Italy defender Domenico Criscito will not play at the European Championship as he is under investigation in the country's latest match-fixing scandal.

I am writing this from my desk in Bristol, with all the frustrations of introducing an article about such stunning places. There is not one place here that I would not give a wet weekend in England for – and if I had a young family, I'd be unable to resist.

With new flights and a spring in its step, this elegant city is all the more appealing, says Simon Calder.

Bankers may be the new bogeymen, but their sharp, tailored uniform has become one of the season's main reference points for designers, says Alex Fury

His holiday in Italy having been cut short by the riots, the Prime Minister is now enjoying a break in north Cornwall where he and his wife Samantha were photographed yesterday in the fishing village of Port Isaac, close to where their daughter Florence was born last year

Until Daniele Kihlgren came along, Santo Stefano was a cultural backwater. Now it's home to some of Italy's finest works of art

Gino D'Acampo makes classic Italian Bruschetta.

Boutique Luisa Via Roma has long been Florence's fashion hub. Now it has opened its doors to the next generation of stylists, says Rebecca Gonsalves

Our Traveller's Guide last week featured Tuscany, and recommended Pisa as the main gateway by air. But John Wright warns of "lengthy roadworks on the autostrada from Florence to Pisa, which is severely affecting the Terravision coach service".

Britain's representation in Europe is to be scaled back dramatically in a restructuring of its embassies and consulates around the world.

From outer space Italy looks more like a country than any of its neighbours, but Metternich's jibe that it was purely "a geographical expression" has infuriated Italian nationalists for generations. The reason is that Metternich was right. In this well-researched and engaging canter through the peninsula's history, David Gilmour claims that only two Italians between ancient times and the 19th century entertained the idea that Italy was, or might be, or ought to be a unified country: Virgil, the myth-making epic poet, and Machiavelli, some 14 centuries later.

This place likes to fuss over anniversaries of the unification of Italy. This year, the 150th, is no different. Adrian Mourby reports

The naturally mummified body of Oetzi, the 5,000-year-old "Iceman" discovered on the border between Italy and Austria in 1991, and an impression of his face created by experts Alfons and Adrie Kennis. Both feature in the exhibition "20 years of Oetzi", which opens in Bolzano, Italy.

City Slicker: Florence - A new flight makes it easier to reach the city of the Medicis. Kate Simon has some tips for new and returning visitors