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☆ I bought a $62,200 house in Italy that I'm planning to move into full-time. The home prices are so low I bought a second house — and may buy more.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

She bought another home with her brother to use as a rental, and may buy another with her sister. I have my primary house in Mussomeli, and then together, my brother and I bought a second house. That's why we bought the second house, and my sister and I are looking at a third house right now. Lorrah MintonWhat needed to be paid at closing for my primary house was a 10% deposit and the agency fee, which is generally 4% of the purchase price. But if someone said you can get this 3,000-square-foot, six bedroom, two kitchen, beautiful house for 70,000 euros, I'd say, "Done."

Persons: Lorrah Minton, —, Minton, I've, it's, It's, there's, I'm, they're, someone's Organizations: Service Locations: Italy, Sicily, Mussomeli, American, China, Amsterdam, Paris, Germany, —, California

☆ Ancient Greek altar unearthed at archaeological site in Sicily
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] An ancient Greek altar for family worship dating back at least 2,000 years is pictured after it was found in the Sicilian archaeological site of Segesta, Italy, June 29, 2023. Flavio Leone Sisilab CoopCulture Sicilia/Handout via REUTERSROME, June 30 (Reuters) - An ancient Greek altar for family worship dating back more than 2,000 years has been found in the archaeological site of Segesta on the Italian island of Sicily, local authorities said on Friday. It had been buried for centuries by a few centimetres of earth and vegetation in the area of the Southern Acropolis at the Segesta site, which is in the western part of the island. "The Segesta site never ceases to amaze us," said Sicily's regional culture minister Francesco Paolo Scarpinato. Segesta, renowned for its 5th-century-BC temple, was an ancient Greek city nestled between mountains.

Persons: Flavio Leone Sisilab CoopCulture, Francesco Paolo Scarpinato, Segesta, Federica Urso, Gavin Jones, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Southern Acropolis, Thomson Locations: Segesta, Italy, Flavio Leone Sisilab CoopCulture Sicilia, Handout, REUTERS ROME, Sicily, , Southern

☆ The first battery-powered trains have arrived in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Julia Buckley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Enter Europe’s first battery-powered trains. In Calabria, the trains are running on the Ionian Coast, while Sicilian routes include Messina to Palermo and Messina-Catania-Syracuse. “It is the first time that batteries are used as the main energy source on a fleet of trains for commercial use in Europe,” Trenitalia said in a statement. The fleet – made with 93% recyclable materials – will cut carbon emissions and fuel consumption by 50% versus diesel trains, Hitachi said in a statement. A battery-powered futureThe trains are running in several regions of Italy.

Persons: ”, ” Trenitalia Organizations: CNN, Hitachi, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Catania, Hitachi Rail Locations: Italy, Calabria, Lazio, Tuscany, Sicily, Sardinia, Messina, Palermo, Syracuse, Europe

Sicily isn’t the only European destination bustling with tourists ahead of the peak summer season in July and August. After three years of pandemic restrictions, travelers are flocking to Europe in record numbers, despite high airfares, limited accommodations, sweltering heat and crowded sites. Among American travelers, Europe is the most popular destination this year, according to Hopper’s “Summer Travel to Europe” report. “I had to sell my car to pull this off, but if I’m traveling this far, I’m going to see everywhere,” she said. But there was nothing, so, unfortunately, I had to turn down business,” said Abby Lagman, the founder of the Blissful Travel Company, a U.S.-based travel agency.

