Tourism and art – It might be the approaching Expo – recently under the spotlight of the foreign press – or the coming summer weather that traditionally leads to more articles about trips to the Belpaese, but last week there was an increase to the already rich offering of travel advice to readers of the foreign press. First, there is the display of the Shroud in Turin that has attracted the attention of papers such as the New York Times (April 19 – Turin Shroud Goes Back on Display for Faithful and Curious*), El Mundo (April 19 – Turín exhibe el Santo Sudario) Le Monde, (April 19 – Un million de personnes attendues à l’exposition du saint suaire à Turin; April 20 – Le suaire, le séisme et la science*). As these papers explain, the even could bring a million people to the Piedmond capital.
But there is not only Turin. Wall Street Journal ran an article with suggestions for a classic visit to Venice (April 17 – A Travel Guide to Venice, Italy*), while El Mundo also visited the lagoon city (April 19 – La memoria del exterminio está en una isla de Venecia) to discover the hidden treasures of San Lazzaro degli Armeni. Liberation also reported on islands with suggestions for visiting the five ideal destinations for a rest from Parisian life. For Italy, its choice fell on Elba with a journey in the footsteps of Napoleon (April 21 – Cinq îles à portée de rêves).
There was also interest in art tourism, with the New York Times exploring the new headquarters of the Prada Foundation an exhibit hall that will open on May 9 (April 26 – The Prada Foundation’s New Arts Complex in Milan*). Together with the British The Times, the US paper went to Lake Iseo, where a water installation by the artist Christo will be created in June (New York Times, April 22 – New Christo Work to Temporarily Bridge Italy’s Lake Iseo*; The Times, April 22 – Christo’s latest miracle work – walking on water*).
Instead, El Pais visited Ferrara where it stopped to gaze on La rosa di fuoco. The Barcelona of Picasso and Gaudí”, and exhibit dedicated to Catalan modernism (April 19 – El modernisme ‘incendia’ Ferrara) .
The Spanish paper also published an article about the Coliseum and the decision to rebuild the arena floor to make the monument’s ancient use more comprehensible for tourist (April 17 – El ministro de Cultura italiano: “Se reconstruirá la arena del Coliseo”). Finally, Le Monde told its readers the story of the Faggian Museum of Lecce (April 17 – En Italie, un musée né d’une fuite d’eau*), the fruit of a lucky, unexpected discovery of ancient artifacts during renovations of a building.
Fashion, design, lifestyle – There were numerous stories about the world of style. The Sunday Times interviewed Giorgio Armini, a man for all seasons (April 19 – Giorgio Armani: a man for all seasons*), while other papers wrote about Pininfarina. Bloomberg traced a story in images of this designer that has contributed to the forms of the Ferrari (April 16 – A Visual History of Pininfarina, the Design House That Helped Shape Ferrari), mentre New York Times reviewed the interiors that the Piedmont group produced in a luxury condominium in Miami (April 17 – Ferrari Interiors for a Miami Condo*). There was also interest in lifestyle and the comics by Milo Manara that tell the story of an unknown Caravaggio (El Mundo, April 18 – Caravaggio erótico y sensual) and a wide-ranging intereview with Vasco Rossi, (El Mundo, April 21 – ‘Ahora estoy en mi fase heavy’).
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