James Imam

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Italian pavilion: ‘What is the future for humans?’ asks artist Gian Maria Tosatti

For the first time at the Venice Biennale, a single artist has been given the entire Italian pavilion to fill. Tosatti’s sprawling post-industrial installation asks the big questions

Despite €94m discount, Rome villa with Caravaggio's only ceiling painting fails to sell at auction—again

Slashing Ludovisi Casino's asking price by 20% did nothing to entice would-be buyers; the Italian state is being pressured to purchase the property before it is offered a third time

‘Putin’s Palace’ architect investigated over alleged €50m tax bill

Italian authorities seize valuable paintings in Lanfranco Cirillo's collection, including works by Picasso, Cézanne and Kandinsky

Maurizio Cattelan takes on death in Milan: artist hangs his own effigy in new show and donates Mafia attack work to the city

As Milano Art Week begins, Massimo de Carlo gallery is exhibiting the artist's one-work project while the crematorium is hosting one of his important early works

Italynews

After years of emergencies, Italy launches 'unprecedented' plan to protect churches against earthquake damage

Culture ministry earmarks EU pandemic recovery funds to mitigate the impact of future disasters on religious buildings around the country

Milan’s Museo del Novecento could lose 600 works in legal battle with heir

Mario Bertolini’s vast collection of Modern art, amassed over his lifetime and donated to the museum in 2014, is at the centre of a claim seeking to invalidate the acquisition

Jeff Koons loses court case against Italian collector over 'fake' work

The American artist claimed the sculpture of two snakes was a fake—now a court in Italy has overruled him and said the collector can seek compensation

Milan’s ancient amphitheatre turns over a new leaf with a €1.5m garden-inspired restoration project

Novel project will replace lost parts of the structure with hedges of boxwood, myrtle and privet

Libyanews

Major exhibition in Libya aims to prepare for a surge of archaeological activity once political stability returns

As the two countries look to rekindle historical bonds, a new show shines a light on an archaeological partnership spanning more than a century

Demonstrators gather in Venice to protest against Biennale’s 'invasion' of the Arsenale

Local associations are objecting to plans to transform part of the former shipyard into a new site for the Biennale’s historical archives

Former panopticon prison on Italian island to be turned into 'academy' for Europe's future leaders—and artist residency

The 18th-century horseshoe-shaped structure followed principle of social theorist Jeremy Bentham, which allowed for constant surveillance of inmates

Italynews

McDonald’s blocked from building drive-through at Rome's ancient Baths of Caracalla

The council of state upheld a previous ruling preventing the fast food chain from opening at the popular heritage site

Returning home: Italy pulls 100 works from major museums and sends them to regional institutions where they were previously shown

Loan initiative aims to decentralise Italian collections and encourage more people to visit smaller museums

Defacement of fascist inventor's statue in Rome revealed to be artist hoax

Fake bust of Guglielmo Marconi in Villa Borghese park was spray-painted to draw attention to the manipulation of truth in the media

Pompeii turns to tech to protect ancient site against climate change damage

Monitoring system that includes drones and sensors will track the impact of extreme weather

Crime news

Italy’s museums move to stop ticket touts’ post-Covid comeback

The Uffizi and Galleria dell’Accademia are among those finding ways to prevent re-sellers from inflating ticket prices

Mamma mia! Posters for Naples blasphemy show spark outrage

Blasphemy laws in Italy are strict and can result in fines

Uffizi gets down with the kids, lowering Renaissance masterpieces to children’s eye level

The new initiative also involves a team of museum guards tasked with responding to tiny tots' niggling queries

Loansnews

How a Milan museum won the battle to show the world’s most important private collection of Futurist art

Famous Mattioli collection loan will make Museo del Novecento “undoubtedly the most important centre for Futurist art” when it goes on display next spring

Venice Biennale moves closer to becoming an all-year-round academic hub

The organisation launched a contemporary arts research centre at the Expo 2020 Dubai earlier this month

Italian mayor launches underwater excavation to find third Riace bronze

Town of Riace is planning a museum, while a new investigation hopes to confirm whether there are more ancient Greek statues to be found

Italy evicts Steve Bannon’s right-wing group from medieval monastery

Move follows long-running dispute with the Italian ministry of culture over the 13th-century Certosa di Trisulti

Italy passes restitution resolution amid renewed calls for return of the 'Victorious Youth' bronze from Getty Museum

Italian senate approved resolution that could pave the way to restitutions as politicians call for return of Ancient Greek bronze also known as Atleta di Fano

Visitors return to Venice—but at what cost?

The city took a big financial hit during the pandemic. But as things improve, locals are pushing for a more sustainable form of tourism

As 'mountains of corpses' wash up on Tunisian shores, artist Rachid Koraichi builds burial site for migrants

Memorial and graveyard designed by Algerian artist will be used to bury the unidentified bodies of those who have tried and failed to cross the sea

Italynews

Mussolini family feuds over reopened crypt of fascist Italian dictator

The controversial site has become a pilgrimage for far-right supporters

Crime news

Number of art thefts in Italy plummets—partly thanks to drones

New report by special police force finds increase in security and surveillance technology has dissuaded dealers in stolen art

Pressure mounts for Italy to buy Torlonia marbles—world's finest collection of Greco-Roman antiquities still in private hands

As a landmark exhibition in Rome draws to a close, government's plans for long-hidden group of ancient sculpture remain unclear