Automotive industry: growth and sustainability – Automotive news takes centre stage in the reports dedicated to Italy by the international media. Reuters covers the upcoming listing of Comau, a robot-making subsidiary of FCA (June 1 – Fiat Chrysler to list robot-making business after PSA merger – a story that also made the pages of The New York Times, June 1 – Fiat Chrysler to List Robot-Making Business After PSA Merger*). The automotive group, explains Reuters, is also carrying out a project in Turin that “aims to maximize the environmental benefits of hybrid cars” that automatically switch to electric mode within city centres (June 3 – Fiat to test automatic switch to electric mode for its hybrid cars in Turin –a story also covered by The New York Times – Fiat to Test Automatic Switch to Electric Mode for Its Hybrid Cars in Turin*)
Part of the context of the merger between Fiat-Chrysler and PSA, these operations offer The Wall Street Journal the opportunity to analyse the stock exchange performance of the parent holding company Exor which, as the American daily explains, has performed “five times” better than the S&P500 index (June 2 – Is This Europe’s Berkshire Hathaway?*). Growth plans are in the works for another Exor subsidiary, Ferrari, which, in Australia, is inaugurating a new programme for its Driver Academy (The New York Times, May 29 – Ferrari to Establish Driver Programme in Australia*).
Remembering Alesina – Several articles in the foreign press are dedicated to the memory of the economist Alberto Alesina, “specialist in macroeconomics and public finance (Le Monde, June 1 – Alberto Alesina, économiste défenseur de l’austérité budgétaire, est mort*), “among the most prolific, original and influential academics in his field” (Financial Times, May 29 – Alberto Alesina, economist, 1957-2020), who “helped revitalize political economy” (The Wall Street Journal, May 28 – Harvard Professor Alberto Alesina Helped Revitalize Political Economy*).
Culture – Numerous cultural reports are also making the news. The New York Times and El País cover the “amazing” discovery of a Roman mosaic in Valpolicella (May 30 – Los famosos viñedos de Italia que escondían un impresionante mosaico romano), a century after the first excavations (May 28 – Roman Villa’s Mosaics Are Unearthed, Again, a Century After Last Dig), while WSJ Magazine shows the frescoes of Pompeii through the images of photographer Robert Polidori (May 29 – In Images of Ancient Frescoes, Hidden Legacies Are Exposed*). And while Le Monde and Financial Times recount the “rebirth” of the show dedicated to Raphael – “the most influential European artist of his time” – at Scuderie del Quirinale, whose duration was extended (June 1 – Raphaël, dernière renaissance aux Ecuries du Quirinal à Rome *; June 2 – Raphael — 500th anniversary show reopens in Rome*), El País outlines the “challenges of the new era that is beginning” with the words of Italian writer Marco Balzano (June 3 – Educarse es amar: los retos de una sociedad en ruinas).
Coverage is also devoted to music with an interview with Riccardo Muti in Die Welt (June 3 – : „Wenn mal Schluss ist, will ich in die Hölle“), and reporting on the new album of Disney songs performed by Matteo Bocelli, son of the tenor Andrea (The New York Times, May 28 – Matteo Bocelli Sings ‘Lion King’ Hit as Disney Songs Go Classical*).
“Italian art, music, and history,” explains La Presse, take centre stage in the “interesting” online programme offered by the Cultural Institute in Tunis (May 31 – Programme culturel en ligne de l’istitut culturel italien: Art, musique et histoire à la portée de main.). Lastly, publishing is also covered, with a journey exploring the editorial offices and history of L’Eco di Bergamo, the newspaper that told the story of the pandemic’s “martyr city” (Le Monde, May 29 – « L’Eco di Bergamo », le journal qui a chroniqué une ville martyre pendant la pandémie en Italie).
Tourism – On the tourism front, The Guardian pays a visit to the Tower of Pisa (May 31 – Leaning Tower of Pisa among sites in Italy to reopen after lockdown) and the Colosseum, monuments that have reopened after the lockdown and that, “with so few of us” on hand, can be enjoyed even more” (June 1 – Colosseum reopens to tourists: ‘With so few of us we can enjoy it more; this story was also covered by the Lebanese daily L’Orient le Jour – Réouverture timide du Colisée de Rome) El País, on the other hand, makes a brief “escape” to Italy, following in Oscar Wilde’s footsteps on a visit to Naples and Capri, where the writer “sought freedom during his final years” (June 2 – La ‘dolce vita’ de Oscar Wilde).
Cuisine – Culinary reporting devotes coverage to Italian cuisine abroad: Financial Times tells the story of Kitty Travers, founder of Grotta Ices and purveyor in London of ice cream true to the Italian recipe and ingredients (May 30 – The woman who revolutionised home-made ice-cream), while The New York Times covers the new takeout and delivery service offered by Forsythia, an Italian restaurant on the Lower East Side (2 June – Forsythia, Rustic Italian Food, Opens for Takeout and Delivery). For recipes, Die Zeit offers a classic like tagliatelle alla bolognese (June 3 – Form follows Soße*) while Der Standard tells its readers how to prepare “penne allo scarpiello” with tomato, chilis, and cheese, in the Neapolitan tradition (June 2 – Penne allo scarpariello: Pasta mit Tomaten, Chili und extra viel Käse)
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