Italian man prefers jail cell to Granpa’s house

An Italian man, under house arrest and ordered to live with his grandfather in Rome, recently fled the home and ran to a police station where he turned himself in and begged to be arrested.  He had been sentenced to six months of house arrest at his grandfather’s home after a run-in/scuffle with the police.

He pled with the officers to cancel the house arrest and put him in jail, claiming he couldn’t stand living with his grandfather.

The court was unmoved, however.  They returned him to Granpa’s, and added another 80 days to his sentence for the escape.

Link  

Multi-energy fueling station in Tuscany adds hydrogen

Tuscan governor Claudio Martini said today his region has put itself at the forefront of the renewable energy movement with the addition of hydrogen to a “multi-fuel” station at Collesalvetti, a town on the Florence-Pisa-Livorno highway. The project is a joint effort between the local government and Italian energy giant ENI, whose subsidiary AGIP runs the station.

The station already offers several fuels with low environment impact (such as natural gas). Today it added 100% renewable hydrogen that is generated on-site from solar panels and wind turbines. It should be able to generate enough H2 for 40,000 km of driving, and will be used to power a handful of local, experimental public and private vehicles that use the fuel.

In addition, the solar panels and turbines help power the station itself, and what’s left over can be put into the local power grid.

Link and link (Italian)

Two on a scooter: finally legal…

Surprisingly, considering the high number of deaths involving scooters yearly (about 14,000), the Italian government recently passed a law making it legal for two people to ride on a motorino together.

This has long been the practice in Italy.  In fact, it’s not uncommon to see the motorino used as a ’station wagon,’ with mom, dad, and kid (or kids), plus bags, all crammed onto the small seat of the scooter.

Constitutional reforms rejected

Berlusconi takes another hit, and Prodi’s center-left coalition gets some more political capital, as Italians vote in a referendum to reject broad constitutional changes that would have pumped more power to the prime minister and increase regional independence.

Results from all polling stations except those overseas showed 61.7 percent of the voters in a two-day, nationwide referendum turned down the plan to strengthen the prime minister’s powers and give more autonomy to the regions. (Link)

More than half of Italians are computer illiterate

A new study claims that 59% of all Italians have virtually no computer skills whatsoever. This puts them at the highest computer illiteracy percentage in Europe, after Greece, which comes in at a whopping 65%.

Of all age groups, those over 55 are, understandably, the most disadvantaged in this area. It's estimated that 87% of those who are computer illiterate in Italy are over 55.

These percentages are a bit disturbing considering the Italian government's current push to make the internet available to everyone.

Link (It) 

40th annual EuroVespa party–Vespa Club celebrates 60 years of Vespas

The biggest reunion of Vespa lovers took place this past week in Torino. And how big is it? They say that if you lined up all the Vespas belonging to the attendees, you'd get a line almost 4 miles long. That's a lot of scooters.

The three days of the festival were packed with shows, tours, and general drooling over or vaunting of Vespas.

To find out a little more about Vespa clubs, Eurovespa, or the world of the fantastic and legendary Vespa, you can visit www.eurovespa2006.it , www.vespaworldclub.com , or www.vespa.com. Or visit one of over 10,000 Piaggio dealers in the world and eat your heart out.

Here's one of the original vespas from 1943.

And one from 1965.

And a brand new one.

And, of course, the Piaggio Mp3.

Italy’s prince exchanges the jet set for a jail cell

Vittorio Emanuele, the 69-year-old son of Italy's last king, is in jail, arrested on charges of corruption and prostitution.

He has only been allowed in Italy since 2002, when the Italian government lifted an exile ban on any male members of his family. The Savoy family–the last royal family–was exiled in 1946 when Italy changed to a republic. Their exile was 'punishment' for collaboration with Mussolini and shamefully fleeing Rome to avoid a German invasion.

Vittorio Emmanuele has had an even more colorful political life than our old favorite, Berlusconi. He was deeply involved in a gunfight on board a yacht in which a young German man was killed. He also refused to offer a symbolic public apology for the unpleasant racial laws passed by his grandfather.

We imagine that this arrest makes Berlusconi uncomfortable. He, too, is awaiting a trial for corruption.

Below is a photo of the illustrious prince in happier times.

Link

Italy to pull Iraq troops by October 30

The undersecretary of defense, Lorenzo Forcieri, has announced that Italian troops will leave Iraq within 3-4 months, with the final deadline being October 30th. The foreign minister Massimo D'Alema is on his way to Washington to explain the decision to Condolezza Rice, while the Italian government hopes the news will be taken amicably by the US administration.

Link (It)

US vs. Italy tomorrow

The United States men's soccer team is preparing today for their humiliating loss to match against Italy tomorrow. The game will air on ABC at 2:30 pm ET. (Link)
Gotta admit that this one has us torn in our loyalties. Rooting for the stars and stripes seems the patriotic thing to do, not to mention that they get underdog sympathy, but then again we'd like to see Italy go all the way. Regardless, it's going to be a brilliant match, and may the best team win.

