming it does not protect his country's farmers. The 2016 accord, which has yet to be ratified, eliminates 98 percent of tariffs between the EU and Canada.
    (AFP, 6/14/18)

2018        Jun 15, Italy's family-owned Missoni fashion house announced that Italian investment fund FSI will take a 41.2 percent stake in the firm to help expand the business and help usher the house toward an eventual public listing.
    (AP, 6/15/18)
2018        Jun 15, French President Emmanuel Macron met Italy's new Premier Giuseppe Conte in Paris to try to patch up relations after sparks flew between the two countries over Rome's rejection of a migrant rescue ship. Both leaders agreed to pursue changes to EU migration rules.
    (AFP, 6/15/18)(SFC, 6/16/18, p.A4)

2018        Jun 16, Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini warned another migrant rescue mission off the Libyan coast that it would not be allowed to land its "human cargo" at an Italian port.
    (AFP, 6/16/18)

2018        Jun 27, Rome's city authorities began clearing 450 people out of an official Roma camp weeks after the new far-right interior minister, Matteo Salvini, said Italy's Roma should be counted and, if they are foreign, expelled.
    (Reuters, 6/29/18)

2018        Jun 29, Italy's hardline interior minister Matteo Salvini announced that Italian ports would be closed "all summer" to NGO ships which rescue migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean from Africa to Europe.
    (AFP, 6/29/18)

2018        Jul 7, In southern Italy Pope Francis led a summit of Christian leaders In Bari on how to promote peace in the Middle East and said building walls, occupying territories and religious fanaticism would not resolve conflict in the region.
    (Reuters, 7/7/18)

2018        Jul 8, Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said the new government wants to prevent ships operating for "international missions" from bringing migrants rescued off Libya to Italian ports.
    (AFP, 7/8/18)

2018        Jul 12, Italian PM Giuseppe Conte said he had made no promises to increase Italy's defense spending after US President Donald Trump said he had won pledges from NATO allies to boost military expenditure.
    (Reuters, 7/12/18)

2018        Jul 15, Germany said it had agreed with Italy to take in 50 of the 450 migrants aboard two EU border agency vessels, matching similar pledges by France and Malta.
    (AFP, 7/15/18)

2018        Jul 16, In Sicily about 400 migrants aboard two border patrol ships disembarked at the Pozzallo port after a half-dozen European countries promised to take some of them in rather than leave Italy alone to process their asylum claims.
    (AP, 7/16/18)

2018        Jul 21, In Italy Sergio Marchionne (66) stepped down following 14 years heading auto giant Fiat owing to serious health problems believed to be life threatening. Jeep executive Mike Manley was chosen to replace him.
    (AP, 7/22/18)(SSFC, 7/22/18, p.A6)

2018        Jul 23, Italy's foreign minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi said Rome will allow migrants rescued by a European Union naval operation to land over the coming weeks while EU nations figure out how to divide up new arrivals.
    (AP, 7/23/18)

2018        Jul 25, In Switzerland Sergio Marchionne (66) died after unexpected complications from surgery in Zurich. The charismatic and demanding CEO had engineered two long-shot corporate turnarounds to save carmakers Fiat and Chrysler from near-certain failure.
    (AP, 7/25/18)

2018        Jul 26, Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanese said Italian defense spending will come in at just 1.15 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year and will fall further in 2019, undercutting US efforts to boost military budgets.
    (Reuters, 7/26/18)
2018        Jul 26, Police in Rome cleared nearly 400 people, including dozens of children, from a shanty camp inhabited for years by members of the minority Roma community, despite a European Union court ruling halting demolition.
    (AP, 7/26/18)

2018        Aug 3, In Italy an artificial beach along the Tiber was officially was inaugurated. But thunderstorms and uncompleted details kept Romans waiting until Aug. 3 for a full day of sunbathing and beach volleyball near Marconi Bridge. The Tiber River was too polluted for swimming and rats are often seen in the water.
    (AP, 8/5/18)

2018        Aug 6, Italian lawmakers approved 10 new patrol boats and two larger ships for the Libyan coast guard, as part of measures by the populist government to control migration.
    (AP, 8/7/18)
2018        Aug 6, In northwestern Italy a huge landslide swept away several cars along a well-traveled road, killing a couple trapped inside one, in a scenic valley near the town of Courmayeur.
    (AP, 8/7/18)   
2018        Aug 6, In northern Italy two trucks collided on a motorway near Bologna airport, sending a huge ball of fire and billows of black smoke soaring into the sky. At least one person was killed and around 55 were injured.
    (Reuters, 8/6/18)

2018        Aug 7, Italy's Senate approved a decree curbing temporary job contracts and penalizing firms that move production abroad, passing the first major legislation by the new government.
    (Reuters, 8/7/18)

2018        Aug 8, Italian police said gangsters dropped 25-kilo (55-pound) weights on the limbs of drug addicts, alcoholics and other indigents in an insurance fraud racket that faked car accidents to obtain hundreds of thousands of euros in claim payments. Police said 11 persons, including a nurse suspected of procuring anesthetics, were arrested in the crackdown on two Palermo-based criminal organizations.
    (AP, 8/8/18)
2018        Aug 8, In southern Italy hundreds of crop pickers and labor union activists marched from a shanty town to protest what they say is the exploitation of migrant farmworkers. 16 farmworkers were killed on Aug 4 and Aug 6 while riding in vans that collided with trucks.
    (AP, 8/8/18)

2018        Aug 9, Italian police said they found 20 tons of hash worth as much as 200 million euros ($232 million) in the fuel tanks of a Panama-flagged ship that was stopped in international waters and escorted to Sicily. Italian finance police seized the vessel in international waters on July 31 and escorted it to Palermo. There the fuel tanks were drained and the hash was discovered wrapped in sealed brown bags.
    (Reuters, 8/9/18)

2018        Aug 14, In Italy at least 39 people were killed by the collapse of the Morandi Bridge in the port city of Genoa. Authorities later lowered the confirmed death toll to 38 from 39. On August 18 the death toll rose unofficially to 42 with the discovery of four more bodies. The death toll was later put at 43.
    (Reuters, 8/14/18)(AP, 8/15/18)(AP, 8/16/18)(AP, 8/18/18)(SFC, 8/3/20, p.A3)

2018        Aug 19, In Italy the search operation for those missing after the Morandi bridge collapsed in the port city of Genoa ended overnight after the last three bodies were found, bringing the official death toll to 43.
    (Reuters, 8/19/18)

2018        Aug 20, In Italy sudden heavy rain created a wall of water downstream from a gorge that swept away tourists in the southern region of Calabria, killing at least 10 people.
    (Reuters, 8/21/18)

2018        Aug 24, Many of the 150 migrants stranded aboard a coast guard ship for a ninth day began a hunger strike out of frustration that Italy won't let them disembark in Sicily unless fellow European Union nations first pledge to take them.
    (AP, 8/24/18)

2018        Aug 25, Italy allowed 16 of the 150 migrants stranded on board a coastguard ship at a Sicily port to disembark, as government officials face questioning over the refusal to let all passengers off.
    (AP, 8/25/18)

2018        Aug 28, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban and Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini launched an anti-migration manifesto, namechecking French Pres. Emmanuel Macron as their adversary. Macron has blasted Italy and Hungary for maintaining an uncompromising stance on migrants while readily accepting EU development funding.
    (AFP, 8/29/18)

2018        Sep 4, Italy's Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said the government will draw up new rules for the concession of the nation's motorways, obliging the company running the toll highways to reinvest most of their profits in renovating the network. Toninelli reiterated that the cabinet was determined to revoke concessions held by Autostrade per l'Italia to operate toll highways after a bridge it managed collapsed last month in Genoa.
    (Reuters, 9/4/18)

2018        Sep 6, An Italian judicial source said prosecutors have placed under investigation the top executives of Autostrade, the firm operating a bridge that collapsed last month killing 43 people.
    (Reuters, 9/6/18)

2018        Sep 7, Starbucks opened its first Italian café in Milan.
    (SSFC, 9/9/18, p.D2)

2018        Sep 10, Italian authorities unveiled the "epochal" discovery of hundreds of Roman-era gold coins that were found last week during excavations to build a new apartment building in the northern city of Como. Some 300 coins were believed to date from 474 B.C.
    (AP, 9/10/18)
2018        Sep 10, In Geneva new UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet criticized the Italian government for refusing entry to migrant rescue ships in the Mediterranean operated by private charities. Hours later Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who heads Italy's anti-immigrant League party, threatened to cut Italian funding for the UN.
    (Reuters, 9/11/18)

2018        Sep 18, Italian prosecutors said the far-right League can repay some 45 million euros ($53 million) it owes the state over the next 75 years, saving the governing party from possible bankruptcy.
    (Reuters, 9/18/18)

2018        Sep 23, Panama's maritime authority said it has begun procedures to remove the registration of Aquarius 2 after Italy complained the boat's captain failed to follow orders to return rescued migrants to Libya. Humanitarian groups described Panama's move as shameful.
    (AP, 9/24/18)

2018        Sep 24, Italy tightened criteria for migrants receiving humanitarian protection as its populist government deepened its crackdown on those seeking asylum.
    (AP, 9/24/18)

2018        Sep 25, It was reported that NY-based Michael Kors is buying the Italian fashion house Gianni Versace in a deal worth more than $2 billion.
    (AP, 9/25/18)

2018        Sep 28, The European Union issued a stern warning to Italy's populist leaders following their defiant pledge for increased spending and a sizeable budget deficit that risks putting Rome on a collision course with Brussels.
    (AFP, 9/28/18)

2018        Oct 1, Italian coffee company Lavazza Group said it has acquired Virginia-based Mars Inc.'s beverage division in an effort to expand its North American presence.
    (AP, 10/1/18)

2018        Oct 2, Italy's leaders refused to budge from new spending plans that have been spooking investors, pushing the eurozone's third-largest economy on a collision course with its EU partners.
    (AP, 10/2/18)

2018        Oct 11, Italian PM Giuseppe Conte visited Ethiopia. He was expected to discuss migration, a sensitive topic in Italy, as well as investment opportunities in Ethiopia.
    (AP, 10/11/18)

2018        Oct 12, Italy's PM Giuseppe Conte made a rare visit to Eritrea to support its surprising new peace with neighboring Ethiopia as the international community waits to see what happens next in one of the world's most closed-off nations.
    (AP, 10/12/18)
2018        Oct 12, Students across Italy demonstrated against the government's education funding plans, in the first widespread show of dissidence against the new populist government.
    (AP, 10/12/18)
2018        Oct 12, A French police van was seen driving into Italy to return recently-arrived migrants to the town of Calviere. French authorities later admitted to returning migrants to Italy in "error".
    (AFP, 10/16/18)

2018        Oct 13, In Italy women's rights groups marched in protest in the northern city of Verona, after the local council passed a motion to fund Catholic anti-abortion groups.
    (AFP, 10/13/18)

2018        Oct 14, Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini defended his decision to move hundreds of migrants out of Riace, a southern Italian town widely seen as a model of successful integration, as opposition groups accused him of racism.
    (Reuters, 10/14/18)

2018        Oct 15, Italy's cabinet signed off on a draft budget that will hike the deficit at a time when under EU regulations it should be falling, as well as boosting welfare spending and cutting the retirement age.
    (Reuters, 10/18/18)

2018        Oct 18, Italy's PM Giuseppe Conte defended the country's "beautiful" 2019 budget, brushing off criticism of it from Brussels as European authorities stepped up pressure for changes to a draft that breaches the bloc's fiscal rules.
    (Reuters, 10/18/18)

2018        Oct 20, The leaders of Italy's ruling coalition parties met to patch up a row over a disputed tax amnesty which has threatened to undermine the anti-establishment government.
    (Reuters, 10/20/18)

2018        Oct 22, Italy's populist government responded to EU criticism of its budget with a vow to stick to its public spending hike while scrupulously keeping to its own deficit limits.
    (AFP, 10/22/18)

2018        Oct 23, The European Commission rejected Italy's proposed budget — the first time it has ever done so with a member state.
    (AP, 10/23/18)

2018        Oct 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Italian PM Giuseppe Conte in Moscow. They vowed to expand economic ties between their two countries despite European Union sanctions against Russia.
    (AP, 10/24/18)

2018        Oct 25, Italian authorities said 3 suspects, two Senegalese citizens and one Nigerian, were being held on suspicion of murder, group sexual assault and handing out drugs in the death late last week of 16-year-old Desiree Mariottini.
    (AP, 10/25/18)

2018        Oct 26, In Italy travelers and commuters faced delays as several national trade unions staged a 24-hour strike, disrupting transport services as well as some public schools.
    (Reuters, 10/26/18)

2018        Oct 27, In Italy thousands of protesters rallied in the center of Rome over the capital's decrepit infrastructure, as the legal woes of its mayor whetted political appetites on the far right. Demonstrators said Virginia Raggi, the city's first female mayor, was responsible for Rome's pitiful transport service and woeful garbage collection.
    (AFP, 10/27/18)

2018        Oct 28, In Italy former party sympathizers set fire to the 5-Star flag in the southern town of Melendugno to protest at the government's decision to endorse the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) that will bring Azeri gas into Italy via their coastline.
    (Reuters, 10/29/18)

2018        Oct 30, In Italy the death toll from fierce storms battering the country rose to at least 11, as wild weather swept parts of Europe, leaving motorists and tourists stranded. In Venice winds drove the high tide to more than 61 inches above average sea level, one of the highest levels ever recorded.
    (AFP, 10/30/18)(SFC, 10/31/18, p.A2)

2018        Oct 31, Italian news agency ANSA reported that prosecutors were focusing on whether the remains found in an annex of the Holy See's embassy in Rome could be linked either to Mirella Gregori, or to Emanuela Orlandi, two 15-year-old girls who went missing in 1983.
    (AP, 10/31/18)

2018        Nov 1, In northern Italy trees covering the mountainsides in the Dolomites range were reduced to matchsticks, flattened by winds that tore through the Veneto region as storms killed five people. The fatalities brought to 18 the number of people killed by bad weather in Italy since the start of the week.
    (AFP, 11/2/18)

2018        Nov 4, Rescuers said floods killed 12 people on the island of Sicily, including nine members of a single family, pushing Italy's week-long storm toll beyond 30.
    (AFP, 11/4/18)

2018        Nov 5, In Italy a knife-wielding man held hostages in a northern post office, days after receiving a 19-year jail term for a Mafia conviction. Francesco Amato is one of 125 defendants convicted last week in nearby Reggio Emilia in a trial about infiltration by the 'ndrangheta, a southern Italy-based organized crime group, into businesses in the affluent Reggio Emilia region.
    (AP, 11/5/18)

2018        Nov 6, Italy said it will help Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman, leave her country because her life is in danger following charges of blasphemy against Islam that put her on death row for eight years.
    (Reuters, 11/6/18)

2018        Nov 10, Rome's embattled Mayor Virginia Raggi was found not guilty of a charge of lying over a City Hall appointment, ending a months-long trial that had threatened her political career.
    (AP, 11/10/18)
2018        Nov 10, North Korean diplomat Jo Song Gil, disappeared with his wife after leaving the North Korea's embassy in Italy without notice. On Jan. 3, 2019, it was reported that he had applied for asylum to an unspecified Western country and was in a "safe place" with his family under the protection of the Italian government.
    (AP, 1/3/19)(Reuters, 2/20/19)

2018        Nov 11, Italy's PM Giuseppe Conte visited the Libyan city of Benghazi to meet military strongman Khalifa Haftar ahead of talks aimed at stabilizing the war-torn North African country.
    (AFP, 11/11/18)

2018        Nov 13, Italy's leaders sought to affirm their commitment to a free press after journalists protested against insults from prominent figures in the governing 5-Star Movement.
    (SFC, 11/14/18, p.A2)
2018        Nov 13, The International Monetary Fund warned the Italian government that its plan to sharply increase spending carries "substantial" risks and would leave the country vulnerable to market turmoil.
    (AP, 11/13/18)

2018        Nov 14, Italian borrowing costs nudged higher after the populist government resubmitted draft budget proposals without the significant changes sought by the European Commission.
    (AP, 11/14/18)

2018        Nov 15, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, president of the Italian bishops' conference, said that a national advisory group of lay and religious experts is being created to help dioceses educate personnel about protecting children and to help bishops investigate abuse reports.
    (AP, 11/15/18)
2018        Nov 15, In Italy a nurse (48) reportedly killed her two young children, a boy of 7 and a girl of 9, by lethal injection, then took her own life in the northwestern mountain town of Aymavilles. The woman left notes saying she couldn't bear the "weight of life's adversities".
    (AP, 11/16/18)

2018        Nov 17, Italy's coast guard said it is searching for eight Algerian migrants who apparently tried to swim to shore on Nov. 15 when the motor of their boat failed off Sardinia's southwest coast. Two bodies were already recovered.
    (AP, 11/17/18)

2018        Nov 20, Italian prosecutors said they have ordered the seizure of the Aquarius, a migrant rescue ship, and accused the aid group Doctors Without Borders of illegally disposing of 24 metric tons (26.5 tons) of medical and contaminated waste accumulated during nearly 50 rescues.
    (AP, 11/20/18)
2018        Nov 20, Rome city officials sent in 600 police officers to evict a purported crime family from eight villas that were allegedly built without authorization decades ago. Mayor Virginia Raggi accused the Casamonicas of replacing public authorities in the area and of "terrorizing" honest Romans.
    (AP, 11/20/18)
2018        Nov 20, The MUDEC museum in Milan said it is hosting the first exhibit of street-artist Banksy's works in an Italian public museum, just weeks after the artist grabbed international attention by partially shredding one of his works at a London auction. The exhibition will open to visitors Nov. 21, 2018 through to April 14, 2019.
    (AP, 11/20/18)
2018        Nov 20, In Kenya gunmen kidnapped Silvia Costanza Romano (23) and shot and wounded four people in Chakama, a small town south of the border with Somalia. Romano was working as a volunteer with an Italian humanitarian group when she was abducted.  On Dec. 9 a suspect, identified as Ibrahim Adan Omar, was arrested in Bangali town in Tana county. Abductors eventually passed her into the hands of militants linked to Somalia’s al-Shabab Islamic extremists. On May 10, 2020, she returned home after 18 months as a hostage.
    (Reuters, 11/21/18)(AP, 11/22/18)(AP, 12/11/18)(AP, 5/10/20)

2018        Nov 21, The Italian luxury fashion house Dolce&Gabbana apologized for insulting remarks about China it allegedly made in exchanges on Instagram but claimed its accounts had been hacked.
    (AP, 11/21/18)
2018        Nov 21, The European Commission officially rejected Italy's big-spending budget, clearing the path for unprecedented sanctions and deepening a bitter row with Rome's populist government.
    (AFP, 11/21/18)
2018        Nov 21, Italian authorities arrested Issam Elsayed Abouelayem Shalabi (22), an Egyptian man accused of supporting the Islamic State and planning go to fight himself, saying he used social media chats to spread jihadist propaganda.
    (AP, 11/21/18)

2018        Nov 22, In China Dolce&Gabbana goods disappeared from Chinese e-commerce sites as the fallout grew over remarks insulting to China that were apparently made by two of its Instagram accounts.
    (AP, 11/22/18)

