From Saving Italy. (Robert Edsel).
Letter to Commanders.
"Today we are fighting in a country which has contributed a great deal to our cultural inheritance, a country rich in monuments which by their creation helped and now in their old age illustrate the growth of the civilization which is ours. We are bound to respect those monuments so far as war allows..." Dwight D. Eisenhower. p 67.
"We've been hitting targets around Florence for a long time, but we haven't actually hit in the city itself because approximately ten percent of the world's art treasures are located right here in Florence..." Briefing commander. p 105.
A remarkable paragraph I came across years ago in a travel book contested that "60% of Europe's cultural masterpieces and 40% of the world's reside within Italy's borders."
It's an astounding figure indeed. I was never able to retrieve that quote but the above passage from the commander (indeed the book itself) is the closest I've come to finding it (to say nothing of glancing over Unesco's World Heritage Sites which Italy tops).
So if Florence held 10% is it out of the realm of possibility that other cultural centers like Rome, Naples and Venice and major cities like Milan can't come close or match Florence? Then come all the smaller but no less significant towns like Padua, Lucca, Urbino, Siena, Pompei, Verona, Bologna, Ravenna, Lecce, Como, Pisa and Assisi. To say nothing of the ancient villages and islands like Sicily, Murano and Torcello.
Together, these place make Italy a titan of cultural treasures unmatched in the world. The scope is indeed breathtaking and it's no wonder a band of American and British servicemen sought to protect what was left and undamaged by the war.
I don't know if masterpieces destroyed over the years (the Nazis leveled the University of Naples, for example, a couple of times, while Monte Cassino was destroyed during the Allied invasion) factor into the figures. If not, then the depth of Italy's cultural heritage becomes all the more difficult to measure.
Because Italy is more than a geographic expression..
Friday, September 13, 2013
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Ceccarelli Yacht Design
Ceccarelli engineering is based in Ravenna (like Microperi) and is partnered with Microperi in the Costa Concordia disaster.
The translation in the profiles page could use a hand.
In fact, it's one common feature I've noticed since starting this blog. Italian companies have yet to, judging by the text, focus on English translation. In my view, it's an important aspect of how you want to project your company and convey its mission.
The translation in the profiles page could use a hand.
In fact, it's one common feature I've noticed since starting this blog. Italian companies have yet to, judging by the text, focus on English translation. In my view, it's an important aspect of how you want to project your company and convey its mission.
Engineering Philosophies Tested In Costa Concordia Recovery
The Costa Concordia catastrophe's recovery project is fast approaching $1 billion (originally estimated to be about $300 million) and is testing engineering minds in the process.
A remarkable story of human ingenuity is rising amidst the disaster as both Italian and international talent and resources are being committed to removing the massive cruise liner from where it hauntingly lays half submerged at an angle in water on the island of Giglio in Tuscany.
Giglio, a hidden gem for tourists, also produces expensive tiles.
The design and material needed falls right into the abilities of Italian know-how but it's a challenge made much more complex given the delicate and rich marine life that exists under the ship thus dismissing the possibility of simply blowing it to bits.
Der Spiegel writes:
"On the island of Giglio, they are currently preparing the most spectacular shipwreck towing maneuver in maritime history. Never before has such a colossal cruise ship been raised to an upright position. The vessel is 290 meters (951 feet) long and 36 meters (118 feet) wide. It has a displacement of 50,000 metric tons. To make matters worse, it's lying in a precarious position on a rocky slope and is in danger of sliding into deeper water. The salvage is expected to cost at least €300 million ($387 million) and will set new technical and environmental standards."
The plan to literally pull the ship onto a plank is a hit or miss scenario according to experts involved.
"...In early May, four months after the ship ran aground, a technical committee comprised of representatives of the shipping company, shipbuilding companies and additional experts awarded the contract to Titan Salvage and Micoperi, a company based in Ravenna, Italy that specializes in underwater constructions such as oil platforms. Six other companies had also bid on the project, including specialists working for Smit from Rotterdam, who until just a few weeks ago had been pumping the heavy fuel out of the wreck. The Dutch were so popular that Giglio residents performed a Mexican wave for them down at the harbor. Smit was also the company that achieved the feat in 2003 of cutting apart a sunken car freighter in the English Channel and removing it piece by piece.
