2006 in Italy

Incumbents

• President:
• Prime Minister:

  Events

• 2 January – Russia–Ukraine gas dispute: Italy supplies are down by 30%.
• 19 January – Italy will conclude its mission in Iraq by the end of the year, in the first clear timetable for Rome to withdraw its troops, says Defense Minister Antonio Martino.
• 20 January – Archeologists digging under the Roman Forum discover a tomb estimated at 3000 years old, predating the creation of the Forum by several centuries.
• 10 February – An atheist who sued a small-town priest for saying that Jesus Christ existed has had his case thrown out of court by a judge in Italy.
• 10–26 February – The Olympic Winter Games are held in Turin.
• 11 February – H5N1 avian flu virus: first cases of infected wild birds reported in Italy, swans thought to have migrated from Russia in recent months.
• 12 February – Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi causes a political storm by comparing himself to Jesus Christ.
• 15 February – Italian ambassador Francesco Trupiano apologizes to Libya on behalf of Italian minister of Constitutional Reform Roberto Calderoli, who suggested Italy use "force against Muslims."
• 17 February – In Libya, at least eleven protesters are killed in riots protesting the Muhammad cartoons outside the Italian consulate in Benghazi, which is burned.
• 18 February – Reform minister Roberto Calderoli resigns after criticism for wearing a T-shirt depicting the Muhammad cartoons.
• 2 March – Judges in Milan to charge Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and David Mills in connection with a bribery scandal.
• 3 March – An Italian parliamentary commission accuses the former Soviet Union of orchestrating the 1981 attempt to assassinate Pope John Paul II
• 10–19 March – The Paralympic Winter Games are held in Turin.
• 29 March – Afghan Christian convert Abdul Rahman takes political asylum in Italy. Many Islamic clerics and members of Afghanistan's parliament protest his release. ,
• 9–10 April – General election: Romano Prodi, leader of the centre-left coalition The Union, narrowly defeated the incumbent Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the centre-right coalition House of Freedoms.
• 11 April – Bernardo Provenzano captured near Corleone.
• 2 May – Murder of Tommaso Onofri
• 8-10 May – Presidential election
• 18 May – New Italian prime minister Romano Prodi pledges to withdraw Italian troops from Iraq and calls the Iraq war a "grave mistake that has not solved but increased the problem of security".
• 28–29 May – Local elections
• 1 June – The new Justice Minister, Clemente Mastella, announces that left-wing militant Adriano Sofri could be pardoned before the end of the year .
• 16 June – Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, is arrested as part of an investigation into corruption and prostitution.
• 23 June – After 16 years in office, Angelo Sodano retires as Cardinal Secretary of State. He will be succeeded by Tarcisio Bertone, until now Archbishop of Genoa.
• 25-26 June – Constitutional referendum about federalization: rejected by 61%.
• 9 July – Italy wins the FIFA World Cup by defeating France, 5–3, following a penalty shootout in the final game at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany.
• 11 August – Transatlantic aircraft plot: 40 people have been arrested throughout Italy, in Muslim communities "as part of an extraordinary operation that followed the British anti-terrorist operation."
• 13 August – Air Algérie Flight 2208 accident
• 17 October – 2006 Rome Metro crash
• 27 October – Murder of Riccardo Rasman
• 11 December – Erba Massacre

  Full date unknown

• Drug Target Insights academic journal is founded.

  Births

• 14 March - Simone Pafundi, footballer
• 25 May - Lorenzo Galossi, swimmer
• 6 June - Angela Andreoli, artistic gymnast
• 25 August - Andrea Kimi Antonelli, racing driver
• 9 October - Matteo Santoro, diver
• 2 November - Manila Esposito, footballer
• 7 November - Giulia Dragoni, footballer
• 15 November - Lara Colturi, alpine skier

  Deaths

• 1 March – Jenny Tamburi, actress and television hostess.
• 5 April – Pasquale Macchi, Roman Catholic archbishop.
• 22 April – Alida Valli, actress.
• 11 May – Ferdinando Tacconi, comics artist.
• 9 June – Enzo Siciliano, writer.
• 15 June – Betty Curtis, singer
• 12 July – Loredana Nusciak, actress and model.
• 20 July – Ugo Attardi, painter, sculptor and writer.
• 31 July – Mario Faustinelli, comic book artist.
• 20 August – Giuseppe Moccia, film director
• 15 September – Sergio Savarese, furniture designer.
• 17 September – Leonella Sgorbati, nun.
• 12 October – Carlo Acutis, English-born Italian Catholic computer programmer
• 16 October – Ondina Valla, hurdler.
• 25 October – Emilio Vedova, painter.
• 2 November – Milly Vitale, actress.
• 25 November – Luciano Bottaro, comic book creator.
• 26 November –
• 28 November – Primo Volpi, 90, Italian cyclist.
• 13 December – Mario Ravagnan, fencer.
• 28 December –