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.

Italy gave us the Roman empire and the Renaissance two of the most influential forces in European history. Has this legacy coloured Italians’ perception of themselves and their place in the world, wonders Marjorie Brennan.

Ristorante Rinuccini,

Shaka Hislop does not believe former West Ham team-mate Paolo Di Canio is a racist, but has called for a proper explanation of his political beliefs.

CHRISTMAS is almost upon us and this week I want to give some advice on presents for wine lovers.

ITALIAN police arrested 24 people yesterday, most of them Chinese, on charges of laundering about €2.7 billion from tax evasion, counterfeiting, prostitution and stolen goods.

Voters are casting ballots today in Italy’s regional elections, which are being seen as an important test of popularity for prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

A SCANDAL rocked Italy’s main opposition party on the eve of a nationwide primary designed to select a new leader and relaunch the party’s sagging fortunes.

A scandal rocked Italy’s main opposition party on the eve of a nationwide primary designed to select a new leader and relaunch the party’s sagging fortunes.

Rats in Naples and cats in Milan, unlicensed nurses and expired medicine are among the horrors that emerged from nationwide police inspections of Italian hospitals that left more than 100 people facing possible investigation, health officials said Thursday.

Juventus have lodged an appeal with the Regional Administrative Court (TAR) in Lazio in a last-ditch attempt to overturn the punishments awarded to them for their part in the Serie A match-fixing scandal.

A top Italian court tonight confirmed the slim electoral victory of centre-left leader Romano Prodi in the lower house of parliament, although was not conceding defeat.

Judges began inspecting more than 80,000 contested ballots, with Italian politics in turmoil and the country’s future mired in uncertainty following Romano Prodi’s narrow electoral victory and Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s demands for a recount.

Some Italian railway workers were on strike today, causing the cancellation of dozens of trains across the country.

Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of Italy’s Fascist dictator, started a hunger strike today in protest at a court decision blocking her right-wing party from running in next month’s regional elections.

An administrative court has upheld Italy’s new anti-smoking law, one of the toughest in Europe, Italian newspapers reported today.

IT IS the sound of thousands of Roma fans singing in almost perfect harmony which first strikes you when you stand in the Curva Sud in Rome’s Olympic Stadium.

Lazio 0 Chelsea 4