Free Republic

ROME (AP) — A convicted mobster who was one of Italy's most-wanted fugitives and reputedly one of the world's most powerful drug brokers, arrived in Rome Wednesday, extradited by Brazil after 28 years on the lam. FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2017 file photo released by the Italian police, a man identified by police as longtime fugitive Rocco Morabito, looks down after being arrested at a hotel in Montevideo, Uruguay. A convicted Italian mobster, one of Italy's most sought-after fugitives, has been extradited from Brazil. Italian police said that Rocco Morabito, who was No. 2 on the list of...

Locally sourced grapes and imported tar pitches may have been the norms for winemakers along the coast of Italy during the Roman period, according to jars recovered from the ocean near the harbor of San Felice Circeo. Three different wine jars, or amphorae, were recovered and analyzed, giving researchers a useful insight into the practices for producing wine in this particular region in 1–2 century BCE, part of the late Greco-Italic period. What makes the research particularly notable is that it combines some of the latest chemical analysis techniques with other approaches used in archaeobotany to discover more about these...

An Italian mafia fugitive who has been evading police since 2014 was arrested last week after police recognized him on YouTube. Marc Feren Claude Biart, who is wanted by police for allegedly trafficking cocaine, had started a cooking show on YouTube with his wife, BBC News reports. 53-year-old Biart hid his face in the videos – but did not hide his tattoos. Italian police saw the videos and arrested Biart in the small town of Boca Chica, Dominican Republic, they said in a statement, according to BBC News. Biart has been wanted by police for nearly six years for allegedly...

Scientists aren't particularly surprised to find volcanism in the region, which is home to active volcanoes like Mount Vesuvius and Mount Etna. But the new complex is unusual because it was created by a rare kind of fault... The western Mediterranean is seismically restless because of the collision of three tectonic plates: the African, the Eurasian and the Anatolian. Making matters more complex is a small chunk of crust called the Adriatic-Ionian microplate, which broke off of the African Plate more than 65 million years ago and is now being pushed under the larger Eurasian Plate in a process called...

British retirees thinking of moving to the sun-soaked south of Italy could soon be able to take advantage of a massive tax break that is being mooted by the country’s new government. The populist administration hopes to reverse the chronic population decline of Italy’s southern regions by luring people to settle there with the promise of paying no taxes for 10 years. The scheme will be open not only to Italians but to foreigners too, it is envisaged. The idea has been proposed by The League, the hard-Right party which makes up one half of the coalition which came to...

The anti-corruption stance of Pope Francis has riled Italy’s powerful mafia groups, according to a prosecutor who specializes in mob cases. State prosecutor Nicola Gratteri – who works in the southern Italian region of Calabria, where the ‘Ndrangheta mafia is active – told the Italian daily Fatto Quotidiano that Francis’ statements on transparency and dismantling economic power in the Vatican are making mobsters “nervous and agitated.” “I cannot say if the organization is in a position to do something like this, but they are dangerous and it is worth reflecting on,” Gratteri said. “If the godfathers can find a way...

Police believe Francesco Raccosta - who disappeared from his home in Calabria back in 2012 - was kidnapped by rival mobsters and fed alive to a herd of pigs. Francesco Raccosta, who vanished without a trace from his home in Calabria in March 2012, is now believed to have been kidnapped by opposition mobsters. They then severely beat him before throwing him into a herd of pigs - who swiftly ate his body as he screamed and begged for mercy. Cops say they found out about his fate earlier this month while investigating the southern 'Ndrangheta mafia organization. Officers claim...

One of the lesser known and lesser read works of CS Lewis is his correspondence with Rev. Fr. Don Giovanni Calabria. Few indeed have read them since they were written in Latin. And though an English translation was published in 1998, I know few who have ever heard of these letters. The full collection of these letter is here: The Latin Letters of CS LewisIn these letters, there are some very important insights that CS Lewis offers for the loss of faith in Europe that was already well underway in the 1950s when the letters were exchanged. Indeed I would...

In southern Italy prosecutors "are investigating the alleged intimidation of a local priest by Calabrian mafia gunmen which led to the cancellation of a traditional Easter vigil procession" as reported by Adnkronos: Last Saturday's traditional Affruntata procession in the Calabrian village of Sant'Onofrio was cancelled after suspected mafia gunmen fired rounds of bullets outside the home of the procession's organiser, local priest Michele Virdo. * * * The gun attack against Virdo's residence followed the exclusion of local mafia members from the Affruntata on orders of the bishop of the surrounding Vibo-Mileto-Tropea diocese, Monsignor Luigi Renzo. * * * In...

Calabria in southern Italy is famous for its ruthless mafia and hot chilli peppers and is certainly no stranger to passion, intrigue and vendetta.But the tale of an affair between one of its female mayors and a local council leader has reached a finale worthy of grand opera - and gripped the entire nation.Another cruel twist was the death on the town hall steps of a journalist who had chronicled their romance, just as the melodrama reached its climax.Italian gossip magazines have been obsessed by the liaison, not least because the two lovers, both from the provincial capital of Cosenza,...

Dear Republican Supporters, Your energetic support of Republican candidates has been generous and consistent. Without your support, our Republican ticket would not be as strong or as solid as it is this historic election season. We have made great strides in electing Republican judges at all levels. However, a dangerous cavity is developing that could compromise everything for which you have worked so hard. Nate Pendley, candidate for the N.C. Court of Appeals, is a threat to the integrity of the entire Republican judicial ticket. North Carolinians are people of sound values. They know the Republican Party to be the...

Dear Republican Activists, It is extraordinary for a sitting State Chairman to become involved in a Republican primary. There are many good reasons why a party officer should refrain from involvement. There are also times when a State Chairman is compelled to abandon that principal of non-involvement to protect the Party. After careful deliberation, I am convinced that there is a danger to our Party and state which is real. There is a primary election for the N.C. Court of Appeals that is of utmost importance to all citizens in North Carolina. Two-term District Court Judge Ann Marie Calabria, running...