Ferrari races through the stock Exchange – A luxury brand that might be worth 5 billion euros. Last week, the foreign press focused on the decision by FCA to go public (October 29 and 30 in Bloomberg, – Fiat Chrysler to spin off luxury brand Ferrari; Les Echos, October 29 – Fiat Chrysler va scinder Ferrari, le marché apprécie*; Le Monde, October 30 – Ferrari quitte Fiat et rentre dans le circuit boursie*r). According to the Financial Times, this is the most logical step to finance Fiat-Chrysler’s 48 billion euro investment plan (October 30 – Marchionne takes ‘most consequential step’ with Ferrari spin-off). And while the New York Times jokingly explained that the listing is an event that many have been waiting for to own a little Ferrari without buying the Cavallino Rampante race car (October 29 – Finding It an Odd Fit, Fiat Chrysler Will Spin Off Ferrari), the Wall Street Journal, after reporting the story (October 30 – Fiat Chrysler Plans Ferrari IPO*), emphasized that the evaluation of the Maranello-based firm will cover both its industrial activity as well as all the other business that have turned Ferrari into a lifestyle brand, starting with the theme park that was opened in Abu Dhabi (October 30 – Marchionne Aims to Sell Wall Street the Ferrari Life*).
Foreign investments – There was also interest in the foreign investments of Enel Green Power, which built a 100 megawatt wind farm in Mexico ( Bloomberg, October 28 – Enel Green Connects 100-Megawatt Wind Farm to Mexico Power Grid; La Jornada, October 29 – Firma italiana completó un parque eólico en San Luis Potosí), and continued discussion of international capital in Italy, with Arab News confirming the interest of Ethias in Alitalia (October 24 – Gulf airlines target Italy for expansion).
Art, cinema and music – The foreign press covered numerous cultural evants last week. The most popular event in the foreign press was the recent exhibition of the self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci at the Biblioteca reale of Turin with articles in the China Post (October 30 – Leonardo da Vinci’s self-portrait in rare public show) and L’Orient le Jour (October 30 – Léonard et les trésors du roi…). There were also articles on the tribute of the Brazilian press to Pier Paolo Pasolini and the retrospective in Rio de Janeiro (Valor Economico, October 24 – Um espírito perturbador; O Globo, October 28 – Pasolini, ou quando o cinema se faz poesia e política de seu tempo).
The cultural pages also reported on painting, with two exhibitions in London: one on the Italian avant-garde of the Sixties (Les Echos, October 27 – Tornabuoni fait recette avec les artistes italiens) and another dedicated to Giovanni Battista Moroni, one of the greatest painters of the 16th century (Financial Times, October 27 – Giovanni Battista Moroni, Royal Academy, London – review).
The foreign press showed its interest in music with an interview with Paolo Conte, song writer and the composer of Azzurro, the most famous Italian song in the world (El Mundo, October 27 – Paolo Conte: ‘No tengo Internet, yo vivo en mi mundo‘). And an article in the New York Times mixed music and art, explaining the secrets of the lute-making methods of Stradivari (New York Times, October 30 – How Stradivari Came to Dictate Violin Design)
Tourism in Italy – As always, there was a great deal of interest in tourism. Tuscany was a popular subject, with articles about walking tours (Washington Post, October 29 – Walking Italy: A picturesque way to see Tuscany), and how to discover the region’s loveliest areas with the help of new technologies (Le Monde, October 28 – La Toscane dictée par Google).
And while El Mundo suggested stopping in Alba, Italy’s destination for truffles (October 24 – Alba, la meca italiana de los truferos), other media sources turned their attention to Rome, the perfect place to spend Christmas (L’Express, October 28 – Noël en Italie: crèches vivantes, tradition et panettone), where it is also possible to admire the Sistine Chapel with new system of illumination (El Pais, October 30 – Nueva luz y nuevo aire en la Capilla Sixtina). Finally, the foreign press found a new place of interest in Rome, Mussolini’s air raid shelter at Villa Torlonia has been opened to the public (Bloomberg Businessweek, October 25 – Mussolini air raid shelter opens to tourists; El Pais, October 27 – El búnker de Mussolini; El Mundo, October 27 – En el refugio antiaéreo de Benito Mussolini).
* marked articles viewable online upon payment or registration