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 Of all the statistics available on Italy and its varied economic problems, few are as eye-opening as the fact that at around 1 p.m on any given day, three quarters of the population will normally be sitting down to lunch in their own homes. According to data from statistics agency ISTAT, lunch is the most important meal of the day for 68 percent of Italians and 74.3 percent usually eat it at home, a figure which has grown as a long recession has hit spending on food and eating out. 

 Plácido Domingo was in Verona, Italy, for the past seven days presiding over his annual Operalia competition, which honors young singers at the beginning of their professional careers. On Sunday the winners of the 2013 competition were announced, with the top prizes going to singers from Russia and China. 

Italy’s first black cabinet minister Cécile Kyenge has been likened to a prostitute in the latest personal attack directed at her by a public figure.Cristiano Za Garibaldi, the deputy mayor of the town of Diano Marina in the northern region of Liguria, implied in a post on his public Facebook profile that Ms Kyenge frequented a road in the area infamous for being used by prostitutes, many of whom are black. 

 The Italian broadcaster Rai recently aired a piece of nostalgia that would have brought a tear to the eye of many Serie A fans. It was a 1991 league game between AC Milan and Sampdoria. Onto the pitch at Milan's imposing San Siro stadium strode a galaxy of stars, with the likes of Ruud Gullit, Roberto Mancini, Marco Van Basten, Gianluca Vialli and Attilio Lombardo strutting their stuff.