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Bronze Age Sardinians Were Trading Metal with Scotland and Sweden— 500 Years Before the Phoenicians

20 September 2026 at 07:52
A copper ingot cast somewhere in inland Sardinia during the Bronze Age might, centuries later, turn up in a Scottish tomb or a village in southern Sweden. That is the striking picture drawn by Serena Sabatini, an archaeologist at the University of Gothenburg, in a new paper that pulls together decades of isotopic analyses to […]

A 328-Foot Underground Aqueduct Discovered in the Sabine Hills Shows Rome Wasn’t the First to Master Water Engineering

17 September 2026 at 11:48
In the district of Monteleone Sabino, a town of under 1,300 people in Italy’s Rieti province, a team of cavers has made its way through a passage first cut into the mountainside more than two thousand years ago. On the other side, they documented a pre-Roman aqueduct, now walkable for roughly 100 meters (about 328 […]

A Rare Etruscan Cube-Shaped Tomb from the Era of Rome’s Last Kings, with a Corinthian Krater Filled with Burned Bones, Discovered in Pontecagnano

15 September 2026 at 10:29
Anyone planning to build in Pontecagnano Faiano, near Salerno, has learned to expect a tomb underneath. That happened again this year, and this time the find was unusual enough that archaeologists had only seen its like twice before in more than sixty years of excavation. Preventive digging ahead of a private housing development uncovered a […]

Why is Italy covering up the expulsion of its ambassador to Ethiopia

14 September 2026 at 05:59
In August 2026, the Ethiopian government declared Sam Fabrizi, the Italian ambassador, persona non grata. Rome chose to remain silent. This incident is not merely a diplomatic incident, but a striking example of the new balance of power between Africa and the former colonial powers. It is significant that, on February 13, 2026, Giorgia Meloni […]

A Roman Villa Mixed the Pharaohs’ Most Expensive Pigment Into Its Plaster Like Cheap Filler

13 September 2026 at 10:23
Egyptian blue predates the pyramids’ final form. Egyptian artisans were producing it before 3100 BCE, making it, as far as archaeologists know, the first pigment humans ever manufactured synthetically. It’s a compound called cuprorivaite (calcium copper silicate), made by firing silica, lime, copper compounds, and alkaline salts at high temperature until they crystallize into a […]

'Learn about Serbian suffering': An overlooked dimension of European history presented in Italy

11 September 2026 at 10:53

The Memorial Center of the Republic of Srpska is bringing its international 'Learn About Serbian Suffering' campaign to Rome from September 7 to 13, reports NewsEurope. The initiative aims to introduce Italian and wider European audiences to the historical experience of the Serbian people and to the suffering of civilians during some of the most tragic periods of 20th-century European history.

The digital exhibition will appear on large LED screens in several central Roman locations, including Piazza della Repubblica on Via Nazionale, Castel Sant’Angelo on Lungotevere Prati, Cavour, Lungotevere Testaccio, the Trastevere area around Marconi, Monteverde, and Gianicolo, and Via Gregorio VII near the Vatican.

The campaign is founded on the belief that Serbian history should be examined beyond the political interpretations and stereotypes that have influenced parts of Western public opinion for decades.

The Serbian people have deep historical roots in Europe, including in its cultural, civilizational, and spiritual traditions. Nevertheless, much of Western European public opinion remains insufficiently familiar with their historical experience, especially with the suffering of Serbian civilians during the wars of the 20th century.

This lack of awareness is particularly evident in relation to the breakup of Yugoslavia and the conflicts of the 1990s. During that period, simplified interpretations of the role played by the Serbs became widespread in parts of Western public discourse. Complex political and historical developments were frequently reduced to a division between perpetrators and victims, while the Serbian wartime experience received limited attention. Consequently, the suffering of families who lost relatives, homes, and entire communities was often overlooked, as were the experiences of hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes and ancestral lands.

The campaign seeks to respond to this omission in Europe’s collective memory.

Its purpose is not to accuse any nation, state, or society. Instead, it invites the public to consider this part of European history from a broader perspective, using archival material, documented facts, and, above all, the firsthand accounts of people who survived war, persecution, detention camps, and the loss of family members.

According to Denis Bojić, director of the Memorial Center of the Republic of Srpska (pictured), the campaign was created to bring the historical experience of the Serbian people and the suffering of Serbian civilians during different periods of the 20th century to audiences beyond the borders of the Republic of Srpska and Serbia. He said the initiative focuses on families who lost loved ones, people driven from their homes, victims of persecution and detention camps, and generations that continued their lives while carrying the consequences of those losses.

