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☆ 5 Dead After Inhaling Hazardous Gas at a Water Plant in Sicily
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Five workers died on Monday afternoon while working in a sewer connected to a water treatment plant in the town of Casteldaccia near Palermo, Sicily, according to firefighters who recovered the bodies. A sixth worker was seriously injured and in intensive care, local officials said. Girolamo Bentivoglio, chief of firefighters in Palermo, said the workers had breathed in hydrogen sulfide, a gas often present at waste treatment plants that is toxic in high concentrations. The accident raised a new round of outrage over the incidence of workplace deaths in Italy. In April, seven workers were killed in an explosion in a hydroelectric plant near Bologna, while five died in Florence during the construction of a supermarket in February.

Persons: Girolamo Bentivoglio, Mr, Bentivoglio Organizations: Eurostat, European Union Locations: Casteldaccia, Palermo, Sicily, Italy, Bologna, Florence

☆ Court Says Italy Is Rightful Owner of Bronze Held by Getty Museum
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In the ruling, the court found that no violation by Italy had occurred. While the case was in court, Italy began negotiating with the Getty for the return of some of the works it identified as looted. Either party has three months to request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the European court to consider whether it deserved further examination. “But the cases where they pass to the Grand Chamber are rare,” said D’Ascia, the lawyer. The Getty said Thursday that it was “carefully considering the possibility of requesting a review before the Grand Chamber.”

Persons: ”, Lorenzo D’Ascia, illicitly, Marion True, Jiri Frel, True, Getty, “ Orpheus, D’Ascia Organizations: of, Getty, Chamber Locations: Italy, United States, Rome

☆ Pope Francis Undergoes ‘Diagnostic Tests’ in Rome Hospital
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Pope Francis, who has had a mild flu in recent days, was taken to a hospital in downtown Rome on Wednesday, reviving concerns about the 87-year old pontiff’s health. The Vatican said in a statement that he had gone for “some diagnostic tests,” but did not offer details about a visit that lasted less than an hour. Traffic police officers at the Gemelli Hospital on Tiber Island said that Francis arrived around 11:20 a.m. on Wednesday and left about 40 minutes later. The pope has been under the weather for several days. On Saturday, Francis’s public audiences were canceled “as a result of a slight flu,” according to the Vatican.

Persons: Pope Francis, Francis Organizations: Vatican, Traffic, Gemelli Locations: Rome, Tiber, St

Pope Francis, who reluctantly canceled his trip to the annual United Nations climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, because of a lung infection, sought on Saturday to lend his voice to the world’s destitute facing the brunt of climate disruption. In an address written by the pope and delivered at the summit by the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Francis assured the world, “I am with you, because time is short.” He wrote that the world, more than ever, faced environmental devastation that offended God and “greatly endangers all human beings, especially the most vulnerable in our midst, and threatens to unleash a conflict between generations.”Francis, 86, in his decade-long pontificate, has elevated stewardship of the environment to a top priority of the church. In “Laudate Deum,” a letter on humanity’s obligations to the environment issued in October, Francis specifically called for tangible solutions at the Dubai meeting, which, at the time, he expected to attend. But the pope’s health would not permit it. He was prevented not only from delivering the speech in person, but also from participating in many bilateral meetings, including with leaders of small and vulnerable nations whose plights he had hoped to amplify.

Persons: Pope Francis, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Francis, ”, “, ” Francis Locations: United Nations, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

☆ Pope Francis Cancels Trip to U.N. Climate Summit on Doctor’s Orders
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Pope Francis, following his doctor’s orders, will not attend the United Nations climate summit in Dubai later this week, the Vatican said Tuesday. Although the pontiff’s general health was improving after a bout of flu and lung inflammation, his doctors had asked Francis to take it easy, the Vatican said in a statement. “Pope Francis regretfully accepted the doctors’ request, and the trip has been canceled,” said Matteo Bruni, the Vatican spokesman. Francis had been scheduled to begin a three-day visit to Dubai on Friday to attend the climate summit, known by the acronym COP28. The Vatican said it would seek ways to ensure that the pope and the Holy See could be “part of the discussions taking place in the coming days,” without specifying how.

