• Salvage plan for wrecked Costa Concordia unveiled in Rome

    By Dan Askin, Cruise Critic

    The plan to remove the massive wreck of Costa Concordia, which lies half submerged off the Italian island of Giglio after capsizing in January, was revealed Friday in Rome. At least 30 people died after the ship ran aground.

    Reuters

    Click to enlarge the image.

    In an unprecedented effort, American-owned Titan Salvage is working with Italian firm Micoperi, and will use pulling machines connected to a custom-built subsea platform to hoist the hull upright in one piece. The firms won the right to perform the work during a months-long bidding process.

    The first step is stabilizing the ship to prevent further slippage down the sloped sea bed on which it rests. That is expected to take about a year, Costa said in a statement. This will be achieved by attaching "tieback chains" from the submerged part of the ship -- starboard side, closest to shore -- to a structure built nearby.

    After Concordia is stabilized, the subsea platform will be built along the port side -- the non-submerged side -- and huge caissons, in essence steel boxes, will be welded to the exposed side of the ship. The caissons will be filled with water. "This gives the ship extra buoyancy," explained Mark Hoddinott, general manager of the International Salvage Union. "Caissons have the effect of making the ship wider, and the water will add mass, which improves the 'turning moment' to bring it upright."

    Pulling machines will then be connected to the subsea platform, and two cranes fixed to the platform will pull Concordia upright -- facilitated by the water-filled caissons. The ship will still be flooded, so it won't float; instead it will rest on the platform. When the ship is upright, caissons will be welded to the starboard side of the hull. The caissons on both sides will then be de-ballasted -- after treating and purifying the water to protect the marine environment -- and filled with air.


    "This strategy has been used on a smaller scale by both the US and Royal Navy," added Hoddinott. "But no one has removed a ship of this size." Concordia is 950 feet long and weighs 44,612 metric tons (or nearly 100 million pounds), according to Titan-Micoperi.

    Once upright, the wreck will be towed to an Italian port and dealt with in accordance with the requirements of Italian authorities. Gianni Onorato, Costa Crociere S.p.A. president, told Cruise Critic in early May that the ship will ultimately be scrapped.

    No details on the cost of the project have been officially released, but a Costa spokesman told CNN that the figure could exceed $300 million.

    According to today's statement from Costa, the "one piece" approach -- rather than slicing the ship up and barging it off bit by bit -- will "minimize environmental impact, protect Giglio's economy and tourism industry, and maximize safety." After the ship is removed, the sea bottom will be cleaned and marine flora replanted.

    While the project is ongoing, the operation base will be located on the mainland near Piombino, where equipment and materials will be stored. This will mitigate impact on the island's port activities and leave Giglio's hotels open for tourists during the peak summer season.

    More from Cruise Critic:

  • Court rules Costa Concordia captain unfit to run ship

    Laura Lezza / Getty Images

    The Costa Condordia remains stricken after a further five bodies were found by a mechanical robot, two months after it ran aground on March 23, 2012 in Giglio Porto, Italy.

    By Reuters

    Italy's top appeals court ruled on Wednesday that Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia, was unfit to command the cruise liner which ran aground and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio in January, causing at least 30 deaths.

    In a written explanation of its decision to maintain a house arrest order against Schettino, the Court of Cassation said he had shown "little resilience in performing command functions or in handling responsibility for the safety of persons under his care."

    Schettino has been accused of wrecking the 126,215-ton liner by bringing it too close to shore, where a rocky ledge tore a gash in its side and made it keel over and sink. According to the court, he "has proven not to be able to handle a dangerous situation typical of his profession, despite the specific professional skills and experience."

    Costa Concordia captain's blunders detailed in Vanity Fair

    Investigators also accuse Schettino of delaying evacuation and losing control of the operation, during which he abandoned ship before all 4,200 passengers and crew had been taken off the vessel.

    He has been charged with multiple manslaughter, causing the accident and abandoning ship prematurely. A pre-trial hearing was held in Grosseto, near Florence, in March.

    The Court of Cassation said Schettino had shown himself unable to manage a crisis and to ensure the safety of his passengers and crew and said there would be a risk of a repeat of the disaster if he were given a command again.

    That part of the ruling justified the decision to keep Schettino under house arrest at his home in Meta di Sorrento, near Naples in southern Italy, as a concrete danger of a recurrence must be shown for the arrest order to be upheld.

