Culture – Italian culture continues to inspire the most articles in the foreign press this week. El Pais focused on the Venice Film Festival with a photographic gallery featuring the stars of Hollywood that graced the red carpet there (August 31 – La 75ª Bienal de Venecia, en imágenes) whilst it ran an article dedicated to the first episode of the new TV series – presented at the festival – inspired by the novels of Elena Ferrante, “a Neapolitan trilogy that has sold 30 million copies” (September 3 – El misterio de Elena Ferrante llega a Venecia).
Meantime, one of the Spanish dailies, El Mundo, was busy remembering Luigi Luca Cavalli Sforza,the Italian geneticist whose research broke down the traditional concept of race (September 4 – El genetista italiano que desmontó el concepto de raza; Muere Cavalli-Sforza, el genetista que defendió que el concepto de raza no tenía fundamento científico). El Mundo, ran another piece about the history of Pompeii (September 2 – Año 79 d.C.: Pompeya, una ciudad aplastada en lava), whilst the New York Times wrote about Roberto Saviano’s latest book (August 30 – In ‘The Piranhas,’ the Chronicler of Italy’s Mobsters Tries His Hand at Fiction. For a Change?).
Economy – The financial pages of the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, and a piece in Expansion both chose to let readers know that in its historic Pontedera factory, Piaggio is starting to produce a new all electric version of the Vespa, the world’s most famous scooter ever (August 31 – Piaggio comienza a producir la Vespa Elettrica este mes de septiembre; September 2 – Vespa Elettrica).
Tourism – The New York Times wrote about its brief weekend stay in the Dolomites, “an idyllic playground for both outdoor adventurers and those seeking a taste of the region’s cultural heritage” (August 30 – 36 Hours in the Dolomites) whereas El Mundo described a trip around the Chianti area and the fun goings-on in the Versilia district – giving readers advice as to the best way to discover this, the most “genuine” part of Tuscany (August 30 – Diez experiencias para descubrir la Toscana más auténtica).
Food&Wine – They were featured in El Mundo that remembered Beppe Rinaldi, the man known in the Langhe district in Piedmont where he, the man often described as one of the most respected Barolo producers of his generation was known as “il Critico”(September 3 – Adiós a Rinaldi, icono de la tradición) whilst Le Monde reviewed the “La Felicità” a restaurant in Paris with a reputation for serving Italian dishes made with quality ingredients (August 31 – Restaurant: à Paris, La Felicità ou le bonheur à l’italienne) and Austria’s Der Standard explained how to make a Neapolitan dish in which zucchini are prepared in a vinegar based marinade (September 4 – Zucchine alla scapece: Marinierte Zucchini nach neapolitanischer Art).
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