The committee decided against cutting apart the Costa Concordia, and instead opted for the most expensive proposal -- the plan to bring the capsized ship to an upright position. To achieve this, they will use a kind of rolling maneuver called the parbuckling principle. For the experiment, 33-meter high watertight steel boxes, or caissons, will be attached to the sides of the ship and used as floats. From an underwater platform deeply anchored in the bedrock, 36 steel cables, each as thick as a lamppost, will extend to the upper edge of the caissons. These cables will be used to almost silently rotate the ship out of its tilted position. It will have taken one year to painstakingly prepare the maneuver, but it will require less than two hours to perform it -- if all goes well."
"...It has already become clear that the salvage operation with Titan Salvage and Micoperi has set the stage for the clash of two very different corporate cultures: One is a team of daredevil problem solvers who rope down from helicopters to the decks of stricken tankers and lasso abandoned ships on the high seas as if they were wild horses. The other is a group of designer engineers who work meticulously according to official guidelines, where each step is coordinated with the coast guard, the Environment Ministry, the region of Tuscany or the mayor of Giglio. In situations like this, Italy's bureaucrats can be very fussy. On numerous occasions, Micoperi engineers have urged their colleagues from Titan Salvage to show more respect for rules and regulations: "We are not in Bangladesh."
The enormity and complexity of the task is something worth following.
More on the story here.
Microperi website here.
A remarkable story of human ingenuity is rising amidst the disaster as both Italian and international talent and resources are being committed to removing the massive cruise liner from where it hauntingly lays half submerged at an angle in water on the island of Giglio in Tuscany.
Giglio, a hidden gem for tourists, also produces expensive tiles.
The design and material needed falls right into the abilities of Italian know-how but it's a challenge made much more complex given the delicate and rich marine life that exists under the ship thus dismissing the possibility of simply blowing it to bits.
Der Spiegel writes:
"On the island of Giglio, they are currently preparing the most spectacular shipwreck towing maneuver in maritime history. Never before has such a colossal cruise ship been raised to an upright position. The vessel is 290 meters (951 feet) long and 36 meters (118 feet) wide. It has a displacement of 50,000 metric tons. To make matters worse, it's lying in a precarious position on a rocky slope and is in danger of sliding into deeper water. The salvage is expected to cost at least €300 million ($387 million) and will set new technical and environmental standards."
The plan to literally pull the ship onto a plank is a hit or miss scenario according to experts involved.
"...In early May, four months after the ship ran aground, a technical committee comprised of representatives of the shipping company, shipbuilding companies and additional experts awarded the contract to Titan Salvage and Micoperi, a company based in Ravenna, Italy that specializes in underwater constructions such as oil platforms. Six other companies had also bid on the project, including specialists working for Smit from Rotterdam, who until just a few weeks ago had been pumping the heavy fuel out of the wreck. The Dutch were so popular that Giglio residents performed a Mexican wave for them down at the harbor. Smit was also the company that achieved the feat in 2003 of cutting apart a sunken car freighter in the English Channel and removing it piece by piece.
The committee decided against cutting apart the Costa Concordia, and instead opted for the most expensive proposal -- the plan to bring the capsized ship to an upright position. To achieve this, they will use a kind of rolling maneuver called the parbuckling principle. For the experiment, 33-meter high watertight steel boxes, or caissons, will be attached to the sides of the ship and used as floats. From an underwater platform deeply anchored in the bedrock, 36 steel cables, each as thick as a lamppost, will extend to the upper edge of the caissons. These cables will be used to almost silently rotate the ship out of its tilted position. It will have taken one year to painstakingly prepare the maneuver, but it will require less than two hours to perform it -- if all goes well."
