Italy

Italian Republic
Flag
Location  Europe
Capital  Rome
Area  301,340 sq km
Population  62,246,674

"There's one law for the rich and another law for the poor"
(Proverb/Quote of the Week)

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January

January 1 Italian scientist Fabiola Gianotti became the first female Director-General at the CERN Laboratory in Geneva on 1 January 2016. An Italian-Spanish archaeological mission has discovered a complete symbolic tomb of the Egyptian god Osiris with multiple shafts and chambers at Al-Gorna necropolis on Luxor’s west bank in Egypt, as announced on 1 January 2015. In an attempt to deal with the pollutions and environmental hazards Italy banned plastic bags in shops from 1 January 2011. Italy had one of the highest rates of consumption of the bags in Europe. January 2 January 3 January 4 January 5 An Italian woman became the first patient in the world to be fitted with a bionic hand with a sense of touch, assembled and implanted by Italian scientists, as officially revealed on 5 January 2018 after it is deemed successful. Italian football referee Nicola Rizzoli was named the World’s Best Referee for the year 2014 by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics on 5 January 2015. January 6 January 7 January 8 Italian physicist Carlo Rubbia was awarded China's International Cooperation Award in Science and Technology on 8 January 2016. Researchers from Italy and their international colleagues have found aggressive intestinal bacteria Helicobacter pylori in a 5300-year-old mummy, famously known as Ötzi - the Copper Age man, discovered frozen in a European glacier in 1991, shedding new light on the history of human migration. Their study was published in the journal Science on 8 January 2016. January 9 Italian manager Claudio Ranieri won the FIFA Best Men’s Coach of the Year award in Zurich on 9 January 2017. January 10 Introduction of a smoking ban in all indoor public places in Italy went into effect from 10 January 2005. January 11 January 12 Italian film The Great Beauty (La grande bellezza) won the Best Foreign Language Film award at the 71st Golden Globe Awards on 12 January 2014. January 13 January 14 January 15 An international team of astronomers, including researchers from Italy, have spotted a cosmic explosion about 200 times more powerful than a typical supernova, as published on 15 January 2016 in the journal Science. At its peak intensity, the explosion—called ASASSN-15lh—shone with 570 billion times the luminosity of the Sun. Italy and Ethiopia on 15 January 2015 signed cooperation agreements in the field of food security, socio-economic support to women, development of health systems and cultural cooperation. January 16 January 17 Italy's Antonio Tajani was elected as the new President of the European Parliament on 17 January 2017. January 18 January 19 January 20 On January 20, 2006 archaeologists revealed that they have discovered a 3000-year-old tomb in Rome, Italy that pre-dates the birth of ancient Rome by several hundred years. January 21 January 22 Siena, an Italian city situated in Tuscany, has met its target to become a carbon neutral city ahead of schedule and became Europe’s first carbon free city, according to an official announcement on 22 January 2014. It was originally intended to reach its carbon-free target by 2015 but renewable energy, reducing the use of fossil fuels, protecting forests and retrofitting buildings were some of the measures that enabled Siena to reach its objective. January 23 January 24 Italian scientists have sequenced the genome of the world's oldest continuously surviving cancer, a transmissible genital cancer that affects dogs, first arose in a single dog that lived about 11,000 years ago. The cancer survived after the death of this dog by the transfer of its cancer cells to other dogs during mating. The study was published on 24 January 2014 in the journal Science. January 25 January 26 Italy was the proud organizer of the 1956 Winter Olympic Games. The games were held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy from 26 January to 05 February, 1956. These Games marked the debut of the Soviet Union team, which immediately won more medals than any other nation. January 27 January 28 Anna Capellini and Luca Lanotte of Italy won the Short Dance gold at the 2016 ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia. January 29 Italy clinched gold at the 2012 Women's European Water Polo Championship on 29 January 2012 defeating Greece 13-10 in the final. January 30 January 31