    Thirty bodies were recovered and two are missing. The wreck lies on its side in some 20 meters of water within a stone's throw of the picturesque island port.

    Salvage experts are expected to stabilize the wreck by August and then refloat it and remove it from the marine natural park off the Tuscan coast where it sank.

    More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:

    Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world

  • Minnesota couple identified among Costa Concordia bodies

    The remains of Barbara and Gerald Heil, the only Americans who died when the Costa Concordia capsized near a Tuscan island have been identified. NBC's Claudio Lavagna reports. 

    By Claudio Lavanga, NBC News

    ROME -- Two bodies recovered from the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship have been formally identified as Americans Barbara and Gerald Heil from Minnesota.

    The bodies were among five that were recovered in the past three weeks from the liner, which capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio after hitting rocks on January 13.

    At least 30 people died and two are still unaccounted for.

    Costa Concordia captain's blunders detailed in Vanity Fair

    "Five bodies recovered from the Costa Concordia have been identified," said a statement from the Grosseto prefecture on Tuesday.

    The other three were named as Christina Matheson Ganz and Norbert Josef Ganz, both Germans, and Giuseppe Girolamo, an Italian citizen and member of the crew.

    A salvage operation to move the wreck, owned by Carnival Corp., is expected to begin next month.

    NBC's Michelle Kosinski reported in January on the search and rescue operation and the missing couple.

    More on Overhead Bin

  • Italy's Cinque Terre region readies for spring tourists

    Tom Wallace

    Floodwaters rush into Vernazza's harbor after an intense rainstorm ripped through the Cinque Terre region of Italy on Oct. 25, 2011. Monterosso, another Cinque Terre town, also was devastated.

    By Tanya Mohn, msnbc.com contributor

    For the residents of the Cinque Terre, a region of five quaint coastal villages nestled in cliffs overlooking the Ligurian Sea on Italy’s northwestern coast, the arrival of spring may be especially sweet this year.


    Last fall, torrential rains, massive flooding and mudslides, some more than 13 feet high, devastated the area. Homes, businesses and trails were damaged. In the aftermath of the violent Oct. 25 storm, there was concern about how the storm would impact the tourism season, which typically begins in spring.

    But preliminary reports are positive.

    The Cinque Terre is ready to receive tourists, according to a representative in the Italian Government Tourist Board in New York, who said that by Easter, the region hopes to have all the paths open. The famous “Via dell’Amore” (“Love’s path”) trail is open, but others sustained damage and were closed due to safety issues. The Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre, the national park, provides regular trail updates on its website. 

    About 400,000 tourists visited the region in 2011, about half of whom are Italian and some 60,000 Americans, the representative said, quoting data from the regional office in Liguria of the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat). 

    Edward Piegza, president and founder of Classic Journeys, who spoke by phone with his company’s local tour guides as well as business owners in the Cinque Terre before being interviewed by msnbc.com, said many shops and restaurants are open in Monterosso, one of the two towns damaged by the storm. And those that are not “are working quickly to rebuild by tourist season, the beginning of April,” he said.

    Classic Journeys has offered its “Tuscany and the Cinque Terre Cultural Walking Tour” since 1996.

    Classic Journeys

    A group of tourists walks to Vernazza in Italy's Cinque Terre region in 2005.

    The Cinque Terre is known for distinctive pastel-colored homes, seaside charms, and its network of walking and hiking trails along cliffs, linking the towns and winding though terraced hills of vineyards, and olive and chestnut groves, offering dramatic views and ample opportunities for much needed espresso and gelato breaks.

    The Cinque Terre, Piegza said, “captures a different time and place.” And much of the draw is its “real sense of authenticity, when people lived more simply.”

    Beth Rubin, manager of custom travel planning for Select Italy, a company specializing in travel to Italy, said tourism to Cinque Terre had “exploded” in recent years. “It’s very outdoorsy and offers an active vacation that’s not too expensive. People who are traveling on a budget really like to go there.” Select Italy plans to offer its full range of tours, and its local suppliers “are going to find a way,” to work around any potential problems, she said.  

    Other tour companies are reporting similar determination to proceed.

    “We would never consider canceling our tours,” said Carolyn Walters Fox, who handles marketing and media relations for Country Walkers, “as long as it’s safe.”

    Country Walkers specializes in active travel and has offered guided walking and hiking tours to the region for about 15 years. Currently, six tours are planned from May through the autumn. The local people “have been so good to us,” Fox said. “Tourism is an opportunity to give back.”  

