Pope Leo Gets a Close Look at First Fully Electric Ferrari

May 27, 2026 | Pope Leo XIV got the chance to sit in the driver's seat of the newly unveiled Ferrari Luce in Castel Gandolfo, Rome, Italy on 26 May. John Elkann, the chairman of the Italian brand, accompanied by other company executives and technical staff, presented the pontiff with a Ferrari steering wheel during the meeting. Ferrari test driver Raffaele de Simone knelt beside the pope while explaining the vehicle's controls and driving modes to the religious leader.

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Why is Ferrari facing such a backlash to its first electric car?: The Italian marque has broken with the past with its four-door, €550,000 Luce and traditionalists are furious »

Has Meloni Turned against Trump over Iran as Key Referendum Tests Her Leadership?

Mar 23, 2026 | Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s criticism of the US-Israeli war on Iran has exposed cracks in her relationship with US President Donald Trump.

She was supposed to be Europe’s ‘Trump whisperer’ but Meloni has even compared the Iran war to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Italian public opinion is firmly against being drawn into the conflict and this weekend Meloni faced a key test of her leadership with a crucial referendum on judicial reform.

So, has Meloni chosen domestic loyalty over transatlantic relations?

Joining Enda Brady for this discussion:

Riccardo Alcaro, Head of Research of the Programme at the Istituto Affari Internazionali
Marta Grande, Former President of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Chamber of Deputies of Italy
Amy Frederiksen, Republican Strategist

Italy Is Facing an Economic Crisis with a $3 Trillion Debt Tsunami Looming

Feb 23, 2025

Italian Deputy Minister Questions Giorgia Meloni Being Labelled a Fascist

Oct 4, 2024 | Italy's Deputy Minister for Enterprises Valentino Valentini has critiqued mainstream media for labelling Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni a far-right fascist, claiming Ms Meloni has “proved” the term “does not apply”.

“That was the corner where most of the mainstream media tried to place Meloni,” Mr Valentini told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio.

“Firstly, because she was an unknown figure and secondly because she comes from the right.

“Meloni has proved the term fascist does not apply.”

Forecast by the IMF Shows Germany and Italy Are to Tumble into Recession in 2023 | Business Special

Trouble in the Eurozone: New Italian Government Puts Pressure on Establishment

Can a Populist Government Solve Italy's Problems? | Inside Story

A very unusual coalition government has come to power in Italy. Leaders of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the right-wing, anti-immigration League party have been sworn into office. They want to revive Italy's sluggish economy by rejecting austerity and increasing spending.

The European Union is worried by the proposals and Italy's large debt. So what will the government, led by law professor Giuseppe Conte, mean for Italy and the rest of Europe?

Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault | Guests: Federigo Argentieri - Professor of Political Science; John Cabot University in Rome Daniel Gros - Director, Centre for European Policy Studies; Nathalie Tocci - Special Adviser to EU's Foreign Policy Chief, Federica Mogherini

Would Italy Exit the EU, Quit the Euro? | Al Jazeera English

During Italy's failed bid to form a government last week, the country's economy minister was vetoed by the president because he had previously discussed leaving the euro. But it is not hard to find Italians who believe adopting the currency has been a mistake. So, why is the currency such a sensitive topic in Italy?

Al Jazeera's Nadim Baba reports from Rome.

Italy on the Edge of Crisis: Should Europe Be Worried?

Share prices across Europe have slumped over the latest political crisis in Italy. The country could be facing yet more elections within months.

The populist Five Star and League parties failed to form a governing coalition after the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, rejected a leading eurosceptic as economy minister. The technocrat Carlo Cottarelli has been charged with forming an interim government - but its future already looks doomed before its even been created.

Monte dei Paschi Teeters On Brink Of Bailout

Italy Protests Erupt Across the Country

A protester throws a smoke flare during the protest in Rome

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Italy hit by strikes and violent demonstrations as anger towards soaring unemployment and economic crisis boils over onto the streets

Italy was hit by strikes, violent demonstrations and protests against refugees on Friday as anger and frustration towards soaring unemployment and the enduring economic crisis exploded onto the streets.

Riot police clashed with protesters, students and unionists in Milan and Padua, in the north of the country, while in Rome a group of demonstrators scaled the Colosseum to protest against the labour reforms proposed by the government of Matteo Renzi, the 39-year-old prime minister.

Eggs and fire crackers were hurled at the economy ministry.

