Removing A Lamborghini Espada V-12 Engine

That's some engine.

Love the styling and design on that car.

Great Italian Ship Engines

Found this website about all things Italy. I was just looking around for themes on motors and engines and stumbled on an article discussing Grandi Motori Trieste building the biggest diesel engine for ships in the world.

A kindred spirit!

The search continues for Italian engineering and scientific prowess.

Olive Mills Help Produce Great Olive Oil

During my quest researching olive mills from Italy, I recently read a story about a Canadian couple producing the first olive oil from Canada. It's a pretty neat story and will be sure to seek it out and give it a taste.

In the meantime, I noticed they purchased an Italian olive mill Pieralisi (and Italian olive varieties) to launch their business. Pieralisi was founded in 1888 and has been an innovator in the industry ever since.

This is the part of the equation never mentioned whenever the discussion of olive oils productions comes up. While Italy is part of several olive producing nations like Spain (the biggest producer), Greece and Turkey, Italy is a leader on the technology and innovation side which translates into world class olive oil. The equipment and technique that goes with it matters.

Another producer is Oliomio.



Image: Pieralisi olive mills.

Links And Articles Of Interest

Just some random links.

Another Giro has come and gone. While not one of the most exciting Giros of recent times, it was nonetheless a intriguing one for cycling fans. It's a shame no major networks covered this majestic race - arguably now the best of the Grand Tours. Richard Carapaz of Ecuador was the general classification winner bringing that country its first ever Grand Tour victory. The Sicilian Vincenzo Nibali and Primoz Roglic of Slovenia made the podium.

Moving on.

Italy remains a key leather shoe exporting nation.

It also is the biggest textile manufacturer in Europe and 5th largest in the world.

Biella. Wool capital of the world. A couple of articles here and here.

The interesting history of weaving in Venice.

What isn't interesting about Venice?

Giro Of Beautiful Bicycles

Let's continue celebrating Italian works of bicycle art.





Tommasini is out of Grosseto. A town where we happen to have a friend.

We may just have to visit one of these days.

Climbing The Nivolet With Legendary Bikes

Look ma! First post of May!

The Giro D'Italia is criminally under appreciated and reported in the largely Anglicized North American sports landscape. It's a shame because it's one of the most eclectic, unpredictable and iconic of all races in a country where cycling tradition and history is almost unrivalled. From the passion to the scenic beauty to the food....the Giro is a race that deserves to be televised and respected.



Small rant. I was listening to Bob McKenzie speak on NHL Network. He was talking about video replay and how the NHL could mimic the innovative VAR seen 'in English and European football' as he put it.

Like the network he works for - TSN - it was a typically Anglo-centric comment (and to be fair, a harmless one. I don't mean to make it bigger than it is. Take it as a light annoyance observational rant) since the network has the rights to English premier football. Which is fine but it's no excuse to almost give the impression they're unaware of other leagues.

I know Serie A is in a lull right now but I still think it's the toughest league in the world to play bar none. It still presents a different interoperation of soccer worth watching. It may not be as 'dazzling' (which really is in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I like the cadence and tactical cerebral aspect of Italian soccer in general) as the glitzy English league (strong and iconic as it is), but it's still high quality soccer with top notch officiating.

Which rounds me up to my point. Serie A and Bundesliga were the first leagues to use VAR. Not England. Italian and German VAR officials were present at the last World Cup as the system is driven by their two interpretations of how to use it.

Serie A innovated with it because England did. 

Italian Guns Of World War I

Just one post thus far in 2019.

I really need to step up my game.

I just finished reading a 715 page book on World War I and decided to post a couple of Italian pistols.

First up, the Bodeo 1889 Model.



And the 'over-engineered' Glisenti 1910.



Hopefully I'll be more active moving forward.

Italian And North African Architectural Talents Merge And Converge

My first post of 2019. I know, I really need to be more involved and energetic. But procrastination is a problem. It's not like I get paid for any of this. Heck, Google even kicked me off some payment thing they had. Plus all these regulatory notices I keep getting are annoying. The EU are a regulatory entity wrapped up in another layer of regulations then smothered by more excessive regulations.

I love Europe but they're red tape pain in the asses.

Whatever. I don't do this for the money. I do it for the love.

Happy new year!

It makes sense Italy is using and lending its resources in North Africa:

"An Italian designing giant and a group of Moroccan business owners are cooperating to bring Morocco’s designing and architecture industry to a higher standing in excellence in the global market.