    Melanie Morin, who manages tours to the Cinque Terre region, is not worried if trails the company used in the past are not open in May. “The alternative routes still make a spectacular tour,” she said, and the local residents “are really trying to do everything they can to be ready for the season.”

    Piegza, of Classic Journeys, recounted how one of its tour groups had been dining at Al Pozzo, a restaurant in Monterosso last October when the rain started. The group was able to leave the area before the storm became dangerous, but the restaurant was severely damaged.

    Restaurant owners Jolanda and Gino Barilari, told Piegza by phone earlier this month that Al Pozzo recently reopened, and some American tourists had just finished eating lunch.

    “They were able to complete their restaurant almost a month early,” Piegza said, noting that for more than four months the extended Barilari family “worked from sunrise to sundown, seven days a week, to rebuild. They were so exited. They said ‘wow’ we made it through.”  (“Rebuild Monterosso” provides updates for businesses and activities.)

    Slideshow: Italian dreams

    Franco Origlia / Getty Images

    Tourists in Italy can learn about history, architecture, art and much more.

    Launch slideshow

    “We encourage people to come,” said Michele Sherman, an American expat living in Italy, and executive director of Save Vernazza, a nonprofit created after the disaster to raise funds and awareness to rebuild, restore and preserve the town. Vernazza was the town most impacted by the storm. “A lot has been done, but a lot still needs to be done,” she said. 

    The group’s website Travel Advisor page lists updated information about what local businesses and trails are open or scheduled to reopen, and what is off limits. “We’re in constant contact with all the local business owners and we’re in the loop about the status of trail repairs,” Sherman said. “We’re always walking around with a camera.”

    When UNESCO added the area to the World Heritage List in 1997, it cited “the harmonious interaction between people and nature to produce a landscape of exceptional scenic quality.” But through the years the surrounding terraced hills were neglected as the local economy shifted from agriculture to tourism, Sherman said. “The focus in Vernazza changed.” But finding a balance between maintaining the territory and sustainable tourism is critical to moving forward, she said, “not only to prevent further disasters, but also to preserve Vernazza’s cultural heritage. It's still beautiful,” Sherman said. It’s not what it once was, “but it can be that way again.”

    Related stories:

     

  • Secrets to eating well in Italy

    Vanessa Berberian

    Alfresco dining between Piazza Farnese and Campo de' Fiori in Rome.

    By Beth Collins, Frommers.com

    If you think that stepping foot into Italy means giving up any ambitions of eating healthy, think again. Sure, there's pizza and carb-heavy pasta around every corner, but the country's culinary scene offers so much more. With all the fish, beans, veggies and foods made with healthy types of flour, it's possible to eat like a king without turning into a giant. Nutritionist Lauren Antonucci, owner/director of Nutrition Energy NYC, walks us through what to order -- and what to avoid -- while traveling in this foodie paradise. 


    Slideshow: See these and other tips about eating well

    How to pick the best types of pasta

    This category is the backbone of Italian cuisine, so you certainly don't want to avoid it altogether. But if healthy eating is your goal, you do want to avoid traditional white pasta when you can. Fortunately, you can choose from delicious alternatives. If you want to stick to pasta, Antonucci suggests opting for whole wheat, which has about 6 grams of fiber per cup, or fregola, which is made from semolina and water and has a slightly higher protein content than white pasta. 

    Better yet, venture into the grain family and order farro. "It's an excellent source of complex carbohydrates, protein and fiber," says Antonucci. If you're a risotto fan, proceed with caution. Stock-based risotto isn't so bad, but when made with cream and cheese, one cup of the highly absorbent Arborio rice can contain up to 500 calories.

    How to choose the best sauces

    Authentic Italian restaurants don't overload dishes with sauce -- all the more reason to eat like a local. "The real Italian way is fresh food, light on the sauce and small portions," explains Antonucci. Still, it's wise to choose carefully.

    Cream sauces are hotbeds of fat and cholesterol, so either enjoy in moderation or avoid altogether. Red sauces are a much better option, Antonucci says. The tomato base is a great source of lycopene, and red sauces are often packed with other healthy veggies, garlic and herbs. Added bonus: with a tomato-based sauce, you don't have to feel guilty sopping up the extra with fresh-baked Italian bread.