February

February 1 February 2 Italy introduced new tougher anti-smoking laws on 2 February 2016, making it illegal to smoke in a car carrying children or pregnant women. February 3 February 4 February 5 Scientists from Italy and Switzerland have created a bionic hand which allows the amputee to feel lifelike sensations from their fingers. The research details were reported on 5 February 2014 in the journal Science Translational Medicine. February 6 February 7 February 8 February 9 February 10 A genetically-engineered virus tested in 30 terminally-ill liver cancer patients significantly prolonged their lives, killing tumors and inhibiting the growth of new ones, an Italian scientist along with his international colleagues reported on 10 February 2013 in the journal Nature Medicine. Italy hosted the XX Winter Olympic Games from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games. February 11 For the first time, scientists from Italy and their international colleagues have observed ripples in the fabric of spacetime called gravitational waves, arriving at the earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe, as published on 11 February 2016. This confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein’s 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos. February 12 Italian photographer Pietro Masturzo was named the winner of the 53rd annual World Press Photo Contest on 12 February 2010. The picture depicts women shouting in protest from a rooftop in Tehran in 2009. February 13 Italian short track speed skater Arianna Fontana won Italy’s first gold medal at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics. Europe's new Vega rocket, a launch system to carry payload into space, completed a flawless first flight on 13 February 2012. Italy proudly financed nearly 60% of Vega’s development. February 14 February 15 February 16 Italian film The Great Beauty (La grande bellezza) won the Best Foreign Language Film award at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards on 16 February 2014. February 17 The bottlenose dolphin only colonized the Mediterranean after the last Ice Age - about 18,000 years ago – according to new research published on 17 February 2015 by Italian scientists and their international colleagues. February 18 The Italian film Caesar Must Die, original name Cesare deve morire, won the Golden Bear for best film at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival on 18 February 2012. February 19 February 20 February 21 Italian documentary film about Europe's migrant crisis Fire at Sea won the Golden Bear award at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival on 21 February 2016. February 22 February 23 February 24 Italian alpine ski racer Sofia Goggia won her first World Cup downhill of the season in Crans-Montana on 24 February 2019. Italian passport ranked third at the Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index 2016, allowing its citizens visa-free access to 175 countries. February 25 February 26 February 27 A prototype quantum radar that has the potential to detect objects which are invisible to conventional systems has been developed by a team of Italian and international researchers. The new breed of radar, reported in Physical Review Letters on 27 February 2015, is a hybrid system that uses quantum correlation between microwave and optical beams to detect objects of low reflectivity such as cancer cells or aircraft with a stealth capability. February 28 February 29

March

March 1 Italian passport was ranked as the world’s third most valuable by the Nomad Passport Index 2017, assessed based on visa-free travel, taxation, perception, dual citizenship and overall freedom. March 2 Italian film The Great Beauty (La grande bellezza) won the Best Foreign Language Film award at the 86th Oscars on 2 March 2014. March 3 March 4 Italian alpine ski racer Sofia Goggia on 4 March 2017 secured her career first victory at Jeongseon, South Korea, at the test event downhill for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games, beating American Lindsey Vonn by just 0.07 seconds. March 5 March 6 March 7 Two Italian teams won both the first and second prizes at the 2016 Bee Breeders Tokyo Pop Lab architecture competition. March 8 Ancient DNA found in the dental plaque of Neandertals – our nearest extinct relative – has provided remarkable new insights into their behaviour, diet and evolutionary history, including their use of plant-based medicine to treat pain and illness nearly 50,000 years before the invention of penicillin. Italian scientists and their international colleagues published the finding in the journal Nature on 8 March 2017. March 9 March 10 March 11 March 12 Italian scientists were awarded 16 research grants by the European Research Council (ERC) on 12 March 2015 as part of the European Union Research and Innovation programme Horizon 2020. A team of international scientists, including researchers from Italy, has discovered a vast reservoir of water under the Earth's mantle, 400-600 kilometers (250-375 miles) beneath the Earth’s surface. Their study, confirmed the finding based on the discovery of a rare mineral ringwoodite, was published in the journal Nature on 12 March 2014. March 13 March 14 Female octopuses go to extra lengths when stretching their arms to reach food, according to a study by Italian scientists reported on 14 March 2013 in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. March 15 By analysing a prehistoric site in the Libyan desert, a team of Italian and English researchers has been able to establish that people in Saharan Africa were cultivating and storing wild cereals 10,000 years ago, as reported on 15 March 2018. March 16 March 17 March 18 March 19 Collina Po in Italy, the biosphere reserve is located in the north Italian Piedmont Region, was added to the list of UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves on 19 March 2016. The list recognizes regions that have maintained a healthy economy while hanging on to significant environmental values. March 20 March 21 Italy’s Rome Fiumicino Airport was named as the World's Most Improved Airports by air travellers at the 2018 Skytrax World Airport Awards. Scientists from Italy, France and Belgium have discovered the presence of metal in the ink of two Herculaneum papyrus fragments proving that metals were used in ink several centuries earlier than previously believed, as announced on 21 March 2016. Italian film Life Is Beautiful won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 71st Academy Awards on March 21, 1999. Italian singer Gigliola Cinquetti won the Eurovision Song Contest 1964 for the song Non Ho L'étà. The final took place on March 21, 1964 in Copenhagen. March 22 March 23 March 24 March 25 March 26 Italian film Cinema Paradiso won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 62nd Academy Awards on March 26, 1990. March 27 March 28 March 29 Italy’s Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte won gold in the ice dance short program on 29 March 2014 at the World Figure Skating Championships. March 30 Italian film Mediterraneo directed by Gabriele Salvatores won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1992. March 31

