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A new Italian bionic hand is more sensitive than limbs made of flesh and blood, it was claimed at a robotics conference in Rome Thursday. The hand made by Biorobotica was first pioneered by researcher Paolo Dario in the 1980s, who created the first connection to a nervous system. The hand enables users to orient in the dark, researchers said, while...

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Home to the Vatican, the pope and St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome is unchallenged in its claim to be the global center of the Roman Catholic Church. But the city also plays host to the largest mosque in Western Europe, the largest Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall on the Continent, and, as of this year, the biggest center in Europe belonging to the Church...

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Are you sure you know everything about Carnival in Italy? We will help you with an excursus that goes from the origins, through the typical masks and sweets of the Italian carnival tradition, up to the indication of the most beautiful carnivals in Italy. The origins of Carnival in Italy and beyond are closely linked to religious culture, as they ar...

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One of the most interesting discoveries of the year could be the one announced at the Opera di Santa Croce in Florence following the restoration of Christ meeting Veronica on the Way to Calvary, an altarpiece made by Giorgio Vasari in 1572. The restoration of Michelangelo's altarpiece and monumental tomb are being restored, due to the damage caused...

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Italy's presidential palace in Rome - the 16th-century Palazzo del Quirinale - is open for guided tours in Italian on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 09.30-16.00. There is a choice of two guided tours, both of which must be booked in advance: the first tour is free (apart from a €1.50 booking fee), lasts an hour and 20 min...

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Never mess with Cupid. He is easily offended. When Apollo, the god of sun and music, of poetry and art, mocked Eros (Cupid), the god of love and desire, taunting him as the lesser archer, Cupid decided he would prove Apollo otherwise. So he shot Apollo with a golden arrow, making him fall hopelessly in love with the river nymph Daphne; at the same...

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Who doesn’t remember Russell Crowe as Maximus, the strong, loyal general who becomes a gladiator and sacrifices himself to free Rome from the tyranny of Commodus, interpreted by the handsomest Joaquin Phoenix to have appeared on the big screen? Historically speaking, the movie was not particularly accurate, but it was entertaining, well acted and w...

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Archaeologists in Rome are to embark on a quest for a 2,500-year-old stone sarcophagus linked to the legend of the city’s fabled founder – Romulus. They believe it lies hidden in a chamber deep beneath the Forum, once the heart of ancient Rome and now an area of ruined temples and imperial palaces that attracts millions of tourists a year. The ston...

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The world's first operation to repair a prematurely aged heart was carried out successfully at Rome's S. Camillo hospital on 23-year-old Italian Sammy Basso. Basso is one of about 130 people in the world, and only four in Italy, who suffer from progeria, the extremely rare genetic condition that accelerates ageing. The complicated operation, carrie...

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Emilia-Romagna is home to one of Italy’s oldest springs: Galvanina, which is located in the town of Rimini, birthplace of famed director Federico Fellini. The mineral water from this natural spring has been renowned since ancient Roman times when nobility would vacation near the source to enjoy the water’s many health benefits. The spring sits 1,00...

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