November 28th - December 4th

Rome, Dec. 2nd (Adnkronos) – Italy is the queen of the dinner table and it is practically undefeated as far as its cuisine goes, with the only competitor being France, and continues giving an image of being a gastronomic superpower. In fact, Italy is the favourite destination for international food lovers, and among the favourite food regions, Sicily is reaching the top held by Tuscany. This emerges from a survey on the wine and food image of Italy in the world promoted by the monthly magazine Gambero Rosso.

Naples, Dec. 2nd (Adnkronos) – The Campania Region lands under the Tour Eiffel: the typical products of the Regional quality productions will be among the stars of the 2005 edition of the Ť Salon des Saveurs ť, the traditional French gastronomy event opening today in Paris.

Lamezia Terme, Dec. 2nd (Adnkronos) – An important showcase is being set aside for typical Calabria farm products, ranging from the citron to bergamot, Calabria clementines, Sila potatoes, broccoli and fennel from Isola Capo Rizzuto, as they will be the stars during the Rai 1 Sunday afternoon TV program, “Domenica In”. The initiative is by the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry and it was announced by Coldiretti, which expresses its sincere satisfaction for the presence of seasonal farm products from Calabria during the most popular Rai Sunday entertainment TV show.

Rome, Dec. 2nd (Adnkronos) - ''The cassandras of catastrophe have been contradicted, the Ciampi policy has won. Made in Italy has reacted with trust and determination, igniting a new and important positive cycle”, said Productive Activities Undersecretary with proxy to Foreign Trade, Adolfo Urso, commenting the 2005 Censis Report according to which Made in Italy is showing “ signs of economic vitality”.

Florence, Dec. 2nd (Adnkronos) - ''In the Valley of the Masters-Inspiration from Tuscany's Mugello'' is the title of an exhibit that will be presented tomorrow at the Tuscany Regional Council building. The exhibit includes over 30 works of art set up at the ‘‘Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts'', a prestigious theatre in the centre of Manhattan, from December 8th to the 20th. The works were created by 11 young hopefuls from the Florence Academy of Fine Arts who thanks to training and valorisation programs promoted by the Florentine townships of San Piero a Sieve and Barberino del Mugello, have become known through travelling exhibits over the territory.

Milan, Dec. 2nd (Adnkronos) - Saipem has been awarded four new contracts, representing $550 million in the Offshore and Onshore Construction segments in Angola, Mexico, Thailand and Saudi Arabia. Saipem has been awarded the lump sum turnkey contract for the Marimba field development in Block 15, approximately 150 kilometres west of Soyo, offshore Angola. The contract, awarded by Esso Exploration Angola Limited, involves engineering, procurement, construction and installation of sub sea lines in a water depth of approximately 1,200 meters.

New York, Dec. 2nd (Adnkronos) – Chinese competitiveness relative to Made in Italy products is on the cover of the Europe edition of the USA weekly magazine “Time”, illustrating an article written by Peter Gumbel on the Italian industrial crisis due to the expansion of the giant Asian country through Michelangelo’s David and a Chinese statue arm wrestling. Though recognizing the fact that the Made in Italy logo still receives public acclaim all over the world, Mr. Gumbel underlines the thorny thumb of rule of a global economy in which the majority of consumers tend to buy the least expensive product.

Rome, Dec. 2nd (Adnkronos) –Productive Activities Minister, Claudio Scajola, has completed procedures for the organization of a special government Board for the fight against imitation products and named Roberto Cota Commissioner. He also nominated the attorney Antonello Colosimo and Dr. Sebastiano Sorbello as deputy Commissioners, through a ministerial decree and then appointed Giovanni Schiavon as the Coordinator of the Board and General Osvaldo Cucuzza as the coordinator of the technical staff.

Milan, Dec. 2nd (Adnkronos) - Carel from Brugine, a small town in the Padua area, is the China Trader of the Year. This company produces air humidifiers and microprocessors for air conditioning and refrigeration systems and it received the China Trader Award yesterday at the Hotel Principe Savoia of Milan during a dinner organized by Hong Kong Cathay Pacific Airways, the Italy-China Foundation, the Italy-China Chamber of Commerce, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Italy-Hong Kong Association, the promoters of the award dedicated to Italian companies standing out for their work in the Popular Republic of China.

Milan, Dec. 1st (Adnkronos) – “The Made in Italy business system can fight decline through innovation, investing in business models and common and clear projects having success possibilities”, declared Fabio Tamburini , the head of the Special Projects Department of Unicredit Banca d’Impresa, during Oracle Business World, a conference organized in Milan by the USA software company to discuss the role of technological innovation in Italian international market competitiveness.

