Italy

What does National Geographic consider the best island in the world? Tahiti? Capri, Italy? Lord Howe Island, Australia? Nope. According to its recent book, "The 10 Best of Everything," it's actually Nantucket, which takes the coveted spot in the ten best islands category.  Nantucket? No disrespect to the Massachusetts hotspot, but it seems a bit of an odd choice on a list that doesn't even include Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, or the Bahamas. Travel writer Leslie Thomas came up with the list for National Geographic and had the following to say about...

Italian Premier Mario Monti says so-called eurobonds, debt issued jointly by countries in the eurozone, should be considered soon to help the region overcome its financial crisis. Monti told a news conference in Rome on Thursday that Italy sees eurobonds as a means of preparing the ground for investments that promote growth. The issue of eurobonds has been contentious. They would lower borrowing rates for countries with weaker finances, but would also raise them for stronger economies.

With the school year winding down, Tufts University administrators met recently with students planning to study abroad, outlining what they should do before they leave and what to expect when they arrive. Above all, they stressed the risks - and ways to minimize them. But with an audience of young adults eager to see the world and seize adventure, it was hard to know whether the warnings truly hit home. "I think the message gets through," said Sheila Bayne, who directs the university's study-abroad program.

ROME - Firefighters, surveyors, engineers, and volunteers struggled through a series of aftershocks Monday to catalog damage and deter looters one day after an earthquake killed seven people and left more than 6,000 homeless in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. More than 120 aftershocks rocked the area in the hours following the magnitude-6.0 earthquake, which toppled factories, apartment buildings, and medieval and Renaissance-era monuments early Sunday. The president of Emilia-Romagna, Vasco Errani, said in a television interview that it was too soon to...

Boston-based Iron Mountain Inc. is considering pulling out of Italy amid the European debt crisis as the world's largest document-storage company prefers to boost earnings and sales with acquisitions in emerging markets. "The big question for us in Europe is growth. Growth is a difficult one. We are growing, but slowly," Iron Mountain International president Marc Duale said in an interview in Madrid Thursday. The company, which in October 2011 sold its operations in New Zealand, is now also looking at "strategic alternatives" for its business in Italy, he said,...

GENOA, Italy - The United States gained a rare victory over a soccer power, beating Italy yesterday, 1-0, on Clint Dempsey's goal in the 55th minute for its first win over the Azzurri in 11 games spanning 78 years. Dempsey, who has become an increasingly important element of the American team, took a short pass from Jozy Altidore following Michael Bradley's cross and put a right-footed shot from just inside the penalty area past the outstretched hand of goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

Ed Siudut was so highly sought by incoming College of the Holy Cross basketball coach Jack Donohue that he paid a visit to the Everett High star's home his first day on the job in 1965. Mr. Siudut, whose uniform was raised to the rafters of the old Everett High gym years later on a night in his honor, was well worth the recruiting trip. Everett coach Buddy Pelosi called Mr. Siudut the best basketball player in school history. A 6-foot-7-inch forward, Mr. Siudut led Holy Cross in scoring and rebounding in his three varsity seasons and ranks third in the Worcester...

ROME, FLORENCE & VENICE - 8 Nights from $1,399 pp * - Depatures from April to October 2012 - Stay in hand-picked four star hotels with breakfast daily and four dinners included - Guided tour of Rome, Venice and Florence - Privately guided tour of the Vatican & reserved visit to the Uffizi - Visit Pisa to see the iconic ‘leaning tower' and Assisi - Escorted by our experienced Tour Director *(airfare not...

ROME, FLORENCE, TUSCANY, VENICE, & LAKE COMO - 11 Nights from $2,099 pp * For centuries, Italy has drawn visitors in search of culture and romance. Few countries can compare with its classical history, art, architecture, music, ne design, scenery, food and wine. Blend together the striking natural beauty of Tuscany, the vitality of Rome, the uniqueness of Venice and the captivating splendor of Lake Como and this is an unforgettable vacation. *(airfare not included so frequent flyer miles can be used)

ROME - Italy's new prime minister, Mario Monti, formed a government of bankers, diplomats, and business executives yesterday, saying the absence of politicians in his Cabinet will spare political parties the "embarrassment" of taking the tough decisions needed to steer the country from financial disaster. The 68-year-old former European Union competition commissioner and his Cabinet were sworn in at a solemn ceremony at the presidential palace that formally ended Silvio Berlusconi's 3 ½-year-old government and the media mogul's 17-year-long political dominance.

