Sylvia Poggioli

Twenty-seven European countries are marking the European Day of Jewish Culture on Sunday — an initiative aimed at opening the doors of Jewish communities, heritage sites and culture to the non-Jewish world, as well as deepening Jews' own knowledge of their history in Europe.

One of the most enthusiastic participants ...

On the outskirts of Rome, far from the coast, there's a top-security compound where Italy is trying to tackle one of Europe's major crises: the rising flows of unauthorized migrants making perilous journeys from North Africa across the Mediterranean.

In all of 2011, the year of the Arab uprisings, slightly ...

The move raises concerns about the health of the European economy overall. This is the third time the third-largest economy in the European Union has been in recession since 2008.

More than two years since it ran aground off an Italian island and killed 32 people, the Costa Concordia cruise ship is finally up and away. Cocooned in stabilizing containers that ac...

A most unusual regatta recently celebrated vintage yachts, some more than 100 years old, and a time when sailing the oceans depended on well-trained crews with little more than compass and sextant.

The Costa Concordia cruise crashed into a reef and capsized over two years ago. On Monday, the most complicated part of the operation to refloat the ship was completed successfully.

The cruise liner struck a reef in January 2012 and capsized, killing 32 people. The ship's captain is being tried on charges of manslaughter, causing the shipwreck and abandoning ship.

Off the coast of Tuscany, prisoners serving the end of their sentences are learning to make wine from a 30th-generation winemaker. It's a unique approach to rehabilitation that seems to be working.

In his first meeting with victims of clerical sex abuse, Pope Francis asked forgiveness on behalf of the church.

The TV talent show ended with a surprise breakout star, 25-year-old Sister Cristina Scuccia. She became a favorite after her first-round performance of Alicia Keys' "No One" went viral.

The Catholic and Orthodox churches split in 1054. In the Holy Land this week, the pope and Orthodox leaders will meet to try to start restoring unity. But not everyone is eager for reconciliation.

Pope Francis will head to the Middle East this week to preach peace and has asked two friends from Argentina to accompany him, Rabbi Abraham Skorka and Islamic studies professor Omar Abboud.

The Vatican has faced two days of grilling before the U.N. Committee on Torture investigating the Catholic Church's handling of cases of sexual abuse by priests.

Pope Francis will canonize two 20th-century Catholic giants on Sunday — one a pope beloved by traditionalists the other a pontiff who was the icon of Catholic liberals.

The Polish-born John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in nearly 500 years. He traveled to every corner of ...

Millions of pilgrims are expected Sunday for the joint canonization of Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII. Rome is cleaning up and preparing everything from first aid stands to portable toilets.

President Obama and Pope Francis met for the first time at the Vatican. The meeting is intended to mark a fresh start for the administration's sometimes-strained relationship with Catholic leadership.

The elections of President Obama and Pope Francis made history — Obama as the first African-American U.S. president and the Argentine-born Jorge Bergoglio as the first non-European pope in centuries.

For decades, U.S. presidents have sought an audience with the pope, and President Obama will have one Thursday. But this wasn't always the case, and often there have been political differences.

Following two doctrinally conservative leaders, Pope Francis' pastoral approach in his first year has given the Catholic Church a new glow. But it's still unclear where he intends to take the church.