Snippets Of Italy

What does 'Made in Italy' mean today?

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A country that continues to explore its artistic soul through creative minds like Beppe Giacobbe.

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Meet architect Renzo Piano. The brilliant mind behind the Centre Georges Pompidou, Shard London Bridge and The New York Times Building.

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From Smithsonianmag.com.

 

Rebirth of Matera:

“You don’t think of a cave being complex architecturally,” says American architect Anne Toxey, author of Materan Contradictions, who has been studying the Sassi for over 20 years. “But I was blown away by their intricate structures.” The most elaborate stonework dates from the Renaissance, when many caves were adorned with new facades, or had their ceilings extended to make vaulted rooms. Today, carved stone stairways still connect arches, attics, belfries and balconies, each grafted onto the other like a dynamic Cubist sculpture. Hidden behind iron grilles are rock-hewn churches, created by Byzantine monks, with splendidly frescoed interiors. On the opposite side of the ravine, on a plateau called the Murgia, more mysterious caves stare back like vacant eyes."

“Matera is one of the oldest living cities in the world in terms of continuity,” Antonio Nicoletti, an urban planner from Matera, told me. “You can find older cities in Mesopotamia, but they have not been occupied in modern times. Where else can you now sleep in a room that was first occupied 9,000 years ago?” Estimates of the earliest occupation of the site vary, but archaeologists have found artifacts in local caves dating to the Neolithic period and even earlier.

"...In southern Italy, the past has often helped rescue the present. Ever since the excavation of Pompeii brought grand tours to Naples in the 18th century, historical sites have lured foreign travelers to impoverished outposts. But Matera may be Europe’s most radical rags-to-riches story. Located in the instep of the Italian boot, the town has always been an isolated, forgotten part of Basilicata, among the least populated, least visited and least understood regions of Italy. Even in the 19th century, few travelers ventured through its arid, desolate landscapes, which were known to be full of briganti, or brigands. "

Stories like Matera only add to Italy's place as one of the world's greatest museum of civilization.

Mobiles Drive Fashion Sales

Yoox Net-A-Porter has embraced Apple iPhones and mobile devices as part of its sales platform.

CEO Federico Marchetti:

"...Around 50 percent of our sales came from people ordering on smartphones," Marchetti told AFPTV in an interview at Milan fashion week.

"Frankly speaking if the iPhone had not been invented that figure would be much lower. So I have to say thank you to Steve Jobs. It is thanks to him that we can do our business..."

"...Marchetti believes the next wave of growth will be powered by a new generation of dedicated fashion-retail smartphone apps, something he sees as even more important in the short term than 

the potential of emerging markets.

"I see something more tomorrow in the smartphone rather than India," he said.

Maserati Enters Crossover Market

With the Levante, Maserati has created its first SUV.  I believe the 102 year-old company considered a similar endeavor as early as the late 1920s ( several decades before the genre took off) but abandoned the idea.

I'm not sure what to make of this decision. Maserati's brand is a unique one and to enter such a market pits them against companies much more entrenched like Lexus, BMW and specifically Porsche.

I suppose Italy has to start somewhere. Maybe they see changing demand for such cars but will Italians go for it? Will North Americans consider the Maserati option instead of their sedans?

More to the point, the Levante - fitted with a 350hp V6 - sports the similar design of competitors and hardly differentiates itself despite its legendary roots:

"...The new Maserati SUV is based on the Quattroporte and Ghibli architecture, further evolved and refined to meet the expectations of this market segment, in which Maserati will compete for the first time."

I think where it it really displays an Italian edge is with the interior:

"...The interior has been created with the finest materials, most exquisite to the touch, from optional premium leather to Ermenegildo Zegna silk, made in Trivero by the Zegna wool mill with a patented process."


The SUV retails for about $76 000 USD.


Quotes from Autoblog.
Image from RoadandTrack.

San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan Plays Role In Preventative Cancer Treatment

"A revolutionary cancer treatment that remembers the disease and remains like a watchman to prevent it returning is being developed.

Immune cells are being engineered so they not only boost the body’s natural defences to fight tumours but stand guard for life, acting like a vaccine.

The study, presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Washington DC, has proven for the first time that engineered “memory T-cells” can persist in the body for 14-plus years.

"Prof Chiara Bonini, a haematologist at San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, said: “T-cells are a living drug, and in particular have the potential to persist in our body for our whole lives.

“Imagine when you are given a vaccine as a kid and you are protected against flu for all of your life. Why is that? Because when a T-cell encounters the antigen and gets activated, it kills the pathogen but also persists as a memory cell.”

