Culture – Culture was the main focus of the foreign press over the holiday period. The New York Times wrote about Paolo Galluzzi, director of the Galileo Museum in Florence and formerly in charge of the Biblioteca Leonardiana, describing him as the “man who has successfully masterminded the conversion of two analog geniuses into the digital age”(December 21 – The Man Who Brought Leonardo and Galileo Into the 21st Century)*. Leonardo – and his portraits of women – also featured in an article in Die Zeit (January 2 – So herrlich selbstbewusst) which it followed up with a piece all about his Mona Lisa (January 3 – Sie sieht mich einfach nicht).
The New York Times turned its attention to 18th century art in a piece about the decorative Rococo-style of Luigi Valadier who is the subject of an exhibition currently showing at the Frick Collection in New York (December 27 – With a Centerpiece Like This, Who Needed Cake?*). The same paper dedicated a piece to the work of David Maialetti who made his way to the Luzzara in the Emilia region to follow in the footsteps of the photographer Paul Strand who was himself brought there 60 years ago by the screenwriter and neo-realist Cesare Zavattini (December 31 – An American Photographer’s Pilgrimage to the Italian Village of Luzzara). The Financial Times however, was in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg to visit an exhibition celebrating the work of the artist described as the “monarch of painting”, Piero della Francesca (December 28 – Piero della Francesca at The Hermitage, St Petersburg — Platonic utopias*).
The French press had other subjects in mind, with Le Monde explaining that Latin is far from being a dead language in Italy (December 27 – En Italie, le latin est une langue encore bien vivante) and Libération reviewed Claudio Magris’ latest book, ‘Instatanee’ (January 2 – CLAUDIO MAGRIS, COUPS DE GRIFFE SUR LE VIF*). Then the same paper ran an article that combined culture and business with a profile of Carlo Purassanta, the Italian VP of Microsoft France who is optimistic about technology and its role in a “desirable future” (January 8 – Carlo Purassanta, dolce vista). Both papers also wrote about Italian cinema, with Libération remembering ‘Inferno’, the film with which Dario Argento “made up the night with the brightest of colors” some 38 years ago (December 21 – CINÉ / DARIO ARGENTO, HABILES ABÎMES), whilst Le Monde published a profile of Carlo Verdone and his “anti-cinepanettone” films (January 4 – Cinéma : Carlo Verdone, l’envers du « cinepanettone »*).
Tourism – Culture and tourism came together to feature in a few articles, with various English-language papers celebrating the re-opening of the Gladiator’s School in Pompeii that comes amidst what is seen to be the archeological site’s rebirth. (The Guardian, December 31 – New discoveries at Pompeii come amid renaissance at site; the Washington Post, January 3 – Restored Pompeii gladiator building open to public*; the New York Times, January 3 – Restored Pompeii Gladiator Building Open to Public*). However, Spain’s El País featured a trail in Rome that follows in the footsteps of Tosca (January 9 – La fabulosa Roma de ‘Tosca’) having previously extolled the joys of spending New Year’s Eve in Naples in order to enjoy the “spectacle” of a city that is so alive (December 25 – Nochevieja a la napolitana). The Wall Street Journal was in Pisa to visit a villa commissioned by the Medici family that is currently up for sale 8January 9 – A Historic Tuscan Manor Exchanging Hands After Centuries), whilst the same paper was telling readers about Sicilian food (December 20 – Savoring Sicily). The Sueddeutsche Zeitung wrote about the quality of life in Milan (January 6 – Mailand, Stern des Nordens) whilst El Mundo included Cortina, “the jewel of the Dolomites” and more specifically its Hotel Cristallo, in its list of the best hotels for skiers this season (December 28 – Los hoteles de esquí que tienes que conocer esta temporada).
Luxury also featured in various lifestyle articles with Expansion writing about Benetti’s latest “gigayacht” (December 20 – BENETTI FB277: EL ‘GIGAYATE’ ITALIANO) whilst Icon, El País’ lifestyle supplement, featured Dolce&Gabbana’s vases inspired by Sicilian baroque created especially for the La Rinascente department store chain (December 22 – Cómo el despecho dio lugar al jarrón de cerámica más exótico de Sicilia). The same Spanish magazine also ran a piece that explained how hotel entrepreneur Kike Sarasola has chosen the Palazzo Rhinoceros in Rome to be the first of his new chain of luxury hotels (January 6 – Kike Sarasola lanza una gama de hoteles de lujo. Primera parada: Roma). Moreover, Bloomberg chose to include images of Civita di Bagnoregio, Ferrari’s driving school and a sardine pizza in a presentation of its favorite luxury photos for 2018 (December 27 – Our Favorite Luxury Photos of the Year).-
The New York Times ran a piece about an icon of Italian industry: the Vespa – noting that it retains its value better than any other vehicle (December 27 – A 72-Year-Old Italian Star Barely Showing Its Age*). Meanwhile, Lebanon’s L’Orient le Jour celebrated the handmade toys created by Mario Collino, who goes by the name “Prezzemolo” describing him as (the character who created Pinocchio) “the Geppetto of modern times” (December 25 – Le Geppetto du Piémont, apôtre de la magie des jouets d’antan).
Food and Wine – Various eateries, bars and the like also got a mention during this period. El País pointed out that Italy has the greatest number of women chef’s featured in the 2019 Michelin Guide (January 5 – Revolución feminista en las cocinas de Italia) whilst the paper’s weekly supplement was in “Condividere” a trattoria that the Chef, Ferran Adria has just opened in Turin in collaboration with Lavazza (January 8 – El nuevo proyecto gastronómico de Ferran Adrià en Italia). The Washington Post wrote about Treviso’s Lab Caffettin and how an artisanal coffee shop is able to compete with modern coffee capsules (January 3 – Italy invented coffee culture. Now it’s a coffee time capsule*) whilst Der Standard was in Fico, to visit Eatitaly, the permanent “food park” in Bologna (January 9 – Eataly in Bologna: Besuch im Bauch Italiens) and lastly Le Monde wrote about Agroittica Lombarda’s caviar and how it has made Italy a world leader when it comes to this “black gold” (December 25 – L’Italie roule sur l’or (noir) du caviar*).
Several traditional Italian recipes made it into the foreign papers too:“risotto without the rice”(Die Zeit, December 26 – Risotto ohne Reis), pappardelle with Palermo-style lentils (Der Standard’s, January 2 – Rezept: Pappardelle mit Linsensugo), gnocchi with butter and sage (Madame Le Figaro, January 6 – Gnocchis à la sauge) and the hazelnut cream dessert (Der Standard, January 8 – Haselnuss-Schokocreme: Rezept für den italienischen Aufstrich).
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