Traveling through Italy – It’s summer, and this week the foreign press preferred art and culture to discussions about the economy. The most complete journey was reported by La Nacion, which looked at the ties between Argentina and Italy and took an “emotional” journey from Ventimiglia to Sicily (July 14 – Italia de alto impacto emocional). Britain’s The Guardian went to Corigliano d’Otranto in Apulia and, starting with the figure of the medieval philosopher – a sort of existential advisor for its citizens, narrated the cultural peculiarities of the Grecia salentina, an area inhabited by ethnic descendents of ancient Greeks. (July 17 – Italian town reinvents municipal thinking).
The New York Times visited two different locations. First, it went to Beralda in Basilicata, and stayed at the luxury hotel open by director Francis Ford Coppola (July 19 – Hotel Review – Palazzo Margherita in Bernalda, Italy). The American paper then suggestions memorable trails along the edges of Italian volcanoes (July 19 – Hiking Italy, Volcano to Volcano). Finally, Süddeutsche Zeitung published lighter fare, halfway between serious and facetious: a guide on how to avoid losing face during an Italian holiday (July 19 – Bella Figura in Italien)
University, theater and gastronomy – The cultural journey of the foreign press didn’t end with advice to tourists. The New York Times reported on Universitaly, the new bilingual site of the Ministry for the University to present education in Italian universities (July 15 – Italy Has New Bilingual Education Site). Instead, Le Monde wrote about theater, going to Naples where director Pippo Delbono staged an amazing Cavalleria Rusticana (July 19 – Pippo Delbono, l’espoir d’ouvrir l’opéra au peuple*). Finally, the New York Times ran an article on the pleasures of the table, discovering the large new Eataly store in Rome (July 19 – Big Box Italian Food, in Rome).
Italian businesses abroad are growing – There were also articles on business, especially the growth of Italian firms on foreign markets. The Financial Times reported on the 1 billion dollar contract awarded to Finmeccanica in Israel (July 19 – Finmeccanica wins $1bn Israeli deal), and The Hindu Business Line described Fiat’s interest in innovation and Italian style to grow on the Indian market (July 14 – Fiat plays lineage card to push car sales). Gulf News, on the other hand, took its readers to Dubai to report on the new Bottega Veneta store there (July 17 – Bottega Veneta opens at Dubai Mall).
Finally, an interview with Silvio Ursini, founder of the Obikà restaurant chain, and vice president of the Bulgari hotels and resorts, as well as a member of the board of Save the Children Italia by the Financial Times discussed corporate social responsibility and the role of luxury brands in charitable giving (July 19 – How to Give It: Silvio Ursini).
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