Economy – News of an economic nature was featured by both Reuters and the New York Times, in items about Enel’s new investment plan (January 31 – Enel to double Italy investments to 12 bln euros 2017-2020) and the utility company’s efforts to reap the benefits of the boom in electric cars by making deals with carmakers (January 30 – Italy’s Enel Courts More Carmakers in e-Car Charge*), and in another piece, Reuters also wrote about Italy’s Luxottica, the world’s largest eyewear maker, and its growing profits (January 29 – Luxottica sees strong FY adj. net profit growth after sales meet guidance). Meantime, Bloomberg featured an interview with Claudio Costamagna, President of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti who spoke of his optimism about Italy’s economy (January 25 – CDP’s Costamagna Says Italian Banks Are in `Much Better Shape’).
Culture – This week El Mundo interviewed the Italian Director, Luca Guadagnino, who has his eye on 4 Oscars (January 25 – Luca Guadagnino: “Me gusta hacer cosas que me apasionen”), and Libération wrote about the connubiality between “finesse and insolence” seen in the 1960 Antonio Pietrangeli film “Ada e le compagne” (January 30 – «Adua et ses compagnes», des filles de joie en peine). It also wrote about Elena Ferrante’s “prodigious” series (January 26 – Elena Ferrante, la série prodigieuse*) whereas The Guardian, chose to reprint an article from its historic archives that described the “majestic” funeral of the composer, Giuseppe Verdi (January 31 – Funeral of Signor Verdi – archive, 1901).
Style – On the style front, the New York Times wrote about the new direction Brioni is taking and about the label’s Creative Director, Nina-Maria Nitsche (January 25 – Brioni Redefines Itself, With a Whisper and a Smirk), whilst Bloomberg’s focus was on another aspect of Italian style in a piece that reviewed the Stelvio, Alfa Romeo’s latest contender in the SUV stakes (January 31 – Meet the Tough New Crossover Contender: The Alfa Romeo Stelvio).
Food & Wine – As always, several articles on this subject appeared in the foreign press this week, with the New York Times writing about the Italian habit of turning vegetables into tasty soups (January 26 – A Satisfying Soup From the Italian Pantry) and another article, talking about the “arrival” of Apulian speciality – panzerotti – in Brooklyn and where readers should go to try them out (January 30 – Brooklyn Gets a Bite of Panzerotti). Roman cuisine also got a mention but this time in Der Standard that provided a recipe for Spaghetti alla Carbonara to be tried at home (January 30 – Das einzig richtige Rezept für Spaghetti alla Carbonara), whilst the Wall Street Journal provided some suggestions on what dishes go well with that most noble of Venetian red wines, Amarone (January 25 – Yes, Wine Lovers Actually Can Pair Amarone With Food).
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