Politics grab the headlines, but politics are about people and their day-to-day concerns. So, for a summer’s day change of pace, here are a few of the issues that are troubling—and delighting—Italians today. Among these events: the discovery of an ancient Roman laundry just underground near Piazza Venezia, rare “painted” puppies born in the Rome zoo, the disastrous swap of test tubes at a public hospital, the death of L’Unita’ and—why not—a snippet of unconfirmed but titillating gossip.