By Jess Fleming From Pioneer Press St. Paul—During the long, cold Minnesota winter, more than three dozen readers and I had the chance to escape to an unexpected tropical paradise—Sicily and Southern Italy. I had been to Tuscany before, but the beaches, abundant citrus trees, palm trees and agave and prickly pear plants in the…

ROME—Archaeologists in southern Italy have discovered ancient warrior helmets and the ruins of a painted brick wall at a site that might have been a forerunner of a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, officials said Tuesday. Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said the remains dug up at the popular tourist site of Velia were…

PEDARA, Sicily—Residents and municipal teams worked Wednesday to clean up a Sicilian village near Mount Etna after Europe’s most active volcano spewed lava, ashes, and volcanic stones. The eruption, which featured spectacular displays of gushing lava, forced the temporary closure of Sicily’s Catania Airport, a frequent occurrence when Etna is in an active phase. As…