Bojić described the project as a responsibility toward both victims and future generations. He emphasized the importance of preserving their names, faces, and testimonies and making them available to people who have not yet encountered this dimension of European history. He also identified the preservation and international accessibility of this memory as one of the Memorial Center’s principal tasks.

Italy, he noted, has particular importance because it offers an opportunity to present Serbian history in one of Europe’s major centers of culture and civilization. The campaign aims to encourage a broader and more open discussion of Serbian suffering based on documentation and personal testimony.

Bojić added that the project’s objective is to ensure that Serbian victims are not remembered solely as statistics in historical accounts, but as individuals with recognizable faces and personal stories within Europe’s shared memory. In his view, preserving the memory of victims also means preserving a people’s dignity, identity, and understanding of its own history.

The decision to present the campaign in Italy, and specifically in Rome, reflects the longstanding respect among Serbs for Italian civilization and its achievements, from ancient Rome and Roman law to Italy’s broader contribution to European culture.

Rome’s historical importance and its influence on European law, institutions, and culture give the initiative additional significance. Presenting the Serbian experience in the city therefore represents an opportunity to place it within a wider European context.

The organizers also point to more recent ties that remain important in Serbian public memory. Italian KFOR units in Kosovo and Metohija contributed to the protection of the Serbian population and Orthodox cultural heritage. Their long-term role in safeguarding the Visoki Dečani Monastery and other Serbian religious sites continues to be remembered.

The organizers regard these links as a basis for strengthening relations between the two peoples. The Rome presentation is intended not only to share historical material, but also to support continued friendship and cooperation and to introduce the Serbian experience to audiences in one of Europe’s most significant cultural centers.

The Memorial Center of the Republic of Srpska was founded on May 30, 2024, following a decision by the Government of the Republic of Srpska. Its mission is to collect, document, preserve, and present testimonies concerning the suffering of the Serbian people.

Oral history is central to its work. The institution gathers personal accounts from people who directly experienced war, persecution, and other forms of suffering. More than 1,500 audiovisual testimonies have so far been recorded and collected, making the project one of the largest initiatives of its kind in Southeastern Europe.

The Center seeks to ensure that these experiences are not preserved only in books, archives, or statistical records. By documenting the voices and faces of survivors, it aims to maintain a direct connection with the people who lived through these events. The testimonies are recorded in the field, archived, and incorporated into documentaries, publications, exhibitions, and educational resources.

The Memorial Center is also available to cooperate with institutions, museums, archives, researchers, and other organizations in Europe and elsewhere that work in the fields of history, oral history, and remembrance culture. The presentation in Italy forms part of a broader effort to establish links with European institutions and to make testimonies about the suffering of the Serbian people accessible to international audiences.

A Landslide in Italy Just Exposed a 2,500-Year-Old Tomb From a People Who Traded With the Greeks

11 September 2026 at 10:24
On the slope below the cemetery of Sant’Elpidio a Mare, in Italy’s Le Marche region, recent heavy rains loosened the hillside enough to expose something no one was looking for: a rounded ceramic vessel, decoration still visible, sitting almost intact in the displaced earth. It looked, at first, like debris. It turned out to be […]

Romans Believed Lightning Was Sacred and Buried Them as Offerings to God Summanus: A 1,900-Year-Old Inscription Just Proved It

10 September 2026 at 17:18
In a quiet corner of Hadrian’s Villa, wedged between the so-called Amphitheater and a low bench of volcanic tufa rock, sits a marble slab measuring roughly 40 by 35 centimeters (about 16 by 14 inches). It has not moved in some 1,900 years. Two lines of carved capital letters explain why archaeologists are excited: FVLGVR […]

Greece acquires two second hand FREMM frigates from Italy for €460 million

9 September 2026 at 13:09

Greece and Italy signed in Rome on Tuesday, September 8, the implementation agreement for the transfer of two Italian Navy FREMM frigates, ITS Carlo Bergamini (F 590) and ITS Virginio Fasan (F 591). The acquisition of the two former Italian Navy FREMM Bergamini-class frigates for approximately €460 million, is significantly strengthening the Hellenic Navy’s surface […]

The post Greece acquires two second hand FREMM frigates from Italy for €460 million appeared first on Keep Talking Greece.

