Economy & fashion – This week, the financial pages of the international press have focused on Milan’s determination to compete with London for the position of global fashion capital, including an in-depth reportage all about the Lombard capital (Financial Times, November 11 – Milan, Italy’s most business-focused city, looks to rival London*). The pairing of fashion and economy was also the subject of a piece by Reuters setting out Brunello Cucinelli’s forecast for a 10% increase in sales this year (November – Brunello Cucinelli CEO sees revenue up 10 pct this year). El Mundo featured an interview with Maria Grazia Chiuri, who talked about her work during a 20 year career with Valentino and her recent appointment as the Creative Director for Dior (November 13 – Maria Grazia Chiuri: ‘La vida inspira mis colecciones’). Finally, the Carla Sozzani collection that embraces art and fashion and embodies the essential elegance attributed to the gallerist and now showing at the Azzedine Alaia Gallery in Paris, was the subject of an article in le Monde (November 16 – La collection de Carla Sozzani : « l’élégance absolue » exposée à Paris).
Food & Wine – Bloomberg provided readers with a preview of the new Eatitaly World – a foodie theme park – due to open in Bologna in September next year (November 17 – The $106 Million ‘Eataly World’ Revealed), but one way or another, this week, the British press was all about food from Lazio: the Financial Times rediscovered “spaghetti all’amatriciana” (November 11 – Recipe: Spaghetti alla Amatriciana* whilst the Rome correspondent for the Guardian offered readers 10 suggestions of what to do – not necessarily food & wine related – on their next trip to the Eternal City (November 14 – 10 top tips from our Rome correspondent).
Art – The Financial Times reported on the increased sales of works of art at Turin’s Artissima fair (November 11 – The Art Market: uncertainty in New York, sales in Turin*), and Libération ran a piece on the exhibition of work by Maurizio Cattelan – the egocentric provocateur – being held at the Hôtel de la Monnaie in Paris (November 13 –Maurizio Cattelan, bilan d’épate). Le Matin, on the other hand, dedicated an article to the so-called “seventh art”, setting out the agreement drawn up between the Marrakech Film Commission (MFC) and the Roma Lazio Film Commission (RLFC) aimed at encouraging exchanges between cinematographers and opportunities for dialogue between Italy and Morocco (November 10 – Le Maroc et l’Italie renforcent leurs échanges).
Automotive – This week, the foreign press produced several articles about Italian style as reflected in the nation’s auto sector. Die Welt and el Mundo each wrote up Alfa Romeo’s latest SUV, the Stelvio , “genetically derived from the beautiful Giulia“ (November 17 – Unfassbar, jetzt baut sogar Alfa Romeo ein SUV; November 16 – Alfa Romeo Stelvio: el esperado primer todocamino de la marca), whilst the Sueddeutsche Zeitung reviewed the new electric Vespa presented at the EICMA show in Milan, declaring it was a scooter that might well change the background noise of towns and cities across Italy (November 15 – Die Vespa fährt bald elektrisch).
“The Lord of the Deep” – The recent death of the Italian free diver, Enzo Maiorca, often nicknamed “the Lord of the Deep”, attracted some attention in the international press (le Monde, November 13 – Mort du plongeur italien Enzo Maiorca, héros du « Grand Bleu »*; Libération, November 13 – Apnée Le dernier souffle de Maiorca*).
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