Italian parliament's first transgender MP has been barred from being witness at a cousin's wedding. Vladimir Luxuria, born Wladimiro Guadagno, is a 42-year-old former drag queen.

Whereas students used to learn the writings of Dante within the four walls of their classrooms, Italian teenagers now are flocking to nightclubs to hear the 14th century poetry of the literary great. Passages from Dante's works including The Divine Comedy have been set to music by leading Italian disc jockey, Alessio Bertallot which aptly accompanies Italian actress Lucilla Giagnoni's reading.

A convent in Italy is finally closing down due to infighting between its last three remaining nuns. Reports say that the head of the convent, the Mother Superior was brought to a hospital with scratches to her face after the fight between the sisters of the Santa Clara convent in Bari.

They block traffic, are abusive to drivers, and causes inconveniences to pedestrians. They are the "squeegee men," and like in New York, they are soon to be outlawed in Florence, Italy. The squeegee men - the people who wash drivers' windshields and demand payment, are called a "great danger" for drivers, said Mayor Leonardo Domenici of Florence. He issued a decree last week that imposes fines and detention of up to three months on all such men.

Men in Riccione, Italy are strongly protesting over the opening of a women-only beach on the Adriatic coast of Italy but the women are simply loving the new concept. Beach 134 at the Riccione resort features "No Men" signs and also no children are allowed to enter. This way the women are encouraged to keep their children at home or leave them with their father to devote some time to them.