Persons: Pope Francis, Francis, “ Pope Francis regretfully, ”, Matteo Bruni Organizations: Vatican Locations: United Nations, Dubai

☆ Italy Searches for Museum Leaders, With Nationalism in the Air
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ten candidates are up for each job. The final selection will be made sometime next month by Gennaro Sangiuliano, Italy’s culture minister, and Massimo Osanna, the ministry’s director overseeing museums. It has been eight years since a reform granted some Italian arts institutions greater autonomy and opened up the position of museum director to people from outside the culture ministry’s ranks. The then-culture minister, Dario Franceschini, sought applications from foreigners to shake up the museum sector, even publishing the job advertisement in The Economist magazine. At the first 20 museums affected by the reform, Franceschini appointed seven foreigners and several Italians with experience abroad, who were hired for a four-year contract, that could be renewed once.

Persons: whittle, Gennaro Sangiuliano, Massimo Osanna, Dario Franceschini, Franceschini Organizations: Culture Ministry, Brera, Economist Locations: Florence, Naples, Milan

☆ Student’s Killing Pushes Italy to Confront Violence Against Women
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

She disappeared after meeting with an ex-boyfriend, Filippo Turetta, 21, at a mall; investigators put out a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of kidnapping and murder. He was picked up on Sunday by the police in Germany, who stopped him on a highway. Investigators have not spoken publicly about a motive in the case. Mr. Turetta, who has so far not been formally charged, is awaiting extradition to Italy, which the German authorities say he has not opposed, according to his lawyer, Emanuele Compagno. Mr. Compagno said he had not spoken directly to his client.

Persons: Giulia Cecchettin, Cecchettin, Filippo Turetta, Turetta, Emanuele Compagno, Compagno Organizations: Investigators Locations: Friuli, Giulia, Germany, Italy

Pope Francis, who has made reaching out to L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics a hallmark of his papacy, has made clear that transgender people can be baptized, serve as godparents and be witnesses at church weddings, furthering his vision of a more inclusive church. The pope’s embrace of transgender people’s participation in the church was revealed in a Vatican document that he approved on Oct. 31 and that was posted online Wednesday. The decision “signals Pope Francis’ desire for a pastorally focused approach to L.G.B.T.Q.+ issues is taking hold,” he added. The immediate public response from American bishops, who have taken more restrictive stances on transgender issues, was generally muted.

Persons: Pope Francis, ” Francis DeBernardo, Pope Francis ’, ” Organizations: Roman Catholic Church, New Ways Ministry, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Locations: Maryland

A monthlong meeting convened by Pope Francis to determine the future of the Roman Catholic Church ended Saturday night with a document that said it was “urgent” that women have a larger role but postponed discussion of major issues such as ordaining women as deacons and failed to address outreach to L.G.B.T.Q.+ Catholics. Vatican officials instead sought to emphasize common ground during the meeting, which was characterized by liberals and conservatives alike as a potential culmination of Francis’ 10-year pontificate and the vehicle through which he might make changes. Instead, it echoed another characteristic of Francis’ tenure: kicking the can on major issues as he sought to build deeper support through the global church. After the conclusion of the meeting, called the Synod on Synodality, which Francis attended and had about 450 participants (of which 365 could vote), Vatican officials said they had decided to cut sources of tension — “divergences,” as the meeting called them.

Persons: Pope Francis, Francis ’, Francis Organizations: Roman Catholic Church, Vatican Locations: Synodality

It didn’t really matter what the oil painting and antiques vendors hawked. “He had this project to build the largest collection in Italy,” said Giuseppe De Gregorio, a televendor near Naples who sold thousands of paintings to Mr. Berlusconi. “He didn’t want important paintings. He wanted paintings. It was enough if they were painted with oil on a canvas.”