2018        Nov 23, The co-founders of Dolce&Gabbana apologized in a video on Chinese social media after promotional videos seen as racist and subsequent Instagram messages stoked a furor in one of the world's largest markets for luxury goods.
    (AP, 11/23/18)
2018        Nov 23, A judicial source said human bones found at the Vatican's embassy in Rome belong to a male who died more than 50 years ago, dispelling speculation they might solve one of Italy's most enduring mysteries: the 1980s vanishing of two teenage girls.
    (AP, 11/23/18)

2018        Nov 26, Italian police said they have detained five Egyptians accused of smuggling a boatload of 264 migrants from Libya to Sicily.
    (AP, 11/26/18)
2018        Nov 26, Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci (b.1941), one of cinema's most talented directors, died of cancer at his home in Rome.
    (AFP, 11/26/18)

2018        Nov 30, Italy's national anti-Mafia prosecutor, Federico Cafiero de Raho, said police have arrested 30 suspected mobsters in a sweep against the Foggia mafiosi, the country's so-called "fourth Mafia".
    (AP, 11/30/18)

2018        Dec 4, It was reported that Italy's health minister Giulia Grillo has removed 30 doctors and scientists from the ministry's public health advisory committee as part of the "government of change" promised by the 5-Star Movement and League, which opposes the previous Democratic Party-led government's move to increase the number of mandatory vaccinations to 10.
    (AP, 12/4/18)
2018        Dec 4, Italian police arrested new Mafia boss Settimino Mineo and dozens of other suspects in a major swoop against a resurgent Cosa Nostra.
    (AFP, 12/4/18)

2018        Dec 5, Police arrested dozens of suspected mobsters in Europe and South America in dubbed "Operation Pollina," a huge international swoop targeting Italy's notorious 'Ndrangheta mafia clan. Police seized four tons of cocaine, 120 kilos of ecstasy and two million euros (dollars) in cash across Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Suriname.
    (AFP, 12/5/18)
2018        Dec 5, Italy was informed by North Korea that acting ambassador Jo Song Gil and his wife had left the North Korean embassy in Rome on Nov. 10 and that their daughter (17) had been repatriated on Nov. 14.
    (Reuters, 2/20/19)

2018        Dec 8, Italian Deputy PM Matteo Salvini filled one of Rome's main squares with tens of thousands of flag-waving supporters in a rally that underscored the growing predominance of his rightist League party.
    (Reuters, 12/8/18)
2018        Dec 8, In Italy six people, including five young teenagers, were crushed to death early today following a stampede when a walkway leading out of the Lanterna Azzurra nightclub in the town of Corinaldo collapsed. Witnesses reported seeing a hooded man spray a substance like pepper spray or tear gas into the crowd, triggering a panicked rush to the emergency exits.
    (AP, 12/8/18)

2018        Dec 11, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, arrived in Israel for a two-day visit that has prompted criticism over his far-right policies and anti-migration views.
    (AP, 12/11/18)
2018        Dec 11, Rome's longstanding garbage problems turned into an emergency after a huge fire at the Salaria waste disposal plant blanketed the Eternal City in smoke and forced authorities to scramble to find alternative facilities to treat the capital's trash.
    (AP, 12/11/18)

2018        Dec 12, Italy's PM Giuseppe Conte told the European Commission he was lowering next year's target to 2.04 percent of gross domestic product from 2.4 percent to avoid disciplinary action by Brussels.
    (Reuters, 12/13/18)
2018        Dec 12, Eight European Union nations (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom) underlined their commitment to the Iran nuclear deal while urging Tehran to stop its "destabilizing regional activities" especially the launch of ballistic missiles.
    (AP, 12/12/18)

2018        Dec 13, In Brazil Justice Luiz Fux ordered the arrest of Cesare Battisti, an Italian communist militant convicted of murder in his home country. The president would have the final word over his extradition to Italy. Battisti escaped from an Italian prison in 1981 while awaiting trial on four counts of murder allegedly committed when he was a member of the Armed Proletarians for Communism.
    (AP, 12/14/18)

2018        Dec 17, The Vatican's criminal tribunal convicted Italian builder Angelo Proietti of using his accounts in the Vatican bank to launder money, and sentenced him to 2½ years in prison. The decision was announced on Dec. 27. This marked the first time the Vatican court had handed down a money-laundering verdict since the city state criminalized the offense in 2010 as part of its financial reform efforts.
    (AP, 12/27/18)

2018        Dec 19, Italian PM Giuseppe Conte heralded a budget deal with the European Commission, saying the long-awaited accord allowed his government to honor its main commitments and boost the economy.
    (Reuters, 12/19/18)
2018        Dec 19, It was reported that Nepal's government has stopped eight Italian contractors from leaving the Himalayan country in an effort to complete a critical but much delayed water supply project for the capital.
    (AP, 12/19/18)

2018        Dec 20, In Italy police in Rome searched the Tiber River for twin 6-month-old sisters after recovering the body of their mother.
    (AP, 12/20/18)

2018        Dec 21, Europol said that police in Spain, Italy and Argentina took part in an operation that broke up an international cocaine-trafficking gang. Almost 50 suspects were arrested.
    (AP, 12/21/18)

2018        Dec 22, Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Italian ports were closed to hundreds of migrants rescued off Libya after a mother and newborn baby were evacuated to Malta. A day earlier Proactiva Open Arms rescued more than 300 migrants from three vessels in difficulty.
    (AFP, 12/22/18)
2018        Dec 22, The Vatican announced that Pope Francis has given the homeless of Rome a Christmas gift of a new clinic in St. Peter's Square where they can get free medical help.
    (Reuters, 12/22/18)

2018        Dec 23, The Italian Senate approved a national budget law early today that was tweaked after the European Union objected to plans by Italy's populist government to satisfy expensive campaign promises with a large deficit.
    (AP, 12/23/18)

2018        Dec 25, In northwest Italy two 57-year-old French tourists were found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in a two-room house in Monterosso Grana, a small mountain town near Cuneo.
    (AP, 12/25/18)
2018        Dec 25, In Italy Marcello Bruzzese (51), the brother of a turncoat from an 'ndrangheta crime clan family, was gunned down by two masked attackers near his home in the Adriatic beach town of Pesaro.
    (AP, 12/26/18)

2018        Dec 29, In Italy the city officials of Venice passed a budget bill that will allow charging all visitors to the city a new tax to help cover the costs of keeping the tourist-thronged historic city clean and safe.
    (AFP, 12/31/18)

2018        Dec 31, Italy's ruling 5-Star Movement expelled four parliamentarians from the party in an effort to instill discipline in its ranks. The decision means the ruling coalition, made up of 5-Star and the League, has just 167 seats in the 320-seat Senate.
    (Reuters, 12/31/18)

2019        Jan 2, In Italy temporary administrators were appointed to lead the country's 10th largest lender, the struggling Carige, as part of a plan to avoid yet another bank bailout.
    (AP, 1/2/19)

2019        Jan 3, Italy's deputy PM Matteo Salvini demanded the resignations of the rebellious leaders of Florence, Palermo and Naples for refusing to obey a controversial anti-immigration law.
    (AFP, 1/3/19)

2019        Jan 7, The two leaders of Italy's ruling populist coalition threw their support behind the "yellow vest" protesters roiling neighboring France.
    (AFP, 1/7/19)
2019        Jan 7, Italy's populist government stepped in to help guarantee struggling Banca Carige SpA, bending to pressure despite the ruling 5-Star Movement's longtime anti-bank bailout rhetoric.
    (AP, 1/8/19)

2019        Jan 9, Italy's far-right Deputy PM Matteo Salvini, at a press conference in Warsaw, said he wants his country and Poland to join forces to reshape Europe in his quest for a euroskeptic alliance ahead of elections in May.
    (Reuters, 1/9/19)
2019        Jan 9, Forty-nine migrants disembarked in Malta after spending more than two weeks stranded on board rescue ships, ending a standoff in which European Union countries had refused to offer them a safe port. An agreement brokered by the European Commission calls for a total of some 300 migrants who have reached Malta in recent weeks to be redistributed between eight EU countries, including Italy.
    (Reuters, 1/9/19)

2019        Jan 11, An Italian court cleared the head of the Autostrade motorway operator of responsibility in the deaths of 40 people in a July 28, 2013, coach crash. Several others were jailed.
    (AP, 1/11/19)

2019        Jan 13, Italian officials said former leftist guerrilla Cesare Battisti (64), on the run for almost four decades after escaping prison following a murder conviction, has been arrested in Bolivia and is expected to be extradited to Italy.
    (Reuters, 1/13/19)

2019        Jan 14, Former communist militant Cesare Battisti, wanted in Italy for four murders in the 1970s, arrived in Rome after an international police squad tracked him down and arrested him in Bolivia.
    (AFP, 1/14/19)

2019        Jan 15, Italian police seized 644 kg of cocaine worth some 130 million euros ($148 million) hidden in bags of Honduran coffee at the port of Livorno. This was one of the largest drug hauls in Italy in recent years.
    (AP, 1/30/19)(AP, 1/31/19)

2019        Jan 18, An Italian navy helicopter plucked three survivors from a life raft after a rubber dinghy capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya. Up to 117 migrants were believed to have died.
    (AP, 1/19/19)

2019        Jan 22, In Italy anti-mafia police said they had dealt a fresh blow to the Cosa Nostra, arresting seven suspected rising-star mobsters after two of the organized crime group turned state witnesses.
    (AFP, 1/22/19)

2019        Jan 23, Italian investigators in Genoa found 2.1 tons of Barcelona-bound pure cocaine dispatched from Colombia's Turbo port. The drug, divided into 1,801 blocks, traveled in a container that had been declared as empty. Spanish police later arrested the alleged recipient of the shipment in Barcelona with the help of Italian authorities in a sting operation.
    (AP, 1/31/19)

2019        Jan 24, Europe's top rights court ordered Italy to pay thousands of euros in damages to Amanda Knox, the American student acquitted in 2015 of the gruesome killing of her British housemate after spending years behind bars.
    (AFP, 1/24/19)

2019        Jan 25, In the Italian Alps a French flight instructor was one of two survivors in a midair collision between a small tourist plane and a helicopter over the Rutor glacier. The death toll from the deadly collision soon rose to seven.
    (AP, 1/26/19)(AFP, 1/26/19)

2019        Jan 27, The state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. said it has signed agreements worth $5.8 billion with Italy's Eni and Austria's OMV for a share in the firm's refining unit and for the creation of a new trading venture.
    (AP, 1/27/19)

2019        Jan 28, The Netherlands refused an Italian request to take in 47 migrants on a humanitarian ship that is being blocked from Italian ports, saying there was a need to distinguish between genuine refugees and economic migrants.
    (Reuters, 1/28/19)

2019        Jan 30, Italy's PM Giuseppe Conte said that 47 rescued migrants aboard the Sea Watch NGO vessel could finally disembark after Italy and six other countries (France, Germany, Malta, Portugal, Romania and Luxembourg) agreed to take them in.
    (AFP, 1/30/19)

2019        Jan 31, Italy's national statistics agency said its economy, the third-largest in the eurozone, contracted by a quarterly rate of 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018. Following a 0.1 percent drop in the previous three-month period that means Italy is in a technical recession.
    (AP, 1/31/19)

2019        Feb 1, TIPH (Temporary International Presence in Hebron) countries Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Italy and Turkey, condemned in a joint statement the Israeli government's unilateral decision not to extend the observer force's mission in the flashpoint city.
    (AP, 2/2/19)

2019        Feb 3, Four skiers went missing in the Italian Alps. Their bodies were found the next day. Two other Italian skiers were killed by avalanches, one in the Valle d'Aosta region, the other in the Alto Adige (South Tyrol) region.
    (AP, 2/4/19)

2019        Feb 4, Italy blocked a joint European Union position to recognize Venezuela's National Assembly head Juan Guaido as interim president.
    (AP, 2/4/19)

2019        Feb 7, France's foreign ministry recalled its ambassador to Rome for consultations over a series of comments from Italy's deputy prime ministers, Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini. Salvini and De Maio have angered Macron in particular by publicly supporting the "yellow vest" protesters who have taken to the streets to denounce high living costs and a perceived indifference by the government to rural and small-town France.
    (AFP, 2/7/19)

2019        Feb 8, In Italy engineers started the delicate task of taking apart Genoa's Morandi motorway bridge almost six months after its partial collapse during a storm killed 43 people and injured dozens.
    (AFP, 2/8/19)

2019        Feb 9, In Italy hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in Rome led by unions demanding pro-growth policies from the populist government, the biggest such protest in four years.
    (AFP, 2/9/19)

2019        Feb 12, On the Italian island of Sardinia    shepherds were joined by students on their fifth straight day of protests in a march in Nuoro, where shopkeepers shut stores in solidarity. The shepherds poured milk from large canisters onto streets to protest prices paid by cheesemakers for their milk.
    (AP, 2/12/19)

2019        Feb 14, Italian police in Calabria nabbed fugitive kingpin cocaine dealer Francesco Strangio. He hails from a feuding crime clan involved in the 2007 trattoria massacre in Germany. Strangio had been on the run since a January 2018 conviction, carrying a 14-year prison term, for international drug trafficking.
    (AP, 2/15/19)

2019        Feb 23, Strong winds toppled trees and walls in Italy, causing at least three deaths and forcing a cargo ship to run aground. Gale-force winds swept across Croatia's Adriatic coast, damaging cars, shattering windows and disrupting traffic.
    (AP, 2/23/19)

2019        Feb 25, In Italy Gianni Alemanno, a former mayor of Rome (2008-2013), was sentenced to six years in prison for his part in the infiltration of organized crime into the capital. He immediately vowed to appeal.
    (AP, 2/25/19)

2019        Feb 27, The EU expressed concern about Italy's debt levels and warned the government in Rome to push through measures to shore up the public finances.
    (AP, 2/27/19)

2019        Mar 1, In Italy Moroccan-born Imane Fadil (33), a former model and witness at Silvio Berlusconi's sex trial, died at one of the city's hospitals. On March 16 a newspaper suggested she may have been poisoned with a radioactive substance.
    (AFP, 3/16/19)

2019        Mar 2, In Italy tens of thousands of people have marched in Milan against policies by the populist government that they say promote racism.
    (AP, 3/2/19)

2019        Mar 3, Members of Italy's Democratic Party voted for a new leader in hope of reversing their party's slumping popularity.
    (AP, 3/3/19)

2019        Mar 5, Italian energy company Eni said a crane toppled from a methane gas extraction platform, plunging into the Adriatic Sea and killing the crane's operator (63).
    (AP, 3/5/19)
2019        Mar 5, In Italy a proposal to use 15 million euros in Saudi Arabian government funds for Milan's La Scala opera house came under fire because of anger over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
    (AFP, 3/5/19)
2019        Mar 5, Italy's high court annulled an appeals court ruling that overturned a rape verdict  regarding a 2015 assault in which two Peruvian men argued that the woman was too "masculine" to be a victim. A new trial was ordered.
    (SFC, 3/14/19, p.A2)

2019        Mar 6, Italy's populist government opened its new minimum income welfare program, fulfilling a key campaign promise of the 5-Star Movement to try to reduce poverty and unemployment in the eurozone's third-largest economy.
    (AP, 3/6/19)

2019        Mar 9, The Italian Ambassador to Pakistan said that the bodies of British climber Tom Ballard and Italian climber Daniele Nardi, who went missing on Feb. 24 while ascending Pakistan's Nanga Parbat, the so-called "Killer Mountain," have been found. Their bodies were unlikely to be recovered.
    (Reuters, 3/9/19)

2019        Mar 18, Milan's Mayor Giuseppe Sala said Italy's famed La Scala opera house will immediately return 3 million euros ($3.4 million) sent to an escrow account by Saudi Arabia. He did not rule out future dealings with the kingdom despite concerns raised over its human rights record.
    (AP, 3/18/19)

2019        Mar 20, The Italian parliament blocked prosecutors from pursuing an investigation into Deputy PM Matteo Salvini for abuse of power and kidnapping migrants.
    (Reuters, 3/20/19)
2019        Mar 20, Marcello De Vito, president of Rome's city council and a senior figure in Italy's ruling 5-Star Movement, was arrested for allegedly accepting bribes in a widening corruption scandal centered on AS Roma's long-delayed plans to build a new stadium.
    (Reuters, 3/20/19)

2019        Mar 22, Italy's Pres. Sergio Mattarella told visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping that China's new "Silk Road" linking Europe and Asia must be a "two-way street," addressing concerns among Western allies that the colossal infrastructure project is meant merely to amplify Beijing's global influence.
    (AP, 3/22/19)
2019        Mar 22, In Italy a 5-month-old baby was brought to a hospital in Bologna by helicopter in cardiac arrest due to a home circumcision and soon died.
    (AP, 3/24/19)

2019        Mar 23, Italy endorsed China's ambitious "Belt and Road" infrastructure plan, becoming the first major Western power to back the initiative to help revive the struggling Italian economy. The signing ceremony was the highlight of a three-day trip to Italy by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Italian firms also inked deals with Chinese counterparts worth an initial 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion).
    (Reuters, 3/23/19)

2019        Mar 25, Italian media reported that former communist militant Cesare Battisti, jailed for life over four murders carried out in the 1970s, has confessed to the killings after decades of denying involvement.
    (AFP, 3/25/19)

2019        Mar 26, The academy of Italy's premier opera house, Teatro alla Scala, agreed to start a conservatory for both girls and boys in Saudi Arabia.
    (AP, 3/27/19)

2019        Mar 27, The EU said it will suspend ship patrols that have rescued tens of thousands of migrants in the Mediterranean and brought them to Italy, amid deep resistance by populist-led Rome. The rescues were part of the EU's Operation Sophia which diplomats have decided to extend by six months beyond its March 31 expiry date, but without new ship deployments.
    (AFP, 3/27/19)

2019        Mar 30, In Italy the US-based International Organization for the Family began a 2-day congress in Verona. The organization defines family as strictly centering around a mother and father. A coalition of civic groups mobilized against what they see as a counter-reform movement to limit LGBT and women's rights.
    (AP, 3/30/19)

2019        Mar 31, In Italy several tens of thousands of people marched in support of the ultra-Conservative World Congress of Families, on the final day of their conference in Verona.
    (AFP, 3/31/19)

2019        Apr 1, Michigan-based Kellogg Co. said it is selling its iconic Keebler cookie brand and other sweet snacks businesses to Italy-based Ferrero for $1.3 billion. Kellogg said it is also selling its Mother's and Famous Amos cookie brands, as well as its fruit-flavored snack, pie crust and ice cream cone businesses.
    (AP, 4/1/19)

2019        Apr 3, Rome's Mayor Virginia Raggi pledged an investigation into possible inciting racial hatred against the organizers of a violent protest that rejected housing Roma families in a neighborhood government-run center a day earlier. Raggi blamed both Casa Pound and Forza Nuova for creating a hostile climate in the Torre Maura neighborhood, a low-income area on the eastern edge of the capital. City authorities moved several Roma families out of a public housing project in a Rome suburb after violent protests by neo-fascist groups threatened their safety.
    (AP, 4/3/19)(AP, 4/4/19)
2019        Apr 3, The Italian news agency ANSA reported that another infant boy died overnight near Genoa as the result of a circumcision performed at home.
    (AP, 4/3/19)

