In memory of Dario Fo – Within a few hours of Dario Fo’s passing on October 13, newspapers the world over dedicated a multitude of column inches to the Nobel Laureate, “Italy’s Harlequin” (El Mundo – Muere Dario Fo, ‘Arlecchino’ de Italia), the irreverent fool who spoke out against power (El País – Muere Dario Fo, azote del poder político y eclesial; El Mundo – ¿Irá Dario Fo al cielo?), one of the great protagonists of the Italian theater (Reuters – Italian Nobel-winning playwright Dario Fo dies; The Guardian – Dario Fo, Nobel-winning playwright, dies aged 90).
Culture – The Guardian also ran a piece on Italian culture, in which it wrote about a Roman project to recreate the famous Bull of Nimrud, an ancient statue, destroyed in Syria, which is to be reproduced and placed on show in the Colosseum (October 6 – Bull of Nimrud destroyed by Isis to be recreated in Rome). The Financial Times on the other hand wrote about the exhibition, mounted by London’s M&L Fine Art dedicated to Arte Programmata (October 12 – Arte Programmata: Italian Kinetic Art from the 1960s — review*). Another exhibition, this time in Rotterdam and featuring the work of Fra Bartolomeo, one of the Masters of the Renaissance, featured in an article printed in the New York Times (October 6 – Fra Bartolommeo Has His Moment*).
Tourism – Two interesting articles on tourism this week – one, in Blooomberg was all about amazing places to ski, which included Italy’s Valle d’Aosta (October 11 – Six Incredible Places to Ski This Winter), whilst the other, appeared in The Guardian, was actually a photo of the spectacular “Barcolana” regatta in Trieste (October 9 – Eyewitness: Trieste, Italy).
Economy – The most interesting news about the Italian economy this week came about the increase in Italy’s industrial production in August (Bloomberg, October 10 – Italian Output Unexpectedly Rises in Boost For Growth Outlook). Whereas the New York Times ran an interview with Jean-Christophe Babin, the new CEO for Bulgari in which he talked about his plans for the brand (October 9 – Bulgari’s Chief: Make Your Targets Clear*).
Lifestyle – Italian lifestyle made an appearance this week in a piece about the great Italian Chef, Niko Romito, enemy of anything superfluous (el País, October 7 – Niko Romito, la contracultura culinaria); the New York Times had a fun piece about the different words used for “water melon” across the Bel Paese, as well as different ways to serve it (October 7 – You Say ‘Anguria,’ I Say ‘Cocomero’: Italy’s Many Dialects*). FIAT, and specifically the all new Fiat 124 Abarth, was the subject of an article wrapped in the nostalgia of its competition (el Mundo, October 11 – Copa Fiat 124 Abarth: regreso al pasado).
*Article available for pay / at registration