Italy’s first private high-speed train, launched by Ferrari head Luca di Montezemolo’s company NTV and boasting sleek interiors and a cinema carriage, made its inaugural journey on Friday.

The dark-red 200-metre (656 foot) bullet-shaped train — named “Italo” — set out from Rome’s Termini station, taking just over an hour to reach Naples.

A museum in Italy is burning artworks from around the world to protest harsh austerity cuts by the Italian government.

Head of the Casoria Contemporary Art Museum in Naples Antonio Manfredi started burning paintings on Tuesday and does not intend to stop destroying art unless the government reverses its decision, the BBC reports.

A Renaissance palace grafted onto the top of an ancient Roman theatre is up for sale in Rome for €32 million ($42 million).

Its asking price is thought to make it the most expensive property currently on sale in the Italian capital, and one of the most expensive in Europe.

The 11,000 sq ft property has frescoed staterooms, a ballroom, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a library, a dining room, a terrace, a separate penthouse and cellars.

Polish model Kasia Struss stars in the Moschino Spring 2012 ad campaign photographed by Juergen Teller, shot in Italy in front of the Colosseum.

Dolce & Gabbana have launched the Velvet Collection, a series of six haute parfumerie scents, each inspired by various parts of Italy.

The scents are a masterful mix of amber, citrus, floral, woody and spiced essences which recreate the Mediterranean mood.

The names of the fragrances are: Velvet Vetiver, Velvet Patchouli, Velvet Wood, Velvet Desire, Velvet Sublime and Velvet Love.

Giorgio Armani has opened his flagship Armani hotel in Milan, a joint venture with the Dubai developer Emaar Properties.

Located in the 1937 building that also houses Armani’s Manzoni 31 flagship, the hotel covers 162,000 square feet over floors two to eight.

The “palazzo” hotel, which is in the centre of the Italian city, boasts 95 rooms with a focus on “luxury, calm and beauty”.