2019        Apr 8, In Italy Euroskeptic populist parties formed a new and expanded right-wing alliance that aims to become the strongest faction in the European Parliament and seeks to radically transform European Union policies on migration, security, family and environment. Italy's hard-line interior minister, Matteo Salvini, leader of the anti-migrant League party was joined by representatives of populist parties from Germany, Finland and Denmark.
    (AP, 4/8/19)

2019        Apr 12, It was reported that Venice's population has declined rapidly from roughly 175,000 after World War Two to about 50,000 today. Remaining residents complain that their city is being overrun by tourists while they have to pick up the bill for cleaning and security. Squatters were taking over unoccupied buildings in Venice in defiance of what they say are high rents forcing families out of the city as tourism takes over.
    (Reuters, 4/12/19)

2019        Apr 19, In Italy serial killer nurse Fausta Bonino was sentenced to life in prison for killing four patients although police suspect she could have been responsible for as many as 10 fatalities.
    (AFP, 4/19/19)

2019        Apr 26, Poland signed an agreement with Italy's Leonardo to buy four AW101 helicopters for its navy in a deal worth 1.65 billion zlotys ($428 million).
    (Reuters, 4/26/19)

2019        May 2, Hungary's PM Viktor Orban hosted hard-line Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini and the two main opponents to immigration in Europe toured razor-wire fences at the Hungarian border.
    (AP, 5/2/19)

2019        May 3, In Italy Norveo Fedeli (74) was found dead inside his clothing store in Viterbo. Police the next day arrested American Michael Aaron Pang (22) and alleged that he killed the storekeeper by striking him with a stool.
    (AP, 5/05/19)

2019        May 8, Italian PM Giuseppe Conte dismissed Armando Siri, a junior minister involved in a graft scandal. Siri was put under investigation last month for allegedly accepting a bribe from a wind farm entrepreneur who has been linked to the Sicilian Mafia.
    (Reuters, 5/08/19)

2019        May 21, In Italy an overnight fire killed two people living in apartments above the ground-floor police station in Mirandola, north of Bologna. Carabinieri police arrested a North African in connection with the arson fire.
    (AP, 5/21/19)
2019        May 21, Italy's struggling airline Alitalia canceled over 300 flights because of a 24-hour strike called to protest deteriorating conditions in the sector, including the government's failure to relaunch the carrier.
    (AP, 5/21/19)

2019        May 22, In Italy a double-deck bus carrying 60 tourists from eastern Europe overturned on a Tuscan highway, killing one passenger and injuring more than dozen others on the Siena-Florence highway.
    (AP, 5/22/19)

2019        May 26, Voters in a small town south of Milan voted against the right-wing League candidate to elect Gianmarco Negri (40), Italy's first transgender mayor.
    (AP, 5/28/19)

2019        May 27, Italy’s Deputy PM Matteo Salvini said Victory for Italy's League in European elections gives the far-right party a mandate to push through tax cuts and fight for changes to the EU's budgetary rules.
    (AP, 5/27/19)
2019        May 27, Fiat Chrysler proposed to merge with France's Renault to create the world's third-biggest automaker and combine their investments in the race to make new electric and autonomous vehicles. Renault welcomed the idea.
    (AP, 5/27/19)

2019        May 31, Italy's culture ministry said it will revoke the lease on a state-owned monastery where a right-wing Roman Catholic institute close to former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon had planned to train political activists.
    (Reuters, 6/1/19)

2019        Jun 5, The European Commission formally put Italy on notice about its deteriorating deficit and snowballing debt, re-opening a political battle with populist-led Rome.
    (AFP, 6/5/19)

2019        Jun 6, Italy-based Fiat Chrysler's withdrew a merger offer with French carmaker Renault on fundamental differences over when Renault's long-time alliance partner, Nissan, would be brought in.
    (AP, 6/6/19)

2019        Jun 8, In Italy thousands of people took to the streets in Venice calling for a ban on large cruise ships in the city following last week's collision between a massive vessel and a tourist boat.
    (AFP, 6/8/19)

2019        Jun 11, Italy's populist government approved stiff fines for migrant rescue boats that defy orders to stay out of Italian waters.
    (SFC, 6/12/19, p.A2)

2019        Jun 14, France and Italy forged a military shipbuilding alliance, as state-controlled Naval Group and Fincantieri signed off on a 50-50 joint venture that will bid for Franco-Italian warship projects and sell to the world market.
    (Reuters, 6/14/19)

2019        Jun 15, Italian film and opera legend Franco Zeffirelli (b.1923) died at his home in Rome. His work included about 20 feature films. He also directed more than 30 plays and operas.
    (AP, 6/15/19)
2019        Jun 15, In Thailand Francesco Galdelli (58) and Vanja Goffi (45) were arrested at a house on the outskirts Pattaya after an operation between Thai and Italian authorities. Francesco confessed to claiming to be George Clooney and opening a clothes business to trick people into sending money. The couple is also wanted in Italy for multiple scams including selling fake Rolex watches online.
    (AP, 6/16/19)

2019        Jun 20, Italy's far-right interior minister marked World Refugee Day by insisting migrants rescued by a charity vessel are banned from entering Italian territorial waters.
    (AFP, 6/20/19)

2019        Jun 26, A German humanitarian group says its ship Sea-Watch 3 carrying 42 migrants rescued at sea two weeks ago has entered Italian waters under emergency provisions, calling the situation on board desperate.
    (AP, 6/26/19)

2019        Jun 27, The European Union called on Italy to help find a swift resolution for the migrants aboard the charity ship Sea-Watch, which entered Italian waters in defiance of a ban from Rome.
    (Reuters, 6/27/19)

2019        Jun 29, The Italian government said a still-life painting (Vase of Flowers) by the Dutch master Jan van Huysum, which was looted by retreating Nazi troops in World War Two, will be returned to Florence. It was originally put on display in Florence in 1824 after it was bought by Grande Duke Leopoldo II for his art collection.
    (Reuters, 6/29/19)
2019        Jun 29, In Italy Sea-Watch 3 captain Carola Rackete (31) was arrested for docking at Lampedusa without permission, despite threats of jail time, with a shipload of desperate migrants.
    (AFP, 6/29/19)

2019        Jul 15, An Italian court in Bolzano found Mullah Krekar (63) guilty of attempting to overthrow the Kurdish government in northern Iraq and create an Islamic caliphate. Krekar, a refugee from Iraqi Kurdistan, has lived in Norway since 1991.
    (AP, 7/18/19)
2019        Jul 15, China's Huawei Technologies said it would invest $3.1 billion in Italy over the next three years, as the Chinese telecoms giant called on Rome to ensure the "transparent, efficient and fair" use of its 'golden power' on 5G network development.
    (Reuters, 7/15/19)

2019        Jul 26, In Italy American teenagers Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth (18) and Finnegan Lee Elder (19) confessed to fatally stabbing a police officer in Rome. Deputy Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega was knifed 11 times by Elder shortly after the two had stolen a backpack from an Italian man and then tried to extort the victim for "100 euros and 1 gram of cocaine.
    (AP, 7/27/19)(SFC, 8/3/19, p.A2)

2019        Aug 3, Italian police arrested six men on manslaughter charges for allegedly using pepper spray to carry out thefts at a concert for teens, triggering a stampede that killed six people at a venue near the Adriatic coastal city of Ancona last December 8.
    (AP, 8/3/19)

2019        Aug 9, Italy’s hard-Right League party filed a motion of no confidence in the country’s prime minister, advancing a political crisis that could lead to early elections. The country’s debt stood over 130% of GDP.
    (The Telegraph, 8/9/19)(Econ, 8/17/19, p.37)

2019        Aug 20, Luigi Di Maio, head of Italy’s ruling 5-Star Movement, signaled the imminent demise of the coalition government by thanking PM Giuseppe Conte for his time in office. PM Conte handed in his resignation after accusing his interior minister, Matteo Salvini, of putting his League party before the needs of the country.
    (Reuters, 8/20/19)(Reuters, 8/21/19)

2019        Aug 26, Talks on forming a new Italian government ran into trouble as the ruling 5-Star Movement and the opposition Democratic Party (PD) traded accusations over key jobs, including that of interior minister.
    (Reuters, 8/27/19)

2019        Sep 4, Italian PM Giuseppe Conte unveiled his new cabinet, uniting two rival political parties in an unlikely coalition that is expected to improve ties with the European Union and adopt a softer stance on immigration. The team of ministers were drawn primarily from the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the center-left Democratic Party (PD).
    (Reuters, 9/4/19)

2019        Sep 5, Italy's new government, combining the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and center-left Democratic Party (PD), was sworn into office, promising to reset Rome's often fraught relations with Brussels.
    (Reuters, 9/5/19)

2019        Sep 7, In Italy hundreds of demonstrators took over the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival for several hours, demanding action to fight climate change and a ban on cruise ships entering the lagoon city.
    (Reuters, 9/7/19)

2019        Sep 11, In Italy an international consortium of scientists and conservationists announced that they have succeeded in creating two embryos of the near-extinct northern white rhino, a milestone in assisted reproduction that may be a pivotal turning point in the fate of the species.
    (AP, 9/11/19)

2019        Sep 13, Developing company Texas Central said Italian builder Salini Impregilo and its US subsidiary Lane Construction Company have signed a contract to help build a new high-speed train line in Texas.
    (Reuters, 9/13/19)

2019        Sep 17, In Italy three people aboard a speedboat were killed late today when their vessel crashed into an offshore dike of the lagoon city of Venice. The boat was trying to set a speed record for the route from Monte Carlo to Venice.
    (AP, 9/18/19)

2019        Sep 24, Italy's government announced a new crackdown on tax evasion as part of its 2020 budget, but it will have a hard time breaking a bad habit that costs the state more than 100 billion euros ($109.34 billion) a year.
    (Reuters, 9/26/19)

2019        Sep 25, Cardinal William Levada (b.1936), former archbishop of San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo counties, died in Rome. In 2005 he was selected by Pope Benedict XVI to lead the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.
    (SFC, 10/2/19, p.C5)

2019        Sep 27, It was reported that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and its US unit will pay $40 million for misleading investors about its monthly sales figures and will resolve a lengthy probe by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
    (Reuters, 9/27/19)

2019        Oct 1, In central Italy Fiat Chrysler worker Fabrizio Greco died overnight in an accident at the group's factory in Cassino, prompting unions to launch a strike at the plant to demand tighter safety measures.
    (Reuters, 10/1/19)

2019        Oct 3, Italy lifted a block on 2019 spending that was agreed by the previous government with the European Commission, in a surprise move that will result in a higher deficit this year but which means the budget gap will not widen in 2020.
    (Reuters, 10/3/19)

2019        Oct 7, An Italian court found the parents of former prime minister Matteo Renzi guilty of issuing false invoices, and handed them suspended prison terms of one year and nine months.
    (Reuters, 10/7/19)
2019        Oct 7, Italy's coastguard said at least 13 people died when an overloaded migrant boat capsized near the island of Lampedusa as they were about to be rescued. The smugglers' boat overturned as a patrol boat was preparing to take migrants on board.
    (AP, 10/7/19)

2019        Oct 8, Italy's parliament voted to cut the number of elected lawmakers by more than a third, in a reform championed by the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement which could have a profound impact on the political landscape.
    (Reuters, 10/8/19)

2019        Oct 9, Italy reacted angrily to a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that it should relax conditions for prisoners serving life sentences, including mafia gangsters and terrorists.
    (The Telegraph, 10/9/19)

2019        Oct 16, Pres. Donald Trump met with Italy's president.
    (AP, 10/16/19)

2019        Oct 21, In Italy ultra-conservative Catholic militants admitted they stole statues they consider to be Amazon pagan idols from a church near the Vatican and dumped them from a bridge into the Tiber River. The statues were on display along with other Amazon artefacts at the Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina, several blocks from the Vatican.
    (Reuters, 10/21/19)

2019        Oct 23, The head of Italy's Bio-on was arrested in a probe into false accounting and market manipulation, just three months after the bio-plastics maker suffered an attack by a short seller fund that erased 80% of its value.
    (Reuters, 10/23/19)

2019        Oct 27, It was confirmed that Sabrina de Sousa, a former US spy pardoned by Italy in connection with the CIA kidnapping of a terrorism suspect in Milan, has fled from Italy to the United States fearing for her safety. Sousa is one of 26 people convicted by Italy in absentia over the 2003 abduction of Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, but the only one to spend any time in prison for the operation, in which she denies involvement.
    (Reuters, 10/27/19)

2019        Oct 28, Italy's UniCredit said it has uncovered a data breach involving the personal records of 3 million domestic clients, the third security incident at Italy's top bank in recent years.
    (Reuters, 10/28/19)

2019        Nov 7, It was reported that Italy will become the first country in the world to require climate change studies in classrooms alongside reading, writing, and arithmetic.
    (ABC News, 11/7/19)

2019        Nov 9, Meeting in Rome more than 70 countries signed a pledge to do more to cut down on the amount of food lost due to poor refrigeration. Ministers, government officials and experts signed the pledge at an annual meeting of the Montreal Protocol where they worked on regulating man-made chemicals used in refrigeration and air-conditioning systems that are harmful to the ozone layer.
    (AP, 11/9/19)

2019        Nov 10, In Iraq says five Italian soldiers were wounded by the explosion of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). An Italian special forces team was carrying out "mentoring and training" of Iraqi armed forces involved in the fight against Islamic State group.
    (AP, 11/10/19)

2019        Nov 13, In Italy the worst flooding in Venice in more than 50 years prompted calls to better protect the historic city from rising sea levels as officials calculated hundreds of millions of euros in damage.
    (AP, 11/13/19)

2019        Nov 14, Italy-based Ferrari rolled out the Roma, a record fifth new model announced this year, as the Italian luxury carmaker with the famous "prancing horse" logo looks to sustain profit and share price growth.
    (Reuters, 11/14/19)

2019        Nov 15, In Italy an exceptionally high tide hit Venice again just three days after the city suffered its worst flooding in more than 50 years, leaving squares, shops and hotels once more inundated.
    (Reuters, 11/15/19)
2019        Nov 15, Italian TV said a scandal over alleged sexual molestation and abuse at the Vatican’s youth seminary is growing, with more former papal altar boys alleging inappropriate behavior by priests inside the Vatican walls.
    (AP, 11/15/19)   

2019        Nov 18, Italian police broke up a cross-border criminal gang illicitly trafficking in archaeological artifacts clandestinely excavated in southern Italy for export abroad. Two suspects were jailed and 21 put under house arrest, most of them in Calabria.
    (AP, 11/18/19)

2019        Nov 23, The Italian coast guard said it had rescued 149 migrants after their foundering boat overturned. Once ashore, survivors told authorities that 169 had been originally crowded aboard the 10-meter (33-foot) long boat utilized by Libya-based migrant smugglers.
    (AP, 11/24/19)

2019        Nov 24, The Italian coast guard said the bodies of five migrant women, two of them washed ashore, have been recovered as search efforts continued near the tiny island of Lampedusa for around another dozen people feared missing in the capsizing of a fishing boat.
    (AP, 11/24/19)
2019        Nov 24, At least two people were killed in France and a landslide collapsed a stretch of elevated highway in Italy, leaving cars perched perilously on a precipice as heavy rains pounded the region over the weekend.
    (AP, 11/24/19)

2019        Nov 25, Fiat Chrysler said it has already started 90% of the investments earmarked for Italy. FCA announced last year it would spend 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) in Italy up to 2021.
    (Reuters, 11/25/19)
2019        Nov 25, Officials said at least seven people have died as heavy rain slammed the Riviera coasts of France and Italy, trapping travelers in their cars, as well as parts of western Greece.
    (AP, 11/25/19)

2019        Nov 28, Italian police said they have uncovered a plot to form a new Nazi party and seized a cache of weapons during searches across the country.
    (Reuters, 11/28/19)

2019        Nov 30, Italian coast guard divers recovered the bodies of seven people in the sea near Lampedusa where a boat crowded with migrants capsized a week earlier. At least eight other bodies were spotted on the sea bottom.
    (AP, 11/30/19)

2019        Dec 12, Italian police said they had arrested 13 people and dismantled an international crime gang that smuggled small groups of migrants from Greece to Italy aboard yachts.
    (Reuters, 12/12/19)

2019        Dec 18, Italian-American Fiat Chrysler and France's Peugeot maker PSA sealed a binding deal to create the world's fourth biggest carmaker.
    (Reuters, 12/18/19)

2020        Jan 5, In northern Italy a drunken driver plowed into a group of young German tourists, killing six people and injuring 11 others in the Alto Adige region. A 28-year-old man from the nearby town of Chienes, was arrested on suspicion of highway manslaughter and injury.
    (AP, 1/5/20)

2020        Jan 8, Libya's Gen. Khalifa Hifter traveled to Rome on a previously unannounced visit to meet with Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte.
    (AP, 1/8/20)

2020        Jan 11, Italy’s Premier Giuseppe Conte met with the UN-recognized Libyan PM Fayez Serraj, days after Italy botched an attempt to broker a truce to end the latest fighting in Libya.
    (AP, 1/11/20)

2020        Jan 16, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and Palestine established a bloc called the East Mediterranean Gas Forum.
    (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EastMed_Gas_Forum)    (Econ., 8/22/20, p.50)

2020        Jan 19, In Italy hundreds of people in small rowing boats protested in front of Venice's St Mark's Square to denounce what they say is a proliferation of motor boats that have crowded the waters of the lagoon city.
    (Reuters, 1/19/20)

2020        Jan 26, Italian voters thwarted right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini's hopes of turning an election in a key northern region into a springboard for regaining national power. The center-left Democrats' incumbent won 51.4% of the vote for the governorship of the prosperous Emilia-Romagna region.
    (AP, 1/27/20)

2020        Feb 5, Organizers said Italian fashion house Prada is helping to fund a United Nations program that will enlist high school students from 10 cities to spread awareness about how humans impact the world's oceans.
    (AP, 2/5/20)

2020        Feb 6, In northern Italy a high-speed passenger train derailed killing two railway workers and injuring 28 other people as its engine broke off and careened into a work vehicle on an adjacent track on the Milan-Bologna line.
    (SFC, 2/7/20, p.A2)

2020        Feb 12, Italian senators voted to lift immunity for far-right leader Matteo Salvini, opening the way for a potentially career-ending trial over accusations he illegally detained migrants at sea last year.
    (Reuters, 2/12/20)
2020        Feb 12, Human Rights Watch warned that Italy is endangering migrants by renewing support for the Libyan coast guard, which blocks their flight and sends them back to squalid detention centers in the North African country. About 5,000 migrants are languishing in dozens of filthy Libyan centers, where rape, torture and other abuses run rampant.
    (AP, 2/12/20)

2020        Feb 13, Rome police arrested Beverly McCallum (59) overnight after she and her teenage son checked into a Rome hotel on the northwest outskirts of the Italian capital. The American woman was wanted in the 2002 death of her husband, whose remains were so badly burned they weren’t identified for more than a decade. Husband Robert Caraballo was beaten and suffocated, and his body was dumped and burned in a blueberry patch in western Michigan.
    (AP, 2/13/20)

2020        Feb 19, Authorities in northern Italy arrested the captain of a Lebanese-flagged cargo ship on suspicion of international arms trafficking while they investigate if the vessel transported tanks, rockets and other weapons from Turkey to Libya.
    (AP, 2/19/20)