    How to order the best wine & drinks

    "Wine is always a great option," Antonucci says. "A 5-ounce glass of red wine contains 150 calories and even supplies you with powerful antioxidants," she explains. If you prefer white wine, you'll save about 30 calories per glass.

    After dinner, Italians love their limoncello, a digestif made from lemons, simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water) and vodka. It comes in such small servings that one small glass isn't going to destroy your diet.

    How to order the best coffee

    The good news: an Italian espresso contains almost no calories at all. Of course, the more milk and sugar you add, the more of an indulgence it is. To keep the calories in check, "shoot for nonfat or low-fat milk," suggests Antonucci, "and treat your milk as a sweetener."

    And instead of ordering a latte or a cappuccino, opt for a macchiato, which is an espresso with just a dollop of foam on top.

    How to pack the perfect picnic

    It's nearly impossible to travel around Italy without coming across at least one farmer's market each day. The country may not have invented the outdoor food market, but it has certainly perfected it, with fresh produce, farm eggs and artisan cheeses, meats and breads. Planning to throw together a picnic lunch? Here's how to make smart food choices.

    Look for homemade bruschetta toast topped with caponata or garden-fresh tomatoes and basil, suggests Antonucci. "Certainly choose some cheeses and meats," she says, "but add some fresh fruits and veggies, such as spinach, avocado, tomato, asparagus and roasted peppers." 

    More from Frommers.com

     

  • 5 more bodies found in Costa Concordia wreckage

    Filippo Monteforte / AFP - Getty Images

    The Costa Concordia, seen on January 25, rests on its side near the island of Giglio.

    By Msnbc.com staff and wire

    Updated at 5:55 p.m. ET -- Divers found a total of five bodies in the wreckage of the Costa Concordia on Thursday.

    Two more bodies were found following the discovery of three earlier in the day, NBC News has learned. Officials have not said when the bodies will be identified, saying, "it will take time."

    Thursday's discoveries bring the total number of bodies recovered up to 30. Two others remain missing and are presumed dead.

    The luxury cruise liner capsized after hitting rocks on Jan. 13 near the island of Giglio off Italy's Tuscan Coast.

    Even before the latest bodies were found, eight discovered in recent weeks were awaiting official identification. The remains were badly decomposed after weeks in the water, and forensic authorities have used DNA sampling to try to identify them. 

    Among those listed as missing or unidentified are a crew member from India and several passengers, including an elderly U.S. couple, and others from Italy and Germany. 

    Francesco Schettino, the ship's captain, was arrested a day after the accident and accused of manslaughter and abandoning the 114,000-ton Costa Concordia before all the 4,200 passengers and crew were evacuated.

    He admitted to prosecutors that he sailed too close to the island and was released from prison and placed under house arrest on Jan. 17.

    Slideshow: Luxury cruise ship runs aground

    Handout / Reuters

    The Costa Concordia, carrying more than 4,200 passengers, ran aground Jan. 13 off the coast of Italy. At least 25 people died in the accident, and rescuers continue to search for others missing.

    Launch slideshow

    NBC News' Claudio Lavagna, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

    Related stories:

  • 'Under the Tuscan Sun' villa goes on the market

    The 16th-century villa featured in 2003's "Under the Tuscan Sun" is up for sale. (Courtesy Rodeo Reality Fine Estates via The Hollywood Reporter)

    By Degen Pener, The Hollywood Reporter

    The villa that was featured in the 2003 movie "Under the Tuscan Sun" — which fed filmgoer fantasies of buying and restoring an Italian countryside villa — is being sold by a couple who owns a Sonoma winery for 9.5 million euros ($12.5 million).

    The film — based on the best-selling 1996 Frances Mayes memoir of the same name — starred Diane Lane as a recently divorced San Francisco writer who decamps for Tuscany, acquires a dilapidated villa in the town of Cortona and sets forth renovating it.

    After its appearance in the film, the 16th-century house was purchased in 2006 by current sellers Fred and Nancy Cline, a winemaking couple who are the proprietors of Cline Cellars and Jacuzzi Family Vineyards in Sonoma, Calif.

    The gated and walled compound was built in 1504 and includes a 10-bedroom, 9.5-bath main house that has a private chapel. The property also has a farmhouse, garden, private lake, new pool and bocce court.

    Gallery: The art world's own Oscars week

    In the film, it took a not-so-realistic few months for Lane's character to renovate the house; the Clines spent four years carefully fixing up the estate and also adding such modern amenities as air conditioning and a new gourmet kitchen.

