The Mont Blanc Tunnel
In July 1965, a 12km tunnel dug deep beneath the Alps was opened to traffic, making it the longest vehicular tunnel in the world. Linking France and Italy, the Mont Blanc Tunnel was a remarkable feat ...
12 Feb 9min
Gina Lollobrigida interviews Fidel Castro
Gina Lollobrigida was one of the biggest stars of European cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. Often described as "the most beautiful woman in the world", her films included Beat the Devil, the Hunchback o...
11 Feb 10min
When Pink Floyd played in Venice
In July 1989, Pink Floyd played a free concert to 200,000 people in Venice, Italy. The British rock band took to a stage made of floating barges as crowds of fans watched from boats, gondolas and roof...
10 Feb 10min
The discovery of nerve growth factor
During World War Two, Italian scientist Dr Rita Levi-Montalcini was forced to do experiments in her bedroom after being banned from universities because she was Jewish. Her experiments in that bedro...
9 Feb 10min
My dad created Mr Men and Little Miss
In 1971, advertising writer Roger Hargreaves's eight-year-old son Adam asked him an unusual question: 'What does a tickle look like?'Inspired, Roger got out his marker pens and created an orange chara...
6 Feb 10min
Austria's wine scandal
In 1985, government scientists discovered anti-freeze in bottles of fine Austrian wine. No one died or fell ill from drinking the poisoned wine, but the scandal nearly destroyed the country's wine-mak...
5 Feb 10min
Jimmy Carter visits Cuba
In May 2002, former US President Jimmy Carter paid a controversial visit to Cuba, which had been subject to a US trade embargo for more than 40 years.The trip culminated in a speech, broadcast live on...
4 Feb 10min
Cuba's Mariel boatlift
In April 1980, thousands of Cubans tried to escape the country by claiming asylum at the Peruvian embassy in Havana. In response, Cuban President Fidel Castro opened the port of Mariel to anyone who w...
3 Feb 10min