April

April 1 April 2 Italian movie Indivisibili by Edoardo De Angelis won the Grand Prix Tamouda d'or, the top prize at the 23rd International Mediterranean Film Festival in Morocco, on 2 April 2017. April 3 April 4 An Italian and international team of palaeontologists has discovered a well-preserved skeleton of a four-legged whale ancestor in Playa Media Luna, in Peru's desert-like Pisco Basin. The 43 million years old skeleton was described in the journal Current Biology on 4 April 2019. Italian and American scientists have uncovered a vast ocean beneath the icy surface of Saturn's little moon Enceladus. They made the discovery using Cassini, a NASA-European spacecraft still exploring Saturn and its rings 17 years after its launch from Cape Canaveral. Their findings were announced on 4 April 2014 in the journal Science. April 5 Osteria Francescana in Italy was named as the World’s Second Best Restaurant for 2017. April 6 April 7 April 8 April 9 April 10 April 11 April 12 April 13 April 14 Galileo Galilei, an Italian physicist and astronomer, made the first complete astronomical telescope and used it to gather evidence that the Earth revolved around the Sun. Galileo first demonstrated his telescope to scholars on a Roman hilltop on April 14, 1611. April 15 Rossano Ercolini from Italy won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, on 15 April 2013 for his initiatives to eliminate dangerous and toxic waste incineration in Italy and get several Italian cities to commit to Zero Waste efforts. April 16 April 17 Italian restaurateur and the chef Massimo Bottura was named on Time magazine's 100 most influential people list on 17 April 2019. April 18 April 19 Italian photographer Gianmaria Gava won the first prize at the 2018 Sony World Photography Awards in Architecture category. Italian motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi won the 2015 Argentine MotoGP Grand Prix with a thrilling display in 41 minutes 35.644 seconds. April 20 Italian fashion designer Alessandro Michele was named as one of the most influential people, according to Time Magazine’s 2017 list of 100 Most Influential People. April 21 April 22 April 23 April 24 April 25 April 26 April 27 April 28 April 29 April 30

