Economy –The opening of Milan’s first Starbucks this week was described as an investment like no other and Howard Schultz, the company’s CEO declared, in an interview, that it was a dream come true. (February 28 and March 1 on Bloomberg – Starbucks to Make Italian Debut With Upscale Roastery Cafe; Washington Post – Starbucks CEO says chain ready to enter Italy after 35 years; Financial Times – Starbucks’s shot at selling espresso to the Italians*; Reuters – Business Watch: Starbucks’ Italian job.
Meantime Sueddeutsche Zeitung, chose to focus on how the new Stelvio SUV could well contribute to the relaunch of Alfa Romeo (February 28 – Der Stelvio ist ein Beau mit Macken) and Les Echos ran a piece about Barilla’s new organic range that it hopes will impact its share of European markets (February 28 – Barilla veut cuisiner des pâtes de plus en plus « vertes »).
Tourism – Culture and tourism featured in the international press this week with two articles about Rome, El Mundo wrote about the “exhaustive” series of photographs that document hitherto unknown details about the Sistine Chapel (February 25 – Los secretos de la Capilla Sixtina) and New York Times Magazine advised readers of the best way to experience the ritual of cocktails in the Italian capital (February 24 – Take It Slow for Roman Cocktail Hour).
The Venice Carnival featured in The Guardian’s “photos of the day” (February 26 – Best photos of the day: carnivals in Venice and Brazil), whilst Sueddeutsche Zeitung Magazin was in Schignano, in the mountains behind Como, discovering how carnival there is still a celebration full of mystery (February 27 – Karneval brutal). El Mundo featured Sardinia’s Porto Cervo, describing it as “a den for VIPs” (February 28 – Porto Cervo, la guarida VIP de Cerdeña). Photos and video footage of Mount Etna’s “spectacular eruption”appeared on several papers this week: El País (February 28 – La espectacular erupción del Etna), Les Echos (March 1– En Italie, l’Etna connaît sa première éruption de l’année), Washington Post (February 28 – Etna volcano erupts in fiery show of lava in eastern Sicily), Time (February 28 – This Volcanic Eruption Is Stunning), Handelsblatt (February 28 – Italien Lava-Schleuder Ätna wieder aktiv) and Sueddeutsche Zeitung (February 28 – Vulkan Ätna spuckt wieder Lava). Sicily also got a mention in the week, in Der Standard, this time focusing on one of the region’s best white wines (February 24 – Alta Mora Etna DOC bianco 2015).
Fashion – The catwalk shows that closed Milan’s fashion week featured in the international press this week, with El País writing about the “inspired” creations for women that appeared alongside the Men’s collection by Bottega Veneta (February 25 – Bottega Veneta y la desigualdad entre hombre y mujer) whilst the New York Times was all about Emporio Armani’s “unusually bright colors” (February 24 – Emporio Armani’s Urban and Bright Looks at Milan Shows). Wall Street Journal, on the other hand, described how the designer, Alessandro Sartori, is changing how Ermenegildo Zegna is racing towards the future (February 27 – How Ermenegildo Zegna Is Revving Up).
The success of various Italian luxury brands was the focus of Germany’s financial newspaper, the Börsen Zeitung, in an article explaining how foreign companies in the fashion sector continue to consider investing in Italy (March 1 – Italienische Luxusmodehersteller streben an die Börse*). Italian design also got a mention, in Tunisia’s La Presse in a write up, celebrating the “world day of Italian design” (March 2 – Créativité et perspectives).
*Article available for pay / at registration