Finance – Financial news takes centre stage in the articles dedicated by the foreign press to Italy this week. Reuters reports that Intesa Sanpaolo’s fourth quarter 2019 economic results are exceeding expectations, thanks to “solid revenues” (February 4 – Italy’s Intesa Q4 tops forecast thanks to solid revenues), while Bloomberg interviews the bank’s CEO, Carlo Messina (February 5 – Intesa CEO Sees Positive Outlook for Italy, Bank*). The credit institution is also involved in international expansion plans, including the possible acquisition, in Romania, of Garanti Bank (Reuters, February 3 – OTP, Intesa in battle to buy Romania’s Garanti bank – media). Reuters also devotes coverage to the defence group Leonardo, which in 2019 recorded “strong performance of its main businesses” (January 30 – Italy’s Leonardo sees 2019 orders, revenue above expectations).
Culture – In culture, El País makes Marco Missiroli’s Fedeltà one of the books of the week in its cultural supplement Babelia (February 1 – Los seis libros de esta semana en ‘Babelia’) and reviews the lesser-known works of Andrea Camilleri, “the prolific Italian author who has built a world outside of his great character,” Inspector Montalbano (February 3 – Camilleri, un mundo criminal más allá de Montalbano). The Wall Street Journal, on the other hand, discusses Caroline Moorehead’s book A house in the mountains, dedicated to the Italian women’s Resistance, in which “there were more women partisans in the Italian resistance than in any similar movement in Europe” (January 31 – ‘A House in the Mountains’ Review: Four Against Fascism*).
Luxury – In luxury, the daily Expansión, in the supplement dedicated to boating, discusses Benetti’s Diamond 145, just launched in Viareggio, noting that “no other vessel of this size is built in fibreglass” (January 31 – BENETTI CREA UN ‘DIAMANTE’ DE VIDRIO DE 44 METROS), while The New York Times reports the doings of the Florentine brand Emilio Pucci, which has chosen Christelle Kocher as its new designer (January 30 – Pucci Brings in Kocher as Fall-Winter 2020 Guest Designer*). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, on the other hand, interviews Matteo Marzotto, “not only one of the best-dressed Italians,” but also leader of the Dondup brand that sells Italian fashion abroad (February 2 – “Ich habe mehr als 100 Maßanzüge”).
Tourism and wine & food – In tourism, El País, for the supplement Icon, suggests paying a Valentine’s Day visit to Venice, where the city’s new “boutique hotel” Palazzo Experimental has just opened (February 6 – Il Palazzo Experimental, un hotel de estilo ‘art-déco’ en el canal más tranquilo de Venecia), while The New York Times reviews Sélect, a liqueur created in the lagoon in 1920 and “perfect for a variant of the spritz” (February 3 – A Venetian Aperitif Fit for a Spritz*). The American daily also devotes coverage to the demanding recipe for bollito misto, “a worthy adventure” (T Cooking, February 1 – Bollito Misto (Italian Boiled Meats With Red and Green Sauces*).
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