May

May 1 Renato Ruggiero, an Italian politician, served as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Ruggiero became Director-General of the World Trade Organization on 1 May 1995. He was the second Director-General of WTO which commenced to deal with the rules of trade between nations at a global or near-global level. May 2 On 2 May 2012 the Italian and German scientists announced they have isolated what are believed to be the oldest traces of human blood ever found while examining the remains of "Ötzi," Italy's prehistoric iceman - a well-preserved natural mummy of a man, who roamed the Alps some 5,300 years ago. May 3 May 4 Italian music conductor Riccardo Muti was awarded the 2011 Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts - acknowledged as one of the best classical music conductors in the world - on 4 May 2011. May 5 Italian pop singer Toto Cutugno won the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest for the song Insieme: 1992. This was the second Eurovision title for Italy. May 6 Italy ranked as the eighth most tourism-friendly country in the world in the 2015 World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index. May 7 May 8 May 9 May 10 May 11 Italian and Swiss researchers on 11 May 2017 unveiled the first smart robotic exoskeleton that can detect when someone loses their balance– and prevents falling. The Italian tennis duo Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci won the Mutua Madrid Open women’s doubles champions on 11 May 2014 beating the Garbiñe Muguruza and Carla Suárez 6-4, 6-3. May 12 May 13 May 14 May 15 May 16 May 17 May 18 A team of international scientists, including Italian researchers, has reported the detection of a new extrasolar world several times more massive than Earth. The newly found exoplanet, classified as a so-called "super-Earth," is circling a nearby star designated GJ 625, as published on 18 May 2017. May 19 Italian actor Marcello Fonte won the Best Actor award at the 71st Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2018 for his performance in Dogman. Italy's government on 19 May 2017 ruled that children must be vaccinated against 12 common illnesses before they can enrol for state-run schools. The twelve conditions children must be immunised against are: polio, diphtheria, tetanus ,hepatitis B, haemophilus influenzae B, meningitis B, meningitis C, measles, mumps, rubella, whooping cough and chickenpox. European Union Culture Ministers on 19 May 2015 designated the Italian city of Matera as the European Capital of Culture for 2019. May 20 May 21 May 22 May 23 May 24 Italian scientists have developed a kidney dialysis machine capable of treating the smallest babies, and have for the first time used it to safely treat a newborn baby with multiple organ failure. The discovery was reported on 24 May 2014 in the journal Lancet. Italian film director Alice Rohrwacher received the Grand Prix award at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival for her film The Wonders. May 25 Italian Neurophysiologist Giacomo Rizzolatti while working at the University of Parma was awarded the 2011 Prince of Asturias Award under the Technical and Scientific Research category on 25 May 2011 for providing solid proof of the regeneration of neurons in adult brains (neurogenesis) and for the discovery of what are known as mirror neurons. May 26 Italian golfer Matteo Manassero became the youngest ever winner of the BMW PGA Championship on 26 May 2013 as he claimed his fourth European Tour title at the age of 20 on the fourth hole of a sudden-death play-off. May 27 May 28 May 29 Three new crew members, including Italian Luca Parmitano, arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on 29 May 2013 in just under six hours aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft after launching from Kazakhstan. It is Parmitano's first trip into space. The crew members are expected to remain on the space station for the next six months and perform more than 100 science experiments. Selene Biffi from Italy received Rolex Awards for Enterprise at a ceremony at Rolex’s headquarters in Geneva on 29 May 2013 for establishing a storytelling school in Afghanistan to preserve the country’s oral heritage and provide youth with the skills to help NGOs deliver vital health and development information. May 30 May 31

June

June 1 Italian researchers and a team of international scientists have developed a new way to grow mineralised materials which could regenerate hard tissues such as dental enamel and bone. The study, published in Nature Communications on 1 June 2018, shows that this new approach can create materials with remarkable precision. Italian restaurant Osteria Francescana ranked second in the World's 50 Best Restaurant awards in London on 1 June 2015. June 2 June 3 Diego Urbina, an Italian-Colombian engineer, joined the project MARS-500 along with one more European, one Chinese and three Russians. Under the project MARS-500 all six men were locked away from the outside world inside a sealed facility for the next 18 months, starting from 3 June 2010, in an unprecedented simulation of a manned mission to Mars. June 4 June 5 An international team of astronomers, including researchers from Italy, has discovered the hottest known exoplanet, a world where temperatures exceed those on the surface of most stars. The Jupiter-like planet, named as KELT-9b, was detailed in the journal Nature on 5 June 2017. June 6 Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti on 6 June 2015 broke the record for the most time in space on a single mission by a woman, surpassing the 194 days, 18 hours and 2 minutes logged by NASA astronaut Sunita Williams onboard the International Space Station in June 2007. June 7 Scientists from Italy and a team of international researchers have discovered the oldest fossils of Homo Sapiens in Morocco that show Homo sapiens emerged at least 100,000 years earlier than previously recognised. Their findings were published in the journal Nature on 7 June 2017. June 8 June 9 June 10 Italy won the 1934 FIFA World Cup as host nation by beating Czechoslovakia 2-1 in the final on June 10, 1934. It was the second FIFA soccer world cup and first ever world cup win for Italy. June 11 June 12 June 13 Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy was named the Best Restaurant in the World for 2016. June 14 June 15 June 16 June 17 June 18 June 19 Petra Zublasing of Italy won gold in the Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions - Shooting at the 2015 European Games. Enel Green Power, Italy's biggest renewable energy company, has started production at four new solar power plants in Greece to take its installed capacity in the country to 245 megawatts, according to an official announcement on 19 June 2012. Italy won the 1938 FIFA World Cup by beating Hungary 4–2 in the final on June 19, 1938. It was Italy's second and successive title. June 20 June 21 June 22 The Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont in Italy, covers five distinct wine-growing areas with outstanding landscapes, was inscribed in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s World Heritage List on 22 June 2014. June 23 Italy successfully launched 3 satellites on board the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C38 powered by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 23 June 2017. June 24 June 25 The UNESCO World Heritage Committee named the Longobards, Palaces of Power; a series of forts and monasteries built by the Lombards, a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, from northern Europe between 568 and 774; as a World Heritage Site in 2011.They show the architectural move towards the Christian Middles Ages in Europe. June 26 June 27 Italian legend Valentino Rossi won the 2015 Dutch MotoGP in 40 minutes 54.037 seconds. June 28 June 29 Italian Valentino Rossi produced a stunning performance to win the 2013 Dutch MotoGP in Assen in 41 minutes and 25.202 seconds. June 30

