You couldn't blame anyone casually following the Amanda Knox case over the past four years for being confused. But today, the American college student convicted of murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher after alleged "sex games" gone wrong tried to make it very clear that she is innocent. In fluent Italian, Amanda begged the court to let her go home, saying "I did not do the things they Read more

"Even though I am a little brat . . . 33 girls in two months seems like too much even for a 30-year-old." — Without compromising his virile reputation, little brat and Italian prime minister Berlusconi argues that he's just too old (74) to have that much sex. He's facing allegations that he had sex with 33 women, including an underage prostitute, at his villa where "bunga bunga" parties were Read more

This art piece at Arte Fiera Art First Festival in Bologna, Italy, looks just like Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, if you're comparing it to this recent photo of him looking — how do you say? — corpse-like (but with makeup!). The perpetually tan prime minister has been embroiled in sex scandals, and you don't have to be an art critic to interpret what this artist thinks of him. Read more

The New York Times has just translated wiretapped conversations currently gripping Italy. The tapes feature a range of call girls, reality-TV personalities, and other associates tied to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, but the star is 18-year-old Karima el-Mahroug. Prosecutors are currently investigating Berlusconi, 74, for paying to have sex with Karima (aka "Ruby") when she was a Read more

Shiseido has just signed a three-year deal with La Scala, Milan's famed opera. The entire troupe will wear Shiseido in performance, and the brand is showing an advertising retrospective in La Scala's lobby. It's unusual to think of a performance venue or theater company having a makeup sponsorship, but it's a really smart move. By choosing an opera, Shiseido has aligned itself with a cultural Read more

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have scooped another diminutive nest for their growing brood in the hills of Valpolicella, Italy, near Verona. The family apparently fell for the country during the filming of Jolie's upcoming project The Tourist and decided to add some Italian real estate to their portfolio of homes in Los Feliz, Malibu, New Orleans, Cambodia, and the South of France. "Some real Read more

Are edible flowers the next big thing? — The Atlantic Learn how to make ricotta gnocchi — Grub Street SF Five places to eat when traveling through Italy. — Eatocracy Whole-grain baking isn't just for hippies. — Chow Do or Don't: Cooking food for your own wedding? — The Epi-Log Pop-Tarts is opening its first ever cafe in Times Square. — Eater NY Must make: spicy tomato jam. — Read more

The first hotel made completely out of garbage opened today in Rome, Italy. Trash was collected from beaches throughout Europe to build the Corona Save the Beach Hotel, and its first guest was model Helena Christensen. View 5 Photos ›Photo 1Photo 2Photo 3Photo 4Photo 5 Read more

Italian fashion house Moschino is testing out its style skills in the wonderful world of interiors with its brand new Maison Moschino hotel in Milan. Set in an 1840 neoclassical building and former train station, the hotel was designed by the label's creative director, Rossella Jardini, along with its art director Jo Ann Tan, and fully restored with respect to its original façade. Much like Read more