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ANSA. The renowned Festival of the Two Worlds in the Umbrian town of Spoleto has a better program than ever lined up for its annual two-week extravaganza of music, theatre and opera, organisers say. Speaking at a presentation for this year's celebration, artistic director Giorgio Ferrara listed the acts attending and set out his view of the festival. (Read the article)
ANSA. Venice city council on Thursday opened the bidding to design a replacement for one of the city's key bridges, the Ponte dell'Accademia. The current bridge on the site, made of wood and iron, opened in 1933 but was only ever intended as a temporary, stopgap measure, and the city council wants to make it a permanent structure. (Read the article)
THE NEW YORK TIMES. Chrysler, the third-largest American auto company, will seek bankruptcy protection and enter an alliance with the Italian automaker Fiat, the White House announced today
“I have every confidence that Chrysler will emerge from this process stronger and more competitive,” President Obama said during a noontime appearance at the White House. "The partnership will give Chrysler not only a chance to survive but to thrive in the global auto industry.” He said that it was made possible by the series of sacrifices by Chrysler stakeholders, such as the United Automobile Workers union, and said more sacrifices were in store.(Read the Article)
LOS ANGELES TIMES. Chrysler will file for bankruptcy protection in a government-backed restructuring designed to allow the company to form an alliance with Fiat, according to an administration official. The announcement, scheduled for 9 a.m. PDT, comes after intense negotiations with some of Chrysler's smaller debt-holders broke down ahead of today's midnight deadline for Chrysler to significantly reduce its debt. Obama had made that a condition for continuing to extend billions of dollars in government aid to Chrysler, which needs the money to stay in business. (Read the Article)
ANSA. The Italian capital is preparing to host one of the most popular exhibitions ever on Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci. Opening on May 1, the travelling show will celebrate the mind of Leonardo in all its brilliance, offering a sweeping overview of his myriad interests.
Unlike other exhibitions that have focused on a particular aspect of Leonardo's genius, this event encourages visitors to explore his underlying approach to various thought processes, and his efforts to assimilate different ideas into a coherent world view. (Read the Article)
BBC. In little over a week the first of 2009's Grand Tours will kick off in Venice, Italy. According to many the Tour of Italy is a harder one to win than its French cousin, because the Italians have a knack for picking really hard mountains to climb. (Read the Article)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. While businesses around the world are hunkering down for survival, the Italian mob is living a golden moment. Italy's various organized crime syndicates — often lumped together colloquially as Mafia Inc. — are gobbling up gas stations, muscling in on supermarket franchises, making loans to cash-starved businesses, taking over trattorias and acquiring buildings in swank neighborhoods in Rome and Milan, investigators say. (Read the Article)
ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL. As governments around the world on Monday rushed to contain the spread of the deadly swine flu virus that already claimed 100 lives, Italy's foreign minister Franco Frattini played down the risk it posed to his country, calling this “insignificant”. Frattini noted that Italy was setting up a swine flu crisis unit within its health ministry, and welcomed the urgent meeting of European Union health ministers being called by the European Commission to discuss the situation. “I believe that it's right to put in place all the necessary European coordination in the face of this emergency,” Frattini told journalists in Luxembourg, where he was due to attend a summit of EU foreign ministers. (Read the Article)
CNN. The captain of the Italian cruise ship MSC Melody foiled an attack by pirates off the coast of Somalia on Saturday by ordering his security crew to fire back. Six armed pirates in a speedboat attacked the ship, which had about 1,500 people onboard. They fled after the security crew fired back. (Read the Article)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Italy commemorated the anniversary of its anti-Nazi uprising Saturday amid a fierce debate over a proposal by Premier Silvio Berlusconi's conservative forces to honor Italians who died fighting for the fascists. The proposed legislation would grant a special honor and pensions to all those who fought in World War II — those who fought for Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and anti-fascist partisans alike — essentially equating the two. (Read the Article)