July

July 1 The industrial city of Ivrea in Italy was inscribed on the UNESCO's World Heritage List on 1 July 2018. July 2 Franco Maria Malfatti, an Italian politician, served as President of the European Commission from July 2, 1970 to March 1, 1972. He was the third President of European Commission which is the executive body of the European Union-an economic and political union of European countries. July 3 July 4 July 5 July 6 July 7 On 7 July 2011 it is revealed that Professor Paolo Macchiarini from Italy led the world's first synthetic organ transplant in a cancer patient using an artificial windpipe coated with stem cells. The pioneering surgery took place at the Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden. The Colosseum, an elliptical amphitheatre in the city of Rome - Italy, built in the Roman Empire was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World by New7Wonders Foundation. The Official New 7 Wonders of the World were announced in random order at the Official Declaration Ceremony on July 7, 2007 (07.07.07) in Lisbon. July 8 July 9 Italy won the 2006 FIFA Soccer World Cup by beating France in the final on July 9, 2006. After the regulation 90 minutes, the score was 1–1, and the match was forced into extra time which did not change the scoreline. At the end, Italy won 5-3 in penalty shootout. It was Italy's fourth world cup title. July 10 Scientists from Italy and an international team have observed in unprecedented detail the birth of a massive star within a dark cloud core about 10,000 light years from Earth, astronomers' best observation yet of a massive star embryo growing within a dark cloud. Their findings were published on 10 July 2013 in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. July 11 Pistoia, an Italian city sharing borders with the city of Florence, has been declared the first Italian Social Business City in 2012 with an aim to create an environment for social business and social innovation. Becoming a Social Business City means to choose the tools by businesses to address local issues, community needs and help people get out of poverty. Italy won the 1982 FIFA World Cup by beating Germany (West Germany) 3–1 in the final on July 11, 1982. It was Italy's third world cup win after a long wait from the second title back in 1938. July 12 July 13 July 14 July 15 Archaeologists from Italy and Israel have discovered a mysterious 12m long monolith in the deep sea off the coast of Sicily. The monolith was built at least 9,300 years ago and was described in the Journal of Archaeological Science on 15 July 2015. July 16 The Mont Blanc Tunnel, stretching for 7 mile or 11.6 km under the Mont Blanc Mountain - linking Italy and France, was inaugurated by the French President, Charles de Gaulle, and the Italian President, Giuseppe Saragat on July 16, 1965. This tunnel is one of the world’s deepest road tunnels beneath rock. July 17 July 18 July 19 July 20 July 21 July 22 July 23 Italian golfer Francesco Molinari won the 2018 British Open by two shots at Carnoustie and became the first Italian to hold a major title. July 24 Italian Scientists unearthed a skeleton in a rare state of preservation in Florence on 24 July 2012 what they believe may be of Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" — though tests would still have to be carried out to ascertain the identity of the remains. July 25 A massive underground lake has been detected for the first time on Mars, raising hopes that more water - and maybe even life - exists there, Italian astronomers revealed in the journal Science on 25 July 2018. Italian and Egyptian researchers have discovered a jar of the world's oldest cheese in a 3,300-year-old Egyptian tomb, according to a study published in American Chemical Society's journal Analytical Chemistry on 25 July 2018. July 26 Italy's Federica Pellegrini became the first swimmer to win seven medals in a single event at the world championships after a stunning gold medal victory in the women's 200 metres freestyle final on 26 July 2017. Italy and the Vatican signed an agreement on 26 July 2013 to share financial information that will help the two countries prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism. July 27 Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali won the 2014 Tour de France bicycle race. Vincenzo became the first Italian to win the Tour de France in 16 years. July 28 A three-man space crew from Italy, Russia and the United States on 28 July 2017 arrived at the International Space Station in just 6 hours for a five-month mission. July 29 July 30 July 31