2020        Feb 20, In Italy bulldozers started work demolishing a crime-riddled, crumbling housing estate on the outskirts of Naples, notorious for its links to the local mafia. The housing project, known as the "Sails of Scampia", was built in the 1960s and 1970s and became synonymous with poverty and violence in Italy's underdeveloped south as clan warfare raged through its narrow corridors and bleak stairways.
    (Reuters, 2/20/20)

2020        Feb 21, Italian authorities announced that a cluster of 16 coronavirus cases had been detected around Codogno, a small town in Lombardy. By the next day the number was up to 60 and five elderly people had died.
    (Econ., 2/29/20, p.13)

2020        Feb 22, A dozen towns in northern Italy effectively went into lockdown after the deaths of two people infected with the new virus from China and a growing cluster of cases with no direct links to the origin of the outbreak abroad. Secondary coronavirus contagions prompted local authorities in the Lombardy and Veneto regions to order schools, businesses, and restaurants closed, and to cancel sporting events and Masses. Hundreds of residents and workers who came into contact with an estimated 54 people confirmed infected in Italy were in isolation pending test results. Two people infected with the virus have died.
    (AP, 2/22/20)

2020        Feb 23, Italian authorities stepped up measures to ban public gatherings, including stopping Venice's famed carnival events, which have drawn tens of thousands of revelers to a region that is now in the heart of the outbreak. Nearly all of the known cases, including three deaths, were clustered in the north, at least 25 of them in the Veneto region. Italy reported more than 150 confirmed cases, a sharp increase from fewer than five last week. Officials locked down at least 10 towns in the northern region of Lombardy, affecting at least 50,000 people.
    (AP, 2/23/20)(Reuters, 2/23/20)(NY Times, 2/24/20)

2020        Feb 24, Italy recorded a 6th coronavirus death as it became the worst-hit country in Europe, bringing the total number of cases across the country to 219. Police manned checkpoints around quarantined towns in the north and residents stocked up on food as the country became the focal point of the outbreak in Europe and fears of its cross-border spread.
    (Reuters, 2/24/20)(AP, 2/24/20)

2020        Feb 26, Italy become a frontline in the global outbreak of the virus, with over 370 cases and 12 deaths.
    (Reuters, 2/26/20)
2020        Feb 26, Italy's Enel said it agreed on the need to provide the country with an ultrabroadband network, after Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri urged parties involved in the plan to find an agreement.
    (Reuters, 2/26/20)
2020        Feb 26, The USA stepped up travel advisories for Iran, Italy and Mongolia, warning of the risks of coronavirus or disruptions related to efforts to control the disease's spread.
    (Reuters, 2/26/20)

2020        Feb 28, Italy reported that four more people have died from coronavirus, bringing the total to 21, while the number of those testing positive for the illness jumped to 821.
    (AP, 2/28/20)

2020        Mar 1, Italy reported 1,694 positive cases of coronavirus and 34 deaths.
    (AFP, 3/2/20)

2020        Mar 2, Experts said Italy's economy performed woefully in 2019 and is set to do even worse this year due to the coronavirus, with the threat of recession looming large.
    (AFP, 3/2/20)

2020        Mar 4, The death toll in Italy soared to 79, with more than 2,500 people infected. A government source said Italy is to close all schools and universities starting March 5 to try to contain its worsening coronavirus outbreak.
    (AFP, 3/4/20)(Reuters, 3/4/20)
2020        Mar 4, Fiat Chrysler defied fears over Italy's coronavirus outbreak to showcase an electric version of its 500 city car, as it strives to catch up with rivals in low-emissions driving while heading into a merger with Peugeot maker PSA.
    (Reuters, 3/4/20)

2020        Mar 5, In Italy the death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern region of Lombardy, which has borne the brunt of a nationwide contagion, has risen over the past day to 98 from 73.
    (AP, 3/5/20)

2020        Mar 6, In Italy at least 3,296 people have been infected with the coronavirus. The death reached at least 148.
    (Good Morning America, 3/6/20)(Reuters, 3/6/20)

2020        Mar 7, In Italy the number of fatalities due to the coronavirus were up 36 to 233, with infections growing to 8,883. Cases have now been confirmed in each of the country's 20 regions, with deaths recorded in eight of them.
    (Reuters, 3/7/20)
2020        Mar 7, A US Navy sailor stationed at the Naval Support Activity Naples tested positive for novel coronavirus, marking the first positive cause of a US service member in Europe.
    (Good Morning America, 3/7/20)

2020        Mar 8, Italy imposed a virtual lockdown across a swathe of its wealthy north, including the financial capital Milan, in a drastic new attempt to try to contain the coronavirus outbreak. Deaths due to the infectious virus risen, by 36 to 233. Of the 5,883 Italians originally infected, 589 have fully recovered.
    (Reuters, 3/8/20)
2020        Mar 8, Tensions in Italy's overcrowded prisons erupted over new coronavirus containment measures, with riots in at least two dozen lock-ups and the deaths of six inmates who broke into an infirmary and overdosed on methadone. With 7,375 infected and 366 deaths, Italy has more virus cases than any country outside Asia.
    (AP, 3/9/20)

2020        Mar 9, Italy went under a national lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
    (Econ., 6/20/20, p.11)

2020        Mar 10, Italy entered its first day under a nationwide lockdown after a government decree extended restrictions on movement from the hard-hit north to the rest of the country. Italy counted 9,172 cases and 463 deaths. The number of dead from riots in Italy's overcrowded prisons over measures imposed to contain the coronavirus rose to 12.
    (AP, 3/10/20)(Reuters, 3/10/20)

2020        Mar 11, Italy's PM Giuseppe Conte earmarked $28.3 billion to ease the economic impact from the coronavirus.
    (Reuters, 3/11/20)

2020        Mar 12, Italy's Premier Giuseppe Conte ordered restaurants, cafes and retail shops closed after imposing a nationwide lockdown on personal movement. Jewelry and clothing shops that on Tuesday and Wednesday had posted signs urging customers to queue up out the door a meter (3.3 feet) apart were closed until further notice. Supermarkets, pharmacies and outdoor markets were still open.
    (AP, 3/12/20)

2020        Mar 13, Italy's death toll from the coronavirus epidemic shot past 1,000 as the economic impact worsened. The total number of infections rose to 15,113.
    (Reuters, 3/13/20)

2020        Mar 14, Italy reported more than 21,000 cases of coronavirus and 1,441 deaths, the second most heavily affected country after China.
    (Reuters, 3/15/20)
2020        Mar 14, It was reported that 9 players in Italy’s top soccer league, Serie A, have tested positive for the coronavirus. Games have been suspended until at least April 3. Italian supercar maker Ferrari said it will suspend production at the Maranello and Modena plants until March 27. Volkswagen AG’s Lamborghini has also suspended production in Italy until March 25.
    (Bloomberg, 3/14/20)

2020        Mar 15, Italy recorded 368 more deaths from the coronavirus. It had 24,747 cases and 1,809 deaths.
    (Reuters, 3/16/20)

2020        Mar 16, In northern Italy the death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Lombardy rose by 202 over the past day to 1,420 from 1,218. Italy's total death toll reached 1,809, a 25 percent increase over the day before.
    (Reuters, 3/16/20)(NY Times, 3/17/20)

2020        Mar 17, Official data in Italy showed that 31,506 people have been confirmed as positive for the coronavirus. The official death toll passed 2,500.
    (AP, 3/18/20)(Reuters, 3/18/20)
2020        Mar 17, European Union leaders agreed to restrict most travel into the continent in an unprecedented move aimed at slowing down the spread of a deadly coronavirus and mitigating its effects on the bloc. Europe logged 10,560 new COVID-19 infections, with 3,590 of the cases diagnosed in Italy.
    (Bloomberg, 3/17/20)(Business Insider, 3/17/20)

2020        Mar 18, Italy reported nearly 500 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, the highest one-day official toll of any nation. Italy added 4,207 new cases.
    (AFP, 3/18/20)(Econ, 3/21/20, p.9)

2020        Mar 19, Italy's country-wide death toll stood at 3,405, the highest in the world.
    (Reuters, 3/20/20)

2020        Mar 20, In Italy the death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern region of Lombardy, which has borne the brunt of a nationwide contagion, rose by around 380 in a day to some 2,550.
    (AP, 3/20/20)

2020        Mar 21, Italy reported 793 coronavirus deaths, raising the total to 4,825.
    (Bloomberg, 3/21/20)

2020        Mar 22, Italy was rocked by its deadliest day as the coronavirus prompted industry shutdown. The death toll from the coronavirus in the northern region of Lombardy, which has borne the brunt of Italy's contagion, has risen by around 360 in a day to more than 3,450. Italy's coronavirus infections continued to soar, with 59,000 cases and 5,476 deaths.
    (Bloomberg, 3/22/20)(Reuters, 3/22/20)(AP, 3/22/20)
2020        Mar 22, Fifty-two medics from Cuba arrived in Italy to assist with the coronavirus pandemic.
    (Economist, 4/4/20, p.25)
2020        Mar 22, The Russian military started sending medical help to Italy in order to help it battle the new coronavirus after receiving an order from Pres. Vladimir Putin following a conversation a day earlier with Italian PM Giuseppe Conte. Russia itself has reported 306 cases of the virus, most of them in Moscow, and one coronavirus-related death.
    (Reuters, 3/22/20)

2020        Mar 23, In Italy the death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern region of Lombardy has risen by around 320 in a day to more than 3,770. Unions in the Lombardy region announced strikes to protect the health of their workers, saying a government decree temporarily shutting businesses due to the coronavirus emergency contained too many loopholes and exceptions.
    (AP, 3/23/20)(Reuters, 3/23/20)
2020        Mar 23, Italy's number of new Covid-19 cases dropped to a five-day low. Italian health authorities announced 4,789 new cases in the last 24 hours. The number of coronavirus cases in Italy has risen to 63,927 " compared to 81,093 in mainland China. In total, 6,077 people have died in Italy due to Covid-19, including 601 who died in the last 24 hours, a decline from the weekend.
    (South China Morning Post, 3/24/20)

2020        Mar 24, In Italy the death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern region of Lombardy rose by around 400 in a day to more than 4,175. The number of cases in the region, which includes Milan, increased by some 1,940 to roughly 30,700. Italy suffered the most coronavirus deaths with 6,820, out of 69,176 declared infections. This was its second-deadliest day, dashing hopes the death toll is declining.
    (Reuters, 3/24/20)(AFP, 3/24/20)(Bloomberg, 3/25/20)

2020        Mar 26, Italy's death toll due to coronavirus was about 7,500. The number of cases in the in the northern region of Lombardy, increased by some 2,500. Italy has reported 8,215 deaths from the illness, more than anywhere else in the world, while confirmed cases total 80,539.
    (AP, 3/26/20)(Reuters, 3/26/20)(Bloomberg, 3/27/20)(Reuters, 3/27/20)
2020        Mar 26, Norway extradited Muslim cleric Mullah Krekar to Italy, where he was sentenced last July to 12 years in prison for planning terror. He had been found guilty of attempting to overthrow the Kurdish government in northern Iraq and create an Islamic caliphate.
    (SFC, 3/27/20, p.A2)

2020        Mar 27, In Italy the death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern region of Lombardy rose by around 541 in a day to some 5,402. Italy registered the most coronavirus deaths since the country's outbreak had exploded five weeks earlier, adding 969 more victims to raise the world’s highest COVID-19 toll to 9,134.
    (Reuters, 3/27/20)(AP, 3/28/20)

2020        Mar 28, Italy's Lombardy region recorded 542 new deaths as the national government was said to be mulling plans to extend a country-wide lockdown to mid-April. Italy reported 889 deaths due to the coronavirus. The death toll surged past 10,000. Confirmed cases rose by about 6,000 to 92,472.
    (AP, 3/28/20)(Reuters, 3/28/20)(Reuters, 3/29/20)
2020        Mar 28, Albania flew a team of doctors and nurses to neighboring Italy to help it deal with the coronavirus pandemic as its own cases have yet to strain the health sector. Albania has 197 cases of the illness, with 10 deaths.
    (Reuters, 3/28/20)

2020        Mar 29, In Italy the death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus climbed by 756 to 10,779. The death toll from the coronavirus in Lombardy rose by around 416 in a day to some 6,360. Italy's government said it will "inevitably" extend beyond April 3 the containment measures it had approved to stem the coronavirus outbreak.
    (Reuters, 3/29/20)

2020        Mar 30, In Italy the death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern region of Lombardy rose by around 458 in a day to some 6,818. The number of cases in the region increased by some 1,154 to around 42,161. The national death toll stood at 11,591.
    (Reuters, 3/30/20)(Reuters, 3/31/20)

2020        Mar 31, In Italy the death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern region of Lombardy rose by around 381 in a day to some 7,199. The daily deaths marked the lowest daily toll since March 25.
    (Reuters, 3/31/20)

2020        Apr 1, Italy reported almost 110,574 coronavirus infections. The death toll climbed by 727 to 13,155. Italy has registered more deaths than anywhere else in the world and accounts for around 30% of all global fatalities from the virus.
    (Reuters, 4/1/20)
2020        Apr 1, Computer hackers attacked Italy's social security website, forcing it to shut down just as people were starting to apply for coronavirus benefits. Several hacker attacks were reported over the last few days.
    (Reuters, 4/1/20)

2020        Apr 2, Italy reported 4,668 new cases of the coronavirus compared with 4,782 a day earlier. The nation reported 760 deaths as the number of fatalities rose again after three weeks of nationwide lockdown.
    (Bloomberg, 4/2/20)
2020        Apr 2, Italy's La Stamp newspaper said that the 104-strong contingent of doctors and experts, sent by Russia to the country's coronavirus epicenter near Milan, almost certainly included officers from Russia's GRU military intelligence agency.
    (AFP, 4/3/20)

2020        Apr 4, In Italy, total coronavirus cases stood at 119,827.
    (Bloomberg, 4/4/20)

2020        Apr 8, Italy said that it recorded 3,836 new infections, the highest in three days.
    (Bloomberg, 4/9/20)

2020        Apr 9, Italy's PM Giuseppe Conte prepared to prolong the national lockdown from a current expiration date of April 13 for another two weeks. Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic rose by 610, up from 542 the day before, and the number of new cases also came in higher at 4,204 from a previous 3,836. The number of confirmed cases climbed to 143,626.
    (Bloomberg, 4/9/20)(Reuters, 4/9/20)

2020        Apr 11, Italian PM Giuseppe Conte extended his nationwide lockdown until May 3.
    (Reuters, 4/11/20)
2020        Apr 11, The US State Department announced that President Donald Trump has authorized an assistance package to help Italy, one of the hardest-hit countries amid the pandemic, as they continue to fight the virus.
    (AP, 4/11/20)

2020        Apr 14, Italy lightened its lockdown order and allowed some shops and organizations to open provided they maintain social distancing.
    (SFC, 4/15/20, p.A4)

2020        Apr 15, In Italy deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic rose by 578, down from 602 the day before, while the number of new cases slowed to 2,667 from a previous 2,972, continuing the recent downward trend.
    (Reuters, 4/15/20)

2020        Apr 18, Italy reported the fewest deaths in six days as new cases remained stable. The country registered 482 fatalities down from 525 a day earlier, the lowest since April 12. Total deaths were 23,227. There were 3,491 new cases with the total now at 175,925.
    (Bloomberg, 4/18/20)

2020        Apr 22, It was reported that more than 30 crew members on an Italian cruise ship docked in Japan's Nagasaki prefecture have tested positive for the coronavirus.
    (Reuters, 4/22/20)

2020        Apr 23, The northern Italian region of Lombardy began an antibody testing program as it prepared to start opening up its economy following weeks of lockdown. Positive cases for coronavirus across Italy rose 2,646 over the last 24 hours, bringing total cases to 189,973 and 25,549 deaths.
    (Reuters, 4/23/20)(SFC, 4/24/20, p.A6)

2020        Apr 25, Italian diagnostics group DiaSorin said it had received an Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration for a serological test kit for COVID-19.
    (Reuters, 4/25/20)
2020        Apr 25, Serbia sent four planes carrying medical equipment including gloves, masks and protective suits to Italy as a donation to help the EU member state tackle the spread of coronavirus.
    (Reuters, 4/25/20)

2020        May 2, In Italy deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic jumped by 474, against 269 the day before. The daily tally of new infections was broadly stable for a third day running at 1,900 against 1,965 a day earlier. The total death toll now stands at 28,710. The total number of confirmed cases amounted to 209,328, the third highest global tally behind those of the US and Spain.
    (AP, 5/2/20)

2020        May 4, Millions of people were allowed to return to work in Italy as Europe’s longest lockdown started to ease. Italy's statistics bureau ISTAT said the coronavirus death toll is much higher than reported, in an analysis pointing to thousands of fatalities that have never been officially attributed to COVID-19.
    (AP, 5/4/20)(Reuters, 5/4/20)

2020        May 5, It was reported that Italy plans to give work permits to thousands of irregular migrants to help farms deal with the Covid-19 epidemic that has cut the flow of cheap labor from abroad.
    (Reuters, 5/5/20)

2020        May 6, In Italy deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic climbed by 369. The total death toll now stands at 29,684. The number of confirmed cases amounted to 214,457.
    (Reuters, 5/6/20)

2020        May 7, The Italian government and a bishops conference reached an agreement to resume Masses starting May 18, with strict protocols, after a two-month shutdown. Some conservative Catholics issued a petition, signed mostly by Italian clergy, academics and journalists, claiming the coronavirus is an overhyped “pretext" to deprive the faithful of Mass and impose a new world order. The petition called the pandemic a “pretext” by unnamed actors to manipulate and control people through panic and deprive them of their fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of worship.
    (AP, 5/8/20)

2020        May 9, Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 194, against 243 the day before, while the daily tally of new cases fell to 1,083.
    (Reuters, 5/9/20)

2020        May 11, In Italy deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic rose by 179. The daily tally of new cases fell to 744. The total death toll now stands at 30,739 and the total number of confirmed cases amounted to 219,814.
    (Reuters, 5/11/20)

2020        May 12, In Italy deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic climbed by 172, against 179 the day before, but the daily tally of new cases doubled to 1,402. The Lombardy region said it had found 419 infections from previous weeks that it had not logged. The total death toll now stands at 30,911 with confirmed cases at 221,216.
    (AP, 5/12/20)

2020        May 13, A World Health Organization report into Italy's coronavirus response was posted after it had received necessary approvals within the UN system. It was written by Francesco Zambon, WHO's chief field coordinator for Italy and its regions, and a team of WHO public health experts and consultants. The WHO later said it was withdrawn because of “factual inaccuracies” that it has not detailed and denied that it received any pressure from the Italian government to remove it.
    (AP, 12/18/20)

2020        May 14, Italy said will start testing a representative sample of 150,000 people in 2,000 cities next week to understand the extent of its COVID-19 epidemic. Italy has had more than 222,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and over 31,000 deaths since its outbreak came to light on February 21.
    (Reuters, 5/14/20)
2020        May 14, The WHO pulled a report on Italy’s coronavirus response from its website, a day after it went up, and never republished it. UN epidemiologist Francesco Zambon publicly denounced the World Health Organization’s withdrawal of the report. Zambon resigned in 2021 saying it was “humanly and professionally” impossible for him to continue on his job.
    (AP, 12/18/20)(AP, 3/11/21)

