Articles spotlighting Milan and its cultural offerings make up the largest and most interesting share of the coverage that the foreign press has been devoting to Italy with reference to the 6-month period of the World Expo. What is convincing and winning over editors and foreign correspondents alike is the busy schedule of events over the period during which the Expo is being held. It could be said that the failure to “pull together” which Italians reproach themselves for – and which the international media often chided Italy over in reporting on hitches leading up to the Expo – is a hurdle that has been well-and-truly cleared, thanks to the many scheduled events in Milan. While the crux of the press coverage is not always reflecting the focus of the Expo, international newspapers have been suggesting that their readers visit the city at this time particularly with a view to sampling the latest artistic offerings. Indeed, new exhibition venues recently opened by key Made-in-Italy players – such as Fondazione Prada and Armani Silos – have met with tremendous brand and critical success.
This is despite the fact that the Expo 2015 venture did not get off to a great start in the pages of international newspapers. Correspondents’ reports filed from Milan and Rome concentrated on delays in works, and various scandals even before that, mixed in with the odd deeply-rooted prejudice over Italy’s organizational capabilities. The opening of the Expo, however, seemed to usher in a new approach. Between May 1 and 2, internet and front-page coverage of the nutrition-themed major event was undeniably accompanied by the images of riots in central Milan. But in the days that followed, the foreign press moved on from the story, and threw themselves into exploring the offerings on show at the Expo pavilions and around the city.
Press attention has even ranged further afield than the Lombard capital. The Wall Street Journal’s magazine spoke of “Northern Italy’s Second Renaissance”. America’s leading financial paper presented its readers with a list of events it described as “unmissable” attractions for globetrotters who appreciate high culture”, which, alongside Expo, also featured another major current event: the Venice Biennale.
Articles linking the Expo with an Italian economic recovery have been more cautious in tone. Yet the event has also served to focus attention on Italy’s top agro-food groups in the business and financial pages of foreign papers, as well as simply providing an opportunity to delve into Italian culinary culture. This has included some entertaining pieces, such as those reporting on ISSpresso, a coffee machine made in Italy which – along with Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti – has just landed on the International Space Station (ISS).
In short, international media audiences have in recent weeks been inundated with news items regarding Expo 2015. The impression being given is primarily one of an event that – over the space of a few months (and the not exceedingly many kilometers that make up the dense urban area of Northern Italy) – has proven capable of bringing together and catalyzing a number of Italy’s flagship sectors, namely, the agro-food, lifestyle, and culture industries. While these strong suits, alongside certain prejudices, are well-established abroad, it is the former that for the moment are managing to prevail on the pages and websites of the world’s dailies, weeklies, and news agencies.