Gains in the market thanks to International investors – International investors are looking at Italy and the Milan stock exchange has become Europe’s most active market in the first three months of 2014. (Expansion, April 9 – Italia es la ganadora del primer trimestre) A gallop (Wall Street Journal, April 4 – Italian Shares are Galloping. How Long?) which was accompanied by a record low for the public debt rate (Bloomberg Businessweek, April 7 –Italy Bond Drop Pushes Yield Up From Record Low as ECB Mulls QE).
There were reports that Saudi investors are planning to invest in Italy to create the Mediterranean hub of halal food (Arab News,April 4 – KSA willing to invest in Italy halal market) and there were interesting signals from advanced sectors such as biotechnologies. In its series on start ups, the Wall Street Journal published an article by Arelio Mezzotero of Atlante Ventures – Intesa Sanpaolo in the importance of life sciences in Italy (April 4 – Aurelio Mezzotero: The Life Science Sector Is Key in Italy).
Salone del Mobile, Vinitaly and the attraction of Italian fashion – There were two important events last week that captured the attention of the foreign press: the Salone del Mobile in Milan and Vinitaly of Verona. The appointment dedicated to interior design was discussed in the Brazilian paper Folha de Sao Paolo (April 6 – Polo de design, feira de Milão começa na 3ª), while, on occasion of Verona’s fair of wines, The Times travelled to the land of Prosecco (April 5 – Slow food and fabulous fizz in Prosecco Land), and the New York Times ran a piece on the Asian market prospects for the sector’s European producers settore (April 5 –Affluent Wine Buyers in Asia Find Their Confidence).
As for fashion, the Daily Beast (April 8 – The Glamour of Italian Fashion) and El Pais (April 3 – Londres se rinde ante la eterna seducción de la moda italiana) both reported on the exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum dedicated to the history of Italian luxury goods. And the New York Times Magaine went to the Abruzzi factory of Brioni to see how its exclusive products are created (April 4 – Visiting the Source | An Exclusive Education on the Making of Brioni’s Suits). Finally, El Mundo published a profile of Nicola Formichetti, the new creative director of Diesel (April 4 – Formichetti, el nuevo hombre de Renzo Rosso).
Culture, tourism and food – There were also articles on the cultural pages. The Sunday Times reviewed Dario Fo’s lastest novel, “La figlia del Papa” about Lucrezia Borgia (April 6 – Dario Fo rides to the rescue of ‘evil’ Lucrezia), while the Financial Times interviewed photographer Gianni Berengo Gardin ( – Photographer Gianni Berengo Gardin – interview). There were also several articles about food (New York Times, April 9 – A Little Pizza Homework; The Sunday Times –April 6 The Ingredient: Purple sprouting broccoli). The foreign press also had some suggestions for tourism. The New York Times described a bike tour of Sicily and Magna Greece (April 9 – In Sicily, Greek History by Bike), while the Financial Times went to Lake Como to discover the luxury real estate market that seems to be immune to the crisis (April 4 – Price of waterfront homes on Italy’s Lake Como remain buoyant).
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