News from Italy in German: The Best Sources

Want to know what’s happening in Italy, but aren’t (yet) fluent in Italian? Then you need German-language sources. The good news: There are more of them than most people realize—from specialized websites to South Tyrol’s strong German-language press to the Italy correspondents of major newspapers. Here’s an overview.

Specialized Italy-focused websites in German

1. italien.news

Among the German-language offerings that exclusively Italy Italian.news is the most comprehensive—and the only one that combines national coverage with its own regional newsrooms connects.

What italien.news covers:

• Daily News Updates From politics, current events, business, the legal system, and sports—all of Italy in German.
• Dedicated regional sections: News South Tyrol with several thousand posts and News Trentino (Trentino and Northern Lake Garda) – Daily local coverage from both regions, the likes of which no other national German-language media outlet offers.
• Over 150 guidebooks to the Emigrating and Living in Italy – from "Residenza" and "Codice Fiscale" to taxes and health, and even guides for all 20 regions and the major cities.
• Travel and Regions: Travel guides, the most beautiful places, events, and Food.
• Language and Culture: Word of the Day, idioms, and guides on Learn Italian.
• Special Topics: Getting Married in Italy, Real Estate and Golf.

Strength: The breadth of topics, practical relevance to everyday life, and regional depth for South Tyrol and Trentino. Addendum: To gain insight into Italy's domestic political discourse, it's also worth taking a look at an Italian daily newspaper—see Corriere, Repubblica, and others.

The German-language media in South Tyrol

A stroke of luck for German speakers: In South Tyrol German is the official language—accordingly, there is a comprehensive, professional media landscape in German that also covers topics relevant to all of Italy. A distinction must be made between two printed daily newspapers (Dolomiten and daily newspaper), purely online portals excluding the print edition (suedtirolnews.it, unsertirol24.com, salto.bz) and the Broadcasting (RAI South Tyrol).

2. Dolomites

The one with the highest circulation German-language daily newspaper in Italy (Athesia Publishing, Bolzano). Focus on South Tyrol, with national news from a German-speaking perspective—the region’s long-standing newspaper.

3. Tageszeitung (tageszeitung.it)

The New South Tyrolean Daily Newspaper is the independent alternative to the market leader: known for critical and investigative journalism, incisive interviews and commentaries. Available online at tageszeitung.it. Anyone who wants to follow the South Tyrolean debate in its entirety should read both newspapers.

4. suedtirolnews.it

Free online news portal with fast coverage from South Tyrol, Austria, Italy, and around the world—great for getting your daily news fix without a paywall.

5. UnserTirol24 (unsertirol24.com)

News portal with A Transnational View of Tyrol: It covers South Tyrol, Trentino, North Tyrol, and East Tyrol in equal measure—interesting for anyone who wants to keep an eye on the entire European Region of Tyrol.

6. salto.bz

Bilingual portal (German and Italian) focusing on Background, Debate, and Community – featuring guest contributions and a culture of open discussion.

7. RAI South Tyrol

The German-language programming offered by the public broadcaster RAI, including radio, television, and online news—see also TV and Radio in Italy.

Italy correspondents for DACH media outlets

When it comes to analyzing major political issues, correspondents for national newspapers are the top choice. They report less frequently, but their coverage is usually well-contextualized and insightful.

8. Germany: FAZ, Süddeutsche, Zeit, Spiegel

All of them have correspondents in Rome. Ideal for analysis of government, the economy, and society—but not for daily news coverage.

9. Switzerland: NZZ

Traditionally strong coverage of Italy with an economic focus; also worth reading for readers in Germany and Austria.

10. Austria: *Der Standard* and ORF

Both report regularly on Italy, with a special focus on South Tyrol and local issues.

11. Deutsche Welle

Free news and feature stories with a focus on Europe, in which Italy is regularly featured.

12. The Intermediate Step: Italian Sources with Translations

If you want more depth, you can check out Italian websites with Browser Translation Read—for example, ansa.it. These days, the translations are good enough for everyday use, and you’ll get used to the terms and names along the way. To find out how to turn this into real language practice, see Italian Newspapers for Language Learning.

Which source for whom?

• Emigrants and Everyday Life in Italy: Specialized websites with an advice section.
• South Tyrol and Trentino: the regional sections of italien.news, as well as Dolomiten, Tageszeitung, suedtirolnews.it, and UnserTirol24.
• Political Analysis: the correspondents from the FAZ, SZ, NZZ, and Standard.
• Current Situation: the South Tyrolean online portals and RAI South Tyrol—or directly at ansa.it with a translation.
• Other regions of Italy: depending on where you live, a local paper, translated if necessary.

What You Can Do Next

Combine two sources: a German-language source for a quick overview and—as soon as possible—an Italian-language source for the original content. This way, you’ll stay informed and improve your Italian at the same time. The guide provides a comprehensive overview of the media landscape. Media in Italy.