Persons: Hopper’s, ”, Elizabeth Hughes, “, Abby Lagman Organizations: Hopper Locations: Sicily, Europe, London, Paris, Rome, Lisbon, Athens, Sicilian, Palermo, Chicago, France, Italy, Greece, U.S

☆ More than 30 arrested in latest Italy raid against 'Ndrangheta mafia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Police officers carry boxes into a police building in Mainz, Germany, May 3, 2023, after German police arrested dozens of people across the country on Wednesday in an investigation of the Italian 'Ndrangheta organised crime group, German public prosecutors and state police said. REUTERS/Timm... Read moreMILAN, June 27 (Reuters) - Dozens of people have been arrested in a new police raid against the 'Ndrangheta mafia that has revealed how its multiple illegal activities have spread as far as Austria and Germany, Italian authorities said on Tuesday. Suspects, including politicians from the 'Ndrangheta home region of Calabria, face charges including mafia association, murder, extortion, fraud, rigging of public contracts, bribery and vote buying, police said in a statement. Prosecutors from the German town of Stuttgart and the German federal police cooperated with the investigation, they added. The alleged 'Ndrangheta network ran illegal trades from the south to the north of Italy in real estate, catering, fruit and vegetable and livestock trading, security services and video-poker, Italian police said.

Persons: Timm, Read, Nicola Gratteri, Emilio Parodi, Stephanie van den Berg, Alvise Armellini, Christina Fincher, William Maclean Organizations: Police, REUTERS, Mafia, Prosecutors, Europol, Austrian, Cosa Nostra, Thomson Locations: Mainz, Germany, MILAN, Austria, Calabria, Stuttgart, Italy, Austrian, Europe, Italian, The Hague

☆ Malta, Land of Knights, Sailors and Rainbow Flags
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Alexander Lobrano | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Knowing nothing about Maltese food, I assumed it would be a variation on the fare of nearby Sicily. “Our food is a reflection of all of the peoples who ruled us,” he said, explaining that Malta has one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cuisines. Baroque masterworks and neon-lit nightlifeMalta is only 122 square miles, so 72 hours had seemed like an adequate amount of time to explore. I decided to check out the main island first, and then Valletta itself after that. The delightful Anna Grech Sant, a local guide, offered an abbreviated but fascinating lesson in Maltese history, richly seasoned with memorable trivia.

Persons: ruddy, bouillon, Brincat, ”, Anna Grech Sant Organizations: British Navy Locations: Sicily, Malta, Libya, India, Northern Europe, Bolognese, Gozo, Valletta

☆ Three historical shipwrecks uncovered in the Mediterranean
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —An international team of scientists discovered three historical shipwrecks during an underwater archaeological expedition last year in the Mediterranean Sea. Scientists conducted their expedition in the Mediterranean last year aboard the Alfred Merlin research vessel. The team used the research vessel’s underwater mapping and imaging equipment to catalog shipwrecks, dating from ancient times to the 20th century, with sonar. Located along a heavily traveled route in the Mediterranean, the Skerki Bank in the Strait of Sicily is one of the most treacherous maritime areas. As you know, the Mediterranean with its very rich history, and its countless shipwrecks and archaeological sites offer a unique and fascinating stage for such expeditions.

Persons: Robert Ballard, Anna Marguerite McCann, Alfred Merlin, Arthur, Keith Reef, Angel Fitor, DRASSM, ”, Barbara Davidde, Lazare Eloundou Assomo Organizations: CNN, UNESCO, Skerki Bank of, Skerki Bank, DRASSM UNESCO, Drassm, UNESCO World Heritage, “ UNESCO Locations: Paris, Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, France, Italy, Morocco, Spain, Tunisia, Skerki Bank of Tunisia, Strait, Sicily, Tunisian

☆ The Italian beaches putting a daily cap on summer visitors
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Silvia Marchetti | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“We can no longer afford thousands of daily sunbathers all squeezed in one spot as in the past, it’s unsustainable.”Four beaches are affected. Cala dei Gabbiani and Cala Biriala both now have a daily cap of 300 visitors in place, while Cala Goloritze has a limit of 250 visitors per day, and Cala Mariolu, the largest of the beaches, has a daily limit of 700 people. Visitors to Cala Goloritze, which is only accessible by foot or boat, will be charged an entrance fee of six euros (US$6.5.) The entrance fee for Cala Goloritze can either be paid online, or with cash at the entrance to the inlet. Beach towel banBeach towels will not be permitted at La Pelosa Beach in Stintino, Sardinia this summer, according to local authorities.