2020        May 17, In Italy the daily death toll from the COVID-19 epidemic fell to 145, the lowest since March 9. The total death toll now stands at 31,908. Confirmed cases amounted to 225,435. PM Giuseppe Conte outlined a further loosening of movement restrictions, including opening borders to travelers from Europe from next month.
    (Reuters, 5/17/20)

2020        May 18, Italy registered 99 fatalities over the last 24-hour period, bringing the nationwide death toll to 32,007. More than 225,000 people in Italy have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
    (Good Morning America, 5/19/20)

2020        May 29, Italy's civil protection agency reported 345 new coronavirus infections in the Lombardy region, bringing the total in the region to 88,500. This was about 40% of Italy's total.
    (SFC, 5/30/20, p.A5)

2020        Jun 11, Italian police unveiled a Banksy artwork that they found stashed in a farmhouse attic after it was stolen from Paris in January, 2019. It was painted in 2018 on the side of the Bataclan concert hall as a tribute to the 90 victims killed in the 2015 Islamist terrorist attack.
    (The Telegraph, 6/11/20)

2020        Jun 14, Paolo Giorgio Ferri (72), Italian prosecutor and hunter of looted antiquities, died. He dismantled multinational trafficking rings, recovering tens of thousands of Greco-Roman artifacts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
    (NY Times, 6/22/20)

2020        Jun 15, Slovenia lifted travel restrictions with Italy.
    (AP, 6/15/20)

2020        Jun 18, Scientists in Italy said they have found traces of the new coronavirus in wastewater collected from Milan and Turin on December 18, 2019, suggesting COVID-19 was already circulating in northern Italy before China reported the first cases.
    (Reuters, 6/19/20)

2020        Jul 6, Italian composer Ennio Morricone (91) died in Rome. His atmospheric scores for spaghetti westerns and some 500 films by a Who’s Who of international directors made him one of the world’s most versatile and influential creators of music for the modern cinema.
    (NY Times, 7/6/20)(Econ., 7/18/20, p.74)

2020        Jul 29, Italian lawmakers approved the extension of a state of emergency for the coronavirus through October 15. Italy counted 289 new cases and six more deaths bringing its pandemic total to 246,776 and the death toll to 35,129.
    (SFC, 7/30/20, p.A6)

2020        Aug 3, In Italy the city of Genoa inaugurated the new Genoa San Giorgio bridge, designed by Renzo Piano and built in a record 15 months following its collapse on Aug. 14, 2018.
    (SFC, 8/3/20, p.A3)

2020        Aug 8, Italy’s health minister announced that women in Italy can now use the abortion pill on an outpatient basis rather than be hospitalized to terminate a pregnancy.
    (AP, 8/8/20)

2020        Aug 11, Italy's new cases of the coronavirus increased by 412. Sicily reported 89 cases after 64 migrants tested positive at a screening center.
    (SFC, 8/12/20, p.A5)

2020        Aug 15, It was reported that 16,347 migrants reached Italian shores in small boats without help over the last year, while 5,271 were rescued at sea, most of those by charity boats.
    (AP, 8/15/20)

2020        Aug 17, Top Italian and EU officials pledged aid for Tunisia as part of an effort to stem the growing number of migrants crossing to Europe.
    (SFC, 8/18/20, p.A2)

2020        Aug 22, Italy's health ministry reported 1,071 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, exceeding 1,000 cases in a day for the first time since May when the government eased rigid lockdown measures.
    (Reuters, 8/22/20)

2020        Aug 24, Italy kicked off human trials of a potential COVID-19 vaccine, joining a global effort to develop a response to the virus which has shown signs of resurging in Europe.
    (Reuters, 8/24/20)

2020        Aug 30, In northern Italy hurricane-force winds toppled a tree during a storm, killing two children in a tent at a campground.
    (AP, 8/30/20)
2020        Aug 30, Italian officials hastily chartered more ferries and put other measures into place to fight severe overcrowding at migrant centers on the tiny island of Lampedusa, where the arrival of 450 migrants on a rickety fishing boat triggered protests by islanders. A fire triggered an explosion on smuggling boat off of southern Italy, tossing 21 migrants into the sea and killing at least 3 of them.
    (AP, 8/30/20)

2020        Sep 5, In Albania a woman wanted in Italy for trying to recruit people to join the Islamic State group was arrested in Tirana. Lubjana Gjecaj (43) will be extradited to Italy where a court in Milan has sentenced her to three years in prison for association with terror groups.
    (AP, 9/6/20)

2020        Sep 6, In Italy Willy Monteiro Duarte (21) was killed during a fight in Colleferro, a city on the outskirts of Rome. Four Italians were soon arrested, including two brothers with police records and a martial arts background. Duarte, who was born in Rome to parents from the African island nation of Cape Verde, had intervened while seeing a friend get beaten up in the fight and was then fatally beaten himself.
    (AP, 9/12/20)

2020        Sep 9, It was reported that 26 scientists, most of them working at universities in Italy, have signed an open letter questioning the reliability of the data presented in the early-stage trial results of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine, named "Sputnik-V".
    (Reuters, 9/9/20)

2020        Sep 11, Italian authorities said police have arrested four men and are investigating another four on suspicion of sexually assaulting two British girls at a villa where a party was being held in the southern province of Matera.
    (AP, 9/11/20)

2020        Sep 12, At the Venice film festival "Nomadland", a US movie about a community of van dwellers traversing the vast American West, won the Golden Lion award for best film.
    (Reuters, 9/12/20)

2020        Sep 20, Italians in seven regions headed to the polls for two days of voting shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.
    (AP, 9/20/20)
2020        Sep 20, The German humanitarian group Sea-Watch condemned as politically motivated the blockade of its ship in the Sicilian port of Palermo by Italian authorities after an 11-hour inspection. This was the fifth rescue ship blocked by Italian authorities in as many months.
    (AP, 9/20/20)

2020        Sep 21, In Italy preliminary results from the Interior Ministry indicated that 69% of Italians voted “yes" on a constitutional referendum to reduce the number of national lawmakers by more than a third.
    (AP, 9/21/20)(Econ., 9/26/20, p.50)

2020        Sep 24, Italy allowed a rescue ship with 125 migrants aboard to dock in Sardinia to escape rough seas and said the migrants could eventually disembark in Italy before being sent to other European countries.
    (AP, 9/24/20)

2020        Sep 29, Italian carabinieri arrested Alice Brignoli, a female foreign fighter, after returning her and her four young children to Italy from a displaced person’s camp in Kurdish-controlled territory. Her Moroccan-born husband, Mohamed Koraichi, died earlier this month at the camp from an intestinal infection.
    (AP, 9/29/20)

2020        Oct 3, Flooding from record rains in the mountainous region that spans France and Italy killed two people in Italy and left at least 24 people in the two countries missing.
    (AP, 10/3/20)

2020        Oct 4, French authorities deployed about 1,000 firefighters, four military helicopters and troops to search for at least eight people who were missing after devastating floods hit a mountainous border region with Italy, where at least four people were killed.
    (AP, 10/4/20)

2020        Oct 7, Italy recorded 3,678 new coronavirus infections and 31 deaths, its highest increase in new cases since April. A nationwide outdoor mask mandate went into effect with fines up to $1,163 for violators.
    (SFC, 10/8/20, p.A5)

2020        Oct 9, Italy registered 5,372 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, the first time the country has exceeded 5,000 cases in a single day since March. There were also 28 COVID-related deaths on Friday against 22 the day before.
    (Reuters, 10/9/20)

2020        Oct 13, Italian PM Giuseppe Conte imposed new restrictions on gatherings, restaurants, sports and school activities in an attempt to slow a recent surge in coronavirus infections.
    (Reuters, 10/13/20)
2020        Oct 13, A judge in Spain allowed an alleged leading member of the ’Ndrangheta mafia organization to walk free after failing to realize that the arrested man was a most-wanted suspect in his native Italy. Vittorio Raso was arrested in Barcelona earlier this month after a two-year police operation to track him down following a tip from the Italian authorities.
    (The Telegraph, 10/21/20)

2020        Oct 14, Italy posted its highest ever daily total of new infections at 7,332 — surpassing the previous high of 6,557, recorded during the virus's most deadly phase in March. In northern Italy Coronavirus infections were surging anew in the Lombardy region where the pandemic first took hold in Europe, putting pressure again on hospitals and health care workers.
    (AP, 10/14/20)

2020        Oct 15, In Italy Cecilia Marogna (39) was arrested in Milan. She was accused of taking more than $500,000 from Pope Francis' charity fund and spending it on luxurious goods.
    (Insider, 10/15/20)
2020        Oct 15, Italy registered 8,804 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours. There were also 83 COVID-related deaths.
    (Reuters, 10/15/20)

2020        Oct 17, Italy registered a record 10,925 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours. There were also 47 COVID-related deaths. Total fatalities reached 36,427.
    (AP, 10/17/20)

2020        Oct 18, Italy registered a record 11,705 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours. The country has recorded 36,543 fatalities since the outbreak flared in February. Italian PM Giuseppe Conte gave mayors the power to shut public squares from 9 p.m. to halt gatherings as he announced a further package of measures to try to halt a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases.
    (Reuters, 10/18/20)(Reuters, 10/19/20)

2020        Oct 23, Italy's Campania region, based on the southern city of Naples, said it would impose a lockdown to tame the coronavirus and urged the whole country to follow suit as new infections hit a record high.
    (Reuters, 10/23/20)

2020        Oct 25, Italy announced new restrictions to fight the spread of the coronavirus, becoming the latest European government to respond to surging new infections across the continent.
    (The Week, 10/26/20)

2020        Oct 27, Italy's main medicines regulator gave the go-ahead for human clinical trials on raloxifene, a generic osteoporosis drug that researchers hope may also help reduce COVID-19 symptoms and make patients less infectious.
    (Reuters, 10/27/20)
2020        Oct 27, Italy registered 21,994 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, the highest daily tally since the start of the country's outbreak. A total 37,700 people have now died in Italy because of coronavirus. 564,778 cases of the disease have been registered to date.
    (Reuters, 10/27/20)

2020        Oct 28, Italy registered a new record high of 24,991 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours. A total 37,905 people have now died in Italy because of coronavirus, while 589,766 cases of the disease have been registered to date.
    (Reuters, 10/28/20)

2020        Nov 3, Italy reported 353 COVID-related deaths, the highest daily figure since May 6. Some 28,244 new coronavirus infections were recorded over the past 24 hours. A total 39,412 people have now died in Italy because of coronavirus, while 759,829 cases of the disease have been registered to date.
    (AP, 11/3/20)

2020        Nov 4, Italy registered 30,550 new coronavirus infections and 352 COVID-related deaths over the past 24 hours. A total of 39,764 people have now died in Italy because of COVID-19, while 790,377 cases of the disease have been registered to date. Italy's government has approved new restrictions to tackle the second wave of the coronavirus epidemic and curb a steady rise in deaths and hospital admissions.
    (Reuters, 11/4/20)

2020        Nov 5, Italy registered 34,505 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, its highest ever daily tally.
    (Reuters, 11/5/20)

2020        Nov 6, Italy registered 37,809 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, the country's highest ever daily tally. A total of 40,638 people have now died because of COVID-19 in Italy, which has registered some 862,681 coronavirus infections since the start of its outbreak. New coronavirus restrictions came into force.
    (Reuters, 11/6/20)(NBC News, 11/7/20)
2020        Nov 6, Italian drinks group Campari said checks conducted after a hacking attack showed data on some of the company's servers had been encrypted and some information had been lost. Earlier this week the Milan-based group famous for its red aperitif said it had been targeted by hackers around Nov. 1.
    (Reuters, 11/6/20)

2020        Nov 9, Italy registered 25,271 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours. The health ministry also reported 356 COVID-related deaths, up from 331 the day before. A total of 41,750 people have now died because of COVID-19 in Italy, which has registered some 960,373 coronavirus infections since the start of its outbreak.
    (Reuters, 11/9/20)

2020        Nov 11, The nongovernmental organization Open Arms recovered the bodies of five people after a boat in distress fell apart, sending 116 people overboard including two infants. 263 migrants who had fled Libya hoping to reach Europe on unseaworthy boats were rescued by Open Arms over the last 24 hours from three different shipwrecks in the Mediterranean. The rescue ship headed towards Italian territorial waters.
    (AP, 11/12/20)

2020        Nov 12, Italy registered 37,978 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours. The health ministry also reported 636 COVID-related deaths, the highest figure since April 6.
    (Reuters, 11/12/20)

2020        Nov 13, Italy registered a record 40,902 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours. The health ministry also reported 550 COVID-related deaths. 44,139 people have now died in Italy because of the coronavirus.
    (Reuters, 11/13/20)

2020        Nov 16, Italy registered 27,354 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, down from 33,979 the day before, with the fall reflecting the usual drop in the number of swabs conducted on Sundays. The ministry also reported 504 COVID 19-related deaths, down from 546 the previous day.
    (AP, 11/16/20)

2020        Nov 17, Italy registered 32,191 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, up from 27,354 the day before. The health ministry also reported 731 COVID 19-related deaths, the highest daily toll since April 3.
    (Reuters, 11/17/20)

2020        Nov 18, Italy registered 34,283 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, up from 32,191 the day before. The health ministry also reported 753 COVID 19-related deaths, the highest daily tally since April 3.
    (Reuters, 11/18/20)

2020        Nov 19, Italy registered 36,176 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours. Italy has seen 47,870 COVID-19 fatalities since its outbreak emerged in February. It has also registered 1.309 million cases.
    (Reuters, 11/19/20)

2020        Nov 20, Italy registered 37,242 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours. The health ministry also reported 699 COVID 19-related deaths. Italy has seen 48,569 COVID-19 fatalities since its outbreak emerged in February.
    (Reuters, 11/20/20)

2020        Nov 21, Italy registered 34,767 new coronavirus infections in the space of 24 hours. The health ministry also reported 692 COVID-19-related deaths. Italy has suffered 49,261 deaths from COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February and has registered 1.38 million cases.
    (AP, 11/21/20)

2020        Nov 22, Italy registered 28,337 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, down from 34,767 the day before. The health ministry also reported 562 COVID 19-related deaths, down from 692.
    (Reuters, 11/22/20)

2020        Nov 23, Italy reported 630 COVID 19-related deaths, rising from 562 the day before and taking the official toll since its outbreak began in February to 50,453.
    (AP, 11/23/20)

2020        Nov 24, Italy reported 853 COVID 19-related deaths, soaring from 630 the day before and the highest daily toll since March 28.
    (AP, 11/24/20)

2020        Nov 25, Italy reported 722 COVID 19-related deaths, down from 853 the day before, and 25,853 new infections.
    (Reuters, 11/25/20)

2020        Nov 26, Italy reported 822 COVID 19-related deaths, up from 722 the day before, and 29,003 new infections, up from 25,853.
    (Reuters, 11/26/20)

2020        Nov 30, Italy reported 672 coronavirus-related deaths, against 541 a day earlier, and 16,377 new infections, down from 20,648.
    (Reuters, 11/30/20)

2020        Dec 2, Italy reported 684 coronavirus-related deaths, down from 785 a day earlier, and 20,709 new infections, compared with 19,350.
    (Reuters, 12/2/20)

2020        Dec 3, Italy reported a record 993 coronavirus-related deaths, against 684 a day earlier, and 23,225 new infections, compared with 20,709.
    (Reuters, 12/3/20)

2020        Dec 4, Italy reported 814 coronavirus-related deaths, against a record 993, and 24,099 new infections, up from 23,225 the day before.
    (Reuters, 12/4/20)

2020        Dec 5, Italian police arrest 19 suspects, dismantling what authoritie3s said was a criminal organization that moved migrants via Greece and Turkey to Italy and then into northern Europe.
    (SSFC, 12/6/20, p.A5)

2020        Dec 9, Italy reported 499 coronavirus-related deaths against 634 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 12,756 from 14,842.
    (Reuters, 12/9/20)
2020        Dec 9, Franco-Italian chipmaker STMicroelectronics said the US-China trade war and a near-embargo on Huawei, one of its biggest clients, would slow growth and affect profitability even if demand rebounds after a COVID-afflicted year.
    (Reuters, 12/9/20)

2020        Dec 10, Italian prosecutors formally put three high-ranking members of Egypt’s national security force and one police officer under investigation in the 2016 kidnapping, torture and killing of Giulio Regeni, an Italian youth doing doctoral research in Cairo.
    (AP, 12/10/20)

2020        Dec 12, Italy reported 649 new coronavirus-related deaths compared with 761 the day before. The daily tally of new infections was 19,903, up from 18,727.
    (Reuters, 12/12/20)

2020        Dec 13, Italy reported another 17,938 coronavirus infections to raise its official tally to 1.84 million. 484 deaths pushed Italy's official toll up to 64,520, making it the nation with the worst official coronavirus death toll in Europe.
    (AP, 12/13/20)

2020        Dec 14, Two prominent Italian intellectuals announced they were returning their Legion of Honor awards to France to protest that Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi was given the prize despite his government's human rights abuses.
    (AP, 12/14/20)
2020        Dec 14, Italian police officers hailed their Albanian counterparts for their fight against drug production and trafficking in the western Balkan country.
    (AP, 12/14/20)
2020        Dec 14, Italy reported 491 coronavirus-related deaths against 484 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections declined to 12,030 from 17,938.
    (Reuters, 12/14/20)

2020        Dec 15, Italy reported 846 coronavirus-related deaths against 491 the day before. The daily tally of new infections rose to 14,844 from 12,030. Italy has registered 1.871 million cases to date.
    (Reuters, 12/15/20)

2020        Dec 17, The Italian government announced that 18 Italian fisherman, who were seized in September by Libyan authorities in a fishing dispute, have been freed.
    (AP, 12/17/20)

2020        Dec 18, Italy reported 674 coronavirus-related deaths against 683 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections decreased to 17,992 from 18,236.
    (Reuters, 12/18/20)

2020        Dec 19, Italy announced sweeping travel restrictions and bans on large family gatherings, becoming the latest European nation to introduce some form of Christmas lockdown.
    (The Telegraph, 12/19/20)

2020        Dec 21, In south-central Italy an explosion in a gunpowder processing factory killed three people in Casalbordino, Chieti province.
    (AP, 12/21/20)
2020        Dec 21, Italy added 415 deaths to what is Europe’s highest national toll of pandemic dead, raising to 69,214 the known total to date of COVID-19 deaths. 10,872 confirmed COVID-19 cases were registered in the last 24-hour period.
    (AP, 12/21/20)

2020        Dec 22, Italy reported 628 coronavirus-related deaths against 415 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections increased to 13,318 from 10,872.
    (Reuters, 12/22/20)

2020        Dec 23, It was reported that Telecom Italia has decided to retain Nokia as a supplier and reduce Huawei's share of a planned purchase of equipment for building a 5G network, amid pressure to exclude the Chinese firm on security concerns.
    (Reuters, 12/23/20)
2020        Dec 23, Italy reported 553 coronavirus-related deaths against 628 the day before, taking its total toll past 70,000.
    (Reuters, 12/23/20)

