Economy & finance – Warren Buffet, nicknamed the ”Oracle of Omaha” is coming to Italy! The American financier whose ability to sniff out a good business deal has made him famous, has decided to expand his Real Estate network into Italy starting with Milan and the north of the country with the intention of widening his field of operations as far as Rome within 2 years (Bloomberg, January 17 –Warren Buffett’s Real Estate Network Expands Into Northern Italy). El País Semanal turned its attention on Nerio Alessandri and this successful entrepreneur’s Technogym whose machines are now to be found in the planet’s best fitness centers (January 20 – Nerio Alessandri, el emperador del ‘fitness’). Lastly, Boersen Zeitung published an interview with the pharmaceutical entrepreneur Sergio Dompé, who spoke of his investments in Japan and China (January 23 – Pharmakonzern Dompé erwägt IPO in New York*).
Fashion & Design – This week, it was fashion that featured in an article in France’s Les Echos that summarized what went on in the Men’s catwalk shows during Fashion Week in Milan, concluding that the card played this year was “elegance” (January 17 – Fashion Week Homme Hiver 2019 : Milan joue la carte de l’élégance*), whereas the New York Times was in Paris and it was Armani’s latest designs “inspired by Art Decon” that caught its eye (January 22 – Armani’s Glittering Art Deco Fashion Draws Stars in Paris*). The focus of an article in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung was on two Italians, Marco Gobbetti the CEO and Riccardo Tisci, the Artistic Director now part of the top management team for well-known British label, Burberry (January 23 – Italienisches Design).
Italian design also got a mention this week, in an article that spoke of businesses like B&B Italia and Flos that are about to become part of the luxury International Design group, a brand created by America’s Carlyle and Italy’s Investindustrial groups (Les Echos, January 23 – Naissance d’un grand du mobilier de luxe*).
Culture – Matera, this year’s European Capital of Culture was once again the focus of several culture-based articles in the foreign press this week, with El País declaring that it is the beauty of the town’s architecture that will particularly catch visitor’s eyes – Matera (January 16 – Matera, olvidar el olvido). It was Naples, however, that featured in a review in Libération on Cristina Ferraiulo’s “Stone Butterfly”, a book of photographs dedicated to the girls in the Parthenopean city (January 18 – RAGAZZE PLEINS GAZ*). However, it was a story about Leonardo da Vinci that caught the attention of the New York Times and specifically a study that uncovered the corrections made by the maestro whilst working on his “Landscape Drawing for Santa Maria della Neve” (January 17 – Study of Leonardo’s 1st Landscape Finds He Had 2nd Thoughts*). The weekly Madame Le Figaro published a piece all about Chiara Mastroianni “a decent woman who doesn’t fit the mold” (January 17 – Chiara Mastroianni : “J’attends toujours un film d’horreur” ).
*Article available for pay / at registration