The Italian government is to free up to (EURO)30 billion ($38.25 billion) to make overdue payments to businesses that have supplied goods or services to state institutions. Prime Minister Mario Monti said the measures will ''give fuel" to businesses and go some way to relaunch Italy's stagnant economy. Delayed government payments are a major contributing factor to liquidity shortages faced by many small and medium-sized Italian companies. Analysts say payments are routinely delayed for two to three years, even longer in the health sector, with no interest due the creditor.

ROME - A strong earthquake struck the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna Sunday, killing at least five people, injuring dozens, leaving thousands homeless, and damaging historic buildings as well as warehouses and factories, officials said. The earthquake, which the US Geological Survey said had a magnitude of 6.0, crumbled church roofs and Renaissance-era towers, according to Italian television reports. Large cracks opened in apartment blocks in dozens of small towns.

Tamira Paszek overcame a second-set blip to beat Alberta Brianti of Italy 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 in the first round of the Strasbourg International on Monday. The eighth-seeded Austrian player constantly pressured Brianti's serve but could only convert four of her 15 breakpoint chances and dropped her own serve five times. French pair Pauline Parmentier and Stephanie Foretz Gacon advanced in straight sets and next play each other. Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei rallied to beat Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu 6-7 (5)

Residents of a quake-struck area of northeast Italy woke up in their cars, tents and in school gyms Monday as aftershocks continued following a magnitude-6.0 earthquake that killed seven people and toppled centuries-old buildings. Officials were still assessing the damage a day after the strongest quake in hundreds of years hit the area, known for its famed Parmesan cheese. Italian farm lobby group Coldiretti said some 400,000 huge, round cheeses were damaged after the racks where they are aged collapsed.

A magnitude-6.0 earthquake shook several small towns in northeast Italy, killing four people, knocking down a clock tower and other centuries-old buildings and causing millions in losses to the region known for making Parmesan cheese. The quake struck at 4:04 a.m. Sunday, with its epicenter about 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of Bologna at a relatively shallow depth of 5 kilometers (3.2 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said. Civil protection agency official Adriano Gumina described it as the worst quake to hit the region since the 1300s.

A bomb blast outside a high school in southern Italy that killed a 16-year-old student has revived dark memories of the 70s and 80s, when terrorists, anarchists and organized crime carried out dozens of bloody attacks across the country. Investigators had no firm clue Sunday of who was behind the attack and there was still no claim of responsibility a day after the crude device made up of gas cylinders exploded outside a mainly all-girls vocational school in the Adriatic port town of Brindisi.

Italian Premier Mario Monti is facing a vote of confidence in the Senate that would signal parliamentary approval of the government's euro30 billion ($39 billion) package of tax and pension changes. The austerity package is intended to save the country from financial disaster and follows rising concerns in the markets that Italy will find it difficult to pay off its massive debts, which stand at around euro1.9 trillion ($2.5 trillion). Monti says the austerity package "is of extreme urgency and will allow Italy to face the European crisis with its head held high.

SANT'AGOSTINO DI FERRARA, Italy — One of the strongest earthquakes to shake northern Italy rattled the region around Bologna early Sunday, a magnitude-6.0 temblor that killed at least four people, toppled buildings and sent residents running into the streets, emergency services and news reports said. The quake struck at 4:04 a.m. Sunday between Modena and Mantova, about 22 miles north-northwest of Bologna at a relatively shallow depth of 3.2 miles, the US Geological Survey said.

Ed Siudut was so highly sought by incoming College of the Holy Cross basketball coach Jack Donohue that he paid a visit to the Everett High star's home his first day on the job in 1965. Mr. Siudut, whose uniform was raised to the rafters of the old Everett High gym years later on a night in his honor, was well worth the recruiting trip. Everett coach Buddy Pelosi called Mr. Siudut the best basketball player in school history. A 6-foot-7-inch forward, Mr. Siudut led Holy Cross in scoring and rebounding in his three varsity seasons and ranks third in the Worcester school's history...