Persons: Silvio Berlusconi, ”, Giuseppe De Gregorio, Berlusconi, “ Locations: Milan, Italy, Naples

☆ Women Will Vote at a Vatican Meeting for the First Time
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Helena Jeppesen-Spuhler, an advocate for the ordination of women, joined a major Vatican meeting this month, she was skeptical that an institution dominated by men for 2,000 years was ready to listen to women like her. The gathering of some 300 bishops from around the world also included for the first time 70 lay people, women among them, who have voting rights. As the confidential meeting approaches its end on Oct. 29, Ms. Jeppesen-Spuhler said she has been pleasantly surprised. Some clerics — priests, bishops and cardinals — openly supported the advancement of women, she said. There had been “really good discussions,” Ms. Jeppesen-Spuhler said, adding, “It hasn’t been the women against the bishops and cardinals.

Persons: Helena Jeppesen, Pope Francis, Spuhler, —, ” Ms, It’s, ” Organizations: Roman Catholic Church

☆ Letter Found in Vatican Archives Confirms Church Was Told About Death Camps
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A letter found among the private papers of Pope Pius XII suggests that the Holy See was told in 1942 that up to 6,000 people, “above all Poles and Jews,” were being killed in furnaces every day at Belzec, a Nazi death camp in Poland. Though news of the atrocities being perpetrated by Hitler was already reaching Pope Pius XII’s ears, this information was especially important because it came from a trusted church source based in Germany, said Giovanni Coco, a Vatican archivist who discovered the letter. The source was “in the heart of the enemy territory,” Mr. Coco said on Saturday. The document, which was made public this weekend by the Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera, adds to the evidence that some scholars say shows Pius knew about the Holocaust as it happened. Some scholars say Pius did not want to confront or offend Hitler because he feared Communism, believed that the Axis powers would win the war and wanted to avoid alienating millions of German and Nazi-sympathizing Catholics.

Persons: Pope Pius XII, Hitler, Pope Pius XII’s, Giovanni Coco, Mr, Coco, Pius, Pius XII Organizations: Milan, Corriere della, Nazi Locations: Belzec, Nazi, Poland, Germany

☆ Venice Keeps Off List of Endangered World Sites
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Venice will not be included on UNESCO’s list of “World Heritage in Danger” after a panel voted on Thursday to reject the recommendation of experts at the agency who had raised concerns that Italy had not done enough to protect the fragile city, which is threatened by climate change, mass tourism and development. Still, representatives of countries upholding the World Heritage Convention, which seeks to protect and preserve cultural sites, said in a statement that “further progress still needs to be made” to properly conserve Venice. During a debate on Thursday afternoon at a World Heritage Committee session in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, several delegates said Italy should host a new advisory mission in Venice in the coming months to monitor the efficacy of the measures that Italy has taken so far and to make suggestions. “Venice is not at risk,” Mayor Luigi Brugnaro wrote on social media Thursday evening, describing the result as a “great victory.” Posting on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, he added: “The world has understood all the work we have done to save our city.”Italy was warned in July that Venice, a World Heritage Site since 1987, was being considered for UNESCO’s “in danger” list, even though the state and city have made significant changes to try to protect Venice.

Persons: Luigi Brugnaro Organizations: World Heritage Convention, Heritage, Twitter Locations: Venice, Italy, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ” Italy

☆ Researchers Identify Jews Aided by Catholics in Nazi Era as Pope Was Silent
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“But it doesn’t change the historical judgment” of Pius, “which remains harsh,” she said. The church’s history of involvement in the persecution of Jews long predates Pius and the massacres of the last century. For well over a millennium, Jews were subjected to forced conversion, expulsion, censorship, mass murder by roving Christian mobs and life in ghettos. Defenders of Pius XII, whose case for sainthood is still being evaluated, have long argued that he worked behind the scenes to help Jews. Other scholars say it will take years to plumb papers referring to Pius and paint a full picture of his papacy.