Persons: ” Stefano Monni, Cala Biriala, Cala Goloritze, Cala Mariolu, Beachgoers, Legambiente, it’s, ”, Monni, Cala Mariuolo, he’s, pelosi, We’ve, Stintino’s, Rita Limbania Vallebella, they’d, ” Keen, Alberto Pizzoli, Filippo Mannino, Martello, Mannino, Isola, “ Organizations: CNN, Cala Locations: Sicily, Sardinia, Orosei, Baunei, Ogliastra, Cala, Italian, sunbathers, La Pelosa, Stintino, La, Isola, Italy, Pelosa, Saline, Isola dei, Lampedusa, Pelagie, AFP, Martello, Giglio, Isola del Giglio, Tuscany

☆ International tipping: How to cut through the chaos and confusion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Forrest Brown | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

In the United States, “tipping is very customary. Leighton also said you won’t find a tipping culture on the island of Taiwan. Robinson said the tipping culture is less pervasive in Sicily than the United States and even more laid-back than in Rome. As for tipping culture in the US vs. the UK, Ryan Burditt said, it’s “really opposites to me. Robert Knopes/Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty ImagesVisitors to the United States could be in for some tipping culture shock.

☆ Charity vessel rescues almost 600 migrants off Italy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, May 27 (Reuters) - A vessel operated by the charity Doctors without Borders (MSF) rescued nearly 600 migrants sailing on an overcrowded boat which was in distress off the island of Sicily on Saturday, the group said on Twitter. The migrants will be disembarked in the southern port of Bari, as assigned by the Italian authorities, MSF said, adding it would take around 40 hours to reach the port. Charities have criticised the Italian administration of Giorgia Meloni, which takes a tough stance against illegal immigration, saying it often assigns ports too far away from the areas where rescues take place. More than 47,000 migrant landings have been recorded in Italy so far this year, up from around 18,000 in the same period of 2022, interior ministry data show. Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Engie, Amazon inaugurate Italy's biggest agrivoltaic farm
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, May 26 (Reuters) - France's Engie (ENGIE.PA) and Amazon (AMZN.O) on Friday officially opened Italy's biggest agrivoltaic farm to supply green energy to the Italian unit of the e-commerce giant. The solar power farm, near the Sicilian city of Trapani, will create power through photovoltaic panels placed high above the ground in order to allow cultivation in the fields below. The rest will go to the Italian power grid. Amazon Italy plans to power all its activities with renewable energy by 2025. The Italian subsidiary of Engie aims to reach 2 gigawatt (GW) of installed green capacity by 2030, its CEO Monica Iacono said in a statement.

☆ Opinion | If You’re Reading This, You’re Probably ‘WEIRD’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( The Ezra Klein Show | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +83 min

You’re probably very weird, and not just for all the obvious reasons you’re thinking of. Because, obviously, there’s going to be some overlap in the curve here. How you’re going to behave with your professor is quite different than how you’re going to behave with your friends. But it’s really kind of faceless, and you’re not really helping anybody you know. I think things are dynamic, and directions are changing, and that sort of thing.

☆ How one family turned a job loss into an opportunity to sail the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Audrey Wan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The family decided to leave Hong Kong to return to the Netherlands, where her husband, Jeroen, is from, she said. So the couple sold their home in the Netherlands and bought a secondhand monohull boat to "live and travel the world." Lisa Terauchi-D'RozarioThe family first sailed to France, then to Spain and Portugal, before reaching Sardinia, she said. While living at sea, her family used a water maker to turn seawater into drinking water, she said. The family checked weather forecasts often but, Lisa said, they still encountered situations they were not prepared for.

