Economy – “A new thrust towards consolidation in the fragmented spirits industry.” Italy’s Campari has recorded a new acquisition, signing an agreement to buy France’s Grand Marnier for a payment of € 684 million. The operation was prominently featured in the foreign press, with articles appearing on March 15 (Financial Times, Campari to buy Grand Marnier amid thirst for classic cocktails*; The Wall Street Journal, Italy’s Campari Agrees to Buy Maker of Grand Marnier*; Reuters, Italy’s Campari to acquire French liqueur maker Grand Marnier).
SIA, the technology company active in interbank services, is also growing, as Reuters reports and it is expecting to list its shares on the stock exchange in the autumn (March 11 – Italy’s SIA targets IPO in the autumn – CEO). Real estate is also covered: according to Financial Times, the economic recovery is stimulating a new dolce vita in this sector (March 15 – Italian rebound offers a taste of la dolce vita*). “Investors”– the British daily reports in another article– “are turning their attention to Italy, where economic recovery has also drawn the attention of sovereign wealth funds which have been buying up Milan property”(March 15 – Real estate investors braced for tide to turn*).
Culture – A number of cultural reports have made the news this week. The Washington Post speaks of Brera and of the “dialogue” between Raphael and Perugino in their paintings depicting “The Marriage of the Virgin,” with the two masterpieces exhibited for the first time side by side (March 14 – Raphael, Perugino masterpieces side-by-side for 1st time). El País, on the other hand, reviews the new Spanish edition of the complete works of Giuseppe Ungaretti, which “outlines a solitary human and artistic itinerary” (March 14 – Ungaretti, la vida en verso).
Moreover, The New York Times Magazine has published an article commemorating Carlo Scarpa as a “master” who left his mark on modern Italian design (March 8 – Italy’s Lost Modernist Master*). And while El Mundo recalls Italian actor Riccardo Garrone as “one of the greatest players on Italian television” (March 14 – Fallece el actor Riccardo Garrone), Le Nouvel Observateur turns its thoughts back to Ettore Scola, in a paean to his film The Family (March 10 – Ne ratez pas: “La Famille”).
Tourism – Numerous reports on tourism concentrate on Veneto. Financial Times is off to discover the ancient silk mills and glass factories in the lagoon (March 11 – Venice mills: fruit of the loom), while The New York Times journeys to Venice to tour “one of the world’s oldest Jewish ghettos” (March 13 – 500 Years of Jewish Life in Venice*). Also, The Washington Post reports how gondolas have also become accessible to tourists in wheelchairs (March 11 – Venice’s gondolas become accessible to wheelchair users).
Not far from Venice, The New York Times visits Vicenza’s Museo del Gioiello (March 14 – In Italy, a Museum Examines the Facets of Jewelry*), and then continues on to Corvara, in Alto Adige, where it photographs for its readers the interiors of an apartment right beneath the Dolomites (March 10 – A Ski Home Right Under the Slopes in Italy*).
*Article available for pay/ at registration