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FINANCIAL TIMES. Fascism is not a likely future for Italy. That is worth saying, because it is being forecast. Many assume that the financial crisis plus Silvio Berlusconi equals a return to fascism. It did, after all, start there. But that is an unlikely outcome now. Italy in the early 1920s, when Benito Mussolini rose to power, was reeling from a brutally Pyrrhic victory over the Austrians in 1918, the degradation of the political class and a rising threat from leftwing totalitarianism. Mr Berlusconi is clearly no Mussolini: he has squads of starlets, not of Blackshirts. Over the 15 years of his political career – always as prime minister, or as leader of the opposition – he has had a largely untrammelled opportunity to shift the national mood rightwards. This he has done not by crude propaganda but by a steady concentration on glitz, glitter and girls and a hyperbolic style of media-geared rhetoric that sees all opposition as communist and himself as a victim. (Read the Article)
CORRIERE DELLE SERA. Advice to Alemanno. Mayor replies that prime minister is mistaken and in any case was referring to the legacy of the Left. The Far East, especially Japan, is his model of urban cleanliness. And the model is even more appealing when contrasted with the “filth in the streets” of Italy’s cities, which look “more African than European”. In an interview with Radio Radio, Silvio Berlusconi reiterated his admiration for Japan, its capital Tokyo, and the cleanliness of towns over there. (Read the article)
ANSA. hree men died on Tuesday after inhaling toxic gases while working at a refinery near the Sardinian city of Cagliari. The men, who were carrying out maintenance work, are thought to have been poisoned by nitrogen after becoming trapped in a desulfurization unit. (Read the article)
ANSA. Vatican Radio, the official broadcasting service of the Holy See, has decided to carry advertising jingles for the first time in its almost 80 year history, the station's director-general and Vatican Spokesman Federico Lombardi said Tuesday. (Read the article)
ANSA. A cold-footed Italian bride made it through the ceremony and the traditional family photos but ran off with the driver of the wedding car before her reception in this north-eastern city. Her new husband, 34-year-old bank worker Andrea, and 30 guests were left waiting in vain at a restaurant for 30-year-old Sara, who had made her escape after saying she wanted to change her clothes before the reception. (Read the article)
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE. I became an Italian food goddess when I realized the following: Fresh vegetables of the season + pasta = a fabulous bowl of Italy. Throughout Italy, especially in the Mezzogiorno, or sunny south (Puglia, Sicilia, Basilicata, Calabria and Campania), whatever is freshest in the garden or marketplace is on the table twice a day (Read the article)
CNN EUROPA. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has told CNN he has never committed a gaffe and that he doesn't like his job much these days. In an exclusive interview, Berlusconi laid the blame on newspapers. ( Read the article - Watch Berlusconi's interview with Paula Newton )
AGE-NET.CO.UK. A vintage recipe for ice cream has provided the inspiration for an acclaimed Italian tenor to stage a unique operatic performance - for cows. Marcello Bedoni, one of Europe's leading tenors, flew to the UK specially for the cow concert following an invitation from Italian ice cream maker Antonio Federici who is re-launching a 100 year old brand. The gelato, which goes on sale this month, has been faithfully recreated from a century old family recipe. Its creator Antonio Federici, who lived near Portofino on the Italian Riviera, believed that listening to the opera he loved was beneficial to his cows and co-workers.
Bedoni says; "I am looking forward to the concerts - the cows are such gentle beasts and have a good ear for opera. I have put together a special repertoire for my audience including soothing arias and Napolitan songs. I am steering clear of rousing numbers like Wagner and Carmina Burana!"(Read the Article)
THE NEW YORK TIMES. ON the ruggedly gorgeous coast of the Orosei Gulf, in eastern Sardinia, purple limestone cliffs erupt from the Mediterranean like thousand-foot-high walls of some unconquerable redoubt. Ravines wild with goats tumble onto isolated beaches. On hot days when the sirocco wind blows, the land can smell of wild rosemary and thyme. (Read the article)
THE NEW YORK TIMES. The Brera Gallery, the least known of all Italy’s great city museums even though it contains an array of masterpieces that would be the pride of any institution in the world, is this year celebrating its 200th anniversary with a series of special study exhibitions designed to revisit its (sometimes checkered) history and highlight its remarkable treasures (Read the article)