Economy – The world’s newspapers and press agencies continued to provide news of the Italian economy throughout the holidays.The Washington Post wrote about Piacenti, a Prato based business that is sponsoring the restructuring of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem January 9 – Italian firm restoring Nativity Church: Like touching heaven*). The French press focused its attention on the offer put forward by Italy’s Fincantieri for the Saint-Nazaire shipyards: (Les Echos, January 4 – Fincantieri, cet italien qui veut reprendre le chantier de Saint-Nazaire*; Libération, January 3 – Les chantiers navals STX de Saint-Nazaire sous pavillon franco-italien). Reuters described the expectations for sustained growth in 2017 for Brunello Cucinelli (January 9 – Brunello Cucinelli sees double-digit profit, sales growth in 2017 and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote about the Kiton success story (January 11 – Das Maß vieler Dinge).
Several of the big names in Italy’s cultural sector found themselves in the papers during this period, mostly from the worlds of music, literature or design. The New York Times ran a profile of Ludovico Einaudi, one of the most popular Italian composers being streamed today (December 30 – Ludovico Einaudi, a Classical Artist for the YouTube Age*, Elena Ferrante’s latest novel was the subject of an article in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung (January 6 – Elena Ferrantes neues Buch: Freude am doppelten Spiel) having already featured in another piece in Le Monde that described just how the mysterious writer was helping to fill the coffers of her French publishers (January 5 –Elena Ferrante, le bon filon de Gallimard*).
The French daily also had something to say about the linguist, Tullio De Mauro, who had recently passed (January 10 – La mort de Tullio De Mauro*). Meanwhile the New York Times remembered the particular style of the designer Lella Vignelli (December 28 – Lella Vignelli, a Designer With a Spare, Elegant Style, Dies at 82) whilst it was the architect Massimiliano Locatelli and his work that earned space in L’Orient le Jour (January 6 – Massimiliano Locatelli, talent aiguille).
Food & Wine – There were many articles during the festive season on this subject too. In the US, the New York Times wrote about the “pasta revolution” brought about by the Pastificio Felicetti in Predazzo that uses only 100% Italian flour (January 3 – Pastas With a New Selling Point: They’re All Italian*) whereas it was Washington based Fabio and Maria Trabocchi and the opening of their fourth restaurant there that interested the Washington Post (December 23 – Sfoglina, previewed: A warm and welcome invitation). In Spain, readers of el Mundo learned about the arrival of “gourmet pizza” in Barcelona (January 5 – La pizza gourmet llega a BCN) and el País described how the Catalonian Library had turned into an Italian restaurant at the hands of the Locandiera di Goldoni (January 10 – Macarrones en casa de Mirandolina). Meanwhile over in Germany the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung dedicated an article to the Italian coffee ritual and the new collection of artistic coffee cups from Illy (January 9 – Prendiamo un caffè?).
The New York Times fascinated readers with a piece about the opportunity for prisoners to sign up for sommelier training courses in Lecce (January 3 – Italian Inmates Sip, Smell and Taste Their Way to Rehabilitation*).
Style – Several style-based stories also peppered the holidays. The New York Times was looking ahead at what to expect during Men’s Fashion week in Milan (January 12 – Men’s Fashion Week in Milan: Who’s On, and Who’s Off) whereas it was the role to be played by Dolce & Gabbana in dressing the new First Lady that interested Spain’s el País (January 3 – Dolce & Gabbana sí viste a Melania Trump); Austria’s der Standard celebrated Christmas Day with an article on a different kind of Italian style, namely the restyling of Alfa Romeo’s Giulietta (December 25 – Alfa Romeo Giulietta: Blick- nicht Staubfänger).
Tourism was not overlooked either with le Monde described the city of Genoa and how it has thrown off its industrial past and now showcases its “extraordinary architectural heritage” and shows off its amazing vitality (January 4 – Quand il y a Gênes, y a du plaisir) and then the Sueddeutsche Zeitung wrote about the “marvels” of the Veneto region that visitors can explore within an hour’s drive from Venice itself (January 11 – Heiter bis historisch).
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