2020        Dec 24, Italy reported 505 coronavirus-related deaths against 553 the day before. The daily tally of new infections increased to 18,040 from 14,522, taking the total number of cases since Italy's epidemic began past the 2 million mark to 2.009 million. Police in Italy enforced new COVID-19 travel restrictions aimed at limiting far-flung families from gathering over Christmas as public health officials appealed for people to use common sense to prevent new infections over the holidays.
    (Reuters, 12/24/20)(AP, 12/24/20)

2020        Dec 25, Italy reported 459 coronavirus-related deaths against 505 the day before. The daily tally of new infections increased by 19,037 from 18,040 the day before.
    (Reuters, 12/25/20)

2020        Dec 26, Archaeologists in Pompeii, the city buried in a volcanic eruption in 79 AD, unveiled a frescoed hot food and drinks shop that served up the ancient equivalent of street food to Roman passersby. Pompeii was home to about 13,000 people when it was buried under ash, pumice pebbles.
    (Reuters, 12/26/20)

2020        Dec 27, Italy vaccinated the first residents against COVID-19 as it reported 298 coronavirus-related deaths up from 261 the day before. The daily tally of new infections was 8,913 down from 10,407 the day before, taking the total number of cases since Italy's epidemic began to 2,047,696.
    (Reuters, 12/27/20)

2020        Dec 29, In northern Italy Agitu Ideo Gudeta (42), Ethiopian refugee, goat-herder and cheesemaker, was killed by Suleiman from Ghana following an argument over wages.
    (Econ., 1/9/21, p.78)

2021        Jan 2, Italy reported 364 coronavirus-related deaths against 462 the day before,, while the daily tally of new infections plunged to 11,831 from 22,211, with far less testing than normal carried out on New Year's day. Italy has registered 74,985 COVID-19 deaths since its outbreak came to light on Feb. 21.
    (Reuters, 1/2/21)

2021        Jan 3, Italy reported 347 coronavirus-related deaths against 364 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 14,245 from 11,831.
    (Reuters, 1/3/21)

2021        Jan 5, A senior official said Italy will invest in local biotech company ReiThera to support the development of its COVID-19 vaccine, after the government called results of a Phase 1 trial encouraging. ReiThera is developing the vaccine with Germany's Leukocare and Belgium's Univercells.
    (Reuters, 1/5/21)
2021        Jan 5, A Milan-based appeals court ordered Facebook to pay 3.83 million euros ($4.70 million) in damages to an Italian software development company for copying an app.
    (Reuters, 1/5/21)

2021        Jan 6, Italy reported 548 coronavirus-related deaths against 649 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 20,331 from 15,378.
    (Reuters, 1/6/21)

2021        Jan 8, Italy reported 620 coronavirus-related deaths up from 414 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 17,533 from 18,020.
    (Reuters, 1/8/21)

2021        Jan 9, Italy reported 483 coronavirus-related deaths, down from 620 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 19,978 from 17,533. Italy has registered 78,394 COVID-19 deaths since its outbreak came to light on Feb. 21.
    (Reuters, 1/9/21)

2021        Jan 10, Italy reported 361 coronavirus-related deaths, down from 483 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 18,627 from 19,978.
    (AP, 1/10/21)

2021        Jan 12, Italy reported 616 coronavirus-related deaths, up from 448 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 14,242 from 12,532.
    (Reuters, 1/12/20)

2021        Jan 13, One of Italy's biggest ever mafia trials in history kicked off in southern Italy. Hundreds of defendants were accused of working for a heinous criminal enterprise with tentacles reaching so far around the world, it reportedly makes more money selling drugs than McDonald's does selling burgers.
    (CBS News, 1/13/20)
2021        Jan 13, Italy reported 507 coronavirus-related deaths, against 616 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 15,774 from 14,242.
    (Reuters, 1/13/20)

2021        Jan 14, Italy reported 522 coronavirus-related deaths, against 507 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 17,246 from 15,774.
    (AP, 1/14/20)

2021        Jan 15, Italy reported 477 coronavirus-related deaths, against 522 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections declined to 16,146 from 17,246.
    (Reuters, 1/15/21)

2021        Jan 16, Italy reported 475 coronavirus-related deaths, against 477 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 16,310 from 16,146.
    (AP, 1/16/21)

2021        Jan 18, Stellantis, the carmaker created by combining Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot-owner PSA, enjoyed a positive start, its shares rising 8% on their market debut in Milan and Paris, valuing the business at around 42 billion euros ($51 billion). The merger created the world's fifth-largest carmaker by vehicles produced.
    (Reuters, 1/18/21)(Econ., 1/9/21, p.55)

2021        Jan 19, Italy's Premier Giuseppe Conte won a crucial confidence vote in the Senate (156-140), keeping his wobbly coalition afloat for now.
    (SFC, 1/20/21, p.A2)
2021        Jan 19, Italy reported 603 coronavirus-related deaths, against 377 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 10,497 from 8,824.
    (Reuters, 1/19/21)

2021        Jan 20, Italy reported 524 coronavirus-related deaths, against 603 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 13,571 from 10,497.
    (Reuters, 1/20/21)

2021        Jan 21, Italy reported 521 coronavirus-related deaths, against 524 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 14,078 from 13,571.
    (Reuters, 1/21/21)

2021        Jan 22, The Italian data privacy watchdog ordered video app TikTok to block the accounts of any users in Italy whose age it could not verify following the death of a 10-year-old girl who had been using the Chinese-owned app. The girl had reportedly been participating in a so-called blackout challenge on TikTok, putting a belt around her neck and holding her breath while recording herself on her phone.
    (Reuters, 1/22/21)

2021        Jan 24, Italy reported 299 coronavirus-related deaths, down from 488 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 11,629 from 13,331.
    (Reuters, 1/24/21)

2021        Jan 25, It was reported that Italy’s interior minister has intervened in a row in Naples over the painting of giant murals that pay tribute to the blighted lives and violent exploits of teenage criminals. Authorities in Naples want to scrub out or paint over two large murals that depict Ugo Russo and Luigi Caiafa, who were shot dead in separate incidents last year by police officers during robbery attempts.
    (The Telegraph, 1/25/21)

2021        Jan 26, PM Giuseppe Conte of Italy offered his resignation, plunging the country deeper into political chaos.
    (NY Times, 1/26/21)

2021        Jan 27, A UN Human Rights Committee said Italy failed to protect the “right to life” of over 200 migrants who died in October, 2013, when the boat they were on sank in the Mediterranean Sea. The committee called on Italian authorities to “proceed with an independent and timely investigation and to prosecute those responsible” for the deaths.
    (AP, 1/27/21)

2021        Jan 29, Italy said it has stopped the sale of missiles to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in an effort to impede their involvement in the war in Yemen, which has left 80 percent of its people in need of emergency aid.
    (The Telegraph, 1/29/21)

2021        Feb 3, Italy's President Sergio Mattarella tapped Mario Draghi, a former European Central Bank chief, to form a broad-based government after squabbling among coalitions parties over the virus response led Premier Giuseppe Conte to resign.
    (AP, 2/3/21)

2021        Feb 4, Italy reported 421 coronavirus-related deaths against 476 the day before, taking the official toll since the epidemic emerged a year ago to 90,241.
    (AP, 2/4/21)

2021        Feb 6, Italian Premier-designate Mario Draghi secured preliminary support from two key parties for forming a new government that will decide how to spend more than 200 billion euros ($240 billion) in EU funds to help relaunch Italy's pandemic-ravaged economy.
    (AP, 2/6/21)

2021        Feb 10, It was reported that Italian police have intercepted cocaine worth £228 million. The cocaine was hidden in containers full of exotic fruit from Ecuador and coffee and frozen meat from Brazil.
    (The Telegraph, 2/10/21)

2021        Feb 11, Amazon.com Inc and Italian fashion group Salvatore Ferragamo jointly sued several individuals and entities, mainly based in China, for allegedly selling counterfeit Ferragamo belts on its online retail store.
    (Reuters, 2/11/21)

2021        Feb 12, Mario Draghi accepted the Italian president's bid to form a new government, announcing a Cabinet of experts mixed with experienced political hands, at once seeking to reassure financial markets and tame a potentially unruly coalition of former rivals.
    (AP, 2/12/21)
2021        Feb 12, Italy's health ministry said the highly contagious variant of the COVID-19 virus first found in Britain accounts for some 17.8% of all new infections in Italy, with the infection rate ticking up in many parts of the country.
    (AP, 2/12/21)

2021        Feb 16, Italy reported 336 coronavirus-related deaths against 258 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 10,386 from 7,351 the day before.
    (Reuters, 2/16/21)

2021        Feb 18, Italy reported 347 coronavirus-related deaths against 369 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 13,762 from 12,074 the day before. Italy has registered 94,887 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year.
    (Reuters, 2/18/21)
2021        Feb 18, It was reported that Italian middlemen allegedly pocketed €70 million (£60 million) in illicit “commissions” from Chinese companies in return for helping to negotiate contracts for Italy to buy €1.25 billion worth of face masks.
    (The Telegraph, 2/18/21)

2021        Feb 22, Italy reported 274 coronavirus-related deaths against 232 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 9,630 from 13,452 the day before.
    (Reuters, 2/22/21)
2021        Feb 22, Luca Attanasio (43), Italy's ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, died following an attack near Goma, North Kivu province. An Italian military police officer travelling with the WFP envoy and a Congolese driver were also killed.
    (BBC, 2/22/21)

2021        Feb 23, Italy reported 356 coronavirus-related deaths against 274 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 13,314 from 9,630 the day before.
    (AP, 2/23/21)

2021        Feb 25, Italy’s northern Lombardy region, where Europe's coronavirus outbreak erupted last year, asked the national government for more vaccines to help stem a surge of new cases that are taxing the health system in the province of Brescia.
    (AP, 2/25/21)

2021        Feb 28, Italy reported 192 coronavirus-related deaths, while the daily tally of new infections declined to 17,455. Italy has registered 97,699 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year.
    (Reuters, 3/4/21)

2021        Mar 5, Italy reported 297 coronavirus-related deaths against 339 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 24,036 from 22,865 the day before.
    (Reuters, 3/5/21)

2021        Mar 7, Italy’s national geophysics and volcanology institute INGV said the powerful explosion of Mt. Etna at 2 a.m. was the 10th such big blast since Feb. 16, when Europe's most active volcano started giving off an impressive demonstration of nature's fire power.
    (AP, 3/7/21)

2021        Mar 8, In Italy a surge in the UK coronavirus variant has filled 90% of hospital beds in Brescia province, bordering both Veneto and Emilia-Romagna regions, as Italy crossed the grim threshold of 100,000 pandemic dead.
    (AP, 3/9/21)
2021        Mar 8, Italy recommended the use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines for those aged over 65, overcoming previous doubts that the drug might not be very effective on the elderly.
    (Reuters, 3/8/21)
2021        Mar 8, It was reported that Telecom Italia (TIM) plans to cut up to 1,300 jobs in Italy this year through a voluntary scheme, as the country's biggest phone group revamps its business amid the COVID-19 crisis.
    (Reuters, 3/8/21)

2021        Mar 9, Italy said it strongly disapproves of any deal to reunify ethnically divided Cyprus that doesn’t conform to an already agreed-upon federal framework that’s spelled out in United Nations resolutions.
    (AP, 3/9/21)
2021        Mar 9, The Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce announced that Russia has signed a deal to produce its Sputnik V vaccine in Italy.
    (SFC, 3/10/21, p.A5)

2021        Mar 10, Italy reported 332 coronavirus-related deaths against 376 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 22,409 from 19,749 the day before.
    (Reuters, 3/10/21)

2021        Mar 11, It was reported that Italian health authorities have ordered the withdrawal of a batch of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine following the deaths of two men in Sicily who had recently been inoculated.
    (Reuters, 3/11/21)
2021        Mar 11, Italy reported 373 coronavirus-related deaths against 332 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 25,673 from 22,409 the day before.
    (Reuters, 3/11/21)

2021        Mar 12, Italy reported 380 coronavirus-related deaths against 373 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 26,824 from 25,673 the day before.
    (Reuters, 3/12/21)

2021        Mar 14, Italy's northern region of Piedmont said it would temporarily suspend AstraZeneca coronavirus shots after a teacher from the town of Biella died following his vaccination a day earlier.
    (Reuters, 3/14/21)

2021        Mar 15, Italy’s top administrative court ruled against a conservative think tank affiliated with former White House adviser Steve Bannon over its use of a hilltop monastery to train future populist leaders.
    (AP, 3/16/21)
2021        Mar 15, Most of Italy entered a new lockdown today. Cases have risen over the past three weeks, driven by the spread of the variant first found in Britain and a slow vaccination campaign.
    (NY Times, 3/15/21)
2021        Mar 15, Germany, France, Italy and Spain said they would stop administering the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after several countries reported possible serious side-effects.
    (AP, 3/15/21)(SFC, 3/16/21, p.A4)

2021        Mar 17, In Italy Eni SpA, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and several of their current and former executives were acquitted of corruption charges related to a Nigerian oil deal by a court in Milan. Sentences in Italy aren’t definitive until appeals are exhausted. It could take years before a final decision.
    (Bloomberg, 3/17/21)

2021        Mar 19, Premier Mario Draghi said Italy aimed to administer 500,000 shots a day by next month, from a current daily level of about 165,000. Italy has recorded more than 104,000 confirmed deaths, the sixth-highest tally in the world.
    (AP, 3/20/21)

2021        Mar 22, In Italy Amazon workers took strike action in the first protest involving the US group's entire logistics operations, including third-party delivery service providers. Unions sought tighter rules on workloads and shifts for drivers who they say deliver as many as 180-200 parcels a day.
    (Reuters, 3/22/21)

2021        Mar 24, Italy reported 460 coronavirus-related deaths against 551 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 21,267 from 18,765 the day before.
    (AP, 3/24/21)

2021        Mar 31, Italian secret service agents backed by Carabinieri military police swooped in on a clandestine meeting in a Roman parking garage early today just as an Italian navy officer named as Walter Biot was handing a secret dossier of Italian state secrets and classified NATO documents to a Russian spy who had a reportedly paltry sum of €5,000 ($5,863) in cash ready to swap for the documents.
    (The Daily Beast, 3/31/21)

2021        Apr 1, Italy reported 501 coronavirus-related deaths against 467 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections decreased to 23,649 from 23,904.
    (Reuters, 4/1/21)

2021        Apr 2, Italy reported 481 coronavirus-related deaths against 501 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections decreased to 21,932 from 23,649. Italy has registered 110,328 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year.
    (Reuters, 4/2/21)

2021        Apr 4, Robert A. Mundell (88), a Nobel Prize-winning economist, died at his home near Siena, Italy. He was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1999 “for his analysis of monetary and fiscal policy under different exchange rate regimes and his analysis of optimum currency areas”.
    (NY Times, 4/5/21)

2021        Apr 6, Italy's Premier Mario Draghi visited Libya and held talks with PM Abdul Hamid Dbeibah. This was Draghi's first trip abroad since taking office.
    (AP, 4/6/21)
2021        Apr 6, In Italy restaurant owners and others angry at having their businesses shut for weeks due to pandemic lockdown measures clashed with police during a protest outside Parliament in Rome.
    (AP, 4/6/21)

2021        Apr 7, Italy reported 627 coronavirus-related deaths against 421 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 13,708 from 7,767 the day before.
    (Reuters, 4/7/21)

2021        Apr 10, Italy reported 344 coronavirus-related deaths against 718 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 17,567 from 18,938 the day before. Italy has registered 113,923 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year.
    (Reuters, 4/10/21)

2021        Apr 11, Italy reported 331 coronavirus-related deaths against 344 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 15,746 from 17,567 the day before.
    (Reuters, 4/11/21)

2021        Apr 13, Italy reported 476 coronavirus-related deaths against 358 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 13,447 from 9,789.
    (Reuters, 4/13/21)

2021        Apr 14, Italy reported 469 coronavirus-related deaths against 476 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 16,168 from 13,447. Healthcare management in the Lombardy region said there was a growing reluctance amongst residents to accept AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine because of safety fears.
    (Reuters, 4/14/21)

2021        Apr 17, Italy reported 310 coronavirus-related deaths against 429 the day before. The daily tally of new infections edged down to 15,370 from 15,943.
    (Reuters, 4/17/21)

2021        Apr 22, Italy reported 360 coronavirus-related deaths against 364 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 16,232 from 13,844.
    (Reuters, 4/22/21)

2021        Apr 23, Italy reported 342 coronavirus-related deaths against 360 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 14,761 from 16,232.
    (Reuters, 4/23/21)
2021        Apr 23, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault and Tod’s founder Diego Dalle Valle further cemented their 20-year friendship with a deal for the French group to increase its stake in the Italian luxury goods maker.
    (AP, 4/23/21)

2021        Apr 25, Italy joined other countries by imposing restrictions on travel from India to avert the spread of the B.1.617 coronavirus variant.
    (AP, 4/25/21)

2021        Apr 27, Italy reported 373 coronavirus-related deaths against 301 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 10,404 from 8,444.
    (Reuters, 4/27/21)

2021        Apr 28, In France 7 Italians convicted of left-wing domestic terrorist crimes in the 1970s and 1980s, were arrested at their homes. They including five former members of Italy's Red Brigades. All 7 men had fled before they could be imprisoned.
    (SFC, 4/29/21, p.A5)

2021        Apr 29, Italy hit its target of administering 500,000 COVID-19 vaccinations in a single day.
    (Reuters, 4/30/21)

2021        Apr 30, Italy reported 263 coronavirus-related deaths against 288 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 13,446 from 14,320.
    (Reuters, 4/30/21)

2021        May 4, Italy reported 305 coronavirus-related deaths against 256 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 9,116 from 5,948.
    (AP, 5/4/21)

2021        May 5, In Italy two American men were found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison for the street-corner killing of an Italian military police officer on an early summer morning, when the two young San Francisco natives were vacationing in Rome. A jury found Finnegan Elder (21) and Gabriel Natale Hjorth (20) guilty of the 2019 murder of Deputy Brig. Mario Cerciello Rega.
    (NY Times, 5/5/21)

2021        May 6, Italy reported 258 coronavirus-related deaths against 267 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 11,807 from 10,585.
    (Reuters, 5/6/21)

2021        May 7, Italy reported 207 coronavirus-related deaths against 258 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 10,554 from 11,807.
    (Reuters, 5/7/21)

2021        May 8, Italy reported 224 coronavirus-related deaths against 207 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 10,176 from 10,554.
    (Reuters, 5/8/21)

2021        May 9, More than 1,200 migrants in several decrepit, overcrowded fishing boats reached the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa in a span of 12 hours, as human traffickers exploited calm seas and warm weather to launch multiple vessels.
    (AP, 5/9/21)

2021        May 10, Several hundred more migrants reached the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa before dawn, swelling to past 2,100 the number of arrivals in around 24 hours.
    (AP, 5/10/21)
2021        May 10, Italy reported 198 coronavirus-related deaths against 139 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 5,080 from 8,292.
    (Reuters, 5/10/21)

