only in italy can you have a "showdown" between monks, mothers, and nudie dancing girls (how insanely awesome does that sound? can you actually picture monks and showgirls duking it out?):

Scantily-clad would-be showgirls will face the wrath of mothers and monks in the Italian hill town of Gubbio this weekend when they compete for prized slots in a popular TV variety show.

Some 400 residents, led by a group of irate mothers, have sent the mayor a petition slamming the planned TV talent competition as a "humiliation" for the walled medieval town in the central Italian region of Umbria.

"Why humiliate an historic, elegant, beautiful and austere city? Why sell Gubbio out for a stage full of intellectual pygmies and dancers?" they asked in a one-page manifesto.

Monks from the neighboring town of Assisi, birthplace of St Francis, rallied to their cause, denouncing the exploitation of women on Italian television.

"Women have become a spectacle, an object to be used in both advertising and television," said Father Enzo Fortunato, a spokesman for St Francis Basilica.

"We should think about whether we want to be participants in this or find other ways to celebrate women."

yes, because the monks are such experts on the whole celebrating women thing.

i swear to god, i could entertain myself for hours just reading ridiculous italian news items.