Economy – The economy takes centre stage this week with an editorial in The New York Times that recounts how, with the Mario Draghi government and the Recovery Plan, Italy is once again a “power player in Europe” (April 15 – How Mario Draghi Made Italy a Power Player in Europe*). Financial Times, on the other hand, reports on the success of IntesaSanpaolo, emphasizing how the Italian bank has managed to adapt quickly to homeworking right from the first phases of the pandemic (April 14 – How Intesa got a head start on homeworking*).
Moreover, Reuters has several stories on the growth of Italian companies. The press agency highlights the stock market performance of Diasorin following the announced acquisition of the American Luminex in a $ 1.8 billion operation (April 12 – Shares in Italy’s Diasorin jump after announcing $1.8 billion acquisition of U.S Luminex). International expansion is also making the news for Generali which, according to leaks, is reportedly aiming to buy assets in Malaysia (April 13 – Generali in talks to buy AXA assets in Malaysia, sources say), while Kering is seeing growth in Italy, as the holding company that controls brands like Gucci “plans to increase staff numbers at the site in the Piedmont town of Trecate” with the objective of better serving the Italian market (April 8 – Gucci owner Kering on track with global logistic hub in Italy).
There is also room for sustainability, with Prysmian announcing its decarbonization goals thanks to a global investment of € 100 million (April 8 –Italy’s Prysmian says 48% of 2020 sales from low carbon products versus 50% target by 2022). Sustainability and style are combined in Armani’s new offerings for the brand’s home line, with Les Echos reporting on the new office set made in Italy with recycled materials, an additional step in the luxury group’s strategy to reduce its carbon footprint (9 April- –L’objet éthique : les beaux carnets d’Armani*).
Culture – In culture, Financial Times reviews the new series that Amazon has dedicated to the genius of Leonardo (April 14 – Amazon’s Leonardo: portrait of the genius as a young man*), while the Catalan edition of El País recounts the homage that Museu Dalì will render to Dante Alighieri with the drawings that the Spanish artist did on the theme of the Divine Comedy (April 14 – El Museu Dalí exhibirà els dibuixos de l’artista per a la ‘Divina Comèdia’).
Italian personalities also take centre stage with the appointment of Alessandra Galloni to the global leadership of Reuters, as the first woman to lead the agency in its 170 years of history (The New York Times, April 12 – Reuters Names a New Editor in Chief*; Le Matin, April 14 – Une Italienne dirigera Reuters en 170 ans). La Presse, on the other hand, pays tribute to the “Italians of Tunis,” remembering Almo Pucciarelli, who built the railway and station in the city of Tozeur (April 11 –Mes odysséees en Méditerranée – Italiens de Tunisie: Almo Pucciarelli et la construction de la gare de Tozeur).
Attention is also devoted to music, with The Guardian reviewing a book by the writer Helena Attlee: a story in search of the origins of the exotic sound of violins, that takes her to Cremona, home to the “great Antonio Stradivari” (April 9 – Lev’s Violin by Helena Attlee review – a musical quest). Le Nouvel Observateur instead visits Borgo Veneto and piano maker Luigi Borgato (April 14 –Luigi Borgato, facteur de pianos, un métier d’art menacé d’extinction).
Tourism and food – As usual, several reports are dedicated to tourism and food. While El País proposes a trip to Campania based on “pizza and beaches” (April 9 – Pizza y playa en Campania), The New York Times visits Veneto for the recipe to make “risi e bisi (April 14 – Risi e Bisi Time!*). Lastly, Der Standard’s Italian cookery blog finds room for the springtime recipe of gnocchi with taleggio and spinach (April 12 – Frühling substanziell Gnocchi mit Spinat und Taleggio-Sauce).
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