Giuliano Pisapia

Pope Benedict XVI praised the role of the traditional family as he was cheered by thousands of faithful in the city of Milan on Friday, leaving behind a scandal-hit Vatican.

Out with the Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Maseratis! Italy's crackdown on tax cheats has many well-heeled drivers spurning their hot wheels for more prosaic cars to avoid unwelcome attention.

(Reuters) - Political convulsions in the euro zone have only just begun. Six prime ministers have been kicked out of office, protesters have occupied public spaces, nationalist parties have grown in popularity, and two countries have appointed technocratic leaders. And that was just 2011. The coming year is likely to prove even tougher on the economic front as the crisis continues to rage, austerity bites, and unemployment mounts. Euro zone countries are being forced to choose between fiscal discipline or the disintegration of their shared currency. Under pressure from Germany, governments have agreed to sign up for treaty changes that will require them to balance their budgets, pay down their debts, and give the European Commission in Brussels more power to interfere with national budgets. Such loss of sovereignty could provoke a backlash from the people - and boost the support of right-wing euro-skeptic parties such as France's National Front. It's possible that the treaty changes ma

Milan's mayor imposed a two-day ban on traffic in the city and closed schools on Friday in a radical move to battle smog in Italy's industrial heartland, despite fierce protests from shopkeepers.

World-famous conductor Daniel Barenboim will take up the post of musical director at Italy's world renowned La Scala opera house from December until the end of 2016, the Milan theatre said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's trial for sex with an underage prostitute resumed on Tuesday, as the embattled premier quipped it was too early for his funeral after defeat in local elections.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's trial on charges of having sex with an underage prostitute resumes on Tuesday, a day after his centre-right coalition suffered a crushing defeat in local elections.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's coalition suffered a humiliating defeat in mayoral elections in Milan and Naples on Monday, casting doubt over the legally embattled Italian leader's future.

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi suffered a shattering loss in his northern stronghold of Milan on Monday in local elections that threaten to unbalance his fractious center-right coalition government.

ROME (Reuters) - Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's center-right coalition risks losing its northern power base of Milan to the left for the first time in nearly 20 years when voting in local elections ends on Monday.

Italy held its breath Monday as voters flocked to the polls on the second day of partial local elections that could see Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's stronghold of Milan snatched away by the left.

ROME (Reuters) - Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's center-right coalition risks losing its northern power base of Milan to the left for the first time in 18 years when voting in local election run-offs ends on Monday.

Italians voted Sunday in the second round of local elections, with all eyes on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's hometown of Milan, which the centre-left threatens to take along with Naples.

ROME (Reuters) - Italians voted on Sunday in local election run-offs where Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's center-right coalition risks humiliating defeat in his home town of Milan for the first time in nearly 20 years.

ROME (Reuters) - Italians begin voting on Sunday in local election run-offs where Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's center-right coalition risks humiliating defeat in his home town of Milan for the first time in nearly 20 years.

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi faces possible defeat in local elections on Sunday and Monday that could cause serious political instability and even provoke challenges to his own leadership.

ROME (Reuters) - Italians began voting for a second and final day on Monday in local elections that will test whether a sex scandal, three corruption trials and a faltering economy have weakened Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Italians voted Sunday in partial local elections with all eyes on the northern business hub of Milan, a centre-right stronghold of embattled Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

ROME (Reuters) - Italians voted on Sunday in local elections that will show whether a sex scandal, three corruption trials and a stagnating economy have seriously damaged Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi two years before the end of his term.

MILAN (Reuters) - Italians vote in local elections on Sunday and Monday, a test of how badly Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been hurt by a sex scandal, three trials for corruption and a stagnating economy.