The project, called Bretone Design Africa (BDA), is the fruit of the collaboration between world-renowned Italian industrial design brand Bretone Italia, Rabat-based city planning giant Marita Group Holding, and Moroccan businessman Moulay Youssef El Alaoui."

Hopefully, I'll be more attentive and active moving forward.

Happy New Year!

And belated Merry Christmas.

While I'm at it Happy Holidays!

Nothing like talking into the wind. No one reads this blog but I'll keep going in 2019.

Spotlight On Textile Companies

Just some random companies in Italy I came across.

Cognetex is another company focused in machinery (spinning wheels, twisting machines) all too common in Italy. Video on Vimeo.

Fadis is another focused on bobbins (spindles).

The Arioli group focuses on fabric printing.

Ferraro.

'Innovation is not an option'? They need to invest in an editor! Not sure if companies realize grammar matters.

FK Group:



Laip.

Marzoli:



Mesdan focuses on joining devices.

Where Italy excels on the machine side of yarn manufacturing, its production, while important for its quality, is not as large as China, India and the United States but it is growing. It's an industry where several countries enjoy success.

*****

As an aside, my father was a tailor. He carried English and Italian fabrics because a) of the quality and b) it's what customers demanded. 

A Couple Of Inventions By Italians Of Note

Ever wonder what hydrofoils are?

Well?

Here you go:

The hydrofoil was invented by Enrico Forlanini. 

In 1877, he also invented a helicopter powered by a steam engine. 

While we're at it, Italians also had a hand in the development of the typewriter.

Pretty significant stuff. 

Frecce Tricolore: Where Art And Engineering Meet

It's not surprising that an industrious and  engineering country like Italy also produces talent to manipulate such mechanical creations.

As pointed out throughout the years on this blog, Italy manages to fuse both human and constructive (industrial) creativity into an art form. 

"...When it comes to creating a dazzling spectacle in the sky, the pilots of the Italian Air Force’s Frecce Tricolori (Tricolour Arrows) are hard to beat. Their displays are arguably the most colourful in the world and ooze Italian exuberance.

The Frecce Tricolori is the largest aerobatics display team in the world. The team’s pilots are known for their series of highly synchronized manoeuvres in specially modified Alenia Aermacchi MB-339A jets, the MB-339PAN, which have made the Frecce Tricolori one of the world’s premier aerobatic teams, as well as one of the most popular...."

Italy And Australia Team To Build World's Largest Telescope

"Representatives of leading Italian and Australian science institutions met in Perth yesterday to formally enter into a partnership to take the next steps toward the world's largest telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

The Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) and the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) will work together, combining complementary technologies and skills from both organisations, to advance SKA designs prior to full construction of the giant international telescope in around 2020...."

More at Spacedaily.com

Nanotechnology Figures In Fight Against Dementia

And Italy is playing its part.

"In the human brain, nerve cells - so-called neurons - care for the transmission of electrical signals. They form the functional component responsible for sensations, stimuli and memories. In the presence of dementia, there is an adsorption of proteins outside the neurons, which then leads to the death of the neuronal cells. How to prevent the death of neurons is still the subject of scientific research today.

In a recent transnational research project funded by the EU Joint Program on Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND), which is funded in Germany by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), researchers are now trying to address this question.

While project partners in Italy, Great Britain, Belgium and the USA investigate the exact processes in the brain, the MPI-P explores methods to transport drugs. The overcoming of a natural barrier in the body - the so-called blood-brain barrier - represents the main challenge. Drugs to be used in the brain must be able to pass this barrier first before acting in the brain...."

"...The partners involved in the project in Italy, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the USA are examining the exact processes in the brain in parallel with the development of the transport system in Mainz. Here, so-called "exosomes" and "neurotrophic factors" are of major interest."

From Ancient To Modernity: Italy Still Play A Role In Cutting Edge Technology

Interesting article in the MIT Technology Review on Italy positioning itself to be a world leader in technology.

Italy is a unique entity among the G7.  It held out, more than any, going full mass production instead remaining a SME economy along dynastic lines (think Beretta).

Part of the reason is Italians don't see the need and have little trust in putting their businesses in the hands of the stock market. At least, relative to their brethren in the G7 who have embraced the idea in order to be relevant and show economic power, raising capital and increasing market cap is good for a country as a whole.

