Italy

Tuscany's wine windows, each 12 inches high and 8 inches wide, were indispensable during a 17th century plague. They've became useful again during the coronavirus pandemic — even after lockdown ended.

Silvio Berlusconi tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 after returning to his home near Milan after a holiday in Sardinia, according to his staff.

"The reality is that laborers work at the limit of human dignity," Aboubakar Soumahoro tells NPR. He's the subject of a new documentary, The Invisibles, shot at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Italy's prime minister, health and interior ministers faced hours of questioning in Rome as prosecutors opened an investigation into possible mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis.

In a decree issued Saturday, officials said they would once more allow travelers to and from the country beginning June 3. The announcement marks a major step in the hard-hit country's reopening plan.

Italy was one of the first countries to be racked by the disease. The government imposed strict lockdown policies on March 9, earlier than many countries started responding.

The country faces a shortfall of up to 350,000 laborers just when it is bracing for deep economic impacts from the novel coronavirus pandemic.

La spesa sospesa means paying in advance for someone who can't afford it — an act of charity in which donors don't show off and recipients don't have to show gratitude.

Organized crime will exploit growing desperation, warns a prosecutor: "The mafias always gravitate toward money, and they're constantly trying to improve their image in the eyes of ordinary citizens."

Even after Europe became an epicenter in the global spread of COVID-19, a number of leaders have had growing approval from their citizens.

Liying is from Wuhan, China. She's married to Federico, from Lombardy, Italy. Now in the U.S., they describe the rapid shift in perceptions of the pandemic as it has spread through each country.

The Italian star will sing songs like "Ave Maria" live from the empty halls of one the world's most famous churches.