On the gritty, long-neglected outskirts of Rome there was continuing tension outside a centre for refugees, which was repeatedly attacked by local residents during the week. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Friday, November 14, 2014

South of Italy in 'Catastrophic Decline' after Recession

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Southern Italy is undergoing catastrophic demographic and industrial decline after six consecutive years of recession, report warns

The sandy beaches, Baroque towns and vineyards of southern Italy have made it popular with British holiday makers and second-home owners for decades, but a new study has warned the region is undergoing catastrophic demographic and industrial decline.

The decline of the "Mezzogiorno", the southern regions, has been under way for years, but the report by an economic think tank revealed that its levels of unemployment, industrial contraction and population loss have dramatically worsened after six consecutive years of recession.

For the first time since the First World War, the number of people dying in the southern half of Italy has surpassed the number of babies being born, according to the report by Svimez, the Association for the Industrial Development of the Mezzogiorno. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Thursday, October 30, 2014

Mass Rally against Austerity Turns Violent in Rome

At least 80 people -- both police and protesters -- have been injured as street battles broke out in Rome, with rocks being flung and police deploying pepper spray

Fashion Fakes: Cheap Chinese Clothes Force Italian Brands Out

In the midst of a financial storm, Italians are turning their backs on the designer brands that have made their country world-famous. And they are increasingly turning to Chinese producers for cheap goods, sometimes even labeled 'Made in Italy'.

Dolce and Gabbana Sentenced to Jail for Tax Evasion
BBC: Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have been sentenced to jail in Italy for one year and eight months for tax evasion.

The pair were not at the trial and deny the charges.

They are accused of hiding millions of euros from Italian tax authorities.

Dolce and Gabbana have not yet given a public comment on the sentence and are likely to appeal the verdict. They are said to be unlikely to go to jail any time soon.

Their customers have included Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Kate Moss and Bryan Ferry. » | Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Italians Lose Interest in Pizza-making Tradition
Despite a long recession and a high unemployment rate, many people in Italy do not want to get their hands dirty - with pizza dough.

Tranche Trance: Greece Struggles to Satisfy Lenders, Youth Flees Country
After the drama of Cyprus, the lending troika is sceptical about the merger between Greece's two biggest banks. The country insists it can handle recapitalisation, and the Finance Minister has assured Greeks their deposits are safe. He also promised there'll be no tougher austerity, but lenders are pressing for severe job cuts in the bloated public sector. They want a massive 25-thousand workers laid off this year, and a total of 150-thousand by 2016. Soaring unemployment has already been driving young Greeks away from their country, as Tom Barton reports. (April 2013)

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Greece enters deflation for first time in 45 years: Greek consumer prices fell year-on-year in March, taking the battered economy into deflationary territory for the first time since 1968. » | Denise Roland | Tuesday, April 09, 2013

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Southern Europe's brain drain over the Alps to Germany: Italians, Spaniards and Greeks are forsaking their homelands and heading over the Alps to the more robust economies of Germany and Switzerland, as economies contract across the Mediterranean. » | Nick Squires, Rome, Fiona Govan in Madrid and Jeevan Vasagar in Berlin | Sunday, April 14, 2013

Beppe Grillo Says Italy May Soon Have to Pull Out of Euro
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Beppe Grillo, the comedian who was the big winner in Italy's election, suggests Italy may have to abandon the euro and go back to the lira, and renegotiate its gigantic debt.

Beppe Grillo, the former comedian who holds the balance of power in Italy, has suggested the country may have to abandon the euro and return to the lire.

In an interview with a German magazine published on Saturday, Mr Grillo said that “if conditions do not change” Italy “will want” to leave the euro and return to its former national currency.

The 64-year-old comic-turned-political activist also said Italy needs to renegotiate its €2 trillion debt.

At 127 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), it is the highest in the euro zone after Greece.

“Right now we are being crushed, not by the euro, but by our debt. When the interest payments reach €100 billion a year, we’re dead. There’s no alternative,” he told Focus, a weekly news magazine. » | Nick Squires | Saturday, March 02, 2013

Italy: Turning Economic Fortunes?
As Italians vote, we ask who do they trust to take on the financial crisis in Europe's third-largest economy.

An Inside Look at Work on New Alps Tunnel
BBC: Key infrastructure projects are on the agenda at this week's gathering of Europe's leaders.

One of the most ambitious and controversial is a tunnel beneath the Alps.

Linking Lyon with Turin, it is set to become the longest rail tunnel in the world.

Work has begun on the Italian side, and the BBC's correspondent Christian Fraser has been one of the first to see it. Watch BBC video » | Thursday, February 07, 2013