“Miracle” medicine hoax revealed

Two men in Milan were arrested for their production of ‘Biotex,’ a ‘medicine’ which they claimed could cure everything, from aids to cancer.

With a complex network of doctors they convinced many patients, including those terminally ill, to abandon traditional methods of treatment and use only Biotex–which, as it turns out, wasn’t really medicine at all.

Link (Italian)

It’s raining euro!

A young man on a motorino dropped his backback on the street.  As it broke open, the drivers behind were greeted with a surprise as twenty-thousand euro worth of bills began fluttering to the ground.

The motorists jumped out of their cars and began stuffing money into their pockets, joined by the distressed owner of the backpack.

He ended up finding 7 thousand–less than half of what he started with–and various drivers took off with the rest.

To top off his already bad day, the police arrested him and confiscated his remaining seven thousand, after he was unable to give a satisfactory answer as to where it came from and why he had it.

Link (Italian) 

Another toasty summer predicted

Anyone who travelled in Italy in 2003 may remember the horrific temperatures of July and August.

If you’re planning a trip this summer, better brace yourself for a repeat and bring your own air conditioning.

Those in the weather world are predicting a summer with temperatures decidedly above average. However, because of Italy’s position, there is talk that Sicily and Sardegna may escape this heatwave and experience summer temperatures below or at their average (though Sicily’s summer average isn’t all that cool either. . .).

Link (Italian)

Under the Tuscan . . . mosque?

MSNBC.com is covering a story about the controversy surrounding the construction of a large mosque in Colle di Val d'Elsa, a town between Florence and Tuscany. Muslim residents say it will promote cultural exchange, while the locals are "very afraid." Overall it's an excellent intro to the problems Italy faces as it becomes Africa and the Middle East's "gateway to Europe."

Link (English)

Schwarzenegger style, Berlusconi promises he’ll be back . . . soon

We honestly thought he'd given up. Really, we sighed and admitted our favorite European politician was throwing in the towel and we'd have to find someone new to make us laugh. But it seems we have underestimated him.

In a letter to the Spanish prime minister (which according to Italian news sources is similar to letters he sent to many other world leaders), the ex-prime minister claims that when some million odd votes previously disqualified are counted, he will come out ahead of the current prime minister Prodi, and will return to his post.

In the letter, he proudly mentions that his government brought a 'period of stability unprecedented in the history of the Italian Republic.'

That's all very well, but seeing as the Italian Republic was only formed in 1946, we have to admit it's not so very impressive.

Link (Italian)

BMW and the Mille Miglia

Forbes.com has a nice story describing how Italy's Mille Miglia (thousand-mile) race has shaped the history of BMW. If anything else, it's great to know that people are still racing 1937 BMWs.

Another example of successful German-Italian collaboration also comes from the world of motoring: the relationship between BMW and Italy's Mille Miglia (Thousand Mile) endurance race. The event began in 1927 and is today a race of historic automobiles. In 1940, the BMW 328 Mille Miglia Touring Coupe won the race and set a record with an average speed of 103.6 mph. Drivers Giuliano Cané and Lucia Galliani won the 2006 Mille Miglia, which runs from Brescia to Rome and back again along a different route, in a 1937 BMW 328 MM. It was their sixth Mille Miglia victory in the last 10 years in a BMW 328.

BMW now has a concept car based on the 1940 328 and it is oh-so cool.

Link (English, w/ pics, via Wired.com)

Robot does heart surgery

We've been posting a lot of health-related stuff lately, but this one's too interesting to pass up.

MILAN, Italy, May 18 (UPI) — For the first time, a robot surgeon in Italy has carried out a long-distance heart operation by itself.

"This operation has enabled us to cross a new frontier," said Carlo Pappone, who initiated and monitored the surgery on a PC in Boston, ANSA reported. Pappone is head of Arrhythmia and Cardiac Electrophysiology at Milan's San Raffaele University.

Link (English)

AIDS: 1 person infected per hour in Italy

Not only that, but the majority of new infections are among heterosexuals. That's just a small slice of surprising stats that will be presented by prof. Mauro Moroni at an AIDS benefit event on June 9 during Fieramilanocity.

