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 Umberto Eco, an Italian scholar in the arcane field of semiotics who became the author of best-selling novels, notably the blockbuster medieval mystery “The Name of the Rose,” died on Friday at his home in Milan. He was 84. 

 It may be the most evocative coastal walk in the Italian peninsula. A plan has been hatched, however, to limit access to the Sentiero Azzurro (Blue Path) linking Monterosso, Corniglia, Vernazza, Manarola and Riomaggiore, the villages famous for their pastel-coloured houses clinging to green cliffs above the sea. 

 More than a million ancient olive trees are being wiped out by a deadly disease in southern Italy, forcing a 20 per cent rise in the cost of olive oil across the EU.

The groves – which counts trees over 1000 years old among their number - were first infected in 2013 by xylella fastidiosa, a deadly bacterial pathogen that has no known cure.

One of the world’s greatest experts on Italian Renaissance Theater, Italy’s Maestro Antonio Fava—actor, director, teacher, practitioner, mask-maker, and author of one of the most comprehensive works on the famous Commedia dell’Arte—has taught quite a few Philadelphia-area actors and directors, including Cubby Altobelli, John Bellomo, Aaron Cromie, Dave Jadico, Rick Kemp, Benjamin Lloyd, Charles McMahon, Karen Saillant, Craig Tavani, and Blanka Zizka.