In trials at a Milan hospital, 10 patients who had bone marrow transplants were given immune boosting therapy that included the memory T-cells."

Excellent and amazing news. 

Finmeccanica's Project Zero

Finmeccanica's Project Zero styled by Bertone - the company that designed Lambretta and a host of cars including Alfa-Romeo, Mercedes, Citroen and Aston-Martin.



From Finmeccanica's website:

"Project Zero is the only unmanned technological development programme in the world that brings together electric propulsion, the vertical take-off and landing capabilities of a helicopter and the in-flight speed and altitude performance of an aeroplane. A result of Finmeccanica’s collaboration with research agencies and companies from Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan, Project Zero has led to the design of new technologies which can be applied to other new products under development. Finmeccanica’s excellence in vertical flight is also represented by existing successful aircraft such as the AgustaWestland AW101, the market-leading medium-weight, multi-role helicopter, and the intermediate models AW169 and AW139. Over 340 Finmeccanica helicopters have been ordered to date by defence, government and commercial operators in the region. These aifcraft carry out naval, utility, national security, search and rescue, helicopter-ambulance and maritime patrol missions."

Knight Rider Gets Italian Make Over

"Fans of 1980s cult TV show Knight Rider can pick up an exact replica of KITT, described as 'absolutely identical in every detail' to the car driven by Michael Knight - at auction today.

The car even talks and can open the windows if you ask, but before you channel your inner Hoff and shop for a new leather jacket, you'll need to find some serious cash and start learning the phrase 'aprire le finestre'.

 

That's because if you want to ask this estimated £35,000 KITT replica to open those windows, you're going to have to do it in Italian."

Admittedly, though Knight Rider was enormously popular and part of my youth in the 1980s, I wasn't much of a fan having watched it only time to time.

I was more into The A-Team.

Hey. To each his own.

The important thing is Knight Rider now has Italian flair and that's a good thing.

Italian Contribution In The History Of Nash-Healey

Sports car legend Nash-Healey possesses a wonderful history and one in which Italy had a role.

Conceived in 1951 as a partnership between British automaker Donald Healey and the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation it was the first sports car manufactured in the United States. It quickly emerged as one of the great sports cars of its era. Healey commissioned Pininfarina to redesign the brand with the assembly taking place in Warwick, Turin and Kenosha in Wisconsin.

Pic (and story) from Sports Car One.

Trevi Group To Fix Dam In Iraq

"The Iraqi government and an Italian engineering firm have finally reached a tentative agreement that could provide a long-term fix for the world’s most dangerous dam. But the tricky repairs needed to prevent a catastrophic failure at the Mosul Dam, in northern Iraq, could potentially make a bad situation even worse."

"...On Tuesday, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni confirmed that the Iraqi government and the Trevi Group of Italy were close to finally signing a deal for long-term repair of the dam’s foundation. The Italian company has been trying to secure the Mosul contract since last year, but concerns about the Islamic State’s continued presence and questions about security at the work site have delayed any work so far. Gentiloni said on Tuesday that talks with Baghdad about the dispatch of up to 450 Italian troops to protect the site are well advanced."

"The Trevi Group has carried out similar work at more than 150 other troubled dams, including in the United States. The Wolf Creek Dam in Kentucky, for example, was built on geology similar to that at the Mosul Dam and faced the same kind of seepage problem. Between 2006 and 2013, Trevi built a concrete wall under the dam’s embankment, known as a “cutoff wall,” that acts as a barrier to seepage and ends the threat of erosion caused when water hits limestone, gypsum, or other minerals..."

More at Foreign Policy magazine.

The Trevi Group come with a substantial resume including being an integral player in the raising of the Costa Concordia submerged and stuck in waters of Giglio island.

Images of Lombardia

As you know, this blog's stated objective is to explore Italy's industrial and technological side but it's cultural heritage runs so deep it's almost impossible to ignore it. I don't know how I've managed to keep such a stoic posture given the country's cultural magnificence.

Alas, perhaps the time has come for me to consider posting the odd cultural gem Italy offers in abundance. Indeed, it almost feels criminal to not do so.

Looking up some information on Atalanta soccer, I came across the interestingly majestic photo of the city of Bergamo (home to Atalanta) which is situated north of Milan in the Lombardy region.

Apple Opens First European iOS App Development Center In Naples

In tech news:

"Apple® today announced the creation of Europe’s first iOS App Development Center in Italy, to give students practical skills and training on developing iOS apps for the world’s most innovative and vibrant app ecosystem.


