Last Minute Portal

By Silvia Aloisi

ROME (Reuters) - The Italian government declared a state of emergency at the Pompeii archaeological site on Friday to try to rescue one of the world's most important cultural treasures from decades of neglect.

A cabinet statement said it would appoint a special commissioner for Pompeii, the Roman city buried by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 and now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Archaeologists and art historians have long complained about the poor upkeep of the Pompeii treasures, plagued by lack of investment, weeds, litter, graffiti and looting. Bogus tour guides and illegal parking attendants also plague visitors.

More than 60 years ago, a team of Italian prisoners of war fashioned a small chapel out of two drab Nissen huts in Orkney.

British luxury clothing companies that wish to maintain the sense of heritage and history of their brands, but also concerned about low production costs, are moving their manufacturing to Italy, keen to avoid the growing concern "Made in China" labels raise over sweatshops and exploitation of child labour.

"The Leopard", written by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa , an author whose only novel, published posthumously in 1958, is one of Italy's best-loved books.

The study shows that families in Italy are in difficulties and they decide to limit expenses.

Italians are tired of Labor Unions bloated number of, and overpaid employees, and Politicians using airline as source of Patronage .

By Ben Hirschler

LONDON (Reuters) - Researchers using a medical scanner have worked out why a Stradivarius violin sounds so good -- it is because of the remarkably even density of the wood.

For the past 300 years, musicians and scientists have puzzled over the unparalleled quality of classical Cremonese violins made by Italian masters like Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu.

Now a Dutch doctor and a violin maker from Arkansas think they have cracked the mystery after comparing five classical and eight modern violins in a computed tomography (CT) scanner normally used to examine patients.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has pledged to end the rubbish crisis in Naples and the surrounding area by the end of July.

Italian authorities have begun fingerprinting tens of thousands of gypsies living in nomad camps across the country - adults and children alike - brushing aside accusations of racism by human rights advocates ...

FIFA ranked Euro 2008 champion Spain No. 1, with 2007 World Cup Winner Italy #2,. Also Italy was the only team to hold Spain to a 0-0 score, to lose on PKs.

About a year ago, some of you must have thought I had gone off my "rocker" when in one of my Reports, I called the idea of turning Food into Fuel "insane". OK, now that Barilla is saying it, maybe now you'll believe me. It is galactically stupid, to drive the price of food up, in a world with so many starving, and so many people living in poverty, rather than seek alternative forms of energy. Maybe cornstalks and native grasses, and maybe even sugar cane when there is a glut,........... but grains, ????? Super Dum.

I am trying to get information on around-the-world air tickets going west from the United States. But I have not found any information on airline Web sites. Can you help? William Gibson, Asheville, North Carolina