2021        May 14, A judge in Sicily dismissed a case against right-wing leader Matteo Salvini for keeping rescued migrants on board a coast guard ship in 2019, saying no crime had been committed.
    (AP, 5/14/21)
2021        May 14, It was reported that Italy's hopes of producing its own COVID-19 vaccine have been thrown into doubt after the state audit court rejected a plan to pump public funds into local biotech company ReiThera.
    (Reuters, 5/14/21)
2021        May 14, Italy's Health Minister signed an ordnance allowing quarantine-free visits with proof of a negative virus test starting on May 16.
    (SFC, 5/15/21, p.A5)

2021        May 15, New Italian research said COVID-19 infections in adults of all ages fell by 80% five weeks after a first dose of Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccine.
    (Reuters, 5/15/21)

2021        May 21, Italy's government revived hopes of producing the country's own COVID-19 vaccine when it said it was ready to finance the ReiThera project despite a court ruling rejecting a plan to pump public funds into the local biotech company.
    (Reuters, 5/21/21)

2021        May 22, Twenty six nations competed in the final of the Eurovision song contest in the Netherlands, vying for votes in the world's most popular live music event, which returns after being cancelled last year due to the pandemic. Maneskin won the Eurovision Song Contest. Their song “Zitti E Buoni” beat 25 other acts from across Europe to bring the title home for Italy. France came in second, and Switzerland came in third.
    (NY Times, 5/22/21)(Reuters, 5/22/21)

2021        May 23, In northern Italy at least nine people were killed after a cable car fell to the ground near the summit of a mountain overlooking the Piedmont region's Lake Maggiore.
    (AP, 5/23/21)

2021        May 25, It was reported that mafia drug baron Rocco Morabito, nicknamed the King of Cocaine, has been arrested in Brazil after more than two decades on the run. Italy’s second most wanted fugitive is now expected to be extradited to Italy, where he was convicted in absentia of drug trafficking and mafia association and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
    (The Telegraph, 5/25/21)

2021        May 27, Carla Fracci (84), former prima ballerina at La Scalla, died at her home in Milan.
    (SFC, 5/29/21, p.F1)

2021        Jun 4, Italy reported 73 coronavirus-related deaths against 59 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 2,557 from 1,968. Italy has registered 126,415 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year.
    (Reuters, 6/4/21)

2021        Jun 5, Italian media said customs police on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia issued fines of up to 3,000 euros ($3,600) to 41 people who in recent days tried to leave the island with a total of 100 kg (220 pounds) of sand, seashells and beach rocks.
    (AP, 6/5/21)
2021        Jun 5, Italy reported 57 coronavirus-related deaths against 73 the day before. The daily tally of new infections decreased to 2,436 from 2,557.
    (Reuters, 6/5/21)

2021        Jun 7, Italy reported 65 coronavirus-related deaths against 51 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 1,273 from 2,275.
    (Reuters, 6/7/21)
2021        Jun 7, Venetians breathed a sigh of relief as the lagoon city finally moved into a low-risk COVID-19 "white zone", meaning most pandemic restrictions were lifted and a nightly curfew scrapped.
    (Reuters, 6/7/21)

2021        Jun 15, Italy reported 63 coronavirus-related deaths against 36 the day before. The daily tally of new infections rose to 1,255 from 907.
    (Reuters, 6/15/21)

2021        Jun 19, A boat collision killed an Italian couple who were also out on Lake Garda for an evening of relaxation. On March 21, 2022, a court in northern Italy convicted two German men of manslaughter for a boat collision. Prosecutors alleged that the tourists from Munich were drunk and speeding in the boat.
    (AP, 3/21/22)

2021        Jun 21, Italy reported 21 coronavirus-related deaths against 17 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 495 from 881. Italy has registered 127,291 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eight-highest in the world. The country has reported 4.25 million cases to date.
    (Reuters, 6/21/21)

2021        Jun 22, A leading Italian newspaper reported that the Vatican has formally opposed a proposed Italian law expanding anti-discrimination protections to the LGBT community.
    (AP, 6/22/21)
2021        Jun 22, Italy reported 31 coronavirus-related deaths against 21 the day before. The daily tally of new infections rose to 835 from 495.
    (Reuters, 6/22/21)

2021        Jun 24, Clare Peploe (79), film director and screenwriter, died in Rome. Her films included "High Season " (1987), "Rough Magic" (1995" and "Triumph of Love" (2001). Her husband, Bernardo Bertolucci, had died in 2018.
    (SFC, 7/12/21, p.B5)

2021        Jun 25, Italian PM Mario Draghi, speaking at the end of an EU summit, said China's anti-COVID vaccine did not fully work and questioned whether Russia's Sputnik jab would ever get approval from European regulators.
    (Reuters, 6/25/21)
2021        Jun 25, Italy’s culture minister formally announced the completion of work to shore-up and restore the underground section of the Colosseum. The bill was footed by Tod’s, the shoe and luxury goods maker headed by Diego Della Valle.
    (AP, 6/25/21)
2021        Jun 25, Italy's national health institute ISS said the Delta coronavirus variant and its sibling Kappa have surged in Italy in the past month, accounting for nearly 17% of total COVID-19 cases.
    (Reuters, 6/25/21)

2021        Jun 26, In Italy outdoor farm work under the afternoon sun on particularly hot days was banned in a southern Italian region following the recent death of a migrant who felt ill while toiling in a field and collapsed.
    (AP, 6/27/21)

2021        Jun 29, Italy reported 42 coronavirus-related deaths against 28 the day before. The daily tally of new infections rose to 679 from 389.
    (Reuters, 6/29/21)

2021        Jul 2, Italy's National Health Institute (ISS) said the Delta variant accounted for some 22.7% of cases as of June 22.
    (Reuters, 7/2/21)

2021        Jul 3, Italian police said they had broken up a number of online schemes offering to sell fake EU digital COVID-19 status certificates or purported coronavirus vaccines.
    (Reuters, 7/3/21)

2021        Jul 5, Italy's data protection authority ordered the delivery firm Foodinho, owned by the Spanish start-up Glovo, to change the computer algorithms used to manage staff to avoid any discrimination, after finding breaches of privacy and labor laws.
    (Reuters, 7/5/21)

2021        Jul 8, In Italy coronavirus cases topped 1,000 for a 2nd straight day.
    (SFC, 7/9/21, p.A6)

2021        Jul 11, Italy won the Euro 2020 soccer tournament, beating England in a penalty shootout.
    (NY Times, 7/12/21)

2021        Jul 12, Italy's hopes of producing its own COVID-19 vaccine were given a boost when local biotech firm ReiThera said its vaccine candidate showed a strong immune response and no major side effects in intermediate Phase II clinical trials.
    (Reuters, 7/12/21)

2021        Jul 13, Italy banned mammoth cruise liners from sailing into the lagoon city as of August 1, declaring Venice's waterways a “national monument.” UNESCO recommended last month placing Venice on the agency's list of World Heritage in Danger sites.
    (AP, 7/13/21)

2021        Jul 14, Italy reported 23 coronavirus-related deaths against 20 the day before. The daily tally of new infections rose to 2,153 from 1,534.
    (Reuters, 7/14/21)

2021        Jul 16, In Italy the median age of people infected with COVID-19 fell last week to 28, a record low, according to data released by national health authorities.
    (Reuters, 7/16/21)

2021        Jul 17, Italy reported 13 coronavirus-related deaths against 11 the day before. The daily tally of new infections rose to 3,121 from 2,898.
    (Reuters, 7/17/21)

2021        Jul 19, Italy reported seven coronavirus-related deaths against three the day before. The daily tally of new infections decreased to 2,072 from 3,127.
    (Reuters, 7/19/21)

2021        Jul 22, Italy's government announced that a new COVID-19 certification would take effect on August 6 as part of the government's plan to rein in a summer surge in infections.
    (AP, 8/6/21)
2021        Jul 22, Environment and energy ministers G20 industrialized countries gathered in Italy for two days of talks ahead of November’s crucial climate change conference.
    (AP, 7/22/21)

2021        Jul 26, Hailstones the size of tennis balls temporarily closed a highway in northern Italy and damaged dozens of cars. Hailstorms were occurring at the rate of 11 a day this summer, with 386 recorded so far this year.
    (AP, 7/27/21)

2021        Jul 27, Italy's National Health Institute (ISS) said almost 99% people who have died of COVID-19 in Italy since February this year were not fully vaccinated.
    (Reuters, 7/27/21)

2021        Jul 28, Bologna’s extensive porticoes, dating back to the 13th century and still very much part of the city’s everyday life, were added to the World Heritage List. The addition raised to 58 the number of Italian sites on the list.
    (AP, 7/28/21)

2021        Jul 30, Italy's National Health Institute (ISS) said the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus has gained dominance in the country, releasing data showing it accounted for 94.8% of cases as of July 20. Almost 59% of Italians over 12 years were fully vaccinated.
    (Reuters, 7/30/21)

2021        Aug 1, In Italy the Lazio regional government said hackers have attacked and shut down the IT systems of the company that manages COVID-19 vaccination appointments for the region surrounding Rome. Italy recently followed France in announcing that proof of vaccination or immunity from COVID-19 would become mandatory for an array of activities.
    (Reuters, 8/1/21)

2021        Aug 2, In Italy the governor of the area including Italy’s capital, Rome, sought to assure residents that a powerful hacking intrusion into the region's website, into its second day, won’t interrupt COVID-19 vaccinations.
    (AP, 8/2/21)

2021        Aug 4, Raffaele Imperiale (46), an alleged kingpin in the Naples-based Camorra organized crime syndicate, was arrested in Dubai. Investigators later said the alleged major cocaine trafficker had bought two stolen Van Gogh paintings on the black market with drug money.
    (AP, 8/19/21)

2021        Aug 5, Italian and Spanish police said Domenico Paviglianiti (60), the leader of the Calabria-based 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate, has been arrested in Madrid.
    (SFC, 8/6/21, p.A4)

2021        Aug 6, In Italy a so-called “Green Pass” was now required to enter archaeological sites, gyms, theaters, indoor pools and the indoor sections of restaurants, bars and cafes. To obtain a certificate, individuals must show they have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine approved for use in the EU, recovered from COVID-19 in the past six months or have negative lab results from a test done within the previous 48 hours.
    (AP, 8/6/21)

2021        Aug 7, In Italy Maria Licciardi (70), reputed top Naples crime syndicate boss, was arrested as she was about to board a flight to Spain. Investigators have alleged that Licciardi ran extortion rackets as head of the Licciardi Camorra crime syndicate clan.
    (AP, 8/7/21)

2021        Aug 8, Italy reported 11 coronavirus-related deaths compared with 22 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 5,735 from 6,902. Italy has registered 128,220 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its first outbreak emerged in February last year.
    (AP, 8/8/21)

2021        Aug 9, Italy reported 22 coronavirus-related deaths, double the day's before figure. The daily tally of new infections fell to 4,200 from 5,735.
    (Reuters, 8/9/21)

2021        Aug 11, Italy recorded a temperature of 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.8 Fahrenheit) on Sicily. If verified by the UN, it will be Europe's highest-ever temperature.
    (Business Insider, 8/12/21)

2021        Aug 13, Intense heat baking Italy pushed northward towards the popular tourist destination of Florence while wildfires charred the country's south.
    (AP, 8/13/21)

2021        Aug 14, Italy expanded the number of cities on red alert for health risks to 16 as a heat wave engulfed Southern Europe.
    (AP, 8/14/21)

2021        Aug 18, Italy reported 69 coronavirus-related deaths against 54 the day before. The daily tally of new infections increased to 7,162 from 5,273.
    (AP, 8/18/21)

2021        Aug 19, Italy reported 55 coronavirus-related deaths against 69 the day before. The daily tally of new infections increased to 7,260 from 7,162.
    (Reuters, 8/19/21)

2021        Aug 20, Italy reported 49 coronavirus-related deaths against 55 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 7,224 from 7,260.
    (Reuters, 8/20/21)

2021        Aug 23, Italy reported 44 coronavirus-related deaths, compared with 23 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 4,168 from 5,923.
    (Reuters, 8/23/21)

2021        Aug 24, Italy reported 60 coronavirus-related deaths compared with 44 the day before. The daily tally of new infections rose to 6,076 from 4,168.
    (Reuters, 8/24/21)

2021        Aug 25, Italy reported 59 coronavirus-related deaths, compared with 60 the day before. The daily tally of new infections rose to 7,548 from 6,076.
    (Reuters, 8/25/21)

2021        Aug 26, Italy reported 43 coronavirus-related deaths, compared with 59 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 7.221 from 7,548.
    (Reuters, 8/26/21)

2021        Aug 28, Italy reported 54 coronavirus-related deaths, compared with 45 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 6,860 from 7,826.
    (Reuters, 8/28/21)

2021        Aug 29, Italy reported 37 coronavirus-related deaths, down from 54 the previous day. The daily tally of new infections fell to 5,959 from 6,860.
    (AP, 8/29/21)

2021        Aug 31, Italy reported 75 coronavirus-related deaths, up from 53 the previous day. The daily tally of new infections rose to 5,498 from 4,257.
    (Reuters, 8/31/21)

2021        Sep 1, Italy reported 69 coronavirus-related deaths, down from 75 the previous day. The daily tally of new infections rose to 6,503 from 5,498.
    (Reuters, 9/1/21)

2021        Sep 2, Italy reported 62 coronavirus-related deaths, down from 69 the previous day The daily tally of new infections rose to 6,761 from 6,503.
    (Reuters, 9/2/21)

2021        Sep 6, It was reported that Venice authorities are preparing to demand that tourists pre-book their visit on an app and charge day-trippers between 3 and 10 euros to enter, depending on the time of the year.
    (Reuters, 9/6/21)

2021        Sep 8, Italy reported 69 coronavirus-related deaths against 71 the day before. The daily tally of new infections rose to 5,923 from 4,720.
    (Reuters, 9/8/21)

2021        Sep 9, Italy's medicines agency AIFA approved the use of a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines for vulnerable groups of the population.
    (Reuters, 9/9/21)

2021        Sep 10, In Italy a tornado killed an off-duty firefighter and an 86-year-old man who were travelling by car in Pantelleria, popular tourist spot south of Sicily.
    (Reuters, 9/11/21)

2021        Sep 11, Italy reported 57 coronavirus-related deaths with 5,193 new infections, compared with 62 fatalities and 5,621 daily cases a day earlier.
    (Reuters, 9/11/21)

2021        Sep 14, The family of the only survivor of an Italian cable car disaster, a six-year old boy, petitioned a Tel Aviv court for his return after his grandfather took him to Israel in a suspected kidnapping.
    (Reuters, 9/14/21)

2021        Sep 15, A minister said Italy is to make a COVID-19 "Green Pass" mandatory for public and private sector workers, becoming the first European country to do so as it tries to accelerate vaccination rates and stamp out infections.
    (Reuters, 9/15/21)

2021        Sep 16, Italy announced that it will require its residents to show a health pass to go to work. It is the first country in Europe to require coronavirus vaccination certificates so widely.
    (NY Times, 9/17/21)

2021        Sep 19, Italy reported 26 coronavirus-related deaths against 51 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 3,838 from 4,578.
    (Reuters, 9/19/21)

2021        Sep 20, Italian and Spanish police said they had arrested 106 people for belonging to a gang that allegedly laundered money for mafia groups and made millions of euros through online scams. The majority of the arrests took place on the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife.
    (Reuters, 9/20/21)

2021        Sep 21, Italy reported 67 coronavirus-related deaths against 44 the day before. The daily tally of new infections rose to 3,377 from 2,407.
    (Reuters, 9/21/21)

2021        Sep 26, Italy reported 44 coronavirus-related deaths, compared with 50 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 3,099 from 3,525.
    (Reuters, 9/26/21)

2021        Sep 28, In Italy youth climate activists Vanessa Nakate and Greta Thunberg chastised global leaders for failing to meet funding pledges to help poor nations adapt to a warming Earth and for delivering too much “blah blah blah’’ as climate change wreaks havoc around the world.
    (Reuters, 9/28/21)
2021        Sep 28, A rusty, overloaded fishing boat carrying 686 people docked on the island of Lampedusa, Sicily, in the single biggest arrival of migrants in Italy in years.
    (AP, 9/28/21)

2021        Oct 2, Italy reported 25 coronavirus-related deaths against 52 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 3,312 from 3,405.
    (Reuters, 10/2/21)

2021        Oct 3, Millions of people in Italy started voting for new mayors, including in Rome and Milan, in an election widely seen as a test of political alliances before nationwide balloting just over a year away.
    (AP, 10/3/21)
2021        Oct 3, Italy reported 33 coronavirus-related deaths against 25 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 2,968 from 3,312.
    (Reuters, 10/3/21)
2021        Oct 3, In northern Italy a small private plane crashed into an empty building on the outskirts of Milan, killing all eight people onboard.
    (Reuters, 10/3/21)

2021        Oct 4, An Italian court suspended a case regarding Spain's request to extradite self-exiled Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, pending a decision by the EU Court of Justice.
    (Reuters, 10/4/21)
2021        Oct 4, Three small Italian studies showed that COVID-19 vaccines are less effective on people with weakened immune systems, which the studies' researchers say highlight the need to deploy booster shots for this group of vulnerable people.
    (AP, 10/4/21)

2021        Oct 9, Italy's health ministry reported 46 coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, up from 30 during the prior period, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 2,748 from 3,023.
    (Reuters, 10/9/21)
2021        Oct 9, In Italy some 10,000 people took to the streets of Rome against a government drive to make the COVID-19 "Green Pass" mandatory for all workers. 12 people, including the leaders of the extreme right-wing party Forza Nuova, were arrested.
    (Reuters, 10/10/21)

2021        Oct 10, Italy reported 27 coronavirus-related deaths, down from 46 the previous day, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 2,278 from 2,748. Italy reached the target of fully vaccinating 80% of the population over the age of 12 against COVID-19.
    (Reuters, 10/10/21)

2021        Oct 12, Italian PM Mario Draghi hosted a special summit of the Group of 20 major economies to discuss Afghanistan, as worries grow about a looming humanitarian disaster following the Taliban's return to power.
    (Reuters, 10/12/21)

2021        Oct 13, A court in Naples convicted the captain of an Italian commercial ship of abandonment-related charges for returning 101 migrants rescued at sea to Libya in 2018. He was sentenced to a year in prison.
    (AP, 10/14/21)
2021        Oct 13, The British trade department said Britain and Italy have agreed to pursue a new trade partnership, following talks on the sidelines of a G20 ministerial meeting in Italy.
    (Reuters, 10/13/21)

2021        Oct 14, Italy's bankrupt Alitalia national airline made its final flights after 74 years of operations.
    (SFC, 10/15/21, p.A5)

2021        Oct 15, Protests erupted in Italy as one of the most stringent anti-coronavirus measures in Europe went into effect, requiring all workers, from magistrates to maids, to show a health pass to get into their place of employment.
    (AP, 10/15/21)

2021        Oct 16, In Italy tens of thousands of union members and others gathered in Rome to stand up against rising fascism, a week after right-wing extremists forced their way into the headquarters of Italy's most powerful labor confederation while protesting a COVID-19 certification requirement for workplaces.
    (AP, 10/16/21)

2021        Oct 17, Italians began voting in a two-day run-off for the local governments of 65 large cities and smaller towns, including the capital Rome.
    (Reuters, 10/17/21)
2021        Oct 17, Milan and Costa Rica were among the winners of the Earthshot Prize, an environmental award created by Britain's Prince William, who has criticized world leaders for an uninspiring response to the climate change crisis.
    (Reuters, 10/18/21)

