Economy – This week, the foreign press’s business coverage shines the spotlight on Italian investments abroad, and foreign ones in Italy. First of these is the operation with which Granarolo purchased Midland Food, the British distributor which will make Great Britain the “third-biggest market” for the Italian group (The New York Times, February 19 – Italian Dairy Firm Granarolo Buys British Distributor Midland Food*; Reuters, February 19 – Italian dairy firm Granarolo buys British distributor Midland Food). There is also coverage of the wager Qatar Airways has made on Italy, with the launch of the new carrier Air Italy which will replace the Meridiana brand and focus on Malpensa as its new hub for intercontinental links (Les Echos, February 19 – Air Italy défie Alitalia avec le soutien de Qatar Airways*).
Fashion –Women’s fashion week in Milan has led international newspapers to refocus their attention on the industry: El Pais and Reuters report on Moncler which opened the event with a collection that is “romantic, commercial, and full of Victorian reminiscence” (February 20 – Ocho formas de hablar con el consumidor de moda; February 21 – Moncler bids farewell to catwalk with eight new collections), while the British press agency and The Guardian cover Gucci and the “post-humanism” show staged by creative director Alessandro Michele (February 21 – Gucci’s Michele explores identities in rich, bold display; Gucci shuns glamour and sex for philosophy and severed heads). The New York Times, on the other hand, visits Milan for “Italiana: Italy Through the Lens of Fashion,” a show being inaugurated at Palazzo Reale to tell “Italy’s story through its clothes” (February 20 – Telling Italy’s Story Through Its Clothes*). Financial Times interviews Diego Della Valle to understand how Tod’s manages to reconcile “classic craftsmanship with a hunger for the new” (February 16 – Tod’s owner Diego Della Valle: ‘Millennials are not for everyone’*). There is also coverage of Oliviero Toscani and his return to Benetton, with a campaign to revitalize the brand (Die Welt, February 17 – „Marketingleute haben Ideen. Ich arbeite!“).
Culture – Milan also takes centre stage in the cultural news: Financial Times in fact reports on “Post Zang Tumb Tuuum. Art Life Politics: Italia 1918–1943,” the “powerful” exhibition that Fondazione Prada has dedicated to Italian art between 1918 and 1943 (February 16 – Back to the futurists: Italian art in the era of Fascism*). The English daily provides more coverage of Italian art, but this time in London, where the Camden Arts Centre has dedicated a show to Giorgio Griffa and his “unique and mysterious vision” of art (February 15 – Giorgio Griffa: a dance to the music of colour and form*). Le Monde, on the other hand, has published a journey into an Italian musical scene alternative to Sanremo, covering artists “to be listened to” such as Cosmo and Liberato (21 February 21 – En Italie, un remède à la cacophonie). Culinary tradition is also covered by Der Standard which reports on the “cultural significance and iconic power” of pizza, recently awarded world heritage status by UNESCO” (February 16 – Was macht eine gute Pizza aus?).
Sport – In sport, the international dailies cover the victory of skier Sofia Goggia, who has given “Italy its first women’s Olympic downhill champion” (New York Times, February 21 – Goggia Tames the ‘Crazy Horse’ to Win Downhill Gold*), and the “full-speed friendship/rivalry” between the Italian and America’s Lindsey Vonn (Les Echos, February 20 – JO-2018: Vonn et Goggia, l’amitié malgré la rivalité).
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