Today in Italy: A roundup of the latest news on Friday
Italy's antitrust watchdog fines TikTok 10 million euros, L'Aquila named Italy's 2026 capital of culture, and more news from around Italy on Friday.
Italy's top story on Friday:
Italian news headlines were dominated this morning by reports of the deaths of a 32-year-old woman and her three children in a Bologna apartment block fire overnight.
The blaze took hold as they slept in a fourth-floor apartment on Via Bertocchi, on the city's outskirts, reported newspaper La Repubblica.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said that he was "deeply saddened" by the deaths of the woman and her children, reported to be two-year-old twins, a girl and a boy, and a daughter aged six.
Emergency services reportedly believed the fire was caused by a faulty electric heater. Local authorities continued to investigate on Friday morning.
TikTok fined 10 million euros for failing to protect minors
Italy's antitrust authorities have issued a 10 million euro fine to social media platform TikTok for failing to take adequate steps to protect children, AFP reported on Thursday.
TikTok had "failed to implement appropriate mechanisms to monitor content published on the platform, in particular those that may threaten the safety of minors and vulnerable subjects," Italy's competition watchdog AGCM stated.
The regulator in particular highlighted the 'French Scar' challenge, in which participants are encouraged to pinch their cheek to the point of leaving a lasting bruise. The Italian communications authority AGCOM ordered the platform to all remove videos related to the challenge in February.
In a statement, TikTok said it disagreed with the watchdog's decision.
Italy to renovate six million buildings under EU Green Homes scheme
At least 5.5 million privately-owned and 500,000 public buildings in Italy will need to be renovated under the EU's plans to become climate-neutral by 2050, carpenters' union FILLEA CGIL said on Wednesday.
The Green Homes directive was approved by EU parliament on Tuesday, but still has to be ratified by the Council of Ministers. Once passed, Italy will have two years to implement the directive, according to news reports.
READ ALSO: What's happening with Italy's building superbonus in 2024?
Under the incoming rules, all newly-constructed public buildings will be required to be emissions free by 2028, and private homes by 2030.
Tighter environmental regulations are expected to have a significant effect on Italy's property values in the next coming years. According to 2022 data, the value of properties in Class G, Italy's lowest-rated energy category, recently dropped by an average of 25 percent.
L'Aquila named Italy's 2026 capital of culture
The central Italian town of L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo region, has been named Italy's capital of culture for 2026, 15 years after it was hit by a devastating earthquake that killed over 300 people.
The 2009 earthquake, which measured at least 5.8 on the Richter scale and damaged up to 11,000 buildings, was Italy's worst in 30 years, leaving an estimated 60,000 people homeless.
READ ALSO: Anger in Italy as judge blames L'Aquila quake victims for own deaths
"Being the Italian capital of culture is not compensation but represents an opportunity around which to rebuild the social fabric of our community," L'Aquila mayor Pierluigi Biondi told media in response to the announcement.
The award comes with one million euros to spend on various projects outlined in the city's candidacy proposal documents.
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Italy's top story on Friday:
Italian news headlines were dominated this morning by reports of the deaths of a 32-year-old woman and her three children in a Bologna apartment block fire overnight.
The blaze took hold as they slept in a fourth-floor apartment on Via Bertocchi, on the city's outskirts, reported newspaper La Repubblica.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said that he was "deeply saddened" by the deaths of the woman and her children, reported to be two-year-old twins, a girl and a boy, and a daughter aged six.
Emergency services reportedly believed the fire was caused by a faulty electric heater. Local authorities continued to investigate on Friday morning.
TikTok fined 10 million euros for failing to protect minors
Italy's antitrust authorities have issued a 10 million euro fine to social media platform TikTok for failing to take adequate steps to protect children, AFP reported on Thursday.
TikTok had "failed to implement appropriate mechanisms to monitor content published on the platform, in particular those that may threaten the safety of minors and vulnerable subjects," Italy's competition watchdog AGCM stated.
The regulator in particular highlighted the 'French Scar' challenge, in which participants are encouraged to pinch their cheek to the point of leaving a lasting bruise. The Italian communications authority AGCOM ordered the platform to all remove videos related to the challenge in February.
In a statement, TikTok said it disagreed with the watchdog's decision.
Italy to renovate six million buildings under EU Green Homes scheme
At least 5.5 million privately-owned and 500,000 public buildings in Italy will need to be renovated under the EU's plans to become climate-neutral by 2050, carpenters' union FILLEA CGIL said on Wednesday.
The Green Homes directive was approved by EU parliament on Tuesday, but still has to be ratified by the Council of Ministers. Once passed, Italy will have two years to implement the directive, according to news reports.
READ ALSO: What's happening with Italy's building superbonus in 2024?
Under the incoming rules, all newly-constructed public buildings will be required to be emissions free by 2028, and private homes by 2030.
Tighter environmental regulations are expected to have a significant effect on Italy's property values in the next coming years. According to 2022 data, the value of properties in Class G, Italy's lowest-rated energy category, recently dropped by an average of 25 percent.
L'Aquila named Italy's 2026 capital of culture
The central Italian town of L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo region, has been named Italy's capital of culture for 2026, 15 years after it was hit by a devastating earthquake that killed over 300 people.
The 2009 earthquake, which measured at least 5.8 on the Richter scale and damaged up to 11,000 buildings, was Italy's worst in 30 years, leaving an estimated 60,000 people homeless.
READ ALSO: Anger in Italy as judge blames L'Aquila quake victims for own deaths
"Being the Italian capital of culture is not compensation but represents an opportunity around which to rebuild the social fabric of our community," L'Aquila mayor Pierluigi Biondi told media in response to the announcement.
The award comes with one million euros to spend on various projects outlined in the city's candidacy proposal documents.
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