The Ancient Underground Aqueducts of Siena

7 September 2026 at 16:25

Underneath the narrow streets, churches, and palaces of the Italian city of Siena lies a sprawling network of underground aqueducts that supplied water to the Tuscan city for centuries, enabling it to flourish despite a chronic lack of nearby rivers and streams. Extending for roughly 25 kilometers, the so-called Bottini constitute an ingenious hydraulic system that sustained the city from the Middle Ages until the early 20th century.


Fountain Fontebranda, its waters fed by Bottini. Credit: Wikimedia Commons


© Amusing Planet, 2026

Long Before Rome, Etruscan Civilization Engineered Tombs to Alter the Mind

4 September 2026 at 16:30
Two tombs, two very different experiences. Walk into one and the space narrows around you, guiding your eyes along a fixed sequence of images. Walk into the other and the sound itself seems to come apart: voices blur, echoes pile up, and a blue demon painted on the wall seems to lunge straight at you. […]

Mediterranean Games: French volleyball player allegedly sexually assaulted by Moroccan football player on cruise ship

4 September 2026 at 08:42

Italian police are investigating an alleged attempted sexual assault involving a French volleyball player and a Moroccan footballer during the Mediterranean Games in Taranto, Italy.

The incident is reported to have taken place on the night of Aug. 30–31 aboard the cruise ship serving as the athletes’ village. According to an initial reconstruction, the French athlete rejected a sexual approach by the alleged attacker, who would not stop and kept insisting. She began calling for help, which helped draw the attention of onboard staff. Emergency doctors from 118 and police officers responded at the scene.

The athlete was taken to hospital for checks and did not suffer any injuries. After the medical examination, she returned to the athletes’ village.

Investigators have identified the alleged attacker as a Moroccan footballer. He had already returned to Morocco with his national delegation after completing his tournament commitments. Authorities said there were no grounds for a precautionary measure or police arrest, and he was allowed to board the long-scheduled return flight with his group.

An Italian police squad, led by director Antonio Serpico, is interviewing witnesses and reviewing footage from the ship’s internal cameras, particularly those installed near the pool area. Officials say they have already gathered information that may help reconstruct what happened that night. The footballer’s departure has not halted the investigation, according to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno.

Mediterranean Games general director Carlo Molfetta said: “We are closely monitoring the development of investigations by the competent authorities to determine any responsibility for what happened. The investigations are using images from the cameras present on the village ship, which number as many as 1,200. For our part, I can only reiterate my full cooperation with the investigators’ work.”

No formal action has been taken against the identified athlete at this stage. Investigators say they are continuing to examine the circumstances and verify the French athlete’s account.

The post Mediterranean Games: French volleyball player allegedly sexually assaulted by Moroccan football player on cruise ship appeared first on Remix News.

How Italy and Japan Ended Up as Enemies in World War II and Didn’t Sign Peace Until 1951

4 September 2026 at 08:11
Two of the most prominent belligerents of World War II ended up clashing despite having initially fought on the same side, and it wasn’t until 1951, six years after the end of the conflict, that they signed an unusual peace. One of them was Italy, obviously, where the government that succeeded Mussolini signed an armistice […]

The Santa Cristina Well-Temple, a Nuragic Work of the Bronze Age That Is 30 Centuries Old and Looks Like It Was Built Yesterday

2 September 2026 at 08:41
There are ancient monuments that impress with their size and others that impress with their precision. The Sacred Well of Santa Cristina, in the municipality of Paulilatino, province of Oristano in Sardinia, belongs to the second group. Its basalt stones are carved and assembled with such geometric precision that, according to the site management center […]

EU approves €20 million relief scheme for Italian region’s agriculture and fisheries companies

2 September 2026 at 08:30

The European Commission has approved a €20 million state aid scheme for agricultural and fishing companies in the Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia that are facing increased fuel and fertiliser prices due to the Middle East crisis. The scheme was approved under the Middle East Crisis Temporary State Aid Framework (METSAF) adopted by the Commission on 29 April 2026.

The scheme, which will run until 31 December 2026, aims at mitigating the impact of the increase in agricultural fuel and fertiliser prices, as well as in fishery and aquaculture fuel prices. The aid will take the form of direct grants and subsidised loans. It will be determined on the basis of the size of land used for the primary production of agricultural products, and on the basis of estimates of fuel consumption in the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products, capped to €50,000 per beneficiary. The aid is paid by the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.