CNN —Flights from Catania airport in Sicily were grounded on Sunday after volcanic ash from an eruption of Mount Etna covered the runways. Volcanic ash in Nicolosi, near Catania Orietta Scardino/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockPictures and video footage show black volcanic ash covering planes at the airport, and blanketing roads in the area. In 2010, a volcanic eruption in Iceland sent a huge plume of ash moving across the Atlantic, causing massive disruption to air traffic across Western Europe. In the aftermath of the crisis, international aviation regulators introduced new risk management guidance on flight safety and volcanic ash. Mount Etna is Europe’s most active volcano, and also the highest, at about 3,350 meters (almost 11,000 feet) tall.

☆ Mount Etna eruption halts flights to Sicily's Catania airport
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ROME, May 21 (Reuters) - Flights serving the eastern Sicilian city of Catania were halted on Sunday after an eruption from nearby Mount Etna spewed volcanic ash onto its runways, airport authorities said. The 3,330 metre (10,925 ft) high volcano can burst into spectacular action several times a year, firing lava and ash high over the Mediterranean island. Flights to and from Catania, a popular tourist destination, would be suspended until normal safety conditions could be guaranteed, the airport said on Twitter. Cars in the city were covered in a layer of dark gritty dust, images in the Italian media showed. Writing by Keith Weir; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Pent-up demand promises record tourist season for southern Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Giselda Vagnoni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

What's more, there appears to be growing demand for the luxury end of the spectrum. Portugal registered more than 2.8 million of foreign visitors from January to March, the best first quarter on record, according to official data. Airlines such as Lufthansa, easyJet and Ryanair have confirmed robust summer bookings while Ryanair, in anticipation of strong demand, has just ordered 150 new 737 Max-10s and optioned another 150. Italian travel and tourism company Alpitour forecasts turnover 30% higher this year. "We already see a very strong demand to book Christmas holidays in 2023.

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Amazon Web Services salaries, Elon Musk returns to Tesla, and a ‘secret’ ChatGPT prompt library
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

I'm Diamond Naga Siu, and I don't dream of labor (I do occasionally have dreams about writing the newsletter). And hiring managers told my colleague Aki Ito that it's currently incredibly difficult to find and hire enough qualified people. The country that wins the competition over the batteries of the future will not only control the electric vehicle market. Lopez gives us a front-seat look at the landscape of the critical EV battery market. A leaked email revealed that Musk now wants to approve all new hires — including contractors — at Tesla.

☆ A California-based woman bought 3 abandoned houses in a Sicilian village for $3.30, cashing in on Italy's desperation to repopulate its fast-emptying ghost towns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Amanda Goh | Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rubia Daniels flew to the town of Mussomeli in Sicily after hearing about its cheap homes. Many Italian towns have introduced similar schemes in an attempt to repopulate rural Italy. Rubia Daniels standing in front of one of her Mussomeli properties Rubia Daniels. Rubia Daniels. She currently splits her time between San Francisco and Mussomeli and spends at least a month in the Italian village each time.

☆ North America’s best bar for 2023 serves pizza cocktails
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Maureen O'Hare | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —This week in travel news: Crowns are handed out to pizza joints, bars and an English king. And we reveal why going on a hiking trip might be one of the best ways to find love. Award-winning bars and restaurantsDouble Chicken Please, a cocktail bar-slash-chicken joint on New York’s Lower East Side, took the No.1 spot in North America’s 50 Best Bars 2023. A newly published Italian list names the Best Pizza in Europe 2023, all outside the home country. King Charles gets his crownThis is what you can expect to see at King Charles III's coronation 04:04 - Source: CNNLondon airports were expected to greet more than 2 million arrivals this week, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium, as the country prepares for the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday.