August

August 1 Italian mathematician Alessio Figalli was awarded the most prestigious prize in the mathematics world, the Fields Medal on 1 August 2018. August 2 August 3 Stefano Zardini of Italy won the fourth prize at the 2015 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest for a photograph of a sauna at 2,800 meters high in the heart of Dolomites. Monte Lagazuoi, Cortina, eastern Italian Alps. August 4 August 5 Italian researcher Pierangelo Buongiorno was named as one of the recipients of the 2014 Sofja Kovalevskaja Awards. The award is given to promising young academics to pursue their line of research in the sciences or arts and humanities. August 6 August 7 Italian researchers have detected subatomic particles Neutrinos in earth's mantle using the Borexino detector at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy. Their findings are expected to yield insights into what radioactive elements lie deep inside the earth and were detailed in the journal Physical Review D on 7 August 2015. August 8 August 9 Italian swimmer Gregorio Paltrinieri won gold in the men's 1,500m freestyle race at the 2015 FINA World Championships. August 10 August 11 Italy's Carlo Molfetta won an Olympic gold medal in men's +80kg taekwondo on 11 August 2012 in London. August 12 August 13 August 14 Researchers from Italy and an international team have set out the first comprehensive map of mutational processes behind the development of tumors - work that should in future lead to better ways to treat and prevent a wide range of cancers. Their study, published on 14 August 2013 in the journal Nature, discovered the genetic imprints and signatures left by DNA-damaging processes that lead to cancer. August 15 August 16 August 17 August 18 August 19 August 20 August 21 Italy’s Renato Paratore clinched the gold medal in the Men's Individual Stroke Play Golf event at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics. August 22 August 23 Italian, French and English scientists have discovered that the ancient harbour of Pisa, Portus Pisanus, was established around 200 BCE in a naturally protected lagoon that was connected with the Ligurian Sea. Their findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports on 23 August 2018. August 24 Scientists in Italy have discovered evidence of the world’s oldest Italian wine in a large storage jar from the Copper Age which reveals that winemaking began in the country as far back as the 4th millennium BC, as revealed on 24 August 2017. Italian footballer Gianluigi Buffon was named as the UEFA Best Goalkeeper of the Year on 24 August 2017. August 25 Italy hosted the 1960 Summer Olympic Games from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome. The Games were given a Roman makeover as events were held in venues rich with ancient history. August 26 August 27 Scientists have found three well preserved ancient insects frozen in amber - and time - in what is Earth's oldest bug trap. The discoveries of amber-encased insects in Italy are about 230 million years old. The discovery was reported on 27 August 2012 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. August 28 August 29 August 30 The European Council on 30 August 2014 elected Italy's Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini as new High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. August 31 Archaeologists from Italy and Tunisia have discovered vast ancient underwater Roman ruins off northeast Tunisia, apparently confirming a theory that the city of Neapolis was partly submerged by a tsunami in the 4th century AD, as revealed on 31 August 2017.

