Economy – Economic news takes centre stage with Xinhua underscoring the increased level of industrial production in November, “while both business and consumer confidence remained high despite uncertainty tied to the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic” (January 15 – Italy’s economic indicators up amid new COVID-19 wave).
Financial Times reports on the operation completed by Atlantia, which has acquired the Siemens traffic lights division for € 950 million (January 17 – Atlantia wins €950m bid to acquire Siemens’ traffic lights division*), while Bloomberg interviews the new CEO of Ferrari, Benedetto Vigna, who recounts how the group is reinventing itself to go electric (January 13 – Ferrari’s Late Start in Electric Race Hands CEO Daunting Task*). Innovation also features prominently in the “factory of the future” plan created in the defence sector in the United Kingdom, with Italy’s Leonardo also taking part (Financial Times, January 18 – ‘Factory of the future’ offers new blueprint for manufacturers).
Luxury and design – In Milan, the men’s fashion runways are attracting the attention of foreign news outlets, as they explain how Italian designers from Zegna to Cucinelli are showing the “way to the pandemic exit” with collections “dreaming their way out of grim reality” during these years (The New York Times, January 18 – This Way to the Pandemic Exit). The New York Times also devotes coverage to the Prada collections’ “grown-up” style (January 18 – At Prada, It’s in With the Old).
Many reports on luxury and fashion focus on the life of the late Nino Cerruti, “Italy’s chicest man” (Le Monde, January 15 – « L’homme le plus chic d’Italie » : le célèbre styliste Nino Cerruti est mort*, – L’Orient le Jour, January 16 – Nino Cerruti, inventeur du “casual chic” est décédé)”; father of contemporary men’s fashion” (January 17 in Le Monde – Avec Nino Cerruti disparaît l’un des pères de la mode masculine contemporaine*; L’Orient le Jour – Nino Cerruti, le pape de l’élégance masculine, est décédé); the entrepreneur who brought “innovation” to the industry (Bloomberg, January 15 – Italian Menswear Innovator Nino Cerruti Dies at Age 91*) and “turned his family’s textile factory … into a global fashion brand” (The Guardian, January 15 – Nino Cerruti, pioneer of men’s ready-to-wear fashion, dies aged 91), while also “discovering” the talent of Giorgio Armani (El País, January 15 – Muere Nino Cerruti, el diseñador que modernizó el traje masculino y descubrió a Giorgio Armani*; Sueddeutsche Zeitung, January 16 – Designer der Stars: Modeschöpfer Nino Cerruti gestorben).
Design also features prominently in another report dedicated to Laboratorio Paravicini in Milan, the atelier of vintage ceramics made “romantically” using old-fashioned methods (The New York Times Style Magazine, January 13 – At Laboratorio Paravicini, Vintage-Feeling Italian Ceramics Are New Again*).
Tourism and culture – The international news outlets include several reports dedicated to Italian cities. Bloomberg presents the new plan by the Metropolitan City of Milan to make the metropolis “Europe’s most bike-friendly city,” thanks to an extensive network of bike lanes to be completed over the next 15 years (January 14 – Can Milan Become Europe’s Most Bike-Friendly City?*), while Les Echos visits the show that the Triennale dedicates to French photographer Raymond Depardon (January 17 – Raymond Depardon expose sa poésie du réel à Milan*).
And while die Welt travels between Florence and Ravenna to commemorate the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death (January 17 – In Florenz drohte Dante der Tod auf dem Scheiterhaufen), Bloomberg’s CityLab section recounts Venice’s plan to attract “young professionals and digital nomads” and convince them to live in the lagoon city (January 18 – Can Remote Workers Keep Venice Afloat?*). Meanwhile, Die Zeit recounts the charm of Capri in the winter (18 January –Capri diem!). Lastly, El País, starts from Rome’s periphery to recount the success “across the world” of the cartoonist Zerocalcare (January 17 – El fenómeno Zerocalcare, de la periferia de Roma a las pantallas de medio mundo*).
Wine & Food – In wine & food, attention is devoted to Italian cuisine abroad. The New York Times reviews a new establishment for “Italian style” coffee in East Harlem (January 18 – Coffee, Italian Style, in East Harlem*) and a restaurant with “Milanese style” at Rockefeller Center (January 18 – A Midtown Cafe With Milanese Style*). Coverage is also given to a non-alcoholic cocktail made with Italian ingredients, in which chinotto is used in place of Cynar (Washington Post, January 14 – An Italian orange syrup gives this nonalcoholic cocktail depth and balance*). Lastly, Der Standard, in its section dedicated to Italian recipes, proposes pan d’arancio from the Sicilian culinary tradition (January 19 – Rezept: Pan d’arancio – sizilianischer Orangenkuchen).
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