A bar atop a hill in Sicily's Taormina has plenty to seduce eyes, ears and palate, finds Kevin Pilley.

Italy has only grown 4 per cent - in total - since the euro was created 16 years ago.

New Zealand lamb wool prices jumped to their highest level in almost four years this week.

The wall of silence that has protected the Mafia for decades is finally cracking, even in its Sicilian heartland.

Nearly 1000 refugees were safely brought ashore in Italy yesterday after being abandoned by suspected smugglers on a merchant ship.

In 2013 Pope Francis had a lot to celebrate. Not only was he named Time magazine person of the year, but was also awarded the title of Esquire's best-dressed man.

Italy's leading tourist attractions including the Colosseum could soon be in foreign hands as the country seeks new directors from around the world to make its museums more profitable.

A fruit fly infestation has ravaged orchards across Italy, one of the world's top producers of olive oil, sending prices soaring.

Visitors to Italy will find its famed foods come in many gluten-free forms they'll love.

Italian police yesterday revealed an enormous collection of animals confiscated in recent months from jailed or arrested mafia bosses.

Make a plan before you leave ship and reap the rewards of your research, Pam Neville says. She shares some shore excursions from a recent Mediterranean cruise.

Security for Italy's most at-risk prosecutor has been increased because of claims that Cosa Nostra bosses have plans to assassinate him with a bazooka.

Rupert Murdoch prepares to complete the merger of his British, Italian and German pay-TV companies next week.

Two Kiwis working in Miami have been victims of fraud - with a $27,000 Italian shopping spree charged to their credit card.

Dozens of suspicious deaths in a hospital in northern Italy may have been the work of a suspected "killer" nurse with a grudge against "annoying patients with pushy relatives".

George Clooney's wedding put Venice in the news. But Anne Hanley finds plenty for lesser mortals to do - for free.

Italy's economic crisis appears to have produced a boom in criminal deceptions that are testing the faith of the elderly.

Sir Michael Caine and Julie Christie are among celebrities who have signed a petition calling for giant cruise ships to be banned from Venice.

Football Federation Australia boss David Gallop has received assurances Italian giant Juventus will bring their World Cup stars for next month's clash with an A-League All Stars side.

A Catholic priest has been arrested in Italy on suspicion of dealing drugs at a party.

The good folk of Tuscany are offering lessons in manners to wealthy Russian tourists.

Italian prosecutors pushing for Amanda Knox’s extradition from the US claim they have evidence of her extensive links to cocaine dealers in Perugia, it has been reported.

The former boyfriend of Amanda Knox has cast doubt on her innocence in the murder of the British student Meredith Kercher.

The former boyfriend of Amanda Knox has cast doubt on her innocence in the murder of the British student Merdeith Kercher.

A young New Zealander is rubbing shoulders with some of the stars of the World Cup - and living the life of training and discipline that took them there.

It was a clash that pitted one of the finest journalists of his generation against a now-disgraced former world leader, but this was no modern-day Frost-Nixon.

Prince Harry has paid tribute to the terrible price paid by Kiwis who fought at the Battle of Monte Cassino in the Second World War.

Paul Abercrombie gets to grips with Venice's watery warrens during a once-in-a-lifetime rowing lesson.