September

September 1 September 2 September 3 September 4 Italy was voted as the world’s third most beautiful country by the influential travel publisher Rough Guide’s readers, as published on 4 September 2017. September 5 September 6 Italian scientists and a team of international researchers have discovered a galaxy supercluster forming in the early Universe, just 2.3 billion years after the Big Bang. This galaxy proto-supercluster, nicknamed Hyperion, is the largest and most massive structure yet found at such a remote time and distance, as revealed in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics on 6 September 2018. Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher won the Coppa Volpi award for Best Actress at the 2014 Venice Film Festival for her role in the movie Hungry Hearts. September 7 The Italian film Sacro GRA, a documentary about life along the highway that circles Rome by director Gianfranco Rosi, won the Golden Lion for best film at the 70th edition of the Venice Film Festival on 7 September 2013. September 8 September 9 Researchers from Italy, Peru and Belgium have found fossils of three dolphins in the Pisco-Ica desert in Peru. The dolphins, reported in the Journal Vertebrate Paleontology on 9 September 2014, not only belong to a new species but also related to endangered river dolphins living in the Indus and Ganges rivers in India today. September 10 September 11 Italian scientists along with their international colleagues unearthed a giant fossil of the first ever semiaquatic dinosaur, Spinosaurus, in the Sahara desert. Their findings were published on 11 September 2014 in the journal Science. September 12 Italian Flavia Pennetta won her first major singles tennis title after beating fellow Italian Roberta Vinci 7-6, 6-2 in the 2015 US Open final. September 13 Italian road bicycle racer Fabio Aru sealed his first ever Grand Tour victory with a win at the 70th edition of the Vuelta a España on 13 September 2015. September 14 Italian MotoGP racer Valentino Rossi claimed his maiden win of the season at the San Marino MotoGP on 14 September 2014. September 15 The first hydrogen balloon ascent in England was made by a young Italian Vincent Lunardi on September 15, 1784. It was not until almost a year after the invention of the balloon that the English were convinced of man's conquest of the air. September 16 September 17 Romano Prodi, an Italian politician, served as the tenth President of the European Commission from September 17, 1999 to November 22, 2004. Prodi was the second Italian politician to head the European Commission which is the executive body of the European Union-an economic and political union of European countries. September 18 Paolo Porcellana of Italy won the 2015 Astronomy Photographer of the Year Award in the Our Sun category for an image titled Huge Prominence Lift-off. Carlo Petrini of Italy was awarded the 2013 United Nations Champions of the Earth award for his organization Slow Food that works to defend local food traditions and protect local biodiversity. The first ever Etruscan pyramids have been located underneath a wine cellar in the city of Orvieto in central Italy, by a team of U.S. and Italian archaeologists, as reported on 18 September 2012. September 19 September 20 September 21 Archaeologists have discovered a Pre-Roman era tomb in perfect condition at Pompeii, Italy, as announced on 21 September 2015. The archaeological site was buried in a 79AD volcanic eruption. September 22 September 23 Four Italian recipients were honoured with the 2016 European Citizen’s Prize by the European Parliament for their exceptional achievements with their respective initiatives. September 24 September 25 September 26 September 27 September 28 September 29 September 30

October

October 1 October 2 October 3 October 4 October 5 October 6 October 7 October 8 Italian researchers have sequenced an ancient African genome for the first time. The DNA was obtained from the inner ear bones of a 4,500-year-old skeleton discovered in Ethiopia and was described in the journal Science on 8 October 2015. October 9 Italian artist Dario Fo who emulates the jesters of the Middle Ages in scourging authority and upholding the dignity of the downtrodden was awarded the 1997 Nobel Prize for Literature. October 10 October 11 Italian football goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon won the International Golden Foot award in Monaco on 11 October 2016, beating nominees which included Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo, England captain Wayne Rooney, and Argentine skipper Lionel Messi. October 12 October 13 Italian gymnast Giorgia Villa clinched her nation’s first all-around artistic gymnastics gold at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Argentina. Inspirational swimmer Nora Tausz Ronai of Italy was included in the BBC global list of 100 inspirational and innovative women for 2017. October 14 October 15 October 16 Reinhold Messner, an Italian mountaineer, became the first person to reach the summit of all fourteen eight-thousanders (14 mountains that are over 8,000 meters high above sea level). Messner climbed his last eight-thousander, hotse, on October 16, 1986. October 17 October 18 October 19 Italian motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi won the Australian MotoGP on 19 October 2014 at Phillip Island. October 20 October 21 October 22 October 23 Gianluigi Buffon of Italy won the Best FIFA Goalkeeper award on 23 October 2017. October 24 October 25 October 26 October 27 October 28 October 29 October 30 October 31

