Tuscany

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Want to Live in an Italian Village? Here's Your Chance

Up to $23K in cash is offered to move into empty homes in shrinking Tuscan town of Radicondoli

(Newser) - Dreaming of swapping your daily grind for rolling Tuscan hills and stone-walled serenity? Radicondoli, a postcard-worthy village near Siena that's hemorrhaged residents for decades, is sweetening the deal: up to $23,000 to anyone willing to buy (and live in) one of its 100 empty homes, as long...

DNA Connects 5 Men to Leonardo da Vinci

One of them invented a new plane propellor

(Newser) - An 89-year-old man in Italy who built model airplanes before acquiring a pilot's license, and whose inventions included a new plane propellor, has a better idea now where those interests came from. Dalmazio Vinci and four other men living in Tuscany all have DNA matching segments of the Y...

Historian Claims to Have Solved a Mona Lisa Mystery

Bridge above subject's shoulder still stands in Tuscany, says Silvano Vinceti

(Newser) - Few eyes gazing upon Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa likely notice the tiny bridge painted just above the subject's left shoulder, on the right side of the painting. But that piece of architecture stood out to Italian historian Silvano Vinceti, who believes he's identified it as a...

Health Worker Accidentally Gets a 'Massive' Vaccine Dose

Italian woman is doing fine regardless

(Newser) - A 23-year-old Italian woman is doing well after she accidentally received six doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday. A health worker at Noa hospital in Tuscany had filled a syringe with an entire vial of the vaccine, which is to be split into six doses. It was only...

Leaning Tower of Pisa's Lean Has Changed

Pisa's landmark still holding strong after 800 years

(Newser) - No need to rush to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa before it falls. The famous Italian tower is doing just fine more than 800 years after it first started tilting during construction, according to a group that's been monitoring the 190-foot Tuscan monument since 2001. It's in...

Finally, Garlic That Doesn't Destroy Your Breath

2 Italian entrepreneurs hope to bring back once-popular Tuscan staple

(Newser) - A construction engineer and a lawyer who've been friends since they were teens were seeking a diversion from their 9-to-5 toil, so they teamed up to revive a Tuscany staple that hasn't been prevalent in four decades: a huge variety of garlic that doesn't stink, tastes sweeter,...

After 20 Years, 'Dead' Doctor Found Living as Hermit

But the man, IDed as a Spaniard holed up in the woods of Tuscany, is gone again

(Newser) - For years, locals had reported seeing a "silent stranger" in the forests of Tuscany, Italy, per ITV News . His identity may finally have come to light after two mushroom pickers say they found the camp of a man with a "dirty face and large beard" in a heavily...

Costa Concordia Diver Killed
 Costa Concordia Diver Killed 
Feb 2, 2014 8:13 AM CST

Costa Concordia Diver Killed

Spaniard gashed leg on underwater metal

(Newser) - The Costa Concordia disaster has claimed its 33rd victim, after a diver working on the massive salvage operation died yesterday, reports the AP . The unidentified Spaniard was attaching large tanks to the side of the cruise ship, reports Reuters , when he apparently gashed his leg on underwater sheet metal and...

Success: Crews Salvage Costa Concordia

19-hour process was 'perfect': Costa tech head

(Newser) - Crews have pulled off one of the toughest salvage projects in history , managing to restore the wrecked Costa Concordia to an upright position off an Italian island. The effort took 19 hours—longer than the expected 10 to 12—and lasted until 4am local time. The "parbuckling" process used...

One of Trickiest Salvage Efforts Ever Begins
One of Trickiest Salvage Efforts Ever Begins
UPDATED
Sep 16, 2013 7:51 AM CDT

One of Trickiest Salvage Efforts Ever Begins

Costa Concordia will hopefully rise today

(Newser) - Today's vocab lesson: "parbuckling." That's the ambitious process that is under way in Italy, where a salvage team has started to lift the Costa Concordia almost exactly 20 months after it crashed into a reef, killing 32. It's being touted as one of the most...

