Director Don Hahn attends “The Lion King 3D” Premiere during the 6th International Rome Film Festival on November 4, 2011 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images)

This watering hole is the social hub of the veldt; the scrubby grasslands that stretch across Namibia. The scorched earth supports sometimes fragile populations of magnificent wildlife – from endangered predators to plentiful herds of game. But these gentle giraffes and elephants need to be careful: lions don’t sleep at night, they hunt! The spectacular starscape above southern Africa is unchanged since explorers first mapped the continent. The photographer, Pietro Olivetta from Italy, said he had to be patient to capture these shots – but it was worth the wait. (Photo by Pietro Olivetta/Caters News)

A couple pours water on their dogs during a hot day, in Rome, Thursday, August 12, 2021. In Italy, 15 cities received warnings from the health ministry about high temperatures and humidity with peaks predicted for Friday. The cities included Rome, Florence and Palermo, but also Bolzano, which is usually a refreshing hot-weather escape in the Alps. (Photo by Andrew Medichini/AP Photo)

A hiker admires the view as Mt. Etna, Europe's largest active volcano, erupts in the background, in the Bove Valley of Etna Park, on the eastern slope of Mt. Etna, in Sicily, southern Italy, Sunday, July 4, 2021. Since Feb. 16, 2021, Mt. Etna has begun a series of eruptive episodes. (Photo by Salvatore Allegra/AP Photo)

Breath of an Arctic fox by Marco Gaiotti, Italy. Marco was watching this little Arctic fox as it incessantly called another nearby. Gradually he noticed the fox’s wet breath was quickly freezing in the air after each call. It was late winter in Spitsbergen, Svalbard, and the air was -35C (-31F). Photographing Arctic foxes is often frustrating, as they are normally running around fast in search of food, but this one was very relaxed and let Marco get close enough to focus on it, with the light glowing perfectly in the background. (Photo by Marco Gaiotti/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021)

A Police officer checks a man wearing a carnival costume in Venice, Italy, Sunday, January 31, 2016. Carnival-goers in Venice are being asked by police to momentarily lift their masks as part of new anti-terrorism measures for the annual festivities. Police are also examining backpacks and bags and using metal-detecting wands before revelers are allowed into St. Mark's Square, the heart of the Venetian carnival. (Photo by Luigi Costantini/AP Photo)

Edinburgh mask maker Lorraine Pritchard on Sunday, January 28, 2024 alongside some of her Venetian masks which will be worn and displayed at the Venice Carnival, which starts on Saturday February 3. Lorraine studied model making at Glasgow College of Building and Printing and Venetian mask making in Florence, Italy. She travels to Venice each year to be a “mask” herself, wearing different masks she has designed as a live exhibit of her work. (Photo by Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images)

Couples take part in a Valentine's Day attempt to break the record for the world's largest simultaneous gay kiss on February 14, 2004 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)