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Vodafone shares climb as Iliad proposes Italian merger

French company Iliad, which owns a large stake in Eir has submitted a proposal to Vodafone to merge their Italian units, a move that would combine its fast-growing consumer base with the British company's strength in business in a highly competitive market.

Business • 18 Dec 23

Airbnb has agreed to pay Italy's tax agency €576m after allegations of tax evasion

Airbnb agrees €576m deal in Italy tax dispute

Short-term rental platform Airbnb said today it has agreed to pay Italy's tax agency €576m following allegations of tax evasion.

Business • 13 Dec 23

A 'complex sequence' of scenes are depicted (Credit: Italian Ministry of Culture)

Ancient Roman home with 'unparalleled' mosaic found

Italian archaeologists have uncovered a luxurious Roman home near the Colosseum, boasting an "unparalleled" mosaic featuring shells, marble and precious glass, the Italian culture ministry has said.

World • 12 Dec 23

The 48-metre Garisenda Tower was built in 1109, and is one of the Bologna's symbols

Fears Bologna's 'leaning tower' could collapse

Works have begun to secure and restore Bologna's 'leaning tower', following fears it could collapse.

World • 03 Dec 23

Lufthansa is set to buy a 41% stake in ITA for €325m as part of a capital increase

Lufthansa seeks EU approval for ITA Airways stake deal

Lufthansa and Italy have sought EU antitrust approval for the German airline to buy a controlling minority stake in Italy's ITA Airways, with sources saying that Lufthansa is prepared to cede slots at Milan airport to address competition concerns.

Business • 01 Dec 23

Primark already has 15 stores in Italy after opening its first one in Milan eight years ago

Primark invests €50m in five new stores in Italy

Fashion retailer Primark - which trades as Penneys here - has today announced an investment of over €50m in its Italian business.

Business • 29 Nov 23

The latest stake sale gives Italy time to seek a more permanent solution for its fifth-largest listed bank

Italy raises €920m from Monte dei Paschi's stake sale

Italy has sold a 25% stake in bailed-out Monte dei Paschi di Siena, raising €920m and advancing plans to re-privatise the world's oldest bank two years after a failed first attempt.

Business • 21 Nov 23

The courtroom is a former call centre converted to accommodate hundreds of lawyers

Hundreds of mobsters face jail in Italian 'maxi-trial'

Hundreds of alleged members of the 'Ndrangheta - Italy's most powerful organised crime group - and their white-collar collaborators face sentencing this week following a historic, nearly three-year trial.

World • 13 Nov 23

Italy's Monte dei Paschi di Siena is still 64% owned by the state

Monte dei Paschi beats quarterly profit forecast

State-owned Monte dei Paschi di Siena has today became the latest Italian bank to surprise markets with stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings thanks to a boost from higher rates.

Business • 08 Nov 23

Italy's Intesa pledges to reward investors

Italy's biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo has today lifted its 2023 profit goal after higher interest rates drove quarterly income above expectations, and pledged to increase rewards for shareholders barring a deep recession.

Business • 06 Nov 23

Telecom Italia (TIM) is the first telecoms group in a major European country to part ways with its landline grid

Telecom Italia approves KKR's €19 billion grid bid

Telecom Italia (TIM) has approved the €19 billion sale of its fixed-line network to US private equity firm KKR, becoming the first telecoms group in a major European country to part ways with its landline grid.

Business • 06 Nov 23

The European Central Bank has signalled a pause in its interest rate increases and markets are pricing in no further hikes

Five questions for the ECB this week

The European Central Bank has good reasons to hold fire on Thursday after raising interest rates at its past ten meetings.

Business • 23 Oct 23

Giorgia Meloni said she would not be distracted by difficulties in her private life

Italy PM Meloni leaves partner after sexist TV comments

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said she had separated from her television journalist partner Andrea Giambruno, who has drawn criticism in recent weeks for sexist comments.

World • 20 Oct 23

People board a Ryanair plane at the airport in Bergamo in Italy

Ryanair fights off European squeeze on its ticket price

Ryanair is facing challenges at both ends of its price range, with Europe's largest airline taking aim at proposed minimum fares in France after fending off a cap on what it charges in Italy.

Business • 19 Oct 23

Ryanair has lost its challenge against the state aid Alitalia received during Covid

Ryanair loses challenges against EU state aid

Ryanair has failed in its attempts to say that state aid received by two airlines during the Covid-19 pandemic was not compatible with the EU's internal market.

Business • 18 Oct 23

Roberto Saviano said he was proud to see his "words brought to trial"

Reporter Saviano fined €1,000 for defaming Italy PM

An Italian court has handed a suspended fine of €1,000 to journalist Roberto Saviano for defaming Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni by criticising her stance on migrants.

World • 12 Oct 23

The town of Pozzuoli is one of those earmarked for evacuation

Italy plans for possible evacuations from super volcano

The Italian government is planning for a possible mass evacuation of tens of thousands of people who live around the Campi Flegrei super volcano near Naples, officials have said.

News Lens • 06 Oct 23

Firefighters examine the wreckage of the bus

Anger over road safety after 21 killed in Venice crash

Venice authorities have declared three days of mourning after a bus crash killed 21 people including a toddler, sparking debate over the state of Italy's crumbling infrastructure.

World • 04 Oct 23

Firefighters work on the site of the bus crash in Mestre, near Venice

At least 21 dead after bus crashes off flyover in Italy

At least 21 people have died after a city bus carrying tourists to a campground crashed off an overpass near Venice in northern Italy and caught fire, officials said.

Europe • 04 Oct 23

Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo serves corporate clients in Russia, where it had around 980 employees at the start of the Ukraine conflict across 28 branches

Decree permitting Intesa to sell Russian assets signed

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree giving Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo permission to sell or dispose of its assets in Russia, a document posted on a Russian government website showed today.

Business • 29 Sep 23

Matteo Messina Denaro spent 30 years on the run (file image)

Sicilian Mafia boss Messina Denaro dies in hospital

Sicilian Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, captured in January after three decades on the run, has died in hospital in central Italy, local officials have confirmed.

World • 25 Sep 23

Sergio Mattarella has called for 'new solutions' on dealing with migration to Europe

EU rules on sharing migrants 'prehistoric' - Mattarella

Italian President Sergio Mattarella has called EU rules on the distribution of migrants "prehistoric", as debate rages on how to manage a surge in boat arrivals from North Africa.

World • 22 Sep 23

Ryanair is Europe's largest airline and a market leader in Italy

Ryanair faces new competition probe in Italy

Italy's antitrust agency opened an investigation today into low-cost carrier Ryanair "for possible abuse of a dominant (market) position", the latest regulatory challenge in Italy for Europe's largest airline.

Business • 20 Sep 23

Migrants queue at a camp in the harbour of the Italian island of Lampedusa yesterday

Italy's PM calls for EU help after island migrant surge

Italy's prime minister has warned that the "future of Europe is at stake", after droves of migrants landed on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa.

Europe • 17 Sep 23

Venice has been in UNESCO's sights because of risk stemming from mass tourism and rising water levels

UNESCO not declaring Venice heritage 'in danger'

The UN's cultural organisation has said that it had stopped short of placing Venice, one of the world's top tourist destinations, on its world heritage in danger list.

World • 14 Sep 23