Economy – Last week, cars and fashion were the main focus of articles on Italy on the economy in the foreign press. Most of the reporting was on FCA, the group born of the merger between Fiat and Chrysler which, as CEO Sergio Marchionne, has seen positive growth in European activities returning with this year (January 13 on New York Times – Fiat Chrysler Seen Breaking Even in Europe in 2015: Marchionne* and Les Echos – Fiat Chrysler peut-être à l’équilibre dès 2015 en Europe), but is also planning on 1,500 new hirings in Italy. The news was picked up on papers such as the New York Times (January 12 – Fiat-Chrysler Sees 1,500 New Jobs at Italian Plant in Melfi*), the Washingont Post (January 12 – Fiat Chrysler looks to add 1,500 jobs in Italian factory) and Bloomberg (January 12 – Fiat Chrysler looks to add 1,500 jobs in Italian factory)..
The strategy to relaunch the group is starting with the sports model Alfa Romeo, a 6 billion dollar operation, as Bloomsberg explains (January 12 – Alfa Romeo Said to Plan First SUV in $6 Billion Expansion), one based on the return of the brand on the American market with Italian-made cars (Financial Times, January 14 – After years of stagnation, Alfa Romeo aims to rediscover its mojo*; Valor Economico, January 14 – Alfa Romeo volta aos EUA com modelo conversível*).
Other economic news concerned Made in Italy brands, such as Brunello Cucinelli whose sales grew 10% in 2014 (Reuters, January 12 – Italy’s Cucinelli posts 10 pct rise in 2014 sales) and Liu Jo, which is targeting the Spanish market, as its founder Marco Marchi explained to Expansion (January 9 – Liu Jo confía en el mercado del textil español*)
Culture – There were a number of articles on culture last week. While El Pais reminisced on the explosive Gabrielle D’Annunzio (January 14 – D’Annunzio, el héroe mesiánico), there were other articles on art. The Financial Times ran a piece on the Renato Guttuso exhibit in London (9 – More exhibitions, including Vicky Wright and Renato Guttuso) and the Wall Street Journal wrote about Medardo Rosso, the subject of an ambitious exhibit in New York (January 13 – A Sculptor of Suggestion).
And – in writing about cinema – the foreign press remembered Francesco Rosi, who just passed away (January 10 on New York Times – Italian Filmmaker Francesco Rosi Dies at 92; El Pais – Muere Francesco Rosi, director de ‘El caso Mattei’; Liberation – Francesco Rosi, annonce d’une mort chronique), and wrote about the docudrama that Ettore Scola dedicated to Federico Fellini in 2013 (El Pais, January 9 – ¡Qué extraño llamarse Federico!).
Tourism and culinary arts – Milan has taken first place as the tourist destination of the year of the Expo, as explained by the New York Times (January 12 – Where Would You Most Like to Travel?*) but El Pais also reports on the city, with an article on the museum that Giorgio Armani would like to create to pay tribute to the cradle of his success (January 13 – Armani regala a Milán un museo). The Spanish paper also dedicates its travel section to Piedmont, the home of slow food suggesting a number of gastronomic itineraries (January 14 – Piamonte, cuna de ‘slow food’). There is indeed no lack of interest in Italian cuisine: this week the New York Times gave its readers a recipe for fritto misto (January 9 – A Fritto Misto Recipe That’s Worth the Effort) and went to discover Nero d’Avola (January 14 – Peaks and Valleys of Nero d’Avola).
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