Italy

Pope Francis came close to anointing his heir. But the conclave will consider a range of cardinals, from progressives to Trump fans

That he remained upbeat despite his many misfortunes was amazing. That he managed to make his home country laugh for over half a century borders on the miraculous

The acclaimed artist takes Florence in her first institutional solo show in Italy

A vampire-style taste for pig’s blood is found across the country, where it is a key ingredient in traditional cakes and sausages

Lasagne is now taking its turn in an ongoing churn where chefs and restaurateurs fall back on a proponent of certainty

Corporate giants buy great art like stocks and shares – and then hide it from the public. But in Italy, things are thankfully a little different…

The country buys nuclear energy from France and other European countries. Italians just don’t want the power plants in their backyard

Hollywood on the Tiber lifts the lid of Rome’s riotous postwar film industry

Ugliness in Piobbico is a virtue, and the ‘uglies’ are heroes

Gorizia and Nova Gorica share a history of division but are now united as the first transnational European Capital of Culture

For a golden period, the Tuscan hill town ruled the art world. Now its treasures are reassembled in a remarkable exhibition

For three days every year, the quiet Piedmont town of Ivrea becomes a citrus-soaked battleground

‘Pippo’ soared to fame alongside Maria Callas in the 1950s but his playboy lifestyle ultimately led to the loss of his golden voice

Restaurateurs in Grisciano are on a ‘promotion mission’ to tell Pasta alla Gricia's origin tale to tourists

At a time when cyclists had begun to resemble machines, Pantani was almost impossibly human, unable to conceal his emotions

A sumptuously illustrated book of interviews with the director reveals his extraordinary love of the monumental

Claimed to have aphrodisiac effects, Italy’s most iconic dessert was born inside the brothels of Treviso to ‘refuel’ clients

Her career as one of the world’s leading operatic sopranos often came second to gushing entreaties to her ravishing appearance

Cherished and controversial, Sanremo is Eurovision... but turned up to eleven

Gino Cecchettin, whose daughter Giulia was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, is leading the fight to end violence against women

Photographer Simone Nanetti’s haunting images of Italy’s abandoned nightclubs

The famous Grimm Brothers’ tales were originally penned by Giovan Battista Basile, an unknown Italian noble poet from Naples

In one of sport’s most picturesque locations, fuelled by Asian multimillions and celeb fans, little FC Como 1907 are suddenly big business

Elon Musk and Giorgia Meloni seem to have a harmonious friendship – at least in front of the cameras

With his work for the fashion brand, the late photographer and art director Oliviero Toscani took the trangressive mainstream

A new exhibition recalls the litany of catastrophe that has afflicted the world for centuries

Many directors might not have scaled their creative heights without Ponti’s recognition that one could make daring and challenging cinema and still turn a profit

Each government pledges to boost resources to the police, fire fighters and other emergency services, but it’s never enough

The former home secretary recalled visiting the Italian-Turkish border, despite no such thing existing

The rapid speed at which the Adamello is melting shouldn’t come as a shock; the past two years have been unbearably hot in Italy

The Christmas tree in the Umbrian town of Gubbio in central Italy is so big, you can even switch the lights on from space

The almost unbelievable artistic riches of renaissance Florence form the basis of an unmissable exhibition