For two weeks in September, everyone wants to be Italian—at least judging by the crowds at the annual Feast of San Gennaro in New York City's Little Italy.

From a fishing trawler in the Adriatic, Italian scientists gently release thousands of tiny octopuses in the hope of fighting an invasive crab species that has devastated local fisheries.

Extending some 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) along the length of Italy, the Apennine Mountains present a challenging puzzle for geologists. In some places, the mountains are steadily being stretched ap