Made in Italy – Italian goods and their presence on global markets continue to be of interest to the world’s press and this week, it is the automobile sector that has prevailed. The deal struck between FCA and Amazon regarding the sale of various models of FIAT cars – starting with the 500 – has attracted much attention (November 18 in Reuters – Fiat Chrysler Teams Up With Amazon to Sell Cars Online); Handelsblatt – Italiener können Autos künftig bei Amazon kaufen; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung – Italiener können Fiats demnächst auf Amazon bestellen; and el Mundo – Fiat venderá sus coches en Amazon). The FCA also featured in Austria’s der Standard and Morocco’s le Matin, although their focus was on the new Alfa Romeo SUV (November 18 – Alfa Romeo stellt seinen ersten SUV vor; November 22 – Alfa Romeo Stelvio et Nissan «Star Wars» volent la vedette). Distinctive Italian style as seen in automotive design also starred in an article in die Welt about the car design and coach builders Pininfarina (November 21 – 60 Jahre Automobile im Trapezdesign:). A totally different field of Italian design however, was the collaboration between Versace and property developer Enshaa on the Palazzo Versace Dubai, “a neoclassic palace that shines brightly in the UAEs most famous city (Financial Times, November 18 – Donatella Versace — and friends — unveil her new hotel, a palazzo amid the sands of Dubai*).
Culture & Science – Italian art and culture also featured this week, including an article in the New York Times all about the Italian-American Stephen Miotto, the master craftsman who assisted several artists in the beautifying of the Big Apple’s subway system with a series of mosaics (November 17 – Who Installs the New Mosaics in New York’s Subways?*). Le Monde reviewed the book recently released by the Italian linguist and essayist Raffaele Simone (November 21 – Avis de tempête sur la démocratie*) whereas les Echos ran a piece about Italian TV series that are “conquering the world” beginning with “The Young Pope” (November 22 – Les séries TV italiennes à la conquête du monde*). As to science, it was the achievements of Milan’s Human Technopole that featured in an article in Austria’s der Standard (November 24 – Wie Mailand Forscher anlocken will).
Food & Wine – Italian food and wine never fails to put in an appearance in the foreign press and this week el País included a “sandwich” shop as one of the “musts”for lovers of finger food who find themselves in Madrid (November 21 – A Madrid le encanta comer con los dedos), whilst Lebanon’s l’Orient Le Jour wrote about the Italian Food & Wine week organized by the Italian Embassy in Beirut (November 22 – Coup d’envoi de la première Semaine gastronomique italienne).
Brachetto was the only Italian red sparkling wine recommended by the Washington Post “an excellent partner to chocolate and its dessert-based pastries” to end a meal based on champagne (November 19 – 3 small-house champagnes you’ll want to have on hand). However, it was Lambrusco, another sparkling wine, that featured in die Zeit (November 20 – Denken Sie an Kopfschmerzen, wenn Sie Lambrusco hören?).
Finally it was the very Italian digestif, the ‘amaro, the ideal drink to follow the excesses of a Thanksgiving dinner that appeared in an piece this week (Bloomberg, November 22 – The Perfect Drink for After Thanksgiving Dinner) and it also featured in a New York Times article about Brad Thomas Parsons’ book “Amaro: The Spirited World of Bittersweet, Herbal Liqueurs” (New York Times, November 22 – Amaro for Everyone*).
*Article available for pay / at registration