2007 in Italy

Decades:	1980s; 1990s; 2000s; 2010s; 2020s;
See also:	History of Italy; Timeline of Italian history; List of years in Italy;

Events during the year 2007 in Italy.

Incumbents

Events

January – March

9 January - Abu Omar case: hearings begin on whether to charge 25 CIA agents with kidnapping for the "extraordinary rendition" of Osama Nasr in 2003. The named agents have left the country. (Al Jazeera) (BBC News)
13 January - 10 former members of the SS are sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for their role in the Marzabotto massacre, the worst massacre in Italy during World War II. (BBC)
31 January - Controversies surrounding Silvio Berlusconi: Veronica Lario's letter in La Repubblica demands her husband Silvio Berlusconi to apologise for comments to other women, that "damaged her dignity" - Berlusconi quickly apologizes.

2 February - One 38-year-old policeman is killed in the Catania football clashes in Italy. 71 people are taken to the hospital.
3 February - After calls from Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi to cancel all matches, Italian Football Federation commissioner Luca Pancalli indefinitely suspends all football matches in Italy while an investigation into riots begins. (The Guardian) (Wikinews)
12 February - Police arrest 15 people in raids in northern Italy, who the police claimed were associated with the Red Brigades terrorist group. (BBC)
16 February - An Italian judge has ordered 26 U.S. citizens, most of them CIA agents, to stand trial over the Osama Nasr kidnapping in Milan in 2003. (BBC)
16 February - The President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai meets in Rome with the Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi to discuss Italian contributions to the fight against the Taliban and drug traffickers in Afghanistan. (BBC) (→ Afghanistan–Italy relations)
17 February - Italians demonstrate against the expansion of a United States Army base in Vicenza, home of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. (BBC)
19 February - Between 40,000 to 100,000 Italians march in protest against the extension of Caserma Ederle, a United States Army military base near Vicenza. (BBC)
21 February - Romano Prodi tenders his resignation as Prime Minister of Italy, after a defeat by two votes in the Senate. (Ansa Notizie) (BBC)
22 February - Leaders of Italy's centre-left coalition have agreed to support Romano Prodi and a 12-point program meaning that he can resume serving as Prime Minister of Italy. (Reuters via Swissinfo)
27 February - The ambassadors from the United States and Italy to Sri Lanka are injured by mortar fire while visiting eastern Sri Lanka. (CNN)^{[dead link]} (→ Sri Lankan civil war)
28 February - Romano Prodi survives a no-confidence motion in the Senate. (CNN) Archived 2007-03-03 at the Wayback Machine

1 March - India requests the extradition of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi from Argentina in relation to the Bofors scandal. (NDTV)
2 March - Italian leader Romano Prodi is reinstated as prime minister after winning his second and final confidence vote in the Parliament, ending a political crisis that began last week when Prodi resigned after losing a foreign policy vote. (CNN)^{[dead link]}
7 March - The Taliban claim that they have kidnapped Daniele Mastrogiacomo, an Italian journalist working for La Repubblica newspaper. (Washington Post)
10 March - Thousands of supporters of legislation giving equal rights on issues to heterosexual and gay couples in Italy attend a rally in Rome. (AP via the Houston Chronicle)
15 March - The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta frees two Italian oilworkers that it took captive last year in Nigeria. (Reuters via CNN)^{[dead link]}
18 March - Cesare Battisti, convicted in absentia of two murders in Italy in the 1970s and who later became a crime writer in France, is arrested in Brazil. (Fox News)
19 March - Daniele Mastrogiacomo is set free by the Taliban. He had been kidnapped in the Afghan province of Helmand on March 6. (BBC)

April – June

12 April - Riot police clash with hundreds of Chinese merchants in Milan after scuffles break out over traffic problems in Chinatown. (Reuters via the Melbourne Age)