"...It has already become clear that the salvage operation with Titan Salvage and Micoperi has set the stage for the clash of two very different corporate cultures: One is a team of daredevil problem solvers who rope down from helicopters to the decks of stricken tankers and lasso abandoned ships on the high seas as if they were wild horses. The other is a group of designer engineers who work meticulously according to official guidelines, where each step is coordinated with the coast guard, the Environment Ministry, the region of Tuscany or the mayor of Giglio. In situations like this, Italy's bureaucrats can be very fussy. On numerous occasions, Micoperi engineers have urged their colleagues from Titan Salvage to show more respect for rules and regulations: "We are not in Bangladesh."
The enormity and complexity of the task is something worth following.
More on the story here.
Microperi website here.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Saving Italy
"Italy has long been identified by its cultural treasures; Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper is but one. Its ancient cities - Rome, Syracuse and Pompeii; jewel box towns - Venice, San Gimignano, and Urbino; places of worship - St Peter's Basilica, Florence's Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore), and Padua's Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel; and iconic monuments - the Colosseum, Leaning Tower, and Ponte Vecchio, have been so studied and admired through literature, verse and image that they have become the shared heritage of all mankind." Prelude (p. 5) to 'Saving Italy' by Robert Edsel.
I picked up this book over the week end and it so happens a movie called The Monuments Men was made based on the story of remarkable men who set to preserve and save Italy's cultural heritage from the Nazi's in WWII. The film is set to hit theaters in Decmember 2013. I don't know how much of it will consider Italy, but the book is all about it.
The above passage is powerful - and to anyone who has visited Italy or has come appreciate its history, this is but scratching the surface. The country holds more Unesco heritage sites than any country. The country isn't a geographic expression; it's a cultural expression. When one sees Italy on a map or atlas, it may as well be staring into the world's museum. I remember reading somewhere years ago in travel book it's been thought that Italy holds 60% of all Europe's cultural legacy and 40% of the world's." In addition, economically speaking, it produces about 45% of the world's luxury items.
Italy, simply, baffles.
I picked up this book over the week end and it so happens a movie called The Monuments Men was made based on the story of remarkable men who set to preserve and save Italy's cultural heritage from the Nazi's in WWII. The film is set to hit theaters in Decmember 2013. I don't know how much of it will consider Italy, but the book is all about it.
The above passage is powerful - and to anyone who has visited Italy or has come appreciate its history, this is but scratching the surface. The country holds more Unesco heritage sites than any country. The country isn't a geographic expression; it's a cultural expression. When one sees Italy on a map or atlas, it may as well be staring into the world's museum. I remember reading somewhere years ago in travel book it's been thought that Italy holds 60% of all Europe's cultural legacy and 40% of the world's." In addition, economically speaking, it produces about 45% of the world's luxury items.
Italy, simply, baffles.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Spanish Steps Really French
Though the purpose of this blog is to cover the industrial side of Italy, the hard reality is you can't do so without discussing its immeasurable cultural wealth from time to time.
I came across a biography of the architect Francesco de Sanctis - who along with Alessandro Specchi - designed and built the Spanish Steps in Rome.
Interestingly enough, the Spanish Steps really have little to do with anything connected to Spain (though I always took it for granted it probably was linked to the Spanish occupation of Southern Italy) but rather could (or should have been called) the French Steps since it was France who actually paid for its construction.
Maybe they could rename it the Spench Steps?
/coughs.
Well, plenty of things were paid by Italians claimed by other nations (think exploration when Italian bankers and merchants bankrolled many expeditions claimed by unified Monarchies) so I guess the French will just have to take the high road on this one.
In the end, it was a couple of Italians, though, who brought it to life.
De Sanctis for his part was (unfairly) scapegoated when part of steps collapsed in 1728 thus ending his career in Rome.
I came across a biography of the architect Francesco de Sanctis - who along with Alessandro Specchi - designed and built the Spanish Steps in Rome.
Interestingly enough, the Spanish Steps really have little to do with anything connected to Spain (though I always took it for granted it probably was linked to the Spanish occupation of Southern Italy) but rather could (or should have been called) the French Steps since it was France who actually paid for its construction.