The iOS App Development Center, to be located at a partner institution in Naples, will support teachers and provide a specialized curriculum preparing thousands of future developers to be part of Apple’s thriving developer community. In addition, Apple will work with partners around Italy who deliver developer training to complement this curriculum and create additional opportunities for students. Apple expects to expand this program to other countries around the world.


“Europe is home to some of the most creative developers in the world and we’re thrilled to be helping the next generation of entrepreneurs in Italy get the skills they need for success,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The phenomenal success of the App Store is one of the driving forces behind the more than 1.4 million jobs Apple has created in Europe and presents unlimited opportunities for people of all ages and businesses of all sizes across the continent.”

"...Thousands of companies are expanding because of their work with Apple, which supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in communities large and small across Europe. Milan-based Laboratorio Elettrofisico makes some of the most sophisticated magnetization equipment in the world and their technology enables some of the industry-leading magnetic features found in Apple products. Apple also works with Europe’s leading manufacturers of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems, which create tiny components that power some of the incredible sensor and audio technologies found in iOS devices."

Keeping Things Clean With Johnny Vac

Check out my new Johnny Vac.

Vacuuming in Italian style! Okay, it's not easy trying to make a vacuum hip but you have to admit Johnny Vac is a cool name.

Anyway, way better than a Shop-Vac. Sturdier, easier to maneuver and the micro-filter sacs make for a less dustier ordeal. Just a much better machine all-around.

Bring On 2016!

Buon Anno A Tutti!

Buon Natale

Meet the world's largest Christmas tree in the Medieval town of Gubbio in Umbria.

What makes an Italian Christmas anyway?

The Captivating Aura Of Italian Creativity

Perusing up and down WSJ I spotted an article about a Stanford physics professor and his love for Alfa Romeo. 

"...When I look at a car, I don’t just see a vehicle, but a set of values of the people who dreamed it up. The car pictured here is a 1972 Alfa Romeo Spider. I love the styling, but it’s really a car all about driving. Every aspect of the design is about performance. There was no focus group to decide where to put a ketchup holder, no gimmicks or fake wood grain. 
"Italian cars in the early 1970s got a reputation for poor quality, but it’s not warranted. These cars were very sophisticated for their time, and they required knowledge and competence from the people servicing them. This competence was not commonly found at a corner gas station. It wasn’t that the cars were pieces of junk. People just didn’t know how to take care of them..."

I may be mistaken but the cost of quality steel in the 1970s from countries in Western Europe skyrocketed leaving car manufacturers in Italy with little options except to use lower-grade steel from Russia which in part explained why they rusted as one person explained to me years ago.

In any event, he gets right to the heart of what distinguishes and differentiates Italian creativity from the rest. It's hoped I can convey this message in this (poorly run) blog.

From the comments:

"As an owner of 2 Alfas and a few other Italian cars, I couldn't agree more. Every time I sit in one of these cars I marvel at the unobtrusive competence of the people who designed them. They are made for the driver to shine, not to show off the engineers' capabilities. There are no gimmicks, no complicated interfaces that seem to be there only because the engineers could do it, no superfluous features, nothing except the man-machine interaction. These cars are a pure expression of the Italian designers' credo, harkening back to Roman times and building on the humanism of the Renaissance, that man is the measure of all things and that technology should be at the service of man. It is this idea that pervades the Italian way of life, you can see it every day when you visit Rome or Florence or Bologna or Milan, and it is embodied in the cars that they make. And in the motorcycles, and the boats, and the watches, and the clothes..."

An accurate and apt description if you ask me.

Many years ago my cousin explained to me while visiting Italy that Italians don't look for comfort in cars like North Americans and Northern Europeans do. Italians want to feel the enraged sexy might of their cars. They have a passion and panache for speed and more speed. Their car culture simply reflects and mirrors this appetite for speed through cutting edge design. It's what's keeps their creative juices flowing. It reminds them they're alive.

That's why you don't see too many Italian luxury cars. They do exist among the Maserati, Lancia and even Alfa ranks, while unsurprisingly beautiful and comfortable, it's not their specialty.

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Which got me thinking. How many truly great racing nations are there? By this, I mean countries that create the machines to feed their lust for speed.

Off the top of my head, the obvious ones that spring to mind are the United States, Great Britain, Italy, France, and Germany. Japan, Australia, Spain, Brazil, Argentina and even Canada can also been thrown into the mix. Japan is a great producer but its racing culture is not as vibrant. The others are nations that have provided talent but not necessarily the machines - by this I mean speedy boats, planes, automobiles, motorcycles and whatever else people race.

So that leaves the first six. And out of those mighty six,  in my view, the U.S, G-B and Italy stand out as the biggest racing cultures.