In Milan for Expo – Expo is here, and last week the foreign press continued to give its readers suggestions for things to see at the margin of the Universal Exposition. As the Washington Post explained, Milan has done itself up for the occasion, with the hope of attracting 20 million visitors (April 24 – Milan spiffs up for Expo 2015). International papers have a treasure house of ideas. The Times described a weekend tour of the city (April 25 – A weekend in . . . Milan, Italy*), the New York Times wrote about the various architectural styles used for the pavilions (27 – A Feast of Architectural Styles for Expo Milano 2015*), and Les Echos saw in Expo a chance to discover the new cultural venues in the Lombard capital (April 24 – Expo 2015 : notre sélection milanaise du in et du off*). France’s Les Echos dedicated a great deal of space to Expo, publishing an article on the economic outcomes of the event (April 29 – Expo 2015 : le grand pari du « Miracle » à Milan*), and interviewing Oscar Farinetti on the stimulus that Expo will have on tourism. (April 29 – Oscar Farinetti : « L’Expo doit nous aider à doubler le nombre de touristes étrangers » *). The founder of Eataly, as testimonial for the Italian agrifood sector, was also the subject of an article in Le Monde (April 27 – Oscar Farinetti, padre nourricier de l’Expo milanaise).
With the arrival of Expo, the foreign press also gave advice on good places for food and wine tourism in other regions of Italy. Tuscany, for example, was mentioned in an supplement to El Mundo as one of the best destinations for a combo of relaxation and great wine tasting (April 28 – Siete destinos con nombre de vino).
The Venice Biennale –The other sublime tourist and cultural event of 2015 is of course the Venice Biennale, a reason why the foreign press continued to publish articles on the city on the lagoon. Les Echos reported that the French review Connaisaince des art will, on occasion of both Expo and the Biennale, dedicate its upcoming issue to Italy (April 23 – Édito : Un numéro très italien), while El Pais published a piece on the artists being shown at the Spanish pavilion (April 24 – El fantasma de Dalí se adueñará del Pabellón de España en Venecia). El Pais also reported on the restoration of the Rialto Bridge April 28 – El puente de Rialto, 18 meses en el quirófano) while the Wall Street Journal, showed interest in the culinary arts, publishing advice from chef Bruno Gavagnini on how to taste the city (24 – A Foodie Guide to Venice).
Cultural interest – Aside from Expo and the Biennale, the foreign press wrote about a series of cultural events. For the theatre, the New York Times wrote about the sets created by Paolo Ventura for the Chicago Opera (April 27 – Paolo Ventura Designs a ‘Carousel’), while El Mundo wrote about cinema with a review of the film “Calabria” by Francesco Munzi, presented at Maiorca as part of the festival Maremostra (April 24 – Maremostra contará con siete estrenos absolutos en España). There was interest in history with a profile of Italian historian Giacomo Todeschini (Le Monde, April 29 – Giacomo Todeschini, horloger de l’histoire), while Liberation was interested in literature and the works by Goliarda Sapienza (Liberation, April 29 – L’art du paradoxe de Goliarda Sapienza). Comics also received a nod with an article about Milo Manara (Le Monde, 29 – Giacomo Todeschini, horloger de l’histoire) The was also interest in makeup, which is, as Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung explained is an Italian tradition that is trending in Germany (April 24 – Die Macht der schönen Augen).
* marked articles viewable online upon payment or registration