In many ways it was the perfect Champions League moment, writes Tommy Martin.

The rise of pro-Putin parties in the recent Italian elections has again underlined how American leverage has waned in comparison, writes John Lloyd.

Even though Italians are no strangers to political instability the weekend endorsement of the maverick populist Five Star Movement, led by 31-year-old Luigi De Maio, seems a desperate step into the unknown.

Two populist and stridently anti-European Union political groups, both fierce rivals, surged in Italy's parliamentary election at the expense of the country's traditional powers, but neither gained enough support to govern alone, preliminary results showed.

At a moment of unnerving American nativism, Russia’s international subversion of democracy, Chinese expansionism, and European uncertainty driven by a divided Britain’s unhappiness, anything that represents a continuum of live-and-let-live liberal democracy is to be welcomed.

The presidents of Italy's wealthy northern regions of Veneto and Lombardy have claimed victory in autonomy referendums that seek to grab additional powers and tax revenue from Rome.

Robert Harvey examines the relatively new phenomenon in politics that has seen the rise of the supra-politician promising to save the day, despite their lack of political experience

The Italian prime minister has urged his EU allies to take in more refugees, saying the relentless arrival of tens of thousands of rescued people on Italian shores is putting his country under enormous strain.

The Czech prime minister has said his government will resign over unexplained business dealings of his finance minister and rival.

AC Milan head coach Vincenzo Montella dedicated his side's win against Fiorentina to club president Silvio Berlusconi.

Here's your morning bulletin.

Italy is the only country in the eurozone where per capita output has actually fallen since it joined the euro, writes Gavin Jones.

A Milan judge has ordered former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi to be tried on corruption charges.

Zombie-banks, anti-EU sentiment and a stagnant economy are just some of the issues facing a country that would be too big to bail out, writes Philippe Legrain

Italy's populist opposition 5-Star Movement says it is ready to run the country after voters triggered the demise of prime minister Matteo Renzi with a stinging defeat on his reforms referendum.

The referendum result in Italy, which comes after Donald Trump's election last month and the Brexit referendum in June, could now potentially trigger a further bout of political and economic turmoil not just in Italy, but across Europe too, argues Andrew Hammond.

Trust the American people, says avowed liberal John Lloyd, who believes the US Constitution is one of the reasons why the new administration won’t be as bad as feared

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Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi is suffering a serious case "aortic insufficiency" and will undergo surgery to replace the valve, doctors said.

Ex-Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi has been taken to hospital for scheduled tests after doctors discovered a small irregular heartbeat during an earlier appointment.

 How did a kitschy, carnival performer propel himself to the brink of power in the most powerful country in the world? asks Bernard-Henri Lévy

Grey hair is hot as hell and we should embrace it says Suzanne Harrington

Italy’s banking woes are set to plague prime minister Matteo Renzi for months to come after a long-sought deal with the EU on bad debts disappointed investors.

USA: A cloak of invisibility may be common in science fiction but research suggests such a device may be moving closer to reality.

SCOTLAND: A mascot from the first Commonwealth Games held in Scotland almost half a century ago has been uncovered.

Heartened by recent election successes by an anti-immigrant party, Italian politicians based in the north vowed yesterday not to shelter any more migrants saved at sea, even as hundreds more were being rescued in the Mediterranean from smugglers’ boats in distress.

Further evidence of how the ECB interfered in eurozone countries’ economies, including Ireland’s, has been revealed by former ECB president Jean Claude Trichet.

Silvio Berlusconi’s acquittal in his notorious ‘bunga bunga’ case has been upheld by Italy’s highest court.

Italian police have searched the homes of several women who attended ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi’s famed “bunga bunga” parties as part of an investigation into alleged witness tampering during the billionaire’s sex-for-hire trial.

A judge in Milan has shaved six weeks off Silvio Berlusconi’s once-a-week community service helping Alzheimer’s patients, the media mogul’s penalty for a tax fraud conviction.

Italy’s president has resigned, setting off a scramble for a new head of state that will test premier Matteo Renzi’s ability to unite his own bickering party without alienating opposition support for electoral reform.

Football sometimes seems like politics in disguise but in Greece, the opposite is also true, writes David Shonfield.

Ferrari’s potential exit from Italy is causing some hand-wringing in its home country.

Liverpool are closing in on a deal to bring maverick striker Mario Balotelli back to England from AC Milan.

AC Milan insist they have not received an offer from Liverpool for their striker Mario Balotelli.

BSkyB’s plan to buy Rupert Murdoch’s pay-TV assets in Italy and Germany for up to €10bn is a bold bet on long-term growth at the expense of short-term profit, but the pioneering British media firm has pulled off such gambles before.