Monti’s thoughts on Europe and Italy’s liberalization drive – Despite the large number of foreign newspaper reports this week on breaking events in Italy (with over thirty articles dealing with the sinking of the cruise ship Costa Concordia alone), press interest in Italian economic affairs remained undiminished. One such item that received the most widespread coverage was the interview given by prime minister Mario Monti to the British paper the Financial Times (Monti warns of political backlash* on January 16), in which the leader discussed strategies to address the euro crisis. The views expressed in this piece were then picked up by a number of European dailies (Mario Monti zeigt sich ungeduldig mit Deutschland in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; Monti fordert mehr Unterstützung von Deutschland
in the Handelsblatt; and Monti pide a Berlín que se reconozcan los esfuerzos económicos de Italia in El Mundo, all on January 17), as well as by papers elsewhere (Monti pede ajuda alemã para reduzir custo de dívida* in Valor Econômico). The Italian premier was also interviewed by the British weekly The Economist (Italy’s great liberaliser? on January 17), whilst various articles published on January 20 looked at initial drafts of the government’s liberalization decree (Rome adopte un plan de libéralisation de l’économie sans précédent in Les Echos; Las reformas de Monti despiertan a Italia in El País; and Italia lo liberaliza todo in El Economista Other developments in the Italian economy were also covered by the international press. The United Arab Emirates daily Gulf News highlighted the growth in imports received from Italy (Italian exports to UAE record 26% yearly growth on January 18), whilst an article in Valor Econômico focused on competition in the watch market between the Italian company Panerai and Swiss rival IWC, both intending to open stores in Brazil (Relojoarias europeias desembarcam no Brasil*on January 18). The opening of new overseas premises by Italian brands was also the subject of two items published on January 20 in the Portuguese daily Diário de Noticias (Gucci Acessórios abriu loja na Avenida da Liberdade*) and Spain’s Expansión (Calzedonia compra una nueva sede en Barcelona*)
Fashion in Milan – A dozen or so articles covered the men’s fashion shows held as part of Milan Fashion Week. Reviews of the collections presented and reports on matters of particular interest at the festival appeared not only in the French papers (Milan entre identité et modernité in Le Figaro on January 16; and Milan ouvre le bal des défilés de prêt-à-porter * in Le Monde on January 17), which have traditionally focused more attention on this event, but also in the International Herald Tribune (Armani and Versace Follow a Military Beat in Milan on January 18) and the Spanish-language US daily El Nuevo Herald (Abrigos contra el frío financiero en la Semana de la Moda on January 17).
Italian cultural personalities and hotspots – Of note this week in terms of Italian culture-related foreign press coverage was an article in Le Monde on an exhibition being held in the French town of Beaune dedicated to the painter, sculptor and designer Piero Fornasetti (Beaune célèbre la fantaisie de Fornasetti on January 14), and an interview in the Financial Times with the London-based Italian chef Giorgio Locatelli (FT Foodies: Giorgio Locatelli on January 14). La Vanguardia in turn published an interview with Pier Giorgio Oliveti, director of Slow Cities International, addressing the issue of the quality of life in Mediterranean countries (“Italia y España, en ruina; pero ¿quién quiere vivir en Rostock?” on January 20). Finally, turning to this week’s coverage of Italian tourist destinations, British newspaper The Telegraph provided its readers with a cultural rundown on the city of Udine (Udine, Italy: a cultural guide
on January 16).
* marked articles viewable online upon payment or registration