    "There were certainly a lot of challenges. For a start, we had to remove over 200 truck loads of bedrock from the two buildings, just to get the ground levels correct," says the architect Joe Thompson of Italian Property Restoration, whose team came across a WWII ammunition stash during the renovation process.

    Story: Boing! TMZ joins L.A.'s westside real estate rebound

    An olive grove on the premises produces over 100 liters of olive oil a year and the owners are currently adding another 65 trees to the current stand of 100. The property is situated within walking distance of the center of the medieval town of Cortona and is not far from where Mayes has a 200-year-old house known as Bramasole. Mayes splits her time between Italy and North Carolina and is a founder of the music-and-arts Tuscan Sun Festival. Cortona is located in Tuscany's Arezzo province about 100 kilometers southeast of Florence.


    The listing is held by Michele Blackmon of Rodeo Realty Fine Estates. Blackmon, who is based in Beverly Hills, began selling properties in Tuscany after the movie was released. "When the movie came out, at least 10 of my clients in Hollywood, celebrities and directors, called me and wanted to buy in Tuscany," she says. "I had never been there and went there and hung out for a month and found some properties for them. I started going twice a year." She met the Clines a few weeks ago by chance at a party in Cortona. "The owners are renovating another property up the hillside from there," she adds. "They got hooked on the renovation of historical properties."

    The estate, which can sleep 18, has also been available as a vacation rental.

    More stories you might like: 


  • Lawyer: Costa Concordia captain wasn't wearing his glasses on night of accident

    Filippo Monteforte / AFP - Getty Images

    Press gather outside the Moderno theatre in Grosseto, on Saturday for the Costa Concordia shipwreck initial evidence hearing.

    By NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services

    GROSSETO, Italy --The captain of the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise liner was not wearing his glasses on the evening of the accident and asked his first officer to check the radar for him, the officer's lawyer said on Saturday.

    The giant cruise liner capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio after hitting a rock on Jan. 13, killing at least 25 people. Seven people are still unaccounted for. 

    Prosecutors have accused Captain Francesco Schettino of causing the disaster by bringing the multi-story Costa Concordia, carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, too close to the shore. 

    The ship's first officer, Ciro Ambrosio, and seven other officers and executives of the ship's owner, Costa Cruises, are also under investigation. 

    Ambrosio has told investigating magistrates that Schettino, 51, did not have his glasses on when he steered the massive ship within a stone's throw of shore in the dark of night to perform a maneuver called a "salute." Many of the passengers were having dinner at the time of impact. 

    "That evening Schettino had left his reading glasses in the cabin and repeatedly asked Ambrosio to look at the radar to check the route," Ambrosio's lawyer Salvatore Catalano told Reuters, quoting his client's testimony to magistrates. 

    Schettino has said that the rock hit by the cruise liner was not on his navigational charts. 

    A pre-trial hearing was held Saturday into the shipwreck of the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia. Hundreds of people, including survivors and families of victims crammed into the closed door hearing. Claudio Lavanga reports from Grosseto, Italy.

    The captain has acknowledged that he brought the ship too close to the shore, but he says he was not the only one to blame for the tragedy. 

    Catalano said his client was the only officer on the ship's bridge who went ahead and ordered the listing vessel to be evacuated before the captain made up his mind to do it himself. 

    "He ordered the lifeboats to be put to sea from deck number four," Catalano said. 

    Catalano was speaking in the Tuscan city of Grosseto, where a pre-trial hearing into the disaster took place on Saturday. None of those under investigation attended the hearing, which was held in a theater to accommodate hundreds of victims' relatives, survivors and lawyers for all sides. 

    NBC News reported that more than 4,000 people were invited to attend the hearing. In order to fit everyone in one space the trial was held in the Modern Theater in the coastal town of Grosseto.

    The theater was expected to accommodate victims' relatives, survivors and lawyers for all sides, but was not open to the general public or media.

    "We are here to look for justice and the truth, rather than compensation. They almost killed us," Giacomo Brignone, a survivor of the accident, told NBC.

    "We want to know the truth, what happened, and what we are supposed to do now. That's all we are asking," said Hilaire Blemand, a French national whose 25-year-old son Michael was onboard the ship with his girlfriend Mylene Litzler, 23.

    Both are still reported missing.

    "It's been too long already, it's been six weeks," he said.

