ITALY: The Not-So Dolce Vita

The exquisite 16th century Villa Madama, overlooking Rome from atop the bluff of Monte Mario, is normally an Italian government guest house for visiting heads of state. Originally, the formal gardens, fountains and frescoed ceilings of the villa, designed by Raphael for Pope Clement VII, provided the setting in which the Medici Pope wheedled, wheeled and dealed. Last week, that atmosphere temporarily returned. Caught in a political crisis and under orders from President Giovanni Leone to resolve it rather than resign, representatives of the parties in Premier Mariano Rumor's ruling center-left...

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