Today in Italy: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
Italy extends scheme to save children from mafia, strong winds damage airport in Sicily, police search for missing Lake Como teen, and more news from Italy on Wednesday.
Italy's top story on Wednesday:
A project to save children from Italy's mafias by removing them from mob families is being extended to Sicily and Naples, the justice ministry has announced
The scheme aims to prevent at-risk children from following their parents into a life of crime, breaking the cycle by which power is passed down the generations through blood ties and family loyalty.
"This is a historic moment in the fight against the mafia," Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said as he presented the protocol on Tuesday, signed by five ministers
and the Catholic Church's Italian Bishops' Conference, as reported by AFP.
The scheme, "Liberi di Scegliere" (Free to Choose), was founded in 2012 in the Calabria region, home to Italy's most powerful criminal organisation, the 'Ndrangheta. Since then, some 150 children have been placed with foster families or in communities in secret locations across the country.
Gale-force winds damage Sicily airport
The Trapani-Birgi airport in western Sicily suffered structural damage after being hit by strong winds of over 150km/h on Tuesday, according to management company Airgest.
The storm on the night between Monday and Tuesday resulted in "serious" damage, Airgest said, tearing down some sheet metal roofing, knocking down signs and felling trees.
Firefighters and police officers worked to clear pathways and maintain services for passengers departing the airport on early morning flights.
Airgest President Salvatore Ombra encouraged passengers to arrive at their terminal well in advance of their flight to allow enough time to make the detours.
Man sets himself on fire outside home
A 50-year-old man in the northern Italian city of Varese set himself alight in his car outside his family home on Tuesday morning after dousing himself in petrol, according to news reports.
The man, who was transported to Milan's Niguarda hospital by air ambulance with severe burns, was reportedly in the process of separating from his wife.
The man's 42-year-old wife and 13-year-old daughter suffered minor injuries from attempting to help, and were found in a state of shock.
Carabinieri police officers, paramedics and firefighters all attended the scene.
Search underway for missing teen
Police in northern Italy continued the search on Wednesday morning for a teenager who went missing from the town of Colico on Lake Como last Thursday, Il Corriere della Sera reported.
17-year-old Edoardo Galli failed to arrive at his high school in Morbegno on Thursday morning, instead boarding a train to Milan with a sleeping bag. His parents raised the alarm when he didn't return home the same evening.
The student, who Colico Mayor Monica Gilardi described as top of his class at school, had reportedly made online searches on surviving in the mountains without food or water, as well as looking up news on the war in Ukraine.
Police have not ruled out a possible journey to Russia, as Galli has dual Italian-Russian citizenship and passports for both countries, but have said they consider this the least likely scenario.
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Italy's top story on Wednesday:
A project to save children from Italy's mafias by removing them from mob families is being extended to Sicily and Naples, the justice ministry has announced
The scheme aims to prevent at-risk children from following their parents into a life of crime, breaking the cycle by which power is passed down the generations through blood ties and family loyalty.
"This is a historic moment in the fight against the mafia," Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said as he presented the protocol on Tuesday, signed by five ministers
and the Catholic Church's Italian Bishops' Conference, as reported by AFP.
The scheme, "Liberi di Scegliere" (Free to Choose), was founded in 2012 in the Calabria region, home to Italy's most powerful criminal organisation, the 'Ndrangheta. Since then, some 150 children have been placed with foster families or in communities in secret locations across the country.
Gale-force winds damage Sicily airport
The Trapani-Birgi airport in western Sicily suffered structural damage after being hit by strong winds of over 150km/h on Tuesday, according to management company Airgest.
The storm on the night between Monday and Tuesday resulted in "serious" damage, Airgest said, tearing down some sheet metal roofing, knocking down signs and felling trees.
Firefighters and police officers worked to clear pathways and maintain services for passengers departing the airport on early morning flights.
Airgest President Salvatore Ombra encouraged passengers to arrive at their terminal well in advance of their flight to allow enough time to make the detours.
Man sets himself on fire outside home
A 50-year-old man in the northern Italian city of Varese set himself alight in his car outside his family home on Tuesday morning after dousing himself in petrol, according to news reports.
The man, who was transported to Milan's Niguarda hospital by air ambulance with severe burns, was reportedly in the process of separating from his wife.
The man's 42-year-old wife and 13-year-old daughter suffered minor injuries from attempting to help, and were found in a state of shock.
Carabinieri police officers, paramedics and firefighters all attended the scene.
Search underway for missing teen
Police in northern Italy continued the search on Wednesday morning for a teenager who went missing from the town of Colico on Lake Como last Thursday, Il Corriere della Sera reported.
17-year-old Edoardo Galli failed to arrive at his high school in Morbegno on Thursday morning, instead boarding a train to Milan with a sleeping bag. His parents raised the alarm when he didn't return home the same evening.
The student, who Colico Mayor Monica Gilardi described as top of his class at school, had reportedly made online searches on surviving in the mountains without food or water, as well as looking up news on the war in Ukraine.
Police have not ruled out a possible journey to Russia, as Galli has dual Italian-Russian citizenship and passports for both countries, but have said they consider this the least likely scenario.
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