Persons: Pius, Pope Paul VI, Jesus, Pope John Paul II, Pope Francis, Hitler, David Kertzer, Pius XII “, ”, ” Pius “, Pius XII, plumb Organizations: Times, Nazi, Brown University Locations: Israel, Rome, Vatican City

☆ Rome’s Iconic Umbrella Pines Imperiled by Pests and the Ax
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The protesters who had gathered on an arid patch of lawn in Rome’s central Piazza Venezia hailed from neighborhoods all around the capital, but they had one concern in common: saving the towering umbrella pine trees that for centuries have adorned the city’s low-slung skyline but are disappearing in distressing numbers. Celebrated in music and art, and admired by the ancient Romans, the trees are as much a part of the city’s identity as its human-made landmarks. “They are in the hearts, photographs and memories of everyone,” said Jacopa Stinchelli, who is helping lead the defense of the pines, which in recent years have taken a mangy turn. An infestation of a pernicious and invasive pest, an insect known as the pine tortoise scale, which sneaked into Italy about a decade ago, has killed many trees.

Persons: ”, Jacopa Stinchelli Organizations: Piazza Venezia Locations: Rome’s, Italy

☆ Italians Pay Tribute to Novelist and Activist Who Spoke Out Till the End
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since bursting onto the scene nearly two decades ago with her first novel about her experience working in a call center, a novel that later inspired a popular film, Michela Murgia had become a public persona — and a lightning rod for political debate in Italy. A novelist, intellectual and civil rights campaigner, she was an outspoken critic of the country’s rightward shift at a time when its left-wing parties appeared to have lost their voice, and a feminist and civil rights champion urging acceptance of nontraditional family configurations in a nation in which the governing parties have promoted a more conservative vision. Before she died, on Thursday at age 51, she told her friends that she wanted her funeral to be open to everyone. Many hundreds heeded her invitation. They came from all walks of life — a retired banker, a hotel employee, a translator, students — to honor “a symbol of freedom and feminism whose words should be transformed into action,” said Maria Luisa Celani, who works in the arts and was one of many gathered outside the Basilica of Santa Maria in Montesanto, known as “the church of the artists,” in Rome’s central Piazza del Popolo, for the funeral.

Persons: Michela Murgia, —, “, ”, Maria Luisa Celani Organizations: Piazza del Popolo Locations: Italy, Santa Maria, Montesanto, Rome’s, Piazza del

☆ Getting a Taxi in Italy Is Too Hard. Fixing That Is Not Easy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The situation is “a disgrace to Italy,” said Furio Truzzi, president of the consumer rights group Assoutenti, one of several associations that protested the shortage. In Rome, for example, there are now about 7,800 taxis, and if 20 percent more licenses were issued, there would be about 1,500 more. Parliament now has two months to convert the decree into law. But transportation experts said the decree falls far short of what they say is a needed overhaul of the industry, which holds outsized sway over local — and national — politics. Thanks to the taxi lobby, ride-sharing services are almost nonexistent in Italy, where Uber is the only platform in use, with many restrictions.

Persons: ”, Furio Truzzi, Uber Organizations: Catholic, Cortina d’Ampezzo Locations: Italy, Milan, Rome, Naples

☆ Was That an Earthquake in Rome? No, It Was a Travis Scott Concert.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Travis Scott asked Rome to make some noise at the Circus Maximus on Monday, Rome cheerfully complied. The 60,000-odd spectators jumped so vigorously that some locals panicked, thinking that an earthquake was underway. The concert coincided with the release of Mr. Scott’s chart-topping new album, “Utopia. The show in Rome marked Ye’s first concert appearance after a series of antisemitic remarks on social media and in interviews last year led to his expulsion from social media for a time and the loss of fashion design partnerships. Romans, including those living some distance from the site, took to social media to lament shaking windows, beds and chandeliers.