Maybe they could rename it the Spench Steps?
/coughs.
Well, plenty of things were paid by Italians claimed by other nations (think exploration when Italian bankers and merchants bankrolled many expeditions claimed by unified Monarchies) so I guess the French will just have to take the high road on this one.
In the end, it was a couple of Italians, though, who brought it to life.
De Sanctis for his part was (unfairly) scapegoated when part of steps collapsed in 1728 thus ending his career in Rome.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Italy Would Honor Tour de France
Italy may host start of Tour de France in the next few years.
It is indeed odd Italy has been overlooked (snubbed?) for such an honor given its incredibly rich cycling heritage and legacy. Not many countries (a small list that includes Belgium, France and Spain) possess the colorful tapestry of cycling success and tradition found within its boundaries.
And still less countries have produced the engineering beauty of their bicycles and all the frames and parts that go along with putting together an artistic process.
That the Tour de France has not included Italy all these years makes them slightly poorer in my view.
To his credit race director Christian Prudhomme seems keen to rectify this glaring omission.
After all, the French do appreciate all that is fine in life.
It is indeed odd Italy has been overlooked (snubbed?) for such an honor given its incredibly rich cycling heritage and legacy. Not many countries (a small list that includes Belgium, France and Spain) possess the colorful tapestry of cycling success and tradition found within its boundaries.
And still less countries have produced the engineering beauty of their bicycles and all the frames and parts that go along with putting together an artistic process.
That the Tour de France has not included Italy all these years makes them slightly poorer in my view.
To his credit race director Christian Prudhomme seems keen to rectify this glaring omission.
After all, the French do appreciate all that is fine in life.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Fiat Unveils New Model For North America
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Italy World Leader In Mechatronics
Explore Italy's cutting edge and excellent industrial side in an essay titled The Italian Edge: Technology For Excellence . 114 pages and worth a read.
More here at The Italian Edge.
The positions claimed in the essay is why I began this blog. When you say engineering you think German, Japanese and American. You may even think British and to a lesser extent French. But Italian, or the Italy brand, is every bit the equal of those great engineering societies. Italy has a long and proud historical legacy in technology and it's no surprise they are key players in this area.
Mechatronics is a design process (begun in Japan) that includes a combination of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, control engineering and computer engineering. Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field of engineering, that is to say, it rejects splitting engineering into separate disciplines.
If you would like a copy of the book please go here.
I will getting myself a copy.
More here at The Italian Edge.
The positions claimed in the essay is why I began this blog. When you say engineering you think German, Japanese and American. You may even think British and to a lesser extent French. But Italian, or the Italy brand, is every bit the equal of those great engineering societies. Italy has a long and proud historical legacy in technology and it's no surprise they are key players in this area.
Mechatronics is a design process (begun in Japan) that includes a combination of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, control engineering and computer engineering. Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field of engineering, that is to say, it rejects splitting engineering into separate disciplines.
If you would like a copy of the book please go here.
I will getting myself a copy.
U-Boat Continues Italian Tradition Of Producing Beauty
The Italian watchmaker has recently unveiled its first motorcycle.
And it's a looker. Sorry about the quality of the pic. Click on link to visit U-Boat page.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
The Return
Gordie is my imaginary sock puppet.
Let's begin with Carlo Rambaldi shall we?
Rambaldi is the man behind the creation of sci-fi characters E.T. and Aliens.
Those crazy imaginative Italians.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Chocolate Tycoon Ferrero Dies
Ferrero SpA is a chocolate company founded in 1946. It produces, among other items, Nutella and Ferrero Rocher chocolate. Its products are made by machines built by an in-house engineering department.
A member of its family - Pietro Ferrero - died while cycling in Africa.
A member of its family - Pietro Ferrero - died while cycling in Africa.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Rare And Expensive Cars
Love Aston Martin.
Nor is it much of a surprise, I reckon, three Italian cars are present. Many Italian luxury items would be found on such lists.
Image: Pagani Zonda.
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