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Italy

The lock of hair is set to go on view as of May 2, 2019, the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci's death

Art Meets Science

DNA Analysis Could Prove if This Lock of Hair Belonged to Leonardo da Vinci

Researchers will compare results of DNA test to genetic material extracted from artist’s living descendants and his alleged remains

Faithfuls kneel on the new restored Holy Stair (Scala Santa) at San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome.

Trending Today

For the First Time in 300 Years, Pilgrims Can Climb These Holy Marble Steps

Worshippers can kneel up the 28 steps some believe Jesus ascended to receive his death sentence

Illustration of the lynchers breaking into the prison in 1891

New Orleans Apologizes for 1891 Lynching of Italian-Americans

Eleven people accused of killing the city’s police chief were murdered by a vigilante mob

Pregnant Whale With 48 Pounds of Plastic in Her Stomach Washes Ashore in Italy

Among the refuse found in her digestive tract were garbage bags, fishing nets and a bag of liquid detergent

Trending Today

Italy May Need to Import Olive Oil After Extreme Weather Decimates Local Crops

This year’s harvest is down 57 percent, and may force the nation to import its treasured olive oil from other parts of the Mediterranean

Trending Today

Site Where Julius Caesar Was Stabbed Will Finally Open to the Public

The curia in Pompey’s Theater where Caesar died in the Largo di Torre Argentina is currently a fenced-off feral cat colony

La Casa di Giulietta had always belonged to the Dal Cappello family until purchased by the City of Verona in 1905. Cappello is close enough to Capulet that there’s a semblance of credibility to those who wish to believe.

In the Fair City of Verona, Star-Cross’d Lovers Want to Believe in ‘La Casa di Giulietta’

The number of visitors to this self-proclaimed Shakespearean “city of love” typically swells during the week around Valentine’s Day

An image of the true U.S. pizza king Filippo Milone in the May 9, 1903 issue of the Italian-language newspaper Il Telegrafo.

Cool Finds

The Father of American Pizza Is Not Who We Thought He Was

New research suggests pizza came to the U.S. earlier than 1905, spread by pizza evangelist Filippo Milone

A mini-loaf of homemade panettone

A Culinary History of Panettone, the Italian and South American Christmas Treat

The holiday pastry has been a multicultural phenomenon since the very beginning

The Leaning Tower of Pisa Has Gotten a Little Straighter

Engineers announced that the famed structure’s tilt has reduced by about 1.5 inches

No need to get out of dodge quite yet.

The Eruptions of an Italian Supervolcano Seem to Follow a Pattern

And a new study suggests that Campi Flegrei could be entering a new phase of activity, though a major eruption in the near future is unlikely

When in Rome...

New Research

The Physics of a Perfect Pizza

It takes just the right amount of heat and conduction to turn dough into the perfect Roman Margherita pizza

Upturned chairs and unmounted table tops lie on the floor inside the historic Caffe Florian, in San Marco square, in Venice, Italy, on Tuesday.

Venice Museums Re-Open After the City’s Worst Flood in a Decade

How Venice and its cultural institutions will battle rising sea levels in the future is a larger question

Deep inside Monte Kronio, hot, humid and sulfurous caves held an ancient secret.

Prehistoric Wine Reveals Missing Pieces of Ancient Sicilian Culture

In a 5,000 year-old jar, archaeologists discovered the remnants of wine

Inside the Enoteca Regionale Emilia Romagna.

Taste Your Way Through Italy, One Ingredient-Specific Museum at a Time

The Emilia Romagna region has 25 food museums, each dedicated to a beloved food item – ranging from balsamic vinegar to Parmesan cheese

View of the restored Guarini chapel

Trending Today

21 Years After Fire, Shroud of Turin Chapel Restored to Former Glory

The space, originally designed by priest and mathematician Guarino Guarini, includes a spectacular and intricate wood and marble dome

The unabashed depiction of violence seen in Caravaggio's "Judith Beheading Holofernes" underscores its creator’s bestial inclinations

Art Meets Science

Caravaggio May Have Died of Infected Sword Wound, Not Syphilis

The Italian Old Master had a notoriously mercurial temperament and was forced to flee Rome in 1606 after killing his rival in a duel

Pope Joan allegedly enjoyed a brief tenure as the Catholic Church's leader during the mid-800s

Why the Legend of Medieval Pope Joan Persists

The mythical female pope is back in the news as an academic uses medieval coins to look for physical evidence of her reign

Still the enigma

New Research

Was Mona Lisa’s Enigmatic Smile Caused by a Thyroid Condition?

Doctor theorizes that the sitter’s lank hair, weak smile and yellowing skin point to post-pregnancy hypothyroidism

This 1685 map of Pisa shows the city's connection to the Arno River, which spills into an arm of the Mediterranean

Like a Reverse Atlantis, This Legendary Harbor Ended When Its Sea Route Dried Up

Researchers believe the changing environment doomed ‘Portus Pisanus,’ a harbor once considered lost to time

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