Undersea volcano threatens southern Italy: Report

Agence France-Presse

March 29, 2010

ROME - Europe's largest undersea volcano could disintegrate and unleash a tsunami that would engulf southern Italy "at any time", a prominent vulcanologist warned in an interview published Monday.

The Marsili volcano, which is bursting with magma, has "fragile walls" that could collapse, Enzo Boschi told the leading daily Corriere della Sera.

"It could even happen tomorrow," said Boschi, president of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).

"Our latest research shows that the volcano is not structurally solid, its walls are fragile, the magma chamber is of sizeable dimensions," he said. "All that tells us that the volcano is active and could begin erupting at any time."

The event would result in "a strong tsunami that could strike the coasts of Campania, Calabria and Sicily," Boschi said.

The undersea Marsili, 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) tall and located some 150 kilometres (90 miles) southwest of Naples, has not erupted since the start of recorded history.

It is 70 kilometres long and 30 kilometres wide, and its crater is some 450 metres below the surface of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

"A rupture of the walls would let loose millions of cubic metres of material capable of generating a very powerful wave," Boschi said.

"While the indications that have been collected are precise, it is impossible to make predictions. The risk is real but hard to evaluate."

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Undersea+volcano+threatens+southern+Italy+Report/2739114/story.html

Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi to email girlfriends on Feb 14

Updated: 2010-02-11 03:19

ROME：Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is in the middle of a divorce battle, said on Wednesday he would email Valentine's Day wishes to "all my girlfriends".

Berlusconi's second wife Veronica Lario announced she wanted to divorce him last year after he attended the 18th birthday party of an aspiring model in Naples.

The 73-year-old, who is one of Italy's richest men and owns a TV and media empire, later became embroiled in a sex scandal when an escort said she was paid to sleep with him at his Rome residence.

He says he has never paid for sex but has acknowledged he is "no saint".

Asked at a book presentation about his plans for Valentine's Day on Sunday, a smiling Berlusconi replied: "I'm using my computer and sending wishes to all my girlfriends."

Huliq.com | A freak tornado struck Rome yesterday

Rome was struck by extreme weather conditions which spun off a small tornado at 5 pm yesterday afternoon, causing mayhem with rush hour traffic.

Winds clocked at 90kmh, accompanied by heavy downpours, toppled more than 50 trees, killed one 21 year old, and caused an additional 5 injuries, one of whom remains in critical condition.

Meteorologists say the small tornado struck ground’ just a few miles east of the capital’s ring road, in Via di Lunghezzina.

The gale force winds kicked in at around 5 pm. Approximately 30 major roads had to be closed and bus routes and rail lines were temporarily stopped or re-routed away from the storm.

Due to the severity of the winds and rains, and the time of day, traffic jams wreaked havoc with workers trying to get in and out of the capitol.

Much of the damage, and ensuing mayhem was caused by the falling trees.

Storms of this severity are rare in Rome. The last one that was reported was in April 2009. While residents submitted photos and videos of the hail and purported tornado, the "tornado" was not confirmed by weather services.

The Sun | At least 20 people dead and 10 missing as torrential rain caused mudslides which devastated two villages in Italy.

Devastation ... flood damage to buildings in Messina

An aerial view of a road collapsed in the village of Molino near the Sicilian town of Messina October 2, 2009. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello.

Officials declared the area around the city of Messina in north east Sicily a disaster zone after three hours of thunderstorms brought "apocalyptic" scenes of destruction.

Saturday, October 3, 2009 - Roads, rail lines and buildings were submerged in water and engulfed by rocks and trees. Worst hit were mountain villages Giampilieri and Briga, where nine inches of rain swept away cars and homes.

Concetta Auditore, 77, said: "It was like hell. Everything collapsed in on us."

AP | Nero's rotating banquet hall unveiled in Rome

An unidentified man talks to the media, near a recently unearthed brick structure incorporating a 4-meter diameter pillar, seen in the background, discovered during maintenance works in the Roman Forum, in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009. Archaeologists believe the structure supported a rotating dining room imitating the Earth's movement and used by Roman Emperor Nero to impress his guests in his Golden Palace. The Golden Palace, also known by its Latin name Domus Aurea, rose over the ruins of a fire that destroyed much of Rome in 64 A.D. and was completed in 68 A.D. FULL STORY