Moroni says that not many people are talking about AIDS, and that Italians have "let down their guard." Right now about 140,000 people are infected, and 50,000 are seeking treatment, which costs the Italian national health service about 8,000 euros per patient per year.

Link 

1.5 million Italians suffer from depression

A recent meeting of the American Psychological Association in Turin highlights the epidemic of depression not only in Italy, but throughout the world. Experts warn that senior citizens and women are more at risk (2/3 of those diagnosed with depression in Italy are women). The World Health Organization even states that by 2020, depression will be the world's #2 health disorder, topped only by cardiovascular diseases.

Link (La Reppublica) 

Piaggio introduces the Mp3, a three-wheeled scooter

Yesterday morning Piaggio introduced its new design, hoping to wow the global public. The new scooter has two parallel front wheels, and is easy to handle even on wet asphalt and over bumpy terrain. When you stop at a stoplight you don't even have to put a foot down. The new model offers more stability than any other scooter.  The added safety is welcome news in light of the number of yearly fatalities due to scooter accidents.
This year marks the 60 year anniversary of Piaggio's first scooter, the famous Vespa. The original scooter was almost named the Mp6, so the name of this unique new design is somewhat symbolic.

Piaggio hopes that their Mp3 will enable them to conquer the Asian and American markets.

Link (Italian)

New President of the Republic elected

The politicians have cast their votes.  Giorgio Napolitano replaces Ciampi as the President of the Republic of Italy.  Out of the 1000 men present, 990 voted.  543 votes were for Napolitano.  Many voting cards were left blank, a few for various contenders, and some even for good old Silvio Berlusconi himself.  There were also several strange votes, such as one for the general director of the Juventus soccer team (we told you Italians were big soccer fans).

The new president will be sworn into office on Monday.

Prodi rejoiced, saying Napolitano will be 'every man's president.'  Berlusconi said, cryptically, "Let's hope he's impartial."

Link (Italian) 

Italy second in Europe for cleanest sea

The FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education) yearly chooses the cleanest and best beaches in all of Europe and awards them with a blue flag, to be flown for the year at that beach.
This year, Italy won 90 flags, putting it second only to Spain, which took 104 flags. It barely beats France (89 flags) and Greece (82 flags).
Of the regions in Italy, Tuscany won with a whopping 14 flags.
For a complete list of the best and brightest beaches in Italy, visit this link (Italian).

Let’s eat Italian: a simple, preview-to-summer dish

This fabulously light and gourmet dish is an easy summertime favourite, though we eat it all year. Don’t let the tuna fool you or the anchovies scare you. This is not your grandma’s tuna casserole and the flavor is surprisingly light and very gourmet.

Ingredients:

3-4 anchovy fillets, minced

2 cloves garlic

1 t crushed red pepper

10-15 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 can tuna fish, the flakier the better (drained)
juice of 1 lemon

olive oil

angel hair pasta

Directions:

Saute the garlic, anchovies, and red pepper in a good 1/4 cup of olive oil until the garlic starts to turn golden. Add the cherry tomatoes and saute briefly. Add the tuna and cook until just warm, remove from heat.

In the meantime, cook the angel hair and drain. Add the lemon juice to the pasta and stir until coated. Toss the pasta with the cherry tomato mixture and serve with a healthy sprinkle of fresh Parmesan.

The ultimate in the ‘Mediteranean diet.’ Gnam gnam!

Grandpa’s girlfriend is seventeen….

Today in Rome a seventy-year-old man was charged by the carabinieri (Italian police) for having seduced a seventeen-year-old girl.  Apparently the girl had 'fallen madly in love with him' and he had easily been able to persaude her to come live with him.

Her parents, horrified, contacted the police, but when the police confronted him, he denied everything.

To clear things up, they accompanied him back to his appartment, where they found the devoted, um, girlfriend.  She was ushered back to her parents.

Link (Italian) 

Paul Newman gives children’s camp to Italy

In 1988 Paul Newman created the foundatio, "Hole in the Wall," to provide vacation camps for terminally ill children.  This year, good old Paul will open one of his camps in Tuscany.

The first camp was opened in Conneticut in 1984.  This camp in Tuscany will be the twelfth.