Free Republic

Italian Premier Matteo Renzi says Europe must look inward to help deal with the threat posed by terrorism. […] While agreeing with the need for a military response and enhanced security within Europe, Renzi said governments must also invest in education, economic growth and the “humanistic model of cities in Europe.” Renzi made clear he supports Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, but added he would respect any outcome of the U.S. election. …

A number of mostly Muslim migrants hosted in a hotel in the northern Italian town of Chioggia ripped down the Italian flag in protest of an Easter meal of pasta in place of their usual chicken and french fries. The owners of the Al Bragosso di Sant’Anna Hotel usually give the 45 migrants a dinner consisting of chicken and French fries on Sundays, but on Easter they decided to serve the pasta instead to properly celebrate the holiday.

Italian archaeologists have found a site near Naples where the precursors of non-stick pans were produced more than 2,000 years ago. The finding confirms that non-stick frying pans, an essential tool in any modern kitchen, were used in the Roman Empire. The cookware was known as "Cumanae testae" or "Cumanae patellae," (pans from the city of Cumae) and was mentioned in the first-century Roman cookbook De Re Coquinaria as the most suitable pans for making chicken stews. However, the pans from Cumae remained a mystery until 1975, when Giuseppe Pucci, archaeologist and professor of history of Greek and Roman art,...

Radar experts are casting doubt on claims that King Tutankhamun's tomb contains hidden, undiscovered chambers — and they're calling for more data to be released. At a March 17 newsconference, officials at Egypt's antiquities ministry released radar data that they said showed the presence of hidden cavities inside the tomb of King Tut. The scans, carried out by Japanese radar technologist Hirokatsu Watanabe, "suggest the presence of two empty spaces or cavities beyond the decorated North and West walls of the burial chamber," they said in a statement. The scans also suggest the "presence of metallic and organic substances," and...

Archaeologists in Italy have discovered what may be a rare sacred text in the Etruscan language that is likely to yield rich details about Etruscan worship of a god or goddess. The lengthy text is inscribed on a large 6th century BCE sandstone slab that was uncovered from an Etruscan temple. A new religious artifact is rare. Most Etruscan discoveries typically have been grave and funeral objects. “This is probably going to be a sacred text, and will be remarkable for telling us about the early belief system of a lost culture that is fundamental to western traditions,” said archaeologist...

Several European countries have erected fences to keep migrants out, and, according to the numbers, every case appears to have a large impact. Hungary was a popular pathway for refugees on their way to Germany during the fall. When the daily illegal border crossings were at 7,000 per day, Prime Minister Viktor Orban decided to erect a fence along the border to Serbia and Croatia. The result speaks for itself: When the fence went up Oct. 17, the influx went down to 870 from 6,353 only a day earlier. Illegal border crossing were steadily below 40 per day throughout the...

A 1,900-year-old building that would have served as an apartment within the estate of Roman Emperor Hadrian has been discovered in Tivoli, Italy. The building is full of lavish artwork, archaeologists said. "The exceptionally well-preserved decoration of the rooms includes mosaic floors with both vegetal and abstract patterns, marble revetments [panels], wall paintings, and an almost entire ceiling fresco," the archaeologists wrote in the summary of a paper recently presented at the Archaeological Institute of America's annual meeting in San Francisco. Much of the art is now in pieces, and the process of excavating and conserving it is a difficult...

A new, highly produced video released by ISIS' Al-Furat media features a French-speaking jihadist equipped with a suicide belt warning that the worst is yet to come. The video begins with the televised address of King Philippe of Belgium talking about last Tuesday's attacks at the Brussels airport and a metro station. It transitions to shady scenes of an airport with an English-language boarding call to Gate A03 -- the only English in the French-and-Arabic video. That's not a gate number used, for one, at the Berlin airport by Air Berlin. A video released by ISIS supporters last week, with...

ROME — Police in southern Italy have arrested an Algerian man wanted by Belgian authorities for alleged involvement in a Belgium-based network which provided false IDs used by people implicated in the Paris and Brussels attacks, investigators said Sunday. Djamal Eddine Ouali was arrested Saturday in the town of Bellizzi, outside of the port city of Salerno, said Luigi Amato, the head of Salerno police’s anti-terrorism squad. Ouali apparently “didn’t know he was wanted” by Belgian authorities and applied for a residency permit about 10 days ago in Italy, Amato said in a telephone interview. Ouali, 40, was jailed while...

By the time Aziz Ehsan, a 46-year-old Iraqi, was arrested near Naples on Tuesday, local anti-mafia police had already been trailing him for days to determine just why he was in the heartland of the Camorra crime syndicate’s territory. He was well known by both the French and Belgian secret services, which list him as a suspected ISIS contact. The Neapolitan cops were also aware of an international arrest warrant for him in Switzerland, where he was wanted in connection with a variety of offenses, including forgery, assault, and possession of illegal weapons. He was apparently just the type of...

Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi called on Tuesday for a “European pact for freedom and security” following the attacks in Brussels claimed by the ISIS group that killed around 35 people. “Today they hit Belgium, but they also hit the capital of the European Union,” Renzi said in a speech, vowing that “it will take months, perhaps years, but we will beat them”. […] “Europe must go all the way this time. We must invest in a common security and defense structure,” he said, adding that the debate over defense integration has been raging since 1954, when a plan to...

Fellow Freepers: I will be visiting Cassino, Italy and the mountaintop Monastery of Monte Cassio next month for a writing project on the Polish II Corps. I am aware of the Polish Cemetery, but would appreciate any information on off-the-beaten-path monuments. Also, it you have any recommendations on restaurants and wineries in the area (especially those smaller local restaurants you won't find on the tourist websites) along with any "must try" dishes. Thanks in advance! V/R Bill

After the horrendous jihadists attacks in Brussels Monday, Rome has declared a maximum terror alert in view of the impending Easter celebrations when more than 150,000 pilgrims and tourists are expected to descend upon the Vatican. Vatican security was already exceptionally tight, but the recent assault has raised the ante considerably and Rome has responded with intensified security measures at railway stations, subway, airports and famous landmarks.

A 12-year restoration programme at the fifth-century church of S. Maria Antiqua in the Roman Forum is almost complete. Rome's superintendent for archaeology Mariarosaria Barbera said that once the final works had been carried out on the floors, preparations would begin in January to cater for visits on a limited basis in the spring. Barbera said the church would then open to the public for at least three days a week, "allowing adequate breaks to ensure the microclimate." Located on the north-western slopes of the Palatine hill, the church is one of Rome's earliest surviving Christian monuments. Its richly decorated...

Sat 10 Apr 2004 Buried church gives up secrets of Byzantine art in Rome AIDAN LEWIS IN ROME BURIED for 12 centuries by a landslide and closed to the public for 24 years, the oldest Christian church in the Roman Forum has been reopened, offering glimpses of Byzantine frescoes that changed scholars’ views of medieval art. Guided tours of the Santa Maria Antiqua, nestled under the imperial palaces of the Palatine Hill and facing the main ruins of the Forum, begin this weekend and continue through May. Werner Schmid, a restoration expert for the project, says visitors will get a...

After 12 centuries under rubble and 24 years of restoration, Rome has opened the doors to Santa Maria Antiqua, the oldest church in the Roman Forum's ancient ruins and its rare collection of early medieval art. An earthquake buried the church and its numerous Byzantine and early Christian frescoes in 847 and it remained untouched until excavation and reconstruction began in 1900. Much of the structure had survived and restorers have been hard at work on the interior since 1980 with the site to reopen to the public on April 10 until the end of May. "The Santa Maria...

A 1,500-year-old church which was buried under debris from an earthquake for more than a millennium has reopened to the public after a painstaking restoration of some of the world’s earliest Christian art. The sixth-century church of Santa Maria Antiqua is located in the ancient Roman Forum, at the bottom of the Palatine Hill, where Roman emperors lived for centuries in sumptuous palaces.

“Mara Carfagna: ‘If the West abandons Israel, it will be abandoning itself,'” a translation of “Mara Carfagna: ‘Se l’occidente abbandona Israele, abbandona se stesso,’” L’Informale, February 11, 2016: Mara Carfagna, the Minister for Equal Opportunity from May 2008 to November 2011, among Italian politicians has been one of the stoutest defenders of Israel. Mindful of ethical issues and civil rights, she was chosen by Berlusconi to be in charge of the civil and human rights section of his party, Forza Italia.We wanted to speak with her not only about Iran, but about the growing antisemitism in Europe, and the boycott...

The archbishop of Bologna, Italy is calling for the construction of a mosque in the city. At a conference last week organized by the local Muslim community, Abp. Matteo Maria Zuppi, recently appointed to head the archdiocese, seized the opportunity to express his sympathy towards the Muslim community by calling for a mosque to be built in Bologna. He also asked for the accommodation of Muslim festivities in Italian schools. Quoting Cdl. Angelo Scola, archbishop of Milan - a cleric with similar sympathies - Zuppi said, "I really think it's time for a mosque in Bologna. Some people think otherwise...

Excavations of a tomb in northern Lazio dating to around the 8th century BC have uncovered treasures including an amber necklace, a golden Egyptian scarab amulet and rare pottery that archaeologists say likely belonged to an Etruscan princess. The excavation of the Tomb of the Golden Scarab follows its discovery earlier this year in the archaeological site of Vulci, a former Etruscan city. Anthropological research helped back the theory that the tomb belonged to a princess within the ranks of the nascent Etruscan aristocracy. A few bones wrapped in precious cloth are all that remains of her. The excavation of...