He has property inside and outside of Milan, a palazzo in Rome and a villa in Sardinia, and yet all these lovely locations aren't enough to host Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's retinue of call girls. According to the Telegraph UK and intercepted communications, Silvio's dalliances have lately been focused instead on a rented 15th century castle just outside of Rome—the Castello di Torcrescenza.

What Berlusconi hosts there are "dinners" with former Playboy models and other beautiful women, likely prostitutes procured from various sources he has, sources which are now being publicly named. Thus, we can only believe the his castle "dining" is over and you can look into renting the place for your next wholesome family vacation in Italy...or for other things. It does sounds nice: ]]> JetSetCD 2011-02-16T13:36:26-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/3/25/12138/0148

Italy's new high-speed train service, Freccia Rossa ("Red Arrow"), made its inaugural high-speed rail service yesterday from Milan to Rome. The new service now lets travelers get from the fashion capital to the Eternal City in just three hours. (Currently, the trip takes about four hours.) Passengers can also get from Florence to Bologna in just 35 minutes, down from one hour.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi rode the inaugural trip, even posing in the pilot's cabin wearing the chief engineer's hat. He looks so...cute?]]> juliana 2009-03-25T12:18:12-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/30/162658/451

Maybe we were a little early with this lolspeak macro for Alitalia?

After weeks of financial dealings that make the congressional bailout package look like third grade math, the carrier announced a deal with unions to keep it alive. Now that flight attendants have signed off on the rescue plan, it's time to (attempt to) sell Alitalia off piece-by-piece to investors.

At the very least, the airline has earned a re-up for its license by bringing all its unions on board: Alitalia has permission to fly until at least March 2009--as long as it can come up with the cash to buy fuel.

Related Stories:
· ENAC Confirms Provisional License [AGI]
· Alitalia Investor Board Meeting Thursday [Reuters]
· Unions Clear Way for Relaunch [Guardian]
· Alitalia Rescue Hits Next Stage [FT]
· Flight Attendants Sign Rescue Plan [CNN]]]> pbb 2008-09-30T17:00:36-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/25/11109/2570

Alitalia apparently still has some hope of staying alive, after a couple of key unions signed on for a rescue plan that might also include selling a small stake of the carrier to Air France-KLM. The Italian airline could lose its license to fly if a plan to pull it out of bankruptcy doesn't come together by the end of today.

Little problem though: Pilots and flight attendants still haven't agreed to the latest deal. And that interest from Air France is--at this point--not guaranteed. (That carrier actually tried to take over Alitalia earlier this year but gave up because of trouble with unions, among other things.)

So while there's a glimmer of hope today, we're not rushing out to buy tickets on Alitalia. Then again, we never were. Maybe that was part of the problem?

Related Stories:
· Italy PM Aide Seeks to Revive Deal [Reuters]
· Last-Minute Hope to Save Alitalia [IHT]
· Alitalia coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikimedia]]]> pbb 2008-09-25T11:15:33-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/22/171041/607

The Alitalia saga continues today, though so far the airline hasn't been grounded by Italy's civil aviation authority.

When we checked the carrier's website on Friday, it was still offering trips around the country and even internationally. Today, though, you'll also find a last-ditch effort from the airline asking for buyers. (It'll be published in some European newspapers tomorrow.)

You've got to admire the tenacity of Alitalia's "special administrator," who's been charged with finding any way possible to keep the airline aloft. But Silvio Berlusconi's spokesman said it best:

Buyers are not queueing up for Alitalia.

Related Stories:
· Alitalia's Days Numbered [Reuters]
· Alitalia Sends up SOS for Bids [AFP, via Google]
· Alitalia Could Be Grounded in Three Days [Telegraph]
· What if Alitalia Fails? [TIME]
· Alitalia's Not Quite Dead [TCF]]]> pbb 2008-09-22T17:15:32-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/19/151011/333

Things for Alitalia somehow look worse than they did earlier this week, with passengers wondering if the carrier has enough cash to cover the fuel for its flights. (Alitalia says it does.) Meanwhile, Italy's National Civil Aviation Authority says Silvio Berlusconi has until Monday to fix the crisis--or it'll ground the carrier.

Berlusconi--who made fixing Alitalia a major campaign promise--is blaming airline unions for refusing to OK his most recent rescue plan. Fliers are already abandoning the airports for safer travel options; the state railway company is adding trains between Milan and Rome to accommodate the extra traffic.

Meanwhile, there are still lots of deals being advertised on alitalia.com: Want to flee Rome for the Sicilian town of Catania? That's just €92 each way! But, uh, book with a credit card!

Related Stories:
· Berlusconi Given Deadline for Alitalia Rescue [UK Times]
· Alitalia Flies into Uncharted Territory [FT]
· Alitalia Officially Italy's Most Ridiculous Airline [Jaunted]

[Photo: andreagraziadio]]]> pbb 2008-09-19T15:15:30-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/17/113830/528

We always thought of Eurofly as Italy's worst airline, but you can't deny it offers up killer deals. But Alitalia has just surged into first place among unbelievably horrible Italian carriers.]]> pbb 2008-09-17T11:50:28-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/