Economy – Now that the listings of Italian companies on the NY Stock Exchange are no longer in the spotlight, the foreign press has been concentrating on the unprecedented state of the Italian economy thanks to the country’s low interest rates. On November 2, El Mundo ran a piece profiling the career of the man behind the u-turn of the BCEs monetary policy, the former Governor of the Bank of Italy, “SuperMario” Draghi – De ejecutivo de Goldman a ‘SuperMario’, and 2 days later, Bloomberg Businessweek wrote about the advice of a major investment bank to buy Italian and Spanish state bonds as they are offering better returns than those of other European countries – Italy, Spain Are JPMorgan’s Answer to Yields in Europe.
Culture – Culture featured in several papers this week, with The Times, on October 31, publishing a review of Umberto Eco’s latest book – Numero Zero by Umberto Eco* and on November 4, the New York Times featured a profile of writer and publisher, Roberto Calasso, describing him as a “literary institution” – Roberto Calasso, Italy’s Publishing Maestro*.
Also on November 4, El Pais chose to write about the cultural heritage of Pier Paolo Pasolini – La herencia libertaria del maldito Pasolini), whilst on November 1, El Mundo, marked the opening of Verdi’s Othello in Seville in a piece that described how the opera had come into being and Italy’s cultural landscape at that time – El arte de la ‘Scapigliatura’. On October 30, the Financial Times reported on American photographer Joel Meyerowitz and his homage to the Italian painter Giorgio Morandi – Snapshot: ‘Morandi’s Objects’, by Joel Meyerowitz*
Tourism – As always, tourism filled various column inches this week, and it was the Trevi Fountain heading up the news, with Reuters reporting on November 3 on the unveiling of one of Rome’s most loved and magnificent sites – and sights – following its restoration – Rome’s refilled Trevi Fountain basks in restored glory and El Pais carried a similar piece headed – El agua vuelve a la Fontana de Trevi tras año y medio. Reuters also featured an article, this time on October 29 however, that explored the unexpected success of Milan’s Expo – Milan Expo defies naysayers, proves unexpected success), whilst on November 3, Le Monde headed for Genoa, suggesting how to explore this “goddess of the sea” along a route that runs from one evocative glimpse of the city to the next – Gênes, la déesse de la mer*. El Pais, on the other hand, published a piece on the same day that focused on Sicily, following the trail that takes in the palaces immortalized in Luchino Visconti’s famous film, The Leopard – Los palacios de ‘El Gatopardo’.
How the combination of fashion and tourism can result in a new tourist destination also found its way into the papers, with Bloomberg reporting on November 5 how Brunello Cucinelli has breathed new life into Solomeo, an old hilltop town in Umbria – This Fashion Magnate Is Reviving a Medieval Italian Hill Town. On the same day, the Wall Street Journal featured a lengthy profile on Miuccia Prada, focusing in particular on the recent opening of her foundation for contemporary art in Milan- Inside Miuccia Prada’s Process*.
Bargain properties in Italy, just waiting to be snapped up, also featured twice this week in the Wall Street Journal, writing, on November 4, about the “house hunters” descending on the historic center of Matera – Restoring Matera, Italy’s City of Stone, an interesting follow up to the piece that appeared two days earlier about the sale of a property in Tuscany – A 17th-Century Villa Under the Tuscan Sun*.
Food and Wine also put in an appearance this week, just as it does always, with The Times on November 1 printing its interview with Antonio Carluccio, a TV chef famous in Britain, who described his childhood in Piedmont – Time and place: Antonio Carluccio*. On the same day, Die Welt wrote about the efforts of Barilla to promote the concept of sustainable food – So wollen die Barilla-Brüder unsere Ernährung retten.
On November 2, New York Times, reported on Matt Baldassano’s success story, describing how he continued the tradition of many Italo-Americans, producing something “incredible” in his home, in this case, in New York – The Winemaker of Avenue C*. It had already published another article about Italian wines on October 29 that focused on Aglianico, perhaps one of the least well-known of all the great grape varietals – Your Next Lesson: Aglianicos*. On November 4, the Washington Post reported on the fact that Italy is once again the world’s leading wine producer – Italy top wine maker after big harvest; drought hits Spain.
*Article available for pay/with registration