    Fighting back tears at his side, Mylene's mother Brigitte Litzler said her anguish had deepened after identification of the bodies was suspended at the request of the lawyer for one of the ship's officers under investigation. He argued forensic experts from the defense team should be part of the process.

    "It's like they have killed them a second time," Litzler said. "We are dead inside already; they have killed our kids so we are dead, too. But we won't give up, we will keep returning until we have them back."

    During the hearing, the judge appointed various experts to analyze the data from the ship's black box. It could take as long as three months for them to present their findings, public prosecutor Francesco Verusio told Reuters. 

    Captain, under house arrest, did not attend hearing
    Schettino is accused of a string of charges, including multiple manslaughter and abandoning the 114,500-ton liner before the evacuation of all passengers and crew. He is under arrest at his home in Meta di Sorrento, near Naples, and did not attend the hearing. 

    Slideshow: Luxury cruise ship runs aground

    The Costa Concordia, carrying more than 4,200 passengers, ran aground Jan. 13 off the coast of Italy. At least 17 people died in the accident, and rescuers continue to search for others missing.

    Launch slideshow

    His lawyer, Bruno Leporatti, said he could have been in danger had he decided to attend.

    The captain "is a man who has feelings, who is pained over what happened. He feels pain for the victims," Leporatti told Reuters Television.

    Lawyer: Captain of capsized cruise ship could be in danger

    Neither Schettino, nor his wife, Fabiola Russo, nor his brothers spoke to reporters who sought comments from them at his home on Saturday. 

    His presence at the hearing would have been "unnecessary and perhaps with this climate that has been created around him, also a little dangerous for him," Leporatti said.

    His neighbors in the sleepy seaside town continued to defend him. 

    "It's normal for accidents to happen at sea," Franco D'Elia, a former sailor, told Reuters. "Accidents happen on solid ground, at sea, and in the sky."

    Others weren't as sympathetic to Schettino.

    "I don't think he has got the guts to show up in front of all the passengers whom he put through all that fear," Adriano Bertaglia, a survivor participating in a class action suit against the company, told Reuters in front of the theater.

    During a hearing held Wednesday in Washington, D.C., the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee reviewed U.S. cruise ship safety regulations as well as international safety standards and heard testimony from Costa Concordia cruise ship survivors. NBC's Tom Costello reports.

    The hearing comes after 627 passengers disembarked in the Seychelles on Thursday from another Costa liner, the Costa Allegra, which had to be towed for three days by a French fishing boat in the Indian Ocean after a fire knocked out its engines.

    'We're alive': Tired passengers stream off stricken Costa Allegra

    Marco de Luca, the lawyer for Costa Cruises, told NBC: "I think we were unlucky. I don't think anybody can deny that."

    More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

    Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world

    NBC News correspondent Claudio Lavanga, NBC News producer Michele Neubert, msnbc.com staff and Reuters contributed to this report.

  • 8 bodies found in Costa Concordia wreck

    Captain Michael Burns of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy joins MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan to talk about the Concordia cruise ship disaster.

    By msnbc.com news services

    Updated at 2 p.m. ET -- Salvage divers discovered eight bodies on Wednesday in the submerged part of the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship. 

    Italy's national civil protection agency said three of the bodies were recovered a few hours after being spotted by fire department divers, the Associated Press reported. The bodies are those of a woman, a girl and a man, the agency said. Because of worsening weather, the divers were not able to immediately remove the other five bodies. 

    The bodies were being transferred to a hospital on the mainland for identification, a process which could take days. Before Wednesday's development, 15 people were listed as missing, but only one of them was a child, Dayana Arlotti. The 5-year-old girl was on the Mediterranean cruise with her father and his girlfriend. The girlfriend survived. The father was among the missing.

    Dayana's father, Williams, had a history of health problems, and was said by family to be traveling to celebrate a new lease on life — he had received a kidney and pancreas transplant in the past. Some witnesses told media that they last saw him during the evacuation as he headed back to his cabin to retrieve life-saving medication. 

    The confirmed death toll has risen to 25, and seven passengers remain missing and presumed dead. The only American passengers missing, Jerry and Barb Heil of Minnesota, were memorialized on Saturday.

    Italian authorities stopped searching the ship for passengers at the end of January due to dangerous conditions. Salvage crews are still working on pumping almost 2,400 tons of diesel fuel from the vast hulk, which lies partially submerged just meters from the shore of Giglio, a popular holiday island in a maritime reserve off the Tuscan coast.

