Democratic Party (PD) Secretary Pier Luigi Bersani is set to take on Florence Mayor Matteo Renzi in a runoff in the primary to select the centre-left’s premier candidate next weekend after none of the contenders won more than 50% in Sunday’s first round. Renzi, a 37-year-old who presents himself as a modernizer, was second with 35.5%.
Category: News
Researchers open tomb of Giovanni de’ Medici
Researchers pried open the tomb of Giovanni de’ Medici and his wife on Monday in their quest to better understand the life and death of the 16th-century warrior. The tombs of Giovanni – known as “dalle Bande Nere” for the black bands of mourning he wore for Pope Leo X – and Maria Salviati were opened in the Medici Chapels in Florence.
Florence study shows drugs stimulate stem-cell
Researchers from the University of Florence have found that anti-depressant drugs may also have a positive effect in combating neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The researcher said that her group would now propose a new project to study on what receptors anti-depressant drugs act in order to produce the desired growth effects.
Four killed in wave of bad weather in Tuscany
The wave of bad weather that has gripped large areas of central and northern Italy since the weekend claimed three more lives overnight. The three, who were killed near the Grosseto province town of Marsiliana d’Albegna, were said to have been on their way to a job.
Stormy weather, high level alert in Tuscany
People were evacuated as a pre-emptive measure due to bad weather on the board between Liguria and Tuscany. The situation remains critical across Italy’s Massa Carrara province, where heavy rains caused landslides, landslips, and flooding overnight. Some streets are flooded to the point where they have turned into streams.
Italians see bodyweight fall due to healthy eating
Italians are gradually seeing their body weight fall to more ‘normal’ levels due to more healthy eating habits, according to a study by the Nestle’ Observatory in conjunction with the clinical nutrition and dietetics association ADI.
Florence students to help hurricane Sandy victims
On November 7th 2012 Lion’s Fountain, along with a student travel group, Euroadventures, hosted a fundraiser to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Sandy, a terrible storm that recently devastated the east coast of the United States. New Jersey was hit particularly hard.
Barack vs Mitt: US Elections 2012 in Florence
To mark the U.S. Presidential Elections of 6 November 2012, the RFK Training Institute of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights Europe, in collaboration with the Consulate of the United States of America in Florence, is organizing the event US elections 2012 in Florence.
Mafia animals will go in a WWF center
A wildlife reserve in southern Tuscany hosting exotic animals that once belonged to mafia owners will soon be opening its gates to the public. Tigers once pampered as cubs but dumped as adults, unruly monkeys, lions and more are guests at the Center for Rescued Wild and Exotic Animals run by the international environmental organisation WWF.
EU wins the Nobel prize, American students react
On Friday, October 12th 2012, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the esteemed Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union. It is interesting to see how American students reacted to the news. It is important to recall that President Barak Obama won the Noble Peace Prize in 2009. Students have been comparing the two, in an attempt to understand the logic behind the committee’s decision.