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Paddy Agnew

Paddy Agnew

Rome Correspondent

Rome correspondent Paddy Agnew has reported from Italy for the Irish Times since 1986, working off a never dull canvas that stretches from the Vatican to Serie A football, with plenty of political instability and Mafia corruption thrown in for good measure. Agnew reports regularly for RTE, Newstalk 106, the BBC, Talksport and World Soccer whilst he is also the author of “Forza Italia: A Journey In Search of Italy and It’s Football” (Ebury Press)

In a city of which comic Roberto Benigni once joked that the number one problem was not the Mafia but rather traffic congestion, the new trams have been eagerly awaited ever since work began back in 2006 on a 15km, three-line tram system. Photograph: Getty Images
Palermo tram scheme goes off the rails

Sicilian capital has trams but does not have rail system to run them on

Italian businessman Marcello Di Finizio displays a banner to protest against austerity measures, on the dome of St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Photograph: Alessandro Bianchi
Millions of Italians sliding into poverty, say reports

National statistics agency claims 8.6 million people are in ‘serious economic difficulty’

Pope Francis holds a dove before his Wednesday general audience at St Peter’s Square at the Vatican this week
Pope Francis calls for ethical financial and economic reform

Vatican Bank says it will launch its own website as well as publish annual report

Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is accused of “involvement in underage prostitution” and “abuse of office”. Photograph: Reuters
Prosecutor seeks six years for Berlusconi ‘for using underage prostitute’

Verdict not due until June 23rd

The coffin of former Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti is carried from St John of the Florentines church following his funeral in Rome on Tuesday.
Towering figure in post-war Italian politics gave little away

Andreotti takes many secrets to his grave

Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi
Berlusconi tax fraud conviction upheld in Milan appeals court

If verdict confirmed by Court of Cassation, former PM would be banned from office for at least three years

Former Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti embodied, more than anyone else, the postwar First Republic in all its controversies, scandals and mysteries. Photograph: Reuters/Tony Gentile
Former Italian prime minister Andreotti dies aged 94

Former Christian Democrat leader was key player in Italy’s postwar rehabilitation

It is hoped that in the days before the big game Pope Francis will receive two delegations from Roma and Lazio in a papal audience. Photograph: Tony Gentile/Reuters
Pope Francis may be called upon to calm the waters at football derby

Games between rivals AS Roma and Lazio often prompt violent skirmishes

Italian prime minister Enrico Letta gestures at the Lower house of the parliament in Rome yesterday. Mr Letta acknowledged that one of his first priorities would be to establish the “seriousness and credibility” of his executive. Photograph: Reuters/Alessandro Bianchi
New Italian PM tells country ‘we all win or lose together’

Letta calls for seriousness and stability in face of financial crisis

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