Culatello. Capocollo. Sopressata. It will soon be legal to import a whole new world of Italian cured pork products, thanks to the USDA's decision to end a decades-long ban. Every Italian region and province, and even many towns have their own distinctive salumi.

A newly cleaned painting in the Vatican, which dates to 1494, may be the first European depiction of Native Americans. The painting had been largely ignored for more than 500 years.

On Sunday, a new government was sworn in in Italy. The event was marred by a man who shot and wounded two police officers and a passerby as the swearing in ceremony was taking place.

About a century ago, a beautiful tradition emerged in the Italian city of Naples: Cafe-goers would buy a cup of coffee anonymously and in advance for a less-fortunate stranger. With much of Europe now in tight financial times, the custom is spreading across the continent.

Eight weeks after an exceptionally tight election, Italy still has no government. While the deadlock may be broken this week, the battle has wounded Italy's political establishment.

A group of American nuns and Catholic women has traveled to Rome for a pilgrimage to the sites where there are traces on frescoes, mosaics and sarcophagi that show how women played an important role in the church in the early centuries of Christianity. Groups say women once held "co-equal roles with men."

Pope Francis called for peace before a crowd of tens of thousands in St. Peter's Square on Sunday. He called for reconciliation in the Korean Peninsula, an end to the conflicts in Syria and between Israelis and Palestinians.

Italy's highest court has overturned the 2011 acquittal of Amanda Knox, the American student who, together with her then boyfriend, was accused of killing her roommate in Perugia in 2007. It raises the possibility that Italy will seek to extradite her from the U.S. to be re-tried. U.S. constitutional protection against double jeopardy would complicate any extradition attempt, however. Knox, now a student at the University of Washington, said it was "painful" to receive the news but said she will face the continuing legal battle "confident in the truth and with our heads held high." The original trial attracted world wide attention.

In a surprise ruling, Italy's highest court ordered a retrial of American student Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher. The ruling overturned the 2011 acquittal of the two defendants after they had spent four years in jail.

At a mass in St. Peter's Square, the pope appealed to political leaders of the world to protect the environment, the poor and the marginalized. Representatives of the world's major religions were present, as well as some 132 delegations from all over the world.

Pope Francis is formally inaugurated in a mass in St. Peter's Square Tuesday. Leaders from all over the world are attending. In less than a week, the pope has made himself known to the Catholic world and beyond for his direct and simple words and gestures.

Pope Francis' spent his first day as leader of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday.

Roman Catholics woke up Thursday with a new pope — the first non-European supreme pontiff since the early centuries of Christianity. The Argentine chose the name Francis, never before used by any other pope. That could signal the start of a new chapter for the crisis-ridden church.

Audie Cornish talks to Sylvia Poggioli about the scene at the Vatican after a Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, was elected as pope on Wednesday.

There's a growing sense of excitement and trepidation among visitors to St. Peter's Square on the eve of the conclave to elect a new pope. The 115 Catholic cardinals who will cast ballots break down into two groups: the so-called Roman party, members of the Vatican administration known as the curia, and the so-called reformers, cardinals from outside Rome. The cardinals have said there is no strong consensus around any one candidate so there will probably be several rounds of voting over several days. A cardinal must receive two-thirds of the vote to become pope.

Preparations at the site of Tuesday's papal conclave include a high-tech scrubbing of the chapel for bugs and electronic monitoring equipment. Wi-Fi will be blocked throughout Vatican City, and cardinals with Twitter and Facebook accounts have been warned.

At the Vatican, cardinals continue to noodle over when to hold the conclave to choose the next pope. There has been intense global interest in the process, and American cardinals have been at the forefront in briefing reporters and controlling the message. But the Americans have been told to put a lid on it.

The College of Cardinals is holding its first official meetings Monday at the Vatican. Some want the conclave to start as soon as possible; others want time to get to know each other. The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI has posed challenges for the cardinals as they set out to choose the next pope.

After greeting cardinals in the Vatican, Pope Benedict boarded a helicopter and flew to the papal summer residence south of Rome on Thursday. With his resignation official, the Papal Swiss Guard, which has served popes since the 16th century, will prepare for the arrival of his successor, whoever that may be. Audie Cornish talks to Sylvia Poggioli.

The first pope to retire in centuries will stay at the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo until an apartment for him at the Vatican is renovated. Meantime, preparations for electing a new pope are under way.