Italy

Italy:

Date: March 13th, 2013 |

A high degree of crime occurs in and around the tourist areas of Naples. While most crime in Italy’s third-largest city is not violent, purse and camera snatching, pickpocketing and break-ins are commonplace. Criminal gangs operate efficiently in the areas that tourists tend to frequent, such as the Centro Historico, Piazza Garibaldi (the central train [read more]

Italy: Sistine Chapel Tourists Will Be ‘Vacuumed & Cooled’

Date: December 26th, 2012 |

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Future visitors to the Sistine Chapel may expect to be “vacuumed and cooled” to reduce their environmental impact on the famous frescoes. Vatican officials were publicly criticized earlier this year for allowing the priceless paintings to be damaged by too many tourists. Unwilling to limit the numbers of visitors to the museum, the Vatican has [read more]

Italy: Rome Bans Street Snacking in Historic Center

Date: October 9th, 2012 |

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When in Rome, be sure to finish that cup of gelato before you stroll across the piazza, or risk a ticket and hefty fine. Reflecting a cultural gap between foreign tourists and Italians, who never eat or drink on the street, Rome’s city council has banned snacking in the historic center. The new ordinance forbids [read more]

Italy: Rockslide on Cinque Terre Trail Injures Four

Date: September 26th, 2012 |

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Four Australian tourists were injured—two severely—when a rockslide hit a popular hiking trail in the Cinque Terre coastal region. The women were walking with a tour group when rockfall suddenly slammed into the steep path, knocking one of the hikers from the cliff and crushing another under heavy boulders. Rescuers were able to get them [read more]

Italy: Tourists are Stealing Ancient Rome, Piece by Piece

Date: June 27th, 2012 |

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In what appears to be a growing trend, visitors to Rome are stealing ancient artifacts and trying to take them home as holiday souvenirs. Customs officials have been recovering increasing numbers of 2,000-year-old cobblestones, fragments of marble and bits of mosaic from luggage at Rome’s two major airports. While Italian police are reportedly cracking down [read more]

Italy: Vatican Attractions are Cash-Only For Now

Date: January 9th, 2013 |

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The Italian central bank has shut down electronic payments in the Vatican city-state as of Jan. 1, creating even longer lines than usual as tourists count out Euros—if they have them—for museum tickets and souvenirs. During a routine inspection, officials found that the electronic payment service provider for the Vatican had never obtained proper authorization, [read more]

Italy: Four Dead as Flash Flooding Swamps Tuscany and Umbria

Date: November 14th, 2012 |

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Four people died and at least 100 had to be evacuated from their homes when severe flash flooding hit central and northern Italy, including popular tourist destinations in Tuscany and Umbria. The heavy rains combined with an unusually high tide in Venice left more than 70 percent of the historic city underwater, with water levels [read more]

Italy: “Drunken Herds” Ruining Sistine Chapel?

Date: October 3rd, 2012 |

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An article by one of Italy’s most respected writers sparked heated arguments with the Vatican over its responsibility to manage and protect the Sistine Chapel. Author Pietro Citati described the site of Michelangelo’s masterpiece as “overrun by drunken tourist herds,” and demanded limits on the massive number of visitors who stream through the chapel—an estimated [read more]

Italy: Bankrupt Wind Jet Airline Cancels All Flights

Date: August 15th, 2012 |

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Budget airline Wind Jet abruptly cancelled all flights as of Aug. 12, stranding hundreds of furious passengers in Sicily, Rome and other major hubs at the beginning of a busy holiday period. On the verge of bankruptcy, Wind Jet had been in buyout negotiations with Alitalia, but failed to reach an agreement with the national [read more]

Italy: Second Quake Kills 15, Displaces Thousands

Date: May 30th, 2012 |

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A second deadly earthquake rocked northern Italy May 29, claiming at least 15 lives and greatly compounding damage from the May 20 quake that killed seven. Thousands of residents, many still in shock from the first disaster, have been evacuated from the Emilia-Romagna region. The magnitude 5.8 quake radiated from its epicenter near Modena and [read more]

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