Italian fashion designers Donatella Versace, Alberta Ferretti, Anna Molinari for Blumarine, Veronica Etro, Silvia Venturini for Fendi, Consuelo Castiglioni for Marni, Angela Missoni and Rossella Jardini for Moschino, have teamed with Coca Cola for fund raising campaign in support of the victims of the earthquake in Abruzzo, Italy.

Giorgio Armani’s home division is to deck out the interior of exclusive apartments in Rome, as part of a project to convert a historical building into a complex of luxury serviced flats.

Some 62 apartments are planned in the Cavour220 project, a residential block occupying 12,000 sq m and composed of 6 linked buildings surrounding a garden.

Owners will be able to customize the units personal tastes on the basis of layouts and finishes proposed by Armani/Casa, admittedly likely a narrow range.

Italian authorities have shut down a historic Roman restaurant days after it charged a Japanese couple $987 for a seafood lunch.

The tourists filed a fraud complaint with police after being surprised with a bill for pasta and lobster with wine and gelato at the Il Passetto restaurant, just off the popular Piazza Navona square.

Health inspectors arrived within days to shut down the 149-year old restaurant - which has served stars ranging from Charlie Chaplin to Grace Kelly - citing hygiene reasons.

Billionaire Chelsea boss Roman Abramovich is topping other high fliers with private jets - by splashing out on his own airport, it was reported today (monday).

Abramovich is heading a syndicate of Russian tycoons in a bid to snap up Tassignano airport in northern Italy as an investment.

The terminal - worth more than 4 million GBP - is near a settlement of exclusive villas and holiday homes, reports Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Luxury mobile artist Givori - known for his ugly creations including the Serendipity and Nefertiti - designs the Via Veneto collection, inspired by the shopping street in Rome.

Via Veneto features full grain Italian leather hand-finished with delicate metallic foil, 18 karat Italian rose gold plating, and 0.3 karat diamonds.

The Classic edition is targeted towards men and women, with a snake-embossed leather shell. The Exclusive edition is more feminine with its gold screen, diamond encrusted logo, and scratch resistant glass.

China will overtake Italy as the second-biggest market behind the United States for iconic sportscar maker Lamborghini within three to five years, the group’s chief executive said on Wednesday.

The Chinese associate luxury more with chauffeur-driven cars than sports cars because of bad road conditions, traffic congestion and driving standards, Stephan Winkelmann told the Reuters Global Luxury Summit.

But the sports car culture will gain ground in China, he said, as road infrastructure develops fast and Chinese consumers aspire to own well-known European luxury brands.