Tourism – Tourism and the attraction Italy continues to have for foreigners are prominently featured in this week’s foreign press coverage. While Le Monde devotes to Milan’s Piazza Duomo the first of its series of articles dedicated to Italy’s piazzas (July 21 – A Milan, le retour en grâce de la Piazza del Duomo*), Die Welt proposes a classic journey amid the beauties of Rome (July 19 – Das erste Mal – wie ich Rom als Neuling erlebte). For sea destinations, Sueddeutsche Zeitung is off to discover the Maddalena Archipelago (July 23 – Sardiniens kleine Schwestern), while El Mundo, staying in Sardinia, includes Cala Luna among the “jewels of the Mediterranean reachable only by sea” (July 19 – Joyas del Mediterráneo a las que solo puedes llegar en barco). In Sicily, an article in El Mundo discusses the sale of Dolce&Gabbana’s villa in Stromboli, “one of the most wild and beautiful islands in the Aeolian Archipelago” (July 24 – Dolce & Gabbanna venden su casa en Stromboli, paraíso de millonarios y estrellas de Hollywood). The Guardian reports on the television programme that the BBC has dedicated to a journey to the cities of the Italian Renaissance (July 22 – Hip-hop horseman: Fab 5 Freddy gallops through Renaissance art); El País, on the other hand, relates how “the Venetians managed to keep their soul in spite of the invasion of tourists” (July 19 – Sí a Venecia), while the French business daily Les Echos explains how, with the tax benefits for people moving there, Italy is “batting its eyelashes at foreign investors” who can find “good real estate deals outside the big cities” (July 22 – Investir à l’étranger : l’Italie ou le charme de la « dolce vita »*).
Swimming – There is also sports coverage, with Federica Pellegrini and Gregorio Paltrinieri earning victories at the world swimming championships (July 24 in The Washington Post– Viva Italy: Pellegrini, Paltrinieri win world swim titles; New York Times, – Viva Italy: Pellegrini, Paltrinieri win world swim titles; Le Matin – Natation: Pellegrini remporte son 4e titre mondial sur 200 m).
Culture – There is no lack of cultural reporting. El País and Financial Times look back once again at Andrea Camilleri, “the most successful Italian author of the past 25 years,” and discuss his novel to be released posthumously, Ora dimmi di te. Lettera a Matilda (Financial Times, July 19 – Andrea Camilleri, Sicilian author, 1925-2019*; El País, July 20 – Batallas del bisabuelo Andrea Camilleri). The Spanish daily also reports on the new engagement of Italian director Luca Guadagnino, who will be writing and directing a new television series in the United States (19 July – Luca Guadagnino escribirá y dirigirá una nueva serie para HBO), while Financial Times covers the Incontri in Terra di Siena music festival at villa La Foce (July 19 – La Foce: classical music in an Italian garden).
Food & spirits – Italy’s success in wine & food shows its two faces. While The New York Times explains how to enjoy focaccia di Recco even in Manhattan (July 19 – A Focaccia That Behaves Like a Pizza*), Reuters reports on a possible new acquisition by Campari“in an effort to strengthen its rum business and grow its market in France” (July 20 – Italy’s Campari in talks to buy French liquor firm Rhumantilles; the news was also picked up by The New York Times – Italy’s Campari in Talks to Buy French Liquor Firm Rhumantilles).
Design – For Italian-made quality, Expansión reports on Paola and Anna Lenti, designers “of global reference” to whom Massimo Bottura has entrusted the interiors of his new restaurant in Dubai (July 19 – Paola Lenti, unos muebles que son referencia mundial gracias a su hilo de alta tecnología), while El Mundo interviews Milanese architect Lorenzo Meazza, the long-time design director for Ikea (July 24 – Lorenzo Meazza, jefe de diseño de Ikea: “El piso en España estaba hecho para representar”).
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