Culture – This week, the top stories about Italy in the foreign press have been all about the stage. Both the Washington Post and Reuters ran pieces about the heightened security opera-goers faced at the opera premier in Milan, amidst fears it might have been cancelled. On December 4 the former had this to say – La Scala opens new season amid enhanced security whilst the latter, on December 7 went with – Giovanna d’Arco opens La Scala season under high security. The same event was big news in Spain too where the opera was streamed live to 24 movie theatres around the country, as reported on December 4, by El Mundo – ‘Juana de Arco’, de La Scala a los cines.
There was even more Italian opera to read about this week, with Cavalleria Rusticana directed by Damiano Michieletto at Covent Garden in London. On December 7 both the Financial Times and The Times were there to report, the first saying – Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, Royal Opera House, London — ‘Gripping*, whilst a similar title in the second read – Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci at Covent Garden*.
Across the pond, the Wall Street Journal chose to feature the visual arts and the unconventional work of Alberto Burri, in a piece that ran on December 9 entitled – ‘Alberto Burri: The Trauma of Painting’ Review. A day later, Spain’s El Pais reported on the Italian Film Festival in Barcelona – La nueva hornada del cine italiano. On December 7, across the border in France, it was an Italian neuroscientist, Pier Vincenzo Piazza, the recent recipient of two awards in that country who featured in Le Monde in a profile piece about the man and his work – Pier Vincenzo Piazza, accro à l’addiction*.
Fashion – Several international papers published articles involving the world of Italian fashion this week. On December 7, both Reuters and El Pais wrote about the death of Mariuccia Mandelli, the founder of Krizia, acknowledging that she had been one of the leading lights and most ambitious designers in the world of Italian fashion, with Reuters writing – Mariuccia Mandelli, founder of Krizia fashion brand, dies at 90 and El Pais – Maria Mandelli, la diseñadora que vistió a la nueva mujer italiana). A few days earlier, on December 4 the El Pais Semanal (weekly paper) ran a long piece on another Italian fashion label, Trussardi, a family that has been able to revitalize itself and contribute to the reinvention of the “made in Italy” brand too – Reinventar el ‘Made in Italy’.
Finance – News of foreign investors in Italy also made it into the international press. Reuters in fact ran two pieces, writing on December 5 about Consob (the Italian Securities and Exchange Commission) giving the go ahead to one particular tender – Italy bourse watchdog approves Hitachi tender offer for Ansaldo -Hitachi whilst the piece on December 7 was all about an American private equity company buying out Italian software company, Team System or 1.2 million Euros – Hellman & Friedman to take control of Italy’s Team System
Food & Wine – On December 4 Les Echos, explained that Italian food and wine is experiencing a truly triumphant period at the moment, thanks in part to the success of groups like Eataly – L’italie, le bon filon du goût italien*. Italian recipes are often a popular feature in the foreign press, and on December 7, the Wall Street Journal described how chef Massimo Bottura makes a very particular sort of pasta – Massimo Bottura’s Recipe for Passatelli* . A day later, L’Orient le Jour published a wine review all about “bubbles” from Ferrari – Ferrari, en Italie, ce sont aussi des vins à bulles.
Meanwhile, on December 4, other foreign papers were handing out advice on the best Italian restaurants for readers to try, with the Washington Post recommending – Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana serves designer pies with fine-dining flourishes and El Pais suggesting that Madrid’s Trattoria Manzoni is an ambassador for Italian food and wine – La embajadora de la gastronomía italiana. On December 7, Bloomberg Businessweek featured the somewhat unusual story of Agroittica Lombarda, the Italian company that has become Europe’s greatest producer of caviar now hoping to beat the Russians at their own game – Food of the Czars: Italian Caviar Infiltrates the Russian Market.
Tourism – As always, some news on the tourist beat also popped up, with El Pais, on December 6, providing its readers with ten places that will make them fall in love with Italy – Diez momentos para enamorarse de Italia, whilst a day later it was the spectacular eruption of Etna, that featured in the Washington Post – Mount Etna erupts after two years of silence. Earlier in the week, the New York Times ran a piece about a particular aspect of life in Italy, based on a conversation with Mark Molinaro, the Italian-Welsh writer and artist who divides his time between Wales and the Salento – Familiar Ground*.
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