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THE DAILY BEAST. For years Gaddafi and his clan lived it up in Italy with Berlusconi, bought soccer teams, and invested millions, but now la dolce vita is over as the dictator’s falls and his Italian friends disavow him. (Read the article)
BLEACHER REPORT. It is no secret that Serie A has been the subject of a continuing free-fall in the UEFA coefficient rankings since losing the top spot to La Liga in 2000. Even Adriano Galliani, CEO of defending Serie A champions and world football superpower AC Milan, has voiced his concerns over the matter. (Read the article)
USA TODAY. Moto Guzzi lovers always feel their Italian marque has been overshadowed by the more fashionable, racier and certainly bigger selling Ducati, and to a lesser extent, MV Agusta. And probably deservedly so. But the Italian bike with an eagle-in-flight logo -- no, it's not a goose -- has a distinguished racing history of its own. (Read the article)
ANSA. Italian wine producers are predicting a season of "excellent quality" in 2011 although total wine volume may be 5% lower due to high summer temperatures. The forecast came from the Assoenologi, the Italian association of enologists, and is expected to give wine producers a boost after a recent fall in domestic wine sales. (Read the article)
ANSA. Italian scientists have helped locate a planet likely made entirely of diamonds in the Milky Way. The planet is believed to be a former star about 20 times denser than Jupiter and is made of carbon and oxygen in a crystalline state. (Read the article)
AFP. In a twist winemakers didn't plan but are happy to cash in on, US consumers are going gaga for ordinary age-old sweet muscat varietals, known here by the Italian moniker "moscato." Industry experts say California growers are keen to respond to the miniboom in the market for moscato wines, which can be from red or white grapes. (Read the article)
ASIAONE. Muammar Gaddafi planned to swamp the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa with African migrants as revenge for Rome’s part in the coalition against his regime. “Italy has proof of orders given by Colonel Gaddafi to turn Lampedusa into hell,” Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in an interview with the Catholic newspaper, Avvenire. (Read the article)
THE GUARDIAN. Brash British bling and Hollywood style will vie for attention in Italy this weekend as two back-to-back celebrity weddings bring limos, helicopters and paparazzi to tiny, picture-postcard towns. (Read the article)
THE TELEGRAPH. An Italian village has come up with a novel way of avoiding administrative extinction under government plans to slash the country's levels of local government – declaring itself a principality outside Rome's jurisdiction. (Read the article)
THE DAILY MAIL. Attaching a padlock to a bridge and throwing the key into the river below is seen as a symbol of enduring love in Italy, but the craze is threatening some of the country's most famous bridges. The unusual trend, which began in Rome after the publication of the 2007 best-seller "Ho Voglia di Te (I Want You)" has spread to some of the country's most visited sights. (Read the article)