Word: lire
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...quart of sparkling Lambrusco, a Communist leader burst into his room. "How old are you?" snapped the Red. "Forty-eight," answered the Minister of the Interior, looking up from his meal. "Ah," sighed the Communist, "You made me lose a bet. I just laid down a thousand lire that you were 52 at least." Scelba's bodyguard, who this time had managed to stay by his side and were fully expecting an assassination attempt, sighed with relief, and Scelba took a nap in a chair before an open window, a perfect target for any Red marksman...
...from a Rome art dealer put them on the track. The dealer had been visited by a distinguished-looking stranger who said he had a miniature by Raphael which he would sell for only 2,000,000 lire ($3,200). Suspicious of the low price, the dealer put off the caller and called in the police. They set up a street-corner rendezvous, nabbed the distinguished-looking stranger...
...crisis over, Professor Levi settled back into his quiet routine. Two peaceful years passed. Then, this summer, the Professor received the blow. Going over some 1948 accounts, the state auditor calculated that it had cost Italy 50 million lire ($80,000) to keep the examiners waiting. The auditor demanded that Professor Levi pay the full amount...
...impossible!" cried the professor. On a salary of 900,000 lire a year, said he, "I cannot earn so much in my life." The ministry was inclined to agree ("After all, it was an accident which could happen to anyone"). Unfortunately, said ministry officials last week, the case was out of their hands. The demand of the auditor v. Professor Levi still stood. It made no difference that the missing envelope had turned up 93 miles from Rome, its seal still unbroken...
...brickmaker, he also believes in bricks. Last year, barrel-shaped Giuseppe Verzocchi persuaded 72 of Italy's leading contemporary artists to paint pictures that 1) celebrated the virtues of work and 2) included, somewhere on the canvas, at least one brick. In exchange, he guaranteed them 100,000 lire ($160) apiece and the promise of a public showing...