istoryworld
Events relating to italy
Pope John Paul I dies, after a pontificate of only 33 days
A Catholic-Orthodox joint commission acknowledges the long-term aim of re-establishing full communion between the two churches
Polish cardinal Karol Wojtyla is elected pope and takes the name John Paul II
Italian academic Umberto Eco publishes The Name of the Rose, a medieval murder mystery
A Turkish assailant in St Peter's Square in Rome shoots and seriously wounds John Paul II
Diego Maradona is sold to Napoli for a new record fee of about £5 million, two years after being sold to Barcelona for £3 million
Luciano Berio's opera Un re in ascolto has its premiere in Salzburg
Three tenors (Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras) sing at a concert in Rome to celebrate the World Cup
US sculptor Jeff Koons marries one of his favourite subjects, Italian porn star La Cicciolina
A man found frozen high in the Alps turns out to be a neolithic hunter from about 5000 years ago
Media magnate Silvio Berlusconi founds Forza Italia as a new centre-right political party in Italy
Former prime minister Bettino Craxi leaves Italy to escape a gaol sentence for corruption
Sylvio Berlusconi's new party, Forza Italia, wins enough votes for him to head a coalition as prime minister
The Italian film Il Postino brings poetry into the life of a postman who delivers mail to the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda
In his apostolic letter Ordinatio sacerdotalis John Paul II forbids even any discussion of the ordination of women
The collapse of Sylvio Berlusconi's coaltion brings to an end his short-lived first period as Italy's prime minister
Sylvio Berlusconi returns as Italy's prime minister with the electoral success of his right-wing House of Liberties coalition
Patriarch Christodoulos attends the funeral in Rome of Pope John Paul II
John Paul II, dying after 26 years on the papal throne, is the third longest-serving pope in history
Joseph Ratzinger is elected pope and takes the name Benedict XVI
Patriarch Christodoulos has talks with Pope Benedict XVI, in the first official visit to the Vatican by the head of the Greek Orthodox church
Romano Prodi becomes Italy's prime minister after narrowly defeating Silvio Berlusconi in a general election
Italian prime minister Romano Prodi resigns after a foreign policy defeat in the Senate
A coalition led by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi wins the general election in Italy
A major earthquake around L'Aquila, in Italy, kills more than 300 people after experts advise local people that it is safe to stay at home
