From fair Verona, where we lay our scene, to Mantua, Padua and Rome, Shakespeare was fascinated by Italy.

Former SS captain Erich Priebke participated in one of the worst massacres of German-occupied Italy. Now he's died - and no one wants to bury him.

The head of the European Commission announced during a visit to Lampedusa that Italy would receive an additional €30 million in EU funds to help settle and receive new refugees.

Italian divers have recovered 38 more bodies from a smugglers' boat that capsized and sank to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea with hundreds of migrants on board.

A ship carrying African migrants to Europe has caught fire and capsized off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, killing at least 114 people as hundreds were dumped into the sea.

New Zealand businessman Michael Harte has just bought his own Mediterranean island, but he won't be partying on its beach with his mates.

There's nothing like a beautifully shot film to make you feel like up-and-leaving the very next day. Here are five examples that show off their stunning destinations to full effect.

The extraordinary sight of the Costa Concordia hoisted from its watery grave helped erase the shame many Italians felt over the captain crashing it and doing a runner.

The anxiously awaited attempt to pull the crippled Costa Concordia upright from its side off Italy's Tuscan coast is under way.

Now that Silvio Berlusconi's tax fraud conviction and four-year prison sentence have been upheld by Italy's highest court, key questions remain about what will happen next to the former Italian premier. Here are some answers.

Thousadns of mourners yesterday paid homage to the 38 people who died when their bus plummeted from a flyover near Naples as they returned from a weekend away.

Famous crime writer Donna Leon takes Linda Herrick on a murderer's tour of Venice.

The Mayor of Florence has denied that the Renaissance city is a hotbed of "bunga bunga", amid a growing scandal involving prostitutes being paid for sex by council officials and local worthies.

Giovanni Palatucci has long been praised as an 'Italian Schindler', but the US Holocaust museum is now removing Giovanni Palatucci from its exhibits after research claimed he was a zealous Nazi collaborator.

Rarely are hikers rewarded so richly for their toils as on the steep slopes of Italy's Cinque Terre region, where five ancient fishing villages cling to the sheer slate cliffs below.

The palazzos were built for nobility, but it is artists, fashion designers and hoteliers that uphold their grandeur today, says Kate Simon.

Venice hosts its famous art biennale in June. Graham Reid offers survival tips.

Julia Shallcrass discovers Topdeck bus tours provide the swiftest way to see Europe and make new friends.

Silvio Berlusconi's private disco featured not only aspiring showgirls performing striptease acts as sexy nuns and nurses, but one woman dressed up as President Barack Obama.