Economy – This week has seen various news reports connected to positive performances by the economy and by Italian companies. Chinese press agency Xinhua celebrates the Construction Innovation Award received by the Italy Pavilion at Expo Dubai as “best commercial project” (September 30 – Expo Dubai: Italy pavilion wins prize at Innovation Awards), while Bloomberg recounts how the necktie company Marinella went from being a tiny Naples shop to building a “cult following” recognized worldwide (October 2 – How a Silk Necktie Company Built a Cult Following Out of a Tiny Naples Shop*). And while El Mundo recounts the challenge faced by Lancia to return to profitability thanks to electrification, interviewing its CEO Luca Napolitano (October 4 – Luca Napolitano: “El primer modelo de la nueva Lancia será el Ypsilon eléctrico”), other news outlets focus on the outlook in the agricultural sector: The Guardian explains how in Sicily, in an attempt to react to the challenges of climate change, an initial coffee production has begun, the “dream” of a family that might make the island “the world’s northernmost coffee plantation” (October 4 – Sicilian coffee dream a step closer as climate crisis upends farming); meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal discovers how the restrictions on migration flows caused by Covid has pushed many winemakers to “turn to machines,” with the purchase of new machinery (October 3 – Robots Take Over Italy’s Vineyards as Wineries Struggle With Covid-19 Worker Shortages*).
Tourism and culture – In tourism, The Guardian focuses on Matera, the “gorgeous” city that film directors “can’t resist,” which has just provided the location for some scenes in the latest James Bond movie (October 2 – Matera: the gorgeous Italian hill town film-makers can’t resist). Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal publishes its report on a “spontaneous” RV vacation in Sardinia where the author had “the meal of a lifetime” ( October 4 – An RV Vacation in Italy Hits a Few Road Bumps*).
In the German dailies, Sueddeutsche Zeitung takes a bike trip along the Tagliamento River (October 3 – Mit dem Rad bis zur Adria), while Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung pays a visit to the new Lingotto in Turin, where the “Pista 500” roof track has become “Europe’s largest hanging garden, with 40,000 plants” (October 6 – Flora in allen Teilen).
Cultural reports also regard the 27th Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is “offering new models for post-Covid urban co-existence” (El País, October 1 – Cómo viviremos juntos), and discuss Federico Fellini, to whom Barcelona has dedicated an exhibition that “shows the film-maker’s lesser-known face through photos, objects, documents, and drawings” (El País, September 30 – Fellini dibuja su vida íntima). Also in Catalonia, in Figueres, Dante is the subject of conversation, with a show dedicated to the drawings Salvador Dalí made to illustrate the Divine Comedy (El País, October 7 – Cuando Dalí bajó a los infiernos con Dante). Lastly, Le Monde covers the “rediscovery” of the work of Gabriele Basilico, the photographer who recounted Milan’s night spots of the 1970s (October 7 – Les nuits milanaises de Gabriele Basilico*).
Sports – In sports, Libération celebrates Sonny Colbrelli’s victory in the Paris-Roubaix, a cycling “classic” that the Italian sprinter “conquered the first time he entered the race” (October 3 – Paris-Roubaix : Sonny Colbrelli vainqueur par chaos de boue*), while other news outlets focus on tennis, celebrating the win of Italy’s Jannik Sinner – who, according to the press already had excellent chances before the finale (Reuters, October 4 – Ruud, Sinner boost ATP Finals chances) – at the Sofia Open, where he beat Frenchman Gael Monfils (Xinhua, October 4 – Italy’s Sinner retains his title at Sofia Open).
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