Italy

Mosquito repellent is a key weapon to keep those biting bugs at bay, but it can be frustratingly fickle. Now researchers in Italy have developed new formulations that they say can last as long as eight hours, are odorless and boast other advantages.

Modern concrete starts to fall apart within decades – but ancient Roman structures are still standing strong after 2,000 years. Engineers have found an inclusion that helps ancient concrete self-heal cracks, and shown how we can recreate the recipe.

Italian 3D printing company WASP has revealed plans for an experimental 3D-printed house named Itaca. Once completed, the prototype dwelling will run fully off-the-grid to aid research on self sufficiency and sustainability in a compact area.

A new dining hall by Carlo Ratti Associati is designed to blend into the surrounding Italian landscape. Named Mutti Canteen, it will be sunk into the ground and topped by a green roof made with the soil that will be removed during the build process.

NOA has created an eye-catching swimming pool and sauna extension to an existing hotel in South Tyrol, Italy. The project takes the form of a mountainside village made up of several huts, including some that have been turned upside down.

The iconic Lingotto factory in Turin, Italy, is a building beloved by architecture fans and petrol-heads alike. Previously home to Fiat's manufacturing and testing facilities, it has now begun a new chapter hosting a huge rooftop garden.

A pair of autonomous FlyingBasket FB3 heavy-lift drones have made their first urban cargo deliveries in Europe. Approved by the Italian authorities, each carried a 26 kg (57 lb) payload on a 3.9 km (2.4 mile) route in Torino before returning home.

Italian architect Carlo Scarpa once said "between a tree and a house, choose the tree." Carlo Ratti Associatti decided to choose both with its recent renovation of a beautiful Italian farmhouse, which is arranged around a 60-year-old ficus tree.

Your chance to own one of the most iconic dinosaurs is about to come up – provided you have a spare few million and an empty ballroom on hand. The largest known specimen of Triceratops, nicknamed “Big John,” will go up for auction in October.

Stefano Boeri Architetti is perhaps best known for its greenery covered buildings. However, the Italian firm is now turning its hand to the COVID-19 virus fight with a solar-powered building that will be used to administer vaccinations.

Borexino, a huge underground particle detector in Italy, has picked up a never-before-seen type of neutrino coming from the Sun. These neutrinos confirm a 90-year-old hypothesis and complete our picture of the fusion cycle of the Sun and other stars.

In August 2018, a section of Genoa's Morandi Bridge collapsed, killing 43 people. Following the disaster, Renzo Piano's firm was chosen to design its replacement and, after 15 months of work, the new bridge is now complete and in use.