☆ Best rice dishes: 20 delicious specialties from around the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Terry Ward | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

And while famous rice dishes such as sushi, fried rice and paella are among the most prominent in the global spotlight, there are so many more rice recipes out there to put on your radar – and seek out on your travels. Wali wa kukaanga, KenyaWali wa kukaanga is Kenya’s answer to fried rice, and translates to just that in Swahili. So it’s no surprise that the Polynesian island country’s most popular rice dish, alaisa fa’apopo, has ties to the coconut, too. Thai fried rice (Khao Pad), ThailandThai fried rice uses the layering of flavors that's characteristic of the country's cuisine. ArenaCreative/Adobe StockWhen it comes to fried rice, the Chinese version tends to steal the spotlight.

☆ Australian Rules-Tasmania savours victory in 'hard fight' to secure AFL team
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Ian Ransom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The state government signed off on commitments to secure the AFL's 19th team license and has targeted the 2028 season to launch in the Australian Rules top flight. "This has been a hard fight ... by many, many Tasmanians over a number of generations," state Premier Jeremy Rockliff said in the state capital Hobart. The AFL targeted richer eastern states and continues to spend a fortune propping up expansion teams in territory long owned by rugby league. AFL clubs relying on league distributions balked at the prospect of another drain on the league's coffers. ($1 = 1.5006 Australian dollars)Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter RutherfordOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: The 'Ndrangheta: Italy's most powerful mafia group
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

May 3 (Reuters) - Italy's 'Ndrangheta has supplanted Sicily's Cosa Nostra as the country's most powerful mafia organisation, and has spread across Europe and the rest of the world. ORIGIN, CELEBRITY KIDNAPPING AND COCAINEThe 'Ndrangheta originates from Calabria, the impoverished southern region at the tip of Italy's boot. Its name is believed to come from the ancient Greek words "andros" and "agathos", meaning brave or valiant man. POWER AND WEALTHIn its latest six-monthly report, Italy's Anti-Mafia Investigative Directorate (DIA) calls the 'Ndrangheta "the absolute dominant force in the criminal world" well beyond its home turf of Calabria. In 2008, Italian research group Eurispes valued the 'Ndrangheta's annual turnover at a staggering 44 billion euros ($48.54 billion), about 3% of Italy's gross domestic product at the time.

☆ Austria says talks underway on returning Parthenon marbles to Greece
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna has a tiny collection of marbles - just two fragments from the Parthenon's northern frieze. But Greece hopes that with each agreement to return pieces to Athens there will be growing "positive momentum" in talks on returning pieces being kept elsewhere. "I am very hopeful that the talks can move on very quickly and the marbles will be on display in Athens." Dendias said the talks were important in the context of discussions about bigger collections, particularly that the British Museum in London. "The regional government of Sicily in 2022 and Pope Francis in 2023 returned to Greece part of the Parthenon sculptures so this will be the third one and this for us is of huge, huge importance," Dendias said.

☆ Amazon plans to reboot its struggling Alexa business by working on its own ChatGPT-like technology, leaked document shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

One of its ideas is to add entertainment features for Prime Video search and recommendations. "It feels like Alexa is thinking vs. fetching from a database," the document, titled "Alexa LLM Entertainment Use Cases," said. The document focused on new entertainment features for Alexa, including more conversational video search, personal recommendations, and storytelling and news-reading capabilities. When the user asks about one of the recommended shows — Paramount+'s "Younger" is the example used in the document — Alexa shares a one-line summary. 'World's best personal assistant'Other video search features listed in the document include semantic search and personal recommendations.

☆ World's longest bridge could transform Sicily. But not if the Mafia and earthquakes get in the way
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Barbie Latza Nadeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Since then, various plans, including a short-lived idea for a tunnel, have come and gone – like water under the bridge. If built, the bridge across the Straits of Messina would span two miles (3.2 kilometers) and would be the longest suspension bridge in the world. When Salvini became transport minister, he made it his priority, betting his legacy on the bridge. “The bridge over the Strait of Messina is a project that can break ground immediately. The recent arrest of Cosa Nostra boss Matteo Messina Denaro after 30 years on the lam in Sicily represented a victory.

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