Economy & Finance – “Italian economy is catching up”. Bloomberg’s headline perfectly summed up this highlight, accompanying with a video interview with Claudio Costamagna, President of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (November 30 – Costamagna Says Italy Is Recovering Quickly) and, according to the Financial Times thanks to the country’s macro economy, the asset management sector is also on the up and Mediobanca is taking advantage of the trend to strengthen its position (December 1 – Italy’s Mediobanca launches private bank in asset management push*).
Foreign groups investing in Italy are also benefitting from the positive outlook. According to Expansion, for example, Spain’s construction company, Sacyr, is showing its belief that the situation in Italy is worth betting on by getting involved in the building of the Pedemontana Veneta highway (December 1 – Sacyr se dispara en Bolsa a golpe de autopistas).
Automotive – A great many articles on the automobile sector this week, with Reuters writing about the possibility of a new technological partner for FCA (Reuters, December 2- Fiat Chrysler CEO says in talks with Hyundai on tech partnership) whilst El Mundo was celebrating Alfa Romeo’s return to the Formula 1 circuit by writing about the “romantic” story of the Biscione-based car manufacture and its 1950 win of the world title (December 4 – La romántica historia de Alfa Romeo).
The latest SUVs attracted much attention: both Maserati’s contribution as “the perfect car for driving around the Italian countryside” (Bloomberg, December 2 – The Best Luxury Cars at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show) and Lamborghini’s much awaited SUV, the fastest of its kind in the world (USA Today, December 4 – Lamborghini Joins the Boom in Supercar SUVs; Reuters , December – Lamborghini Races After New Customers With First SUV ; Bloomberg, December 4 – Lamborghini Finally Unveils the $200,000 Urus SUV; El Mundo December 5 – El nuevo todocamino Urus revoluciona Lamborghini).
Culture – A cultural offering this week was provided by El Pais with an account of the reinterpretation of Monteverdi’s “Vespro della Beata Vergine” at the National Auditorium in Madrid (December 4 – El cielo de Claudio Monteverdi).
Fashion –Italian fashion in the US was the subject of an article in Les Echos that described Fendi’s 10 years of participation in the Miami Design fair and the performance that accompanied its new creations (December 4 – Fendi design, dix ans de Miami vibes*) whereas El País chose to focus on the relaunch of Benetton and how it is once again placing its trust in the “magic” of Oliviero Toscano (December 4 – Benetton vuelve a pedirle magia a Oliviero Toscani).
Tourism – With Christmas on the horizon, tourist destinations for the holidays featured in many papers. El Mundo’s supplement aimed at its women readers, Yo Dona, included the Brenta Dolomites amongst the 15 best places to “escape to the snow” (December 3 – Las 15 mejor escapadas a la nieve) and if El País suggested readers might like to explore the “enigma” of the Etruscans (December 1 – Viaje al enigma de los etruscos), New York Times also featured central Italy with photographs taken by fashion designer Marco Zanini in the Marche (November 30 – Marco Zanini Captures His Italian Trip — in Polaroids*) whilst in another article it focused on Pasolini’s Rome, specifically the neighborhood he lived in rather than the areas that featured in his films (November 30 – Pasolini’s Rome: Not the City of His Movies, but of His Life). And then the same paper was in Sicily to write about pistachio’s from Bronte (December 1 – Sicily’s Emerald Green Gem: the Bronte Pistachio*).
*Article available for pay / at registration