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In Sicily’s port city of Catania, an alarm went off inside the scientific research centre, the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). A large wall covered with dozens of screens showed a tapestry of charts, figures, maps and live video streams, but it was one particular screen which drew the scientists’ attention. “An earthquake,...

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Among gastronomic disputes in Italy, one of the most heated and difficult debates to resolve regards the recipe for eggplant parmigiana. In fact, the origins of this extraordinary dish are quite dubious: It is disputed by Sicily, Naples, and Parma. What’s the truth? Let’s take a journey back in time. Where does the word ‘parmigiana’ come from? The...

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PlaYOURope vi porta in Sicilia, alla scoperta di Etna Biotech, un centro di ricerca e sviluppo all’avanguardia con competenze nella ricerca e nello sviluppo di vaccini e immunoterapeutici per le malattie infettive e altre malattie croniche. Il progetto – che si chiama Vaima – è stato finanziato dal fondo FESR 2007-2013 e ha permesso al centro di ri...

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Tiziano Ferro is the spokesman of a message from Lady Gaga to the italians who are fighting against the emergency Coronavirus. The singer has published on his profile on Instagram a video in which the beloved artist, in tears, words of encouragement, affection and closeness to our Country. Lady Gaga, choking back tears, he explained to be really so...

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Sicily, the ancestral island home of many Italian-Americans, has a long and interesting history including that of its wine production. Over twenty-five hundred years ago, the island was an integral part of Magna Grecia, the extension of Greek culture and power in the Mediterranean Sea. Well preserved ruins still exist in parts of the island. The Gr...

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Sicily will pay half the price of tourists' flights in a bid to lure back holidaymakers after the coronavirus lockdown. The regional government will also pay one in every three of their hotel nights and all their tickets for museums and archaeological sites.  A €50 million budget will pay for the scheme after coronavirus robbed the industry of arou...

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THE ISLAND OF LAMPEDUSA IS Italy’s southernmost piece of land—it’s so far south of mainland Europe that it’s geologically a part of Africa. Just off its shore, there is a small islet called Isola dei Conigli (Rabbit Islet) with a rather misleading name. Rabbit Islet is actually not always an island, and sometimes a small isthmus of sand connects it...

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Such is the love that Bill Brockschmidt and Richard Dragisic feel for Sicily that they did a 23andMe test to see if either had Italian blood—only to find that they didn’t. Brockschmidt hails from Virginia, while his husband Dragisic is from West Texas. Both trained as architects (Brockschmidt is a partner in the ED A-List firm Brockschmidt & Colema...

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Etna basalt, which is dark grey or blackish in colour, is formed by the slow solidification of the volcanic lava flows as they cool. It is a natural product that is extracted in all the municipalities of the province of Catania within reach of the lava. The ancient Romans already knew the characteristics of this special stone, which is particularly...

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BY THE AIRPORT ON THE tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, near the ruins of bunkers and military installations, a solitary gateway stands as a memorial to those who’ve died while crossing the Mediterranean Sea. The monument, aptly named “Gateway to Europe” (“Porta d’Europa”) was designed by Mimmo Paladino in 2008 as part of a project led by the NGO A...

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