Italy beats Ghana 2-0, US falls to Czechs

Forza Azzuri! Italy blasted their way to a 2-0 win over Ghana, even though the game was darkened by soccer scandals back home and a possible serious injury to the Italian star Francesco Totti.

Andrea Pirlo blasted a shot past a crowd of players after a short corner in the 40th minute, and the substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta capitalized on a defensive mistake to score in the 83rd minute.

Italy produced 13 shots on goal to Ghana’s 4 and hit the crossbar and goalpost with shots.

“It was the best soccer of the tournament so far,” said Joseph S. Blatter, the president of the sport’s governing body, FIFA.

It was also a welcome bit of good news for Italy. Prosecutors in four Italian cities are investigating allegations of match-fixing, referee arrangements and illegal betting. Several players on Italy’s roster have been linked to the scandal, either by their own actions or their clubs’.

Link (NY Times)

Meanwhile, things don’t look good for the Americans. The US got spanked by the Czech Republic 3-0. Guess who’s going to win Saturday’s match (US vs. Italy)?

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany — When it came down to game time, the Czech Republic was the schoolyard bully, and the U.S. was the wimpy kid in the corner handing over his lunch money.

Link (Sports Illustrated)

In preparation for Saturday, you sorry US fans can take heart by visiting www.ussoccer.com for the latest bad news about our team.

Italy highest cesarean rates in Europe

The percentage of births in Italy which are completed with a cesarean section, either planned or emergency, has reached the eyebrow-raising high of 35.2%. This gives them the dubious honor of having the highest percentage in all of Europe. Holland, with the lowest, gives a shocking comparison. Only 13.5% of their births are cesarean section.

The doctors blame the patients, saying they want birth to be as painless as possible, with no complications. They also say that the age of the mother when it's her first child is a large factor. In Italy this age is rising constantly.

The women blame the doctors, claiming that c-sections are the 'easy way out' for doctors, making delivery convenient for themselves. Many women are upset that so little apparent concern is showed for the timing of the mother and baby's bodies, and much more attention is paid to the schedules of the doctors and hospitals.

America, while still lower than Italy, all is far past Holland, with 27.5% (in 2003).

The federal goal (both of America and Italy) is 15%.

Link (Italian) 

Parmalat criminal trial begins

The implosion of Parmalat (which was referred to as "Parmacrak" by some in Italy)was Italy's Enron scandal. Executives and accountants allegedly hid massive losses and debt on the company's books, leading finally to the company's bankruptcy. Thousands of small investors, many of them elderly and dependent on the stock for their pensions, lost their savings in the crash.

Now the criminal proceedings are beginning, and civil cases are pending as well, both in Italy and the US.

An 80-year-old pensioner who would only give his first name, Orlindo, said he had invested 150 million old lira ($94,600) in Parmalat bonds in May 2003. He moved quickly to sell the investment when Italy’s securities watchdog Consob started questioning Parmalat about an offshore account in the Cayman Islands, but still wound up losing 85 million old lira ($52,000).

Link (English, MSNBC)

Priest says no to bellybuttons in church

Outside a church in a town near Milan posters were displayed, reading, "God already knows everything about you without you reminding him: Don't show your bellybutton in church on Sunday." Or, "God knew your bellybutton before you were born–there's no need to show it to Him every Sunday."

These posters got a lot of media attention, prompting another ironic poster directed toward the journalists. The priest responsible for the notices refused to be interviewed, explaining that the point of the posters wasn't for publicity or attention, but rather a way to send a message to his parishioners without having to preach a sermon on bellybuttons.

Apparently it worked. There were no exposed midriffs in church yesterday.

Link (Italian) 

I Mondiali

Just so you can start buying up aranciata and whipping up Italian treats for your amazing World Cup parties, here is a list of the scheduled Italy games:

Forza Azzuri (on that note, the Italian team's color is blue, azzuro)

June 12, 9 pm German time:  Italy vs. Ghana

June 17, 9 pm German time:  Italy vs. USA (who will you root for?)

June 22, 4 pm German time:  Italy vs. Czech Republic

After that, their schedule will be determined by which of these games they win.

The times listed are the local times which the games begin, but we haven't a clue when your TV station will air them.  If they're live, the 9 pm games will be aired at 3 pm EST. 

Prodi: Italian troops to leave Iraq

As expected, the new Italian government has lost little time in changing their policy in the Iraq war.  Prodi met with England's prime minister Tony Blair this morning to inform him that Italy had 'made the decision' to withdraw.  

Italy's troops are currently assisting British troops in an area of Iraq commanded by the British.