2 May - Book La Casta (The Caste: How Italian Politicians Became Untouchable) is published; sold in 1,2 million copies this year.
23 May - Champions League final in Athens: AC Milan - Liverpool F.C. 2–1.
May - June - Local elections (→ it)
6 June - Five people are acquitted in Rome of the 1982 murder of "God's Banker," financier Roberto Calvi.
7 June - Italian police arrest a group of people for allegedly providing material support for an al Qaeda-linked organisation, Salafist Group for Call and Combat. (AP via CNN)^{[dead link]}
12 June - Erich Priebke received authorization to leave his home to work at his lawyer's office in Rome - overturned due to angry protests.
17 June - Linate Airport in Milan is closed for three hours at dawn to allow wildlife experts to trap 80 hares that have bred in recent months and are confusing ground radar. (BBC)

July – September

21 July - Italian police arrest three Moroccans and accuse them of running a small "terror school" in a small mosque near Perugia. (CNN)^{[dead link]}
24 July - Five mountain climbers freeze to death in the Italian Alps. (Reuters via News Limited)
25 July - 2007 Tour de France: Cristian Moreni fails a doping test and is led away for questioning by French police (Fox News)

9 August - A blaze at the Cinecittà film studio complex in Rome burns down several buildings. (ABC News Australia)
12 August - Italian police uncover a secret plan to smuggle Russian weapons into Iraq. (AP via Forbes)
13 August - Murder of Chiara Poggi
14 August - The Italian coast guard finds the dead bodies of 14 illegal immigrants near the shores of the Lampedusa island. (BBC)
15 August - Six Italians are found shot to death in the town of Duisburg, Germany. Police say they were connected to 'Ndrangheta. (Fox News) (BBC)
30 August - Scores of Italians are arrested in a crackdown on the 'ndrangheta organised crime clans active in Calabria. (AP via CNN)^{[dead link]}

6 September - Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti dies at 71, after suffering from pancreatic cancer for more than one year. (BBC)
8 September - Vaffanculo Day in many Italian cities, launched by Beppe Grillo (Five Star Movement founded in 2009).
9 September - Jamaican Asafa Powell set a new men's world 100 meters record of 9.74 seconds at the IAAF Grand Prix at Rieti, Italy. (CNN)

October – December

1 October - Pope Benedict XVI replaced Archbishop Piero Marini, the longtime director of office of papal liturgies, with Father Guido Marini of the Genoa archdiocese. (Novus Motus Liturgicus)
14 October - Three million Italians go to the polls to elect the leader of the new Democratic Party. The current Mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni, wins with about 75% of the votes. (AFP via Google News)
19 October - Leaders of the European Union reach agreement on the Lisbon Treaty following last-minute concessions to Poland, Italy and Bulgaria. (EuObserver) (ABC News Australia)
20 October - Hundreds of thousands of left wing Italians march in Rome putting increased pressure on the Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi. (Reuters via ABC News Australia)

1 November - Murder of Meredith Kercher.
5 November - Italian police arrest Sicilian mafia boss Salvatore Lo Piccolo, his son Sandro and two other mafiosi in Carini, Palermo. (BBC)
8 November -
- A United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashes in Santa Lucia di Piave, Treviso, killing four people and injuring six. (BBC)
- Mario Balotelli debuts for Inter Milan in a friendly with Sheffield F.C..
10 November - Workers at La Scala opera house in Milan go on strike in a dispute over pay and contracts. (BBC)
11 November - Murder of Gabriele Sandri
12 November - The Milan Court of Appeal sentences Giovanni Consorte, Ivano Sacchetti and Emilio Gnutti to six months in jail for insider trading in the Unipol case. (Rainews24)
18 November - Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's former Prime Minister, announces he will dissolve the Forza Italia party and found a new one called Freedom People's Party. (BBC)

Literature

The Italian, novel by Sebastiano Vassalli
Manituana, novel by the writers' collective Wu Ming
The Track of Sand, novel by Andrea Camilleri

Births

17 February – Tara Dragas, rhythmic gymnast

Deaths

26 January – Emanuele Luzzati, painter, production designer and animator (b. 1921).
8 February – Adele Faccio, civil right activist (b. 1920).
26 February – Angelo Arcidiacono, fencer (b. 1955).
3 March –

Osvaldo Cavandoli, cartoonist (b. 1920).
Benito Lorenzi, footballer (b. 1925).