Persons: Travis Scott, Rome, Maximus, Julius Caesar, Ye, Ye’s, Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen Organizations: Kanye Locations: Rome

☆ Excavations Uncover Hints of Nero’s Theater in Rome, and Much More
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At a 15th-century palace that is steps from the Vatican and set to become a luxury hotel, archaeologists did what they always do in Rome, an ancient city thick with buried treasures. Rome is the gift that keeps on giving to archaeologists, though no one knew what would come from this preliminary exploration, a familiar routine at Italian building sites and development projects. Although chronicled by Roman-era historians, the theater had never emerged from Rome’s archaeologically rich underbelly. “It’s been stupendous, wonderful, amazing,” said Marzia Di Mento, the archaeologist who oversaw the dig at the palace, the Palazzo della Rovere. “It’s what every archaeologist would like to do.”

Persons: Nero, Roman, It’s, ”, Marzia Di Mento, “ Locations: Rome

☆ ‘10 Seconds’: Outrage Follows Acquittal in Italy Abuse Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For days, many Italians have flooded social media with two unusual calls to outrage: “#10secondi” and “#palpatabreve,” or “10 seconds” and “brief grope.”The hashtags refer to a court sentence, made public this week in Rome, that acquitted a 66-year-old school janitor who was accused of improperly touching a 17-year-old student, including by sticking his hands into her pants and touching her bottom. In court, the janitor admitted some touching, saying the teenager had been pulling up her pants and — mimicking her gesture — he had reached out and lifted her pants as a joke, but he denied putting his hands inside her trousers. The student testified in court last February that the entire episode lasted between five and 10 seconds. In its decision last week, a court in Rome ruled that the janitor’s behavior could not be construed as either libidinous or lustful because it had taken place at the school, a public place in front of other students; because it had only lasted “a handful of seconds”; and because the janitor had apologized immediately after and made light of the episode. The prosecutor’s office has until July 21 to appeal the verdict.

Persons: — Locations: Rome

☆ In Line? Online? Either Way, a Ticket to Frustration for Pantheon Tourists
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The lines to get into the Pantheon, one of Rome’s most famous ancient sites, were high-season typical, snaking past the obelisk-topped fountain in the middle of the square to the cafes at the back. But they were especially slow-moving on Monday, the first day that the Italian Culture Ministry introduced an entrance ticket, priced at 5 euros, to enter the 2,000-year-old monument. Hotly debated for years, the ticketing plan was announced in March by the culture minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, who said that charging a small fee to help maintain the most popular cultural site in Italy — with about nine million visitors a year — “was an objective based on common sense.”The equivalent of about $5.50 might be a small price to pay to see one of the world’s most iconic monuments — where the painter Raphael is buried — but the new fee has been accompanied by stumbling blocks.

Persons: Gennaro Sangiuliano, “, Raphael Organizations: Italian Culture Ministry Locations: Italy

☆ Who Knew the Colosseum Was So Old? Tourist Apologizes for Defacement.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | More About Elisabetta Povoledo | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But that made little difference to Colosseum authorities who said that it didn’t change the fact that the act was vandalism. Mr. Dimitrov was eventually identified by Italian military police officers who crosschecked the two lovers’ names with registered guests in Rome and found they had stayed in an Airbnb rental in the Cinecittà neighborhood. Roberto Martina, the police commander who oversaw the operation, said they tracked Mr. Dimitrov to England, where he and his girlfriend, who is not under investigation, live. Three years ago, a spate of incidents prompted lawmakers to stiffen penalties for vandalizing Italy’s venerable cultural heritage. Mr. Tirelli said he was hoping for a plea bargain that will allow his client to pay a fine but serve no jail time.

Persons: Dimitrov, Roberto Martina, ’ ”, Alexandro Maria Tirelli, Tirelli Locations: Rome, Cinecittà, England, Italy

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