The Commission assessed the scheme under EU state aid rules, in particular Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which enables Member States to support the development of certain economic activities subject to certain conditions, as well as Sections 1 and 2.1 of the METSAF. The Commission found that the scheme is in line with the conditions set out in the METSAF. In particular, aid will be granted based on a scheme with a clear estimated budget and will be provided to temporarily support the development of companies active in primary production of agricultural products. The Commission concluded that the scheme is necessary, appropriate and proportionate to facilitate the development of an economic activity and does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest. On this basis, the Commission approved the Italian regional scheme under EU State aid rules.

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Giovanni Battista Bugatti: The Papal Executioner of Rome

2 September 2026 at 06:59

For nearly seven decades, one of the most feared men in Rome lived an otherwise ordinary life. He sold umbrellas, attended church, and walked the narrow streets of the Borgo district near the Vatican. Yet whenever he crossed the Tiber River, Romans knew that someone was about to die.

His name was Giovanni Battista Bugatti, though history remembers him by a different name: Mastro Titta.


© Amusing Planet, 2026

EU approves €20 million relief scheme for Italian region’s agriculture and fisheries companies

28 August 2026 at 06:30

The European Commission has approved a €20 million state aid scheme for agricultural and fishing companies in the Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia that are facing increased fuel and fertiliser prices due to the Middle East crisis. The scheme was approved under the Middle East Crisis Temporary State Aid Framework (METSAF) adopted by the Commission on 29 April 2026.

The scheme, which will run until 31 December 2026, aims at mitigating the impact of the increase in agricultural fuel and fertiliser prices, as well as in fishery and aquaculture fuel prices. The aid will take the form of direct grants and subsidised loans. It will be determined on the basis of the size of land used for the primary production of agricultural products, and on the basis of estimates of fuel consumption in the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products, capped to €50,000 per beneficiary. The aid is paid by the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.

The Commission assessed the scheme under EU State aid rules, in particular Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which enables member states to support the development of certain economic activities subject to certain conditions, as well as Sections 1 and 2.1 of the METSAF. The Commission found that the scheme is in line with the conditions set out in the METSAF. In particular, aid will be granted based on a scheme with a clear estimated budget and will be provided to temporarily support the development of companies active in primary production of agricultural products. The Commission concluded that the scheme is necessary, appropriate and proportionate to facilitate the development of an economic activity and does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest. On this basis, the Commission approved the Italian regional scheme under EU state aid rules.

For more information

Submerged Etruscan Port from the 4th Century BC, the Oldest Linked to a Temple, Discovered Two Meters Deep off the Coast of Rome

A team of underwater archaeologists and geologists from Sapienza University of Rome and the Center for Maritime Studies has located, off the town of Santa Marinella north of Rome, the remains of an ancient pier and dock which, according to researchers, constitute the earliest known evidence of a mooring point associated with an Etruscan temple. […]

Samnites, the fierce warriors who humiliated the Roman legions at the Caudine Forks

24 August 2026 at 16:54
One of the greatest affronts suffered by the Roman legions took place in 321 BC, after the Battle of the Caudine Forks. Not only because of the forced surrender, without even fighting, but also due to the humiliation that officers and soldiers endured afterwards, being forced to pass, dressed only in their tunics, under a […]

Italy: Young girl in critical condition after boat carrying illegal migrants strikes her with propeller

17 August 2026 at 09:59

A teenage girl is in critical condition after a boat carrying ten illegal migrants struck her off Su Giudeu beach in Chia, Italy, yesterday afternoon. The boat was transporting migrants from North Africa.

The victim sustained severe injuries, including fractures and lacerations, after being caught by the boat’s propeller. The injuries led her to lose consciousness, but she was rescued by lifeguards before she could drown. Once they could drag her to shore, they began to administer first aid.

The horrifying incident happened at approximately 4:30 p.m. in the bathing area in front of Su Giudeu beach where the 118 air ambulance landed, according to TGR.

Due to the severity of her injuries, emergency medical personnel intubated the young woman on-site. She was then airlifted via air ambulance to Brotzu Hospital in Cagliari, where she was admitted in critical condition.

While it remains unclear exactly how the young woman became trapped by the engine propeller, boats carrying undocumented migrants have increasingly appeared directly on popular swimming beaches across Europe over recent years. Often, these vessels offload their passengers right in front of shocked beachgoers.

The risk of a serious accident during these landings is high. Smugglers are often desperate to quickly unload their cargo and escape, creating high-tension situations where they fail to notice swimmers. Additionally, after grueling journeys at sea, the arriving passengers are frequently eager to scramble ashore as fast as possible.

The post Italy: Young girl in critical condition after boat carrying illegal migrants strikes her with propeller appeared first on Remix News.

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