2006 in Italy

Events during the year 2006 in Italy.

Incumbents

• President:

*Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (until 15 May)

*Giorgio Napolitano (from 15 May)

• Prime Minister:

*Silvio Berlusconi (until 17 May)

*Romano Prodi (from 17 May)

Events

• 2 January – Russia–Ukraine gas dispute: Italy supplies are down by 30%. (Sky News)
• 19 January – Italy will conclude its mission in Iraq by the end of the year, in the first clear timetable for Rome to withdraw its troops, says Defense Minister Antonio Martino. (ABC)
• 20 January – Archeologists digging under the Roman Forum discover a tomb estimated at 3000 years old, predating the creation of the Forum by several centuries. (USA Today)

• 10 February – An atheist who sued a small-town priest for saying that Jesus Christ existed has had his case thrown out of court by a judge in Italy. (BBC)
• 10–26 February – The Olympic Winter Games are held in Turin.
• 11 February – H5N1 avian flu virus: first cases of infected wild birds reported in Italy, swans thought to have migrated from Russia in recent months. (BBC)
• 12 February – Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi causes a political storm by comparing himself to Jesus Christ. (BBC)
• 15 February – Italian ambassador Francesco Trupiano apologizes to Libya on behalf of Italian minister of Constitutional Reform Roberto Calderoli, who suggested Italy use "force against Muslims." (Angola Press)
• 17 February – In Libya, at least eleven protesters are killed in riots protesting the Muhammad cartoons outside the Italian consulate in Benghazi, which is burned. (MSNBC)
• 18 February – Reform minister Roberto Calderoli resigns after criticism for wearing a T-shirt depicting the Muhammad cartoons. (BBC)

• 2 March – Judges in Milan to charge Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and David Mills (husband of Tessa Jowell, a British Minister) in connection with a bribery scandal. (Independent)
• 3 March – An Italian parliamentary commission accuses the former Soviet Union of orchestrating the 1981 attempt to assassinate Pope John Paul II (Telegraph)
• 10–19 March – The Paralympic Winter Games are held in Turin.
• 29 March – Afghan Christian convert Abdul Rahman takes political asylum in Italy. Many Islamic clerics and members of Afghanistan's parliament protest his release. (MSNBC), (BBC)

• 9–10 April – General election: Romano Prodi, leader of the centre-left coalition The Union, narrowly defeated the incumbent Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the centre-right coalition House of Freedoms.
• 11 April – Bernardo Provenzano captured near Corleone.

• 2 May – Murder of Tommaso Onofri
• 8-10 May – Presidential election
• 18 May – New Italian prime minister Romano Prodi pledges to withdraw Italian troops from Iraq and calls the Iraq war a "grave mistake that has not solved but increased the problem of security". (Guardian) (Al Jazeera)
• 28–29 May – Local elections

• 1 June – The new Justice Minister, Clemente Mastella, announces that left-wing militant Adriano Sofri could be pardoned before the end of the year (AGI).
• 16 June – Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, is arrested as part of an investigation into corruption and prostitution. (BBC)
• 23 June – After 16 years in office, Angelo Sodano retires as Cardinal Secretary of State. He will be succeeded by Tarcisio Bertone, until now Archbishop of Genoa. (Holy See Bollettino)
• 25-26 June – Constitutional referendum about federalization: rejected by 61%.

• 9 July – Italy wins the FIFA World Cup by defeating France, 5–3, following a penalty shootout in the final game at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany.

• 11 August – Transatlantic aircraft plot: 40 people have been arrested throughout Italy, in Muslim communities "as part of an extraordinary operation that followed the British anti-terrorist operation." (Fox News)
• 13 August – Air Algérie Flight 2208 accident

• 17 October – 2006 Rome Metro crash
• 27 October – Murder of Riccardo Rasman
• 11 December – Erba Massacre

Full date unknown

• Drug Target Insights academic journal is founded.

Births

• 14 March – Simone Pafundi, footballer
• 25 May – Lorenzo Galossi, swimmer
• 6 June – Angela Andreoli, artistic gymnast
• 25 August – Andrea Kimi Antonelli, racing driver
• 9 October – Matteo Santoro, diver
• 2 November – Manila Esposito, footballer
• 7 November – Giulia Dragoni, footballer
• 15 November – Lara Colturi, alpine skier

Deaths

• 1 March – Jenny Tamburi, actress and television hostess (b. 1952).
• 5 April – Pasquale Macchi, Roman Catholic archbishop (b. 1923).
• 22 April – Alida Valli, actress (b. 1921).
• 11 May – Ferdinando Tacconi, comics artist (b. 1922).
• 9 June – Enzo Siciliano, writer (b. 1934).
• 15 June – Betty Curtis, singer (b. 1936)
• 12 July – Loredana Nusciak, actress and model (b. 1942).
• 20 July – Ugo Attardi, painter, sculptor and writer (b. 1923).
• 31 July – Mario Faustinelli, comic book artist (b. 1924).
• 20 August – Giuseppe Moccia, film director (b. 1933)
• 15 September – Sergio Savarese, furniture designer (b. 1958).
• 17 September – Leonella Sgorbati, nun (b. 1940).
• 12 October – Carlo Acutis, English-born Italian Catholic computer programmer (b. 1991)
• 16 October – Ondina Valla, hurdler (b. 1916).
• 25 October – Emilio Vedova, painter (b. 1919).
• 2 November – Milly Vitale, actress (b. 1933).
• 25 November – Luciano Bottaro, comic book creator (b. 1931).
• 26 November –

*Leo Chiosso, songwriter (b. 1920).

*Giorgio Panto, television station owner and politician, (b. 1941).

• 28 November – Primo Volpi, 90, Italian cyclist (b. 1916).
• 13 December – Mario Ravagnan, fencer (b. 1930).
• 28 December –

*Nicola Granieri, fencer (b. 1942).

*Aroldo Tieri, actor (b. 1917).

See also

• 2006 in Italian television

References