2021        Oct 18, Italy’s Pres. Sergio Mattarella strongly criticized the violence that has erupted amid protests over the country's new coronavirus workplace health pass requirement, saying it appeared aimed at jeopardizing Italy’s economic recovery.
    (AP, 10/18/21)

2021        Oct 21, Austria, Britain, France, Italy, Spain and the United States said they have reached an agreement on the transition from national digital services taxes contested by Washington to a new global tax deal.
    (Reuters, 10/21/21)

2021        Oct 30, In Rome the heads of the world's 20 biggest economies kicked off two days of talks where they acknowledged the existential threat of climate change, but stopped short of radical new commitments to tame global warming. Thousands of people marched during the summit, calling on G20 leaders to act against climate change and ensure fair access to COVID-19 vaccines.
    (Reuters, 10/30/21)

2021        Nov 3, Italy's medicines agency AIFA recommended a booster of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine to those inoculated with the Johnson & Johnson shot.
    (AP, 11/3/21)

2021        Nov 5, It was reported that Trieste, Italy, has emerged as the center of a COVID-19 outbreak two weeks after protesters marched along dockside workers saying an expansive health pass infringed on their right to work.
    (SFC, 11/5/21, p.A7)

2021        Nov 8, An Italian judge found 70 defendants guilty in the first sentencing at one of the country's largest-ever mafia trials. The fast-track trial, held over the weekend, involved 91 defendants and allowed those convicted to have their sentences reduced by a third.
    (Reuters, 11/8/21)

2021        Nov 13, A provocative exhibit by dissident Chinese artist Badiucao opened in the industrial northern Italian city of Brescia despite pressure from the Chinese embassy in Rome to cancel it.
    (AP, 11/13/21)

2021        Nov 22, Italian customs police dismantled a Nigerian organized crime syndicate that forced dozens of young women into prostitution and begging on the streets of Italy and then smuggled out millions of euros in ill-gained revenues to Nigeria, with cash hidden in suitcase handles or pasta packages.
    (AP, 11/22/21)

2021        Nov 23, In Italy Rudy Guede, the only person convicted in the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher, was freed after serving most of his 16-year prison sentence. He has denied killing Kercher.
    (AP, 11/23/21)

2021        Nov 24, Italy tightened the screws on people still unwilling to take an anti-COVID jab, sharply restricting access to an array of services and making vaccines mandatory for a wider group of public sector workers.
    (Reuters, 11/24/21)

2021        Nov 26, Italy reported 51 coronavirus-related deaths against 71 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections fell slightly to 13,686 from 13,764.
    (Reuters, 11/26/21)

2021        Nov 28, Italy reported 47 coronavirus-related deaths, against 90 the day before. The daily tally of new infections rose slightly to 12,932 from 12,877.
    (Reuters, 11/28/21)

2021        Dec 6, Italy tightened curbs on people still not vaccinated against COVID-19, limiting their access to an array of places and services.
    (Reuters, 12/6/21)

2021        Dec 9, Italy's antitrust authority fined Amazon $1.3 billion, accusing the company of exploiting its dominant position against independent sellers on its website in violation of EU competition rules.
    (SFC, 12/10/21, p.C2)
2021        Dec 9, In Italy film director Lina Wertmüller (93) died overnight at her home in Rome. She combined sexual warfare and leftist politics in the provocative, genre-defying films “The Seduction of Mimi,” “Swept Away” and “Seven Beauties,” which established her as one of the most original directors of the 1970s.
    (NY Times, 12/9/21)

2021        Dec 11, Italy reported 96 coronavirus-related deaths, down from 118 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 21,042.
    (Reuters, 12/11/21)

2021        Dec 13, Italy reported 98 coronavirus-related deaths against 66 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 12,712 from 19,215. Italy has registered 134,929 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year.
    (Reuters, 12/13/21)

2021        Dec 18, Italy's national health institute (ISS) said the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading quickly, with new cases identified in the country's north and south.
    (Reuters, 12/18/21)

2021        Dec 25, Italy reported a third successive record tally of COVID-19 cases, with new infections hitting 54,762 against 50,599 a day earlier.
    (Reuters, 12/25/21)

2021        Dec 27, Health experts urged the Italian government to relax COVID-19 quarantine rules, saying that the country otherwise risked paralysis as the highly infectious Omicron variant spreads. Italy reported 142 coronavirus-related deaths against 81 the day before.
    (Reuters, 12/27/21)

2021        Dec 28, Italy allowed a charity boat carrying 558 migrants rescued at sea over the last 11 days to dock in the Sicilian port of Augusta, with another vessel waiting offshore for permission to bring 440 more to land.
    (Reuters, 12/28/21)
2021        Dec 28, Italy reported 202 coronavirus-related deaths against 142 the day before. The daily tally of new infections rose to 78,313 from 30,810, hitting a fresh record in terms of new cases since the start of the pandemic.
    (Reuters, 12/28/21)

2021        Dec 29, Italy reported 98,030 against 78,313 a day earlier. Restaurant and club owners sought urgent government support due to increased cancellations prompted by a surge in coronavirus infections.
    (Reuters, 12/29/21)

2021        Dec 30, Italy reported 126,888 COVID-19 related cases, against 98,030 the day before, while the number of deaths rose to 156 from 148.
    (Reuters, 12/30/21)

2022        Jan 2, Italy reported 61,046 new COVID-19 cases following 141,262 the day before, the health ministry said, reflecting a steep drop in the number of tests, while the daily tally of COVID-related deaths rose to 133 from 111.
    (Reuters, 1/2/22)

2022        Jan 3, Italy reported 68,052 new COVID-19 cases, against 61,046 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of coronavirus-related deaths rose to 140 from 133.
    (Reuters, 1/3/22)

2022        Jan 4, Italy reported a record 170,844 new COVID-19 cases, against 68,052 the day before. The daily tally of coronavirus-related deaths rose to 259 from 140.
    (Reuters, 1/4/22)

2022        Jan 5, Italy reported a record daily number of new COVID-19 cases at 189,109 against 170,844 the day before, while the daily tally of coronavirus-related deaths fell to 231 from 259.
    (Reuters, 1/5/22)
2022        Jan 5, Italy made COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for people from the age of 50, one of very few European countries to take a similar steps, in an attempt to ease pressure on its health service and reduce fatalities.
    (Reuters, 1/5/22)

2022        Jan 6, Italy reported a record daily number of new COVID-19 cases at 219,441 against 189,109 the day before. The daily tally of coronavirus-related deaths fell to 198 from 231.
    (Reuters, 1/6/22)

2022        Jan 7, Italy reported 108,304 COVID-19 related cases, less than half from a day earlier, reflecting fewer tests being carried out on a national holiday. The number of deaths rose to 223 from 198.
    (AP, 1/7/22)(Reuters, 1/8/22)

2022        Jan 8, Italy reported 197,552 COVID-19 cases, up from 108,304 the day before, while the number of deaths fell to 184 from 223.
    (Reuters, 1/8/22)

2022        Jan 9, Italy reported 157 coronavirus-related deaths down from 184 the day before. The daily tally of new infections fell to 155,659 from 197,552. Italy will receive around 40,000 doses of Merck & Co's COVID-19 antiviral drug next week, which will add to nearly 12,000 already distributed to hospitals.
    (Reuters, 1/9/22)

2022        Jan 10, Italy reported 101,762 new COVID-19 cases, against 155,659 the day before. The daily tally of coronavirus-related deaths rose to 227 from 157. Italy targeted the unvaccinated with a host of new coronavirus restrictions.
    (Reuters, 1/10/22)(AP, 1/10/22)

2022        Jan 11, It was reported that police in Italy have arrested a nurse on charges that he faked giving coronavirus vaccinations to at least 45 people so they could get a health pass fraudulently, ditching vaccines in a bin and even putting bandages on his “patients" so no one would suspect the scam.
    (AP, 1/11/22)
2022        Jan 11, European Parliament President David Sassoli (65), an Italian socialist and former journalist, died early today in hospital in Italy.
    (Reuters, 1/11/22)

2022        Jan 12, Italy reported 196,224 COVID-19 related cases, against 220,532 the day before. The number of deaths rose to 313 from 294.
    (Reuters, 1/12/22)

2022        Jan 13, Italy reported 184,615 COVID-19 related cases, against 196,224 the day before. The number of deaths rose to 316 from 313.
    (Reuters, 1/13/22)

2022        Jan 14, Italy reported 186,253 COVID-19 related cases, against 184,615 the day before. The number of deaths rose to 360 from 316.
    (Reuters, 1/14/22)

2022        Jan 15, Italy reported 180,426 COVID-19 related cases, after 186,253 the day before. The number of deaths fell to 308 from 360.
    (Reuters, 1/15/22)

2022        Jan 16, Italy reported 149,512 COVID-19 related cases, after 180,426 the day before. The number of deaths fell to 248 from 308.
    (Reuters, 1/16/22)

2022        Jan 20, It was reported that a small Russian-Italian preliminary laboratory study has shown that levels of Omicron-neutralizing antibodies of people vaccinated with Russia's Sputnik V vaccine did not decline as much as of those who had Pfizer shots.
    (AP, 1/20/22)

2022        Jan 21, It was reported that some 1,900 Italian doctors and dentists have been suspended from the country's professional association because they haven’t complied with a law requiring them to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, including having a booster shot.
    (AP, 1/21/22)
2022        Jan 21, The Italian coastguard rescued 305 migrants who were trying to reach Europe aboard an overloaded boat that ran into difficulty off the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa.
    (Reuters, 1/21/22)
2022        Jan 21, Greek police said European police have dismantled a criminal network that made hundreds of millions of euros smuggling migrants from Turkey to Italy mainly on yachts.
    (Reuters, 1/21/22)

2022        Jan 22, Italy reported 171,263 COVID-19 related cases, against 179,106 the day before. The number of one-day deaths fell to 333 from 373.
    (Reuters, 1/22/22)

2022        Jan 24, Italy's parliament began voting for a new head of state, with PM Mario Draghi among the most prominent candidates in a wide-open contest which will be closely monitored by financial markets. Lawmakers failed to deliver a winner following an avalanche of blank ballots.
    (Reuters, 1/24/22)(SFC, 1/25/22, p.A4)

2022        Jan 25, Italy reported 186,740 COVID-19 related cases, against 77,696 the day before. The number of deaths rose to 468 from 352.
    (Reuters, 1/25/22)

2022        Jan 26, Italy's lawmakers failed to elect a new head of state for a third day running, with no consensus candidate emerging to replace outgoing President Sergio Mattarella.
    (Reuters, 1/26/22)

2022        Jan 27, Italy's parliament failed to elect a new president for a fourth day running, with the main political blocs floundering in their efforts to find a mutually acceptable candidate for the powerful role.
    (Reuters, 1/27/22)

2022        Jan 28, A fifth round of voting for Italy's new president failed to produce a winner.
    (Reuters, 1/28/22)

2022        Jan 29, Italy's ruling parties asked Sergio Mattarella (80) to carry on as president for a second term after failing to find a compromise candidate in a week of voting in parliament. Mattarella unexpectedly agreed to stay in place and prevent a power vacuum.
    (Reuters, 1/29/22)
2022        Jan 29, Italy rejected a request by Venezuela for the extradition of Rafael Ramirez, a once powerful oil minister and former head of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, because of human rights violations in the South American state..
    (Reuters, 1/29/22)

2022        Jan 31, Italy's national chaplain, Archbishop Santo Marciano, issued a statement to all military and law enforcement personnel to enforce COVID-19 laws, hours after Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano made a statement urging them to disobey orders and not be "automatons." Vigano, a former Vatican ambassador in Washington, has been in hiding for more than three years since issuing a broadside against Pope Francis, demanding his resignation.
    (Reuters, 2/1/22)

2022        Feb 2, An Italian former priest, dubbed “Don Euro” because of his expensive taste in diamonds and luxury holidays, was jailed for extorting a former bishop. Luca Morini was also convicted of impersonation - after he pretended to be a judge while hiring male sex workers.
    (The Independent, 2/4/22)
2022        Feb 2, Actress Monica Vitti (90) died in Rome. Her chilly sensuality and cerebral approach to her roles enlivened a groundbreaking series of 1960s film masterpieces directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, including the much-debated “L’Avventura”.
    (NY Times, 2/3/22)

2022        Feb 3, Italian President Sergio Mattarella (80) received an astounding 55 rounds of applause from an otherwise divided parliament after he was sworn in to a second term in office.
    (AP, 2/3/22)

2022        Feb 5, Italy reported 93,157 COVID-19 cases, down from 99,522 the day before. The number of deaths decreased to 375 from 433.
    (Reuters, 2/5/22)

2022        Feb 6, Italy reported 77,029 COVID-19 cases, down from 93,157 the day before. The number of deaths decreased to 229 from 375.
    (Reuters, 2/6/22)

2022        Feb 8, Italy reported 101,864 COVID-19 related cases, against 41,247 the day before. The number of deaths rose to 415 from 326.
    (Reuters, 2/8/22)

2022        Feb 9, Italy reported 75,861 COVID-19 related cases, against 81,367 the day before. The number of deaths fell to 325 from 384.
    (Reuters, 2/10/22)
2022        Feb 9, Pope Francis condemned assisted suicide as an unacceptable deviation from medical ethics as Italy's parliament resumed talks on a law to regulate it.
    (Reuters, 2/9/22)

2022        Feb 14, Italy reported 28,630 COVID-19 related cases, against 51,959 the day before. The number of deaths rose to 281 from 191.
    (Reuters, 2/14/22)

2022        Feb 15, Financial problems at Saipem, an Italian energy services contractor, deepened when the cash-strapped group said it would set aside 192 million euros ($218 million) to cover a fine imposed by an Algerian court over alleged corruption. The company is controlled by energy group Eni and state lender CDP.
    (Reuters, 2/15/22)
2022        Feb 15, Italy reported 70,852 COVID-19 related cases, against 28,630 the day before. The number of deaths rose to 388 from 281.
    (Reuters, 2/15/22)

2022        Feb 16, Italy reported 59,749 COVID-19 related cases, against 70,852 the day before. The number of deaths fell to 278 from 388.
    (Reuters, 2/16/22)

2022        Feb 18, A blaze engulfed a ferry sailing from Greece to Italy early today and fire fighters were still battling to rescue people trapped on the ship off the island of Corfu. A total of 240 passengers and 51 crew were onboard the 600-foot Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia when the fire broke out. One man was rescued on Feb 20. The death toll soon rose to 8 with 3 still missing.
    (Reuters, 2/19/22)(SFC, 2/19/22, p.A3)(SFC, 2/21/22, p.A3)(SSFC, 2/27/22, p.A7)
2022        Feb 18, Italy reported 53,662 COVID-19 related cases, against 57,890 the day before. The number of deaths fell to 314 from 320.
    (Reuters, 2/18/22)

2022        Feb 20, Italy reported 42,081 COVID-19 related cases, down from 50,534 the day before. The number of deaths reported fell to 141 from 252.
    (AP, 2/20/22)

2022        Feb 21, Italy's Mount Etna roared back to spectacular action after a few months of relative quiet, sending up a 12-km (7.5-mile) high volcanic ash cloud over eastern Sicily.
    (AP, 2/21/22)

2022        Feb 22, It was reported that the Italian coastguard has rescued 573 migrants at sea who were trying to reach Europe aboard two fishing boats in distress in bad weather. One body was found.
    (Reuters, 2/22/22)
2022        Feb 22, Italy reported 60,029 COVID-19 related cases, against 24,408 the day before. The number of deaths rose to 322 from 201.
    (AP, 2/22/22)

2022        Feb 23, Italy reported 49,040 COVID-19 related cases, against 60,029 the day before. The number of deaths fell to 252 from 322.
    (Reuters, 2/23/22)

2022        Feb 24, Italy reported 46,169 COVID-19 related cases, against 49,040 the day before. The number of deaths fell to 249 from 252.
    (AP, 2/24/22)

2022        Feb 25, Italy reported 40,948 COVID-19 related cases, against 46,169 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of deaths fell to 193 from 249.
    (Reuters, 2/25/22)

2022        Mar 2, The Venice Biennale art exhibition, which has already seen members of the official Russian pavilion quit to protest the invasion of Ukraine, said that it was working to make sure the artist representing Ukraine can show his work.
    (AP, 3/2/22)

2022        Mar 5, It was reported that Italian police have seized villas and yachts worth at least 140 million euros ($153 million) from four high-profile Russians who were placed on an EU sanctions list following Moscow's attack on Ukraine.
    (Reuters, 3/5/22)

2022        Mar 8, Italy reported 60,191 COVID-19 related cases, against 22,083 the day before. The number of deaths rose to 184 from 130.
    (AP, 3/8/22)

2022        Mar 10, Italy annulled the sale of a military drones company to Chinese investors, the latest in a series of moves by Rome to curb Beijing's forays into the euro zone's third-largest economy.
    (Reuters, 3/10/22)

2022        Mar 11, BP and Eni said they have completed a deal to merge their oil and gas operations in Angola. The deal will create a company called Azule Energy that is expected to be Angola’s largest producer.
    (Reuters, 3/12/22)

2022        Mar 12, It was reported that Italian police have seized a superyacht owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, a few days after the businessman was placed on an EU sanctions list following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
    (Reuters, 3/12/22)
2022        Mar 12, In Italy thousands of people packed into one of Florence's biggest squares to show their support for Ukraine and listen to a videoed speech from Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
    (Reuters, 3/13/22)

2022        Mar 13, In Italy a bus carrying Ukrainians in northern Italy overturned this morning, killing one person.
    (NY Times, 3/13/22)

2022        Mar 14, Statistics institute ISTAT said births in Italy dropped below 400,000 for the first time ever in 2021, while the overall population fell by more than 250,000 as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to weigh.
    (Reuters, 3/14/22)

2022        Mar 17, An Italian appeals court reduced the prison terms imposed on two American tourists who were originally given life sentences for the 2019 murder of a policeman in a case that shook Italy. Finnegan Lee Elder, who was 19 at the time, should serve 24 years in jail for stabbing Mario Cerciello Rega to death in central Rome. Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth, then 18, was handed a 22-year term.
    (Reuters, 3/17/22)

2022        Mar 21, The 459-foot superyacht Scheherazade, rumored to be "Putin's yacht," has been docked in an Italian port, Marina di Carrara, since September. Jailed dissident Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation said that aside from British Captain Bennett-Pearce, the rest of the Scheherazade's crew is not just Russian, but also work for the FSO, or Federal Protective Service, Russia's equivalent of the US Secret Service.
    (The Week, 3/22/22)

2022        Mar 22, In Ukraine the local council of Mariupol said Russia is pounding the besieged port into the "ashes of a dead land." President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said there is nothing left there in a video address to the Italian parliament. Deputy PM Iryna Vereshchuk said at least 100,000 civilians wanted to escape from Mariupol but could not because of a lack of safe corridors.
    (Reuters, 3/22/22)

2022        Mar 23, Italian PM Mario Draghi urged China not to support Russia after its invasion of Ukraine and to throw its weight behind efforts to bring peace to the country.
    (Reuters, 3/23/22)

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