Italy Set to Raise Costa Concordia

Unprecedented salvage operation will begin tomorrow

(Newser) - Authorities have given the final go-ahead for a daring attempt tomorrow to pull upright the crippled Costa Concordia cruise liner from the waters off Tuscany where it capsized 20 months ago. Italy's national Civil Protection agency waited until sea and weather conditions were forecast for dawn tomorrow before giving...

Disgruntled Employee Dumped $8M in Pricy Wine
Disgruntled Employee Dumped $8M in Pricy Wine
say police
Dec 21, 2012 8:47 AM CST

Disgruntled Employee Dumped $8M in Pricy Wine

Andrea di Gisi poured 16K gallons of wine down drain: police

(Newser) - At least the criminals who stole $18 million in maple syrup were in it for the money. The Italian man who allegedly destroyed nearly $8 million in Brunello di Montalcino wine in early December was just pissed off. Italian police say Andrea di Gisi, a disgruntled employee at the Case...

Now on eBay: Whole Italian Village, $3M

Tuscan residents not included

(Newser) - Ever dreamed of a Tuscan home? How about an entire town? If you've got $3.1 million to spare, you could score one on eBay, the Telegraph reports. The 800-year-old village of Pratariccia is for sale on the auction site; the buyer will get 25 run-down houses among scenic...

Dozens Still Missing From Cruise Ship

Three bodies have been recovered so far

(Newser) - As of this morning, authorities in Italy said up to about 70 people remain unaccounted for after a huge luxury cruise ship ran aground and tipped on its side near the Tuscany coast, reports AP . It's possible that number could come down as authorities get a better handle on...

Pinocchio Has Roots in Old Italian Village

Sleuth thinks author got characters, plot lines from area

(Newser) - A computer expert says he has traced the real-life roots of Pinocchio to a village in Italy, Discovery News reports. Allessandro Vegni pored over old maps and concluded that author Carlo Collodi set the 130-year-old tale in the Tuscan village of San Miniato Basso, whose original name he discovered to...

6 Killed in Italy Train Explosion

(Newser) - A train carrying liquefied natural gas derailed in Italy tonight, causing explosions that killed at least six people and injured dozens more, the Times of London reports. The train jumped the tracks as it was leaving the station in the northern town of Viareggio, triggering the explosion of two gas-filled...

Italian Cities Ban Foreign Food
 Italian Cities Ban Foreign Food 
Jan 31, 2009 4:03 AM CST

Italian Cities Ban Foreign Food

Laws against new ethnic eateries prompts charges of gastronomic xenophobia

(Newser) - Kebabs, Chinese food, and curries are the targets of a growing Italian campaign against foreign food, the Times of London reports. The Tuscan town of Lucca has slapped a ban on new foreign eateries opening in the city, and Milan has now followed suit. Government-backed campaigners say they are fighting...

Made in Italy — in a Chinese Sweatshop

Italian luxury goods made by Chinese labor cost 90% less

(Newser) - For consumers of luxury goods, the "Made in Italy" designation remains so prestigious that it can add 300% to an item's price. But the days of artisans plying their trade in little workshops are largely over, the Los Angeles Times reports, replaced by thousands of Tuscan factories employing Chinese...

Italian Soccer Fans Riot After Shooting

Cops call shooting "tragic error" after mob attacks police barracks

(Newser) - The police shooting of an Italian soccer fan sparked riots and police clashes across the country today, the BBC reports. Hundreds in Rome torched a bus, smashed cop cars, and attacked a police barracks. In Milan, one game was stopped when angry fans tried to storm the field; more violence...

German Firm Buys Tuscan Hamlet
German Firm Buys Tuscan Hamlet
May 25, 2007 5:21 AM CDT

German Firm Buys Tuscan Hamlet

Five remaining Italians see red (and yellow and black) as Goths invade

(Newser) - A German company has bought up an entire town in Northern Italy, with plans to convert it into a giant "holiday world" resort. The Guardian reports that Hanover-based tour giant TUI payed upwards of $340 million for the 13th-century Tuscan village of Tenuta di Castelfalfi, whose crumbling ramparts, squares...

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