November

November 1 Italy ranked as the tenth most positive country at the World’s Most Positive Countries 2016. An international team of astronomers, that also includes researchers from Italy, detected what appears to be light from the first stars in the universe, indicating that stars were present at least as early as 500 million years after the “big bang”. The findings were published on 1 November 2012 in the journal Science. November 2 November 3 November 4 November 5 November 6 November 7 November 8 Italian, German and Austrian scientists have, for the first time ever, successfully treated a child suffering from extensive skin damage using genetically modified skin transplants from its own stem cells. Scientists have used stem cells and gene therapy to replace about 80 percent of the child’s skin, as revealed on 8 November 2017. Italian and Turkish scientists discovered and described a new species of scorpion, Euscorpius lycius, coming from the area of ancient Lycia, nowadays the regions of the Muğla and Antalya Provinces in Southwestern Turkey. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys on 8 November 2013. November 9 Italian researchers and their international colleagues have developed a neuroprosthetic system called the “brain-spine interface” that bypasses the lesion, restoring communication between the brain and the region of the spinal cord. Their prototype, detailed in the journal Nature on 9 November 2016, helped a paralysed monkey to walk again. November 10 November 11 November 12 November 13 November 14 An international scientific collaboration that includes researchers from Italy has mapped the genome of the domestic pig in a project that could enhance the animal's use in the testing of drugs for human disease. The research findings were published on 14 November 2012 in the science journal Nature. November 15 November 16 November 17 November 18 Filippo Grandi of Italy was elected by the United Nations General Assembly as the next United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on 18 November 2015, for a period of five years beginning on 1 January 2016. November 19 November 20 November 21 November 22 Fifty-nine years after James Watson and Francis Crick deduced the double-helix structure of DNA, Italian scientist Enzo Di Fabrizio has captured the first direct photograph of the twisted ladder that props up life. The research findings were published on 22 November 2012 in the journal NanoLetters. November 23 November 24 A Russian Soyuz capsule carrying three astronauts from Russia, the United States and Italy successfully docked with the International Space Station on 24 November 2014, in less than six hours after it was launched from Kazakhstan. Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti became the first Italian female astronaut to arrive at the space station. November 25 November 26 November 27 Selene Biffi of Italy, who is establishing a storytelling school in Afghanistan to preserve the country’s oral heritage, and provide youth with the skills to help NGOs deliver vital health and development information, was announced as one of the 2012 Rolex Young Laureates. November 28 November 29 November 30

December

December 1 December 2 December 3 December 4 December 5 December 6 A new species of semi-aquatic dinosaurs, nicknamed "Halszka" for Halszkaraptor escuilliei, that could kill prey on land and in water has been discovered by Italian and a team of international scientists. Scientists made the discovery after studying a fossil which was found at Ukhaa Tolgod in southern Mongolia, as revealed in the journal Nature on 6 December 2017. Italian and French archaeologists have found the remains of a grain port that played a critical role in the rise of ancient Rome, France's National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) revealed on 6 December 2012. December 7 Italian film The Great Beauty (La grande bellezza) won the best European Film, European Director, European Actor and European Editor awards at the 26th European Film Awards in Berlin on 7 December 2013. December 8 December 9 December 10 Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, an Italian journalist, jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1907 for his role as an international peace activist. December 11 December 12 A rare, mummified specimen of the duck-billed dinosaur Edmontosauraus regalis described in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on 12 December 2013 by researchers from Italy, Australia and Canada shows for the first time that those dinosaurs' heads were adorned with a fleshy comb, most similar to the roosters' red crest. December 13 Italian films The Mafia Only Kills in Summer and The Art of Happiness won the Best Comedy and Best Animated Feature Film awards respectively at the 2014 European Film Awards (EFA). December 14 December 15 One of Italy's most famous tourist attractions, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, was reopened for the first time in almost 12 years on 15 December 2001 after a major reconstruction project. The tower was closed to the public amid safety fears since early 1990. The first Italian-built satellite San Marco 1 was launched on 15 December 1964. This earth atmosphere research satellite was built by the Italian Space Research Commission. December 16 Italian scientists and their international colleagues have revealed that exceptional gem diamonds like the famous Cullinan or Lesotho Promise may have grown from a metallic liquid in Earth’s deep mantle. Their findings were reported in the journal Science on 16 December 2016. December 17 Conspirators murdered Egyptian king Ramesses III by cutting his throat, concludes a study by scientists from Italy, Egypt and Germany published on British Medical Journal on 17 December 2012. December 18 December 19 December 20 December 21 After detailed study of the meteorite found in California in April 2012, an international team of scientists, including researchers from Italy, reports it contains some of the oldest material in the Solar System. The research findings were published in the journal Science on 21 December 2012. December 22 December 23 December 24 Archaeologists in Italy have discovered the remains of a horse still in its harness at a villa outside the walls of Pompeii, according to an official announcement by Pompeii's archaeological park on 24 December 2018. December 25 December 26 December 27 December 28 December 29 December 30 December 31

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