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Italy

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Cyclists crossing Via Giuseppe Mazzini of Ferrara with the tower of San Giorgio cathedral in background.

Not Florence: Italy’s other beautiful Renaissance city (with no tourists)

Overshadowed by its more famous neighbours, Ferrara has something those cities don’t – no signs of overtourism.

  • Justine Costigan

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The Vatican gardens, seen from St Peter’s Basilica.

The world’s smallest nation has some astonishing sights

An outsized history as the seat of the Catholic Church brings with it an incredible collection of art and architecture.

  • Brian Johnston
Roccaraso daytrippers,

Italian ski resort overrun with 10,000 day trippers after TikTok video

A TikTok post from an influencer with 1.7 million followers has created mayhem in an Italian ski town, after thousands of extra visitors descended on it in one day.

  • Josephine McKenna

Falling fertility rates will hurt the economy. But a new baby boom is not the answer

Australia’s fertility rates have been falling fast and are now at rock bottom. The economic consequences will be far-reaching.

  • Matt Wade
A guard walks down a corridor of Regina Coeli prison in Rome.

Italian prisons told to create ‘love rooms’ for sex

The court ruling on sex for prisoners came after an inmate serving time in a prison in the northern city of Asti was denied the right to have sex with his wife.

  • Josephine McKenna
I was picturing The Sound of Music… but it was more like my school.

What would you do for cheap lodging in Italy? I spent a night with nuns

I have a fantasy of staying somewhere like the abbey in The Sound of Music. But my last-minute monastery stay reminds me of school.

  • Justine Costigan
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Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence in the film Conclave.

Who will be the next pope?

The release of the film Conclave has once again thrown the spotlight on one of the most arcane, storied and secretive events in human history: the election of a new pope.

  • Rob Harris
Cecilia Sala, left, an Italian journalist who was detained on Dec. 19 as she was reporting in Iran, is welcomed by Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni as she landed at Rome’ Ciampino airport after being released.

Freed! Italian journalist Sala walks out of Iran prison, returns home

Celilia Sala, 29, was working under a regular journalistic visa when she was detained in Tehran on December 19, accused of “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic”.

  • Crispian Balmer
Accommodation in Rome, especially near Vatican City (back left), is at a premium for Holy Year in 2025.

I stayed in Rome’s poshest area and it was surprisingly cheap

The city’s upper brow may live here, but for tourists it’s a sweet spot – close enough to the city’s most visited sights and far enough to feel Roman.

  • Natasha Bazika
Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist who was detained on December 19 as she was reporting in Iran, Italy’s foreign ministry said.

Iran arrests Italian journalist in case of apparent hostage diplomacy

Italian media said Cecilia Sala’s detention was believed to be aimed at securing the release of an Iranian-Swiss drone expert who was detained in Italy.

Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/topic/italy-b01