Economy – The foreign press has run various articles this week about Italian businesses abroad and foreign investments into Italy. Not only with the improvement in the manufacturing index in September providing hope that the economy is picking up (Financial Times, October 3 – Italy’s manufacturing sector recovers in Sept – Markit*), the foreign press was also interested in Novamont, located close to Rovigo, which is sinking some 100 million Euros in the world’s first plastics manufacturing plant to run on natural resources (Washington Post, September 29 – Italy’s Novamont invests $112 million in biochemical plant). There is a piece on Moleskine, the Italian “planner “that has proved betting on paper even in today’s digital world is a good bet with high profit margins (Wall Street Journal, September 29 –Moleskine Turns Paper Into Big Profit for Private-Equity Owner*) and Fila that is also doing well following its recent purchase of the historic French paper production company deemed “the most prestigious in the world” (Les Echos, October 6 – Les papiers Canson passent sous pavillon italien). Italian fashion label, Curiel, also got a mention in an article about its expansion into Asia thanks to new Chinese investor Zhao Yinzheng (Wall Street Journal, September 29 – Chinese Investor Has Plans for Italy’s Curiel*).
Fashion also featured in Les Echos in a piece focusing on Carlo Alberto Beretta, the Italian recently appointed as Kering’s Marketing and Client Manager (October 4 – KERING : Carlo Alberto Beretta*).
Combining the economy and style, Ferrari warranted two mentions this week as the Maranello based company prepares to celebrate the 70 years since it was founded (El Mundo, September 30 – Ferrari: un homenaje de aniversario para los mejores de su historia) whilst the group’s upper echelon had explained to Reuters that the company was continuing to perform well on all markets (September 29 – Ferrari exec says company doing very well). Italy’s major auto makers also shared center stage with catwalk shows and opportunities to taste Italian food and wine during the festivities that marked the 100 year presence of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Morocco (l’Economiste, October 4 – La Chambre de commerce italienne fête ses 100 ans).
Culture –The cultural pages of the Financial Times ran an interview with director Paolo Sorrentino exploring his move from the big to the small screen (September 30 – Paolo Sorrentino: the anti-storyteller*) with “Young Pope”, a co-produced TV series set to revolutionize traditional Italian TV news (Wall Street Journal, October 5 – ‘The Young Pope’ Breaks Italian TV Traditions). It was the work of Riccardo Muti at the Chicago Symphony, however, that was explored by the New York Times (October 2 – Riccardo Muti, Indulging a Passion for Overlooked Italian Composers*) whilst Artemisia Gentileschi, the woman artist from the Caravaggio school caught the eye of the Guardian (October 5 – More savage than Caravaggio: the woman who took revenge in oil).
Food & Wine – Bloomberg was in Piedmont this week, exploring the region it declared was less well known than Tuscany but had even more to offer in terms of its wines and culinary delights (September 30 – Why Piemonte, Tuscany’s Lovely Stepsister, Is the Perfect Wine Trip Right Now). The New York Times ran a write-up on Brad Thomas Parsons’ recent book about the tradition of Italian digestif that has just hit the shelves in the US (October 4 – That’s Amaro: One Man’s Love Affair With Bitter Liqueurs). Meanwhile les Echos set out the 5 best restaurants in France and Italy to find “vitello tonnato”, veal with a tuna-based sauce (September 30 – Top 5 : les meilleurs vitello tonnato).
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