Italians have been more apprehensive and it seems this strategy may be beginning to pay off for them.

The key is SME's are much easier to identify and adapt to constant changes in an economy.

This article further highlights the chauvinism of grouping Italy with the PIIGS is misguided and wrongheaded.

Italy may have its problems, no better or worse than most Western countries, but it has a lot going for it.

I've always marvelled and appreciated how an ancient civilization has managed to keep itself relevant  with modernity like Italy does. Few countries, if any, in the world can match the bridging of an ancient heritage with a technologically advanced.

Excepts from the article:

"When your thoughts turn to Italy, which products, services, and industries immediately come to mind? “You probably think of food, fast cars, fashion, wine, design, tourism—and all of that is good,” says Michele Scannavini, president of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), which promotes the internationalization of Italian companies. But now Italy’s leaders want the world to recognize their country’s 21^st-century strengths in advanced manufacturing, machinery, robotics, and related areas as well..."

"...At first glance, that transition might seem especially daunting given that Italian industry consists primarily of small and midsize enterprises (SMEs), he says. Often family-owned, these SMEs simply can’t match the financial resources of giant global enterprises based in Germany, the United States, and elsewhere.

In reality, though, modest size provides competitive advantage for Italian companies, Scannavini continues: “They are nimble and flexible and very fast to adopt new technologies.” In fact, he notes, what some might consider “the technologies of tomorrow” are already widely used in Italy: “Today, 40 percent of Italian manufacturing companies use 3-D printers for fast prototyping, and 25 percent use robotics in the manufacturing process.”

"...Italy is:

• Europe’s second-largest manufacturing economy, and home to some of the region’s most environmentally efficient manufacturing systems.

• Europe’s third-largest exporter of flexible manufacturing technologies, including robotics, with $9.6 billion in Italian exports to the United States alone.

• Among just five countries worldwide with a manufacturing trade surplus exceeding $100 billion.

Italy is also among the world leaders in industrial machinery. It ranks second worldwide in global competitiveness in that industry and is among the world’s top three producers of machined parts. More than 4,600 companies are producing machinery and related products in Italy today, employing nearly 180,000 people. That’s a significant chunk of the workforce in a country with a population of just under 60 million."

"...In September 2016, the Italian Ministry of Economic Development launched its Industrial National Plan 4.0—“Industry 4.0,” for short—which Scannavini describes as supporting “the digitization of the Italian economy.” The long-term strategic plan is designed to generate billions of dollars for technology research and innovation through tax breaks, venture-capital support for startups, and other public and private sources.

The plan also includes a strong educational component. The Italian government plans to create four or five centers of competence at top Italian universities in Milan, Pisa, and other locations. Collectively, those centers will shoot for some ambitious 10-year targets: training 200,000 students and 3,000 managers, and awarding 1,400 PhDs “on topics related to innovation, high technology, and the industry of the future,” Scannavini says."

"...IBM’s center will bring together data scientists, engineers, researchers, and designers—all specialists in Watson Health, which brings the advanced cognitive-computing capability of IBM’s Watson to the analysis of health-care data. “The center will be responsible for developing new diagnostic systems, new therapeutic solutions, and personalized medicine,” Scannavini says. 

IBM, which pledged to invest up to $150 million in the new center over the next several years, says company leaders envision the center becoming the hub of “a pan-European ecosystem for health-care reform, research, and health-tech startup”—in other words, another source for collaboration. 

IBM calls Italy a natural location for Watson Health’s first European center of excellence due to the nation’s “commitment to health and wellness.” That doesn’t surprise Scannavini, who notes that Italy boasts one of the highest levels of life expectancy (second only to Japan), low infant-mortality rates, and one of the world’s top health-care systems—all according to the World Health Agency (WHO). 

Another example: In June 2016, Lamborghini launched the Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory (ACSL) in Seattle to conduct research on improving the strong, lightweight carbon-fiber-component materials used in the company’s high-end sports cars. While the Pacific Northwest is half a world away from the Italian automaker’s headquarters in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Seattle was a strategic choice for the lab because of Lamborghini’s ongoing collaboration with Boeing, which also uses carbon fiber in its aircraft and aerospace products.

"...One of Scannavini’s top priorities is increasing Italy’s presence in the digital universe. There’s plenty of room for growth in that area. “We’re almost starting from scratch, unfortunately,” he said in a November 2016 interview with ItalyEurope24, a digital business publication..."