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 MILAN — Italian authorities have arrested a leading member of the Neopolitan Camorra crime group, who was considered one of the country’s most-dangerous criminals. More than 100 agents and a helicopter swooped to arrest Francesco Matrone — known as “The Beast” — near Salerno in Italy’s south on Friday. 

The police have discovered and seized a sprawling marijuana farm in a tunnel in the capital built during the era of Mussolini. The crop had an estimated street value of $3.7 million.

Perhaps love was in the air. I was on my honeymoon in Italy, after all. But when I took my first bite of just-made stracciatella, thin strands of fresh mozzarella soaked in heavy cream, I knew I had found another true love.

For many Romans,this seaside neighborhood at the fringe of the capital has long been the site of summertime rituals, where crowds of children built wobbly castles of soot-colored sand, parents snoozed in clusters and beachfront resorts bustled with sun-soaked hordes of vacationers.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said on Thursday his government is not considering cutting income taxes, denying a newspaper report that he was looking to such a move to revive the stagnant economy.

The Greater Rockford Italian American Association (GRIAA) is inviting all Italian-Americans in the Rockford area to participate in “The Immigration Histories of Rockford’s Italian Families.”Through the association’s Culture and Education Committee, GRIAA wants to tell the stories of those who came from all of the provinces of Italy, from Venice in the north to Sicily in the south.

Fifty percent more Italians are staying home over the Ferragosto vacation than five years ago, about 14-15% of the population. Milan has become the most "alive" city in this period as 530,000 people decide to stay at home, with a greater number of shops staying open, many of which are managed by immigrants.

The markets seem to be on summer shut-down, the likes of which I can barely remember in my career lifetime. From eurozone data that showed growth shrinking everywhere bar Germany, to Greece saying they'll need to extend the terms of their bailout - the market reaction is barely more than a shrug.

Vincenzo Crescenzo works in a lemon grove on the Amalfi coast, growing the sfusato lemon.The orchard he works in is soon to commence harvest. Vincenzo can expect to earn around 50 cents per kilo, which is an improvement on last year's returns. However, it does not represent a profit. As Vincenzo says, "The owner has had this orchard for 15 years and she's never once got back her costs."

ROME -– Led by the unmistakable smell of pot, Italian authorities stumbled across the biggest marijuana-plant cultivation site ever discovered in Rome –- right below the vaults of the Bank of Italy.On the outskirts of the Eternal City, where the ruins of ancient aqueducts stand next to dilapidated warehouses, officers out on a routine patrol Monday detected the odor of marijuana rising from an air duct of an underground tunnel, according to a statement by the Guardia di Finanza, or financial police. The officers followed their noses to a metal door that opened on to what appeared to be a subterranean mushroom-growing business.

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