19 March – Giampaolo Calanchini, fencer (b. 1937).
21 May – Bruno Mattei, film director, screenwriter and editor (b. 1931)
23 July – Franco Cuomo, writer (b. 1938).
24 July – Giorgio Anglesio, fencer (b. 1922).
6 September – Luciano Pavarotti, operatic tenor (b. 1935).
21 September – Mauro Mellano, Italian economist and university professor.
7 October – Luciana Frassati Gawronska, writer (b. 1902).
2 December – Eleonora Rossi Drago, actress (b. 1925).

References

↑ Marco, Covacich (27 September 2007). "Garlasco e Cogne come le partite di Coppa". p. 38.
↑ "'Murder charge' over fan's death". 2007-11-15. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
↑ Lane, John Francis (6 April 2007). "Emanuele Luzzati". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
↑ "Scompare a 86 anni Adele Faccio paladina dei diritti umani e civili". la Repubblica (in Italian). 9 February 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
↑ "Angelo Arcidiacono". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
↑ DeMott, Rick (6 March 2007). "La Linea Creator Osvaldo Cavandoli Dies". Animation World Network. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
↑ "Inter legend Lorenzi dies". Internazionale Milano. 3 March 2007. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
↑ "Giampaolo Calanchini". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
↑ Lentz III, Harris M. (2008). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2007. McFarland. p. 241. ISBN 978-0786451913.
↑ "La Scomparsa di Franco Cuomo". la Repubblica (in Italian). 24 July 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
↑ "Giorgio Anglesio". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
↑ Marchetti, Domenico (1997). Productivity and the Business Cycle: Three Essays on U.S. and Polish Manufacturing. Taylor & Francis. p. 13. ISBN 0815327226. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
↑ "Luciana Frassati Grawonska dead at 105". Catholic Culture.org. 8 October 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
↑ "Addio a Eleonora Rossi Drago". Il Messaggero (in Italian). 2 December 2007. Archived from the original on 4 December 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2019.

[1] Marco, Covacich (27 September 2007). "Garlasco e Cogne come le partite di Coppa". p. 38.

[2] "'Murder charge' over fan's death". 2007-11-15. Retrieved 2025-04-06.

[3] Lane, John Francis (6 April 2007). "Emanuele Luzzati". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 November 2019.

[4] "Scompare a 86 anni Adele Faccio paladina dei diritti umani e civili". la Repubblica (in Italian). 9 February 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2019.

[5] "Angelo Arcidiacono". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2019.

[6] DeMott, Rick (6 March 2007). "La Linea Creator Osvaldo Cavandoli Dies". Animation World Network. Retrieved 10 November 2019.

[7] "Inter legend Lorenzi dies". Internazionale Milano. 3 March 2007. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2019.

[8] "Giampaolo Calanchini". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2019.

[9] Lentz III, Harris M. (2008). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2007. McFarland. p. 241. ISBN 978-0786451913.

[10] "La Scomparsa di Franco Cuomo". la Repubblica (in Italian). 24 July 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2019.

[11] "Giorgio Anglesio". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2019.

[12] Marchetti, Domenico (1997). Productivity and the Business Cycle: Three Essays on U.S. and Polish Manufacturing. Taylor & Francis. p. 13. ISBN 0815327226. Retrieved 28 November 2015.

[13] "Luciana Frassati Grawonska dead at 105". Catholic Culture.org. 8 October 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2019.

[14] "Addio a Eleonora Rossi Drago". Il Messaggero (in Italian). 2 December 2007. Archived from the original on 4 December 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2019.

v t e Years in Italy (1861–present)
19th century	Pre-1861 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900
20th century	1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
21st century	2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

v t e 2007 in Europe
Sovereign states	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Vatican City
States with limited recognition	Abkhazia Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Northern Cyprus South Ossetia Transnistria
Dependencies, colonies and other territories	Åland Faroe Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey

2007 in Italy

Incumbents

Events

January – March

April – June

July – September

October – December

Literature

Births

Deaths

See also

References