    The Costa Concordia, a luxury liner carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, struck a rock off the Tuscan coast on Jan. 13. A gash in the ship's side flooded the engine rooms and caused the vessel to capsize.

    Dozens of survivors are suing Carnival Corp. and its subsidiary Costa Cruise Lines for at least $528 million in damages. The lawsuit alleges that the crew failed to conduct safety drills, that the ship was off course when it hit the reef, that the captain waited too long before giving the order to evacuate, that the crew performed badly during the evacuation and that the cruise line inflicted emotional distress and failed to provide prompt and adequate aid to survivors.

    NBC News, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

     

  • Ice clogs the canals of Venice, Italy

    Marco Sabadin / AFP - Getty Images

    A small boat passes on a canal covered with ice on Monday in Venice, Italy. Temperatures fell to 14 degrees Fahrenheit in Milan on Monday as 59,000 households remained without electricity in Italy and officials declared a gas supply emergency.

    Luigi Costantini / AP

    A view of the Cannaregio channel, partially iced because of unusually low temperatures, in Venice on Monday. Schools will be closed in Rome on Tuesday, as Italy copes with unusually heavy snow for the Mediterranean country. So far, ten deaths have been linked to winter weather, including two people who were crushed under a collapsed roof south of Rome, and a 91-year-old woman in the northeast port of Trieste who was knocked down by strong winds. In the north, rescuers had to pluck people from their homes, as piles of snow reached 3 meters (10 feet) in some areas. In Milan, Italy's fashion and financial capital, temperatures fell to 10 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday, and the authorities opened a section of the city subway to shelter some 100 homeless people.

    Manuel Silvestri / Reuters

    A boat floats in a frozen lagoon in Venice on Monday. Bitterly cold weather sweeping across Europe claimed more victims on Sunday, brought widespread disruption to transport services, and left thousands without power with warnings that low temperatures would continue into next week.

    More images from freezing weather in Europe in PhotoBlog.

    Related story: Venice rebels againts cruise ship intrusions

  • Stilettos in the snow... only in Rome!

    Alessandro Bianchi / Reuters

    Tourists protect themselves with umbrellas from the falling snow in front of Rome's ancient Colosseum on Feb. 3.

    Massimo Percossi / EPA

    A man cycles through a snow storm in Rome, Italy, on Feb 3. Reports state that the severe cold has killed more than 100 people across Europe, where temperatures have in some areas have plummeted.

    Gabriel Bouys / AFP - Getty Images

    Women walk near the Trevi fountain during snowfalls on Feb. 3 in Rome.

    AP reports:

    Thick snowflakes fell in Rome on Friday, a rare occurrence for a capital usually blessed by a temperate climate, and other parts of the country experienced frigid temperatures unseen in years.

    The snowfall prompted authorities to stop visitors from entering the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, the former home of Rome's ancient emperors.

    The last substantial snowfalls in Rome were in 1985 and 1986, though there have been other cases of lighter snow since then, including in 2010.

    Read the full story.

    See recent photos of the harsh winter Europe is experiencing.

    Gabriel Bouys / AFP - Getty Images

    Scooters and motorbikes are covered with snow as they are parked downtown Rome on Feb. 3. A rare mantle of snow blanketed the historic center of Rome on Friday as temperatures in the Alpine region of Piedmont in northern Italy went as low as minus 22 Fahrenheit.

    Tiziana Fabi / AFP - Getty Images

    People walk on St Peter's square covered by snow on Feb. 3 at the Vatican. A rare mantle of snow blanketed the historic center of Rome on Friday.

     

     

  • Cruise ship survivors sue cruise line for $460 million

    Officials have called off the search for missing people in the submerged part of the sunken ship. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

    By msnbc.com news services
    GIGLIO, Italy -- Calling an initial compensation offer “insulting,” an attorney representing Costa Concordia passengers announced Tuesday details of a $460 million class-action lawsuit against the owner of the wrecked cruise ship, The Guardian reports.
     
    The lawsuit comes more than two weeks after the cruise ship, owned by Costa Cruise Lines, an affiliate of Carnival Corp., capsized Jan. 13 off the coast of Italy, killing 17. At least 16 passengers remain missing and are presumed dead.
     
    Mitchell Proner, a New York-based personal injury attorney, said his firm of Proner & Proner, along with a coalition of international lawyers, is representing more than 500 passengers. He announced details of the civil lawsuit filed in Florida on Tuesday during a press conference in Genoa, Italy, according to The Guardian. He called Costa Cruise Lines’ initial offer of $14,460 to passengers for lost baggage and psychological trauma “insulting.”
     
    “They must be held responsible for what they did,” Proner said. “They intentionally put the passengers at risk. We believe we can win in Florida and we are going to go forward, forward, forward without fear until they don't know what hit them … sort of like the Concordia.”
     
    Proner has teamed up with another New York firm, Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik, noted for winning compensation for Ground Zero workers who had health claims related to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
     
    The civil lawsuit has been filed in Florida, the home base of Carnival. While Costa Cruise Lines is headquartered in Italy, it is also registered in Hollywood, Fla.
     
    “At present, it is unknown as to whether the US courts will accept the class-action claim, given that the conditions set forth by the cruise ship tickets specify that litigation must take place in the Italian courts,” according to a blog post on the Proner & Proner website.
     
    Unlike in Italy, accident victims who file suit in the United States can recover punitive damages if they can prove a defendant acted egregiously, Reuters reports. These damages can soar above the amount of any actual loss. U.S. lawyers who bring successful cases on behalf of injured people can be awarded fees of as much as 30 percent of any recovery.
     
    Meanwhile, Italian emergency officials say they are calling off a search for missing people in the submerged part of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, due to the danger to rescue workers, according to the Associated Press.
     

    Italy's Civil Protection agency said Tuesday that technical studies indicated that the deformed hull of the ship created too many safety concerns to continue the search. It said in a statement that relatives and diplomatic officials representing the countries of the missing have been informed of the decision.

    A spokeswoman for Civil Protection, Francesca Maffini, stressed that the search for the missing would continue wherever possible, including on the part of the ship above the water, in the waters surrounding the ship and along the nearby coastline.

    The Concordia ran aground off the island of Giglio on Jan. 13 when the captain deviated from his planned route and struck a reef, creating a huge gash that capsized the ship.

    The ship, precariously resting on one side, will likely be a part of the scenery off the Italian island of Giglio for the better part of a year.

    The cruise line is considering bids for the ship's removal and is expected to make a decision -- based on method and costs -- in two months, NBC News has learned. Actual removal could take up to 10 months.

    Inclement weather over the weekend shut down search and salvage efforts at the site of the ship wreck off the Tuscan coast. High winds and rough seas delayed plans to begin pumping 500,000 gallons of fuel off the Concordia. That effort will likely continue midweek. A barge carrying pumping equipment that was attached to the capsized ship was withdrawn after strong winds and high waves worsened conditions for the divers working on the huge wreck.

    The operation, aimed at preventing an environmental disaster in the pristine waters off a marine nature reserve, could take up to one month to complete.

    Residents of Giglio have been circulating a petition to demand that officials provide more information on how the full-scale operations can co-exist with the important tourism season. At the moment, access to the port for private boats has been banned and all boats must stay at least one mile from the wrecked ship, affecting access to Giglio's only harbor for fishermen, scuba divers and private boat owners.

    "We are really sorry, we would have preferred to save them all. But now other needs and other problems arise," said Franca Melils, a local business owner who is promoting a petition for the tourist season. "It's about us, who work and make a living exclusively from tourism. We don't have factories, we don't have anything else." 

    Slideshow: Luxury cruise ship runs aground

    DigitalGlobe

    The Costa Concordia, carrying more than 4,200 passengers, ran aground Jan. 13 off the coast of Italy. At least 15 people died in the accident, and rescuers continue to search for others missing.

    Launch slideshow

    Carnival Corp. said on Monday that it will take a hit between $155 million and $175 million against fiscal 2012 net income because of the Concordia wreck. In an annual report filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Carnival also said it significantly reduced its marketing activities after the wreck.

    "Costa's booking activity is difficult to interpret because of the significant re-booking activity stemming from the loss of the ship's use and related re-deployments," the company said. "However, we believe it to be down significantly. Despite these recent trends, we believe the incident will not have a significant long-term impact on our business."

    Related: Passengers on wrecked ship offered $14,460

    The Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest, suspected of causing the accident by steering too close to shore, and faces charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship before the evacuation was complete.

    The ship's first officer, Ciro Ambrosio, has also been questioned by prosecutors but the company itself has not been implicated in the investigation at this stage.

    NBC News, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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