Milan, Dec. 1st (Adnkronos) - Unicredit Banca d'Impresa is financing €130 million to 65 fashion-person enterprise systems.. This was announced today by the banking institution during Oracle Business World, a conference organized in Milan by the USA software company to discuss the role of technological innovation in Italian international market competitiveness. The study “Champions of Made in Italy, the strong and weak points of Italian medium enterprises” was presented by Fabio Tamburini, the head of the Special Projects Department of Unicredit Banca d’Impresa.

Milan, Dec. 1st (Adnkronos)- ''Made in Italy is good for everyone, often foreigners also take advantage of the success of Italian products by making consumers think that their product is the result of Italian craftsmanship”, declared Leonardo Bagnoli, the head of the Sammontana Planning and Control Department, during Oracle Business World, a conference organized in Milan by the USA software company to discuss the role of technological innovation in Italian international market competitiveness.

Rome, Dec. 1st (Adnkronos) - Made in Italy is the winning weapon to conquer the new EU markets in the countries of central-eastern Europe, the new member states. Underlining the need to aim at Italian style and to create a system is the president of the Senate Finance and Treasury Committee, Riccardo Pedrizzi (AN Party), in a speech during the “Financial, Monetary and Credit Aspects of the Expansion of the EU” conference, organized by the Senate Committee to present a survey on the subject.

Rome, Dec. 1st (Adnkronos) - ''We are particularly satisfied because the success of SIA is the success of Made in Italy in a highly technological sector in the heart of Europe, the Czech Republic, where various Italian enterprises and banks are present. This demonstrates Made in Italy is not only made up of small enterprises, which are certainly an important part of Italian economics, but also of large enterprises, banks and high tech companies which allow us to win the market challenge also in the most competitive sectors”. Productive Activities Undersecretary, Adolfo Urso, enthusiastically welcomes the presentation of a project for the realization of a capital market computer system in the Czech Republic. SIA, an Italian company, was awarded an international tender for the realization of this project. SIA is the main technological services provider for the international banking and finance systems.

Milan, Dec. 1st (Adnkronos) – Exports at +8.3% in the first 8 months of the year have acted as a locomotive for the Italian cosmetics industry which in the second 6 months of 2005 registered a 2.7% increase in its foreign market turnover but contained growth on the domestic market due to the effect of negative consumption dynamics. This emerges from a short-term analysis by the UNIPRO Enterprise Study and Culture Centre. UNIPRO is the association uniting the Italian cosmetics industries.

Rome, Dec. 1st (Adnkronos) – New opportunities are arising in Venezuela for ENI, ENEL and the large construction companies such as Impregilo and Astaldi, stated Productive Activities Undersecretary, Adolfo Urso, who undersigned numerous agreements in Caracas with president Hugo Chavez, especially relative to the energy and infrastructures sectors. “This is a record and a historic event”, said President Chavez commenting the 14 agreements undersigned yesterday at the Miraflores Presidential Palace speaking with Undersecretary Urso. “These are strategic agreements for Made in Italy’ – explained Undersecretary Urso, who said he was satisfied with this trade mission also because “the Italian community reaffirms its central role in Venezuelan society”.

Palermo, Dec. 1st (Adnkronos) -12 Sicilian enterprises land in Sweden for tomorrow’s inauguration of the Made in Sicily Expo Market, organized by the Sicilia Produce Consortium and Iris Communication Srl, in collaboration with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Sweden and the contribution of the Regional Cooperation and Commerce councillorship. This delegation of 12 enterprises will present a selection of Sicilian farm food productions including cheeses, wines, sweets and oil to the Swedish buyers chosen by the local Chamber of Commerce and it will start up trade contacts with Swedish enterprises.

Bologna, Dec. 1st (Adnkronos) – Ferrari has reached a new record: in 2005 it will sell over 5,000 cars. This is confirmed by the Ferrari Deputy General Director, Amedeo Felisa, during the inauguration of the Bologna Motorshow. “We’ll close the 2005 business year with over 5,000 cars produced, with respect to the 4,900 in 2004 – explained Mr. Felisa – and this is a great result following the end of a busy year which included the total renewal of our range of products. The 612 Scaglietti registered a new sales record, 650 cars distributed in the world, but mostly in the USA, Italy, England and Japan. The 430 was also successful especially on the English market, where next year we counting on consigning the cars within 24 months of the order date “.

Milan, Dec. 1st (Adnkronos) – Oracle Business World, a day dedicated to Made in Italy, is beginning in Milan with meetings, round tables and debates participated in my the businesspeople responsible for the success of Made in Italy, who will compare notes on the reasons Italian enterprises are competitive abroad.

New York, Nov. 30th (Adnkronos) - The artistic ceramics from the 5 cities of the “Sicilian Terracotta Circuit” will be the stars of the exhibit set up at the Italian Culture Institute of New York from December 5th to the 16th. The event is the first of a series of dates in the ambit of the project “The Ceramic Cities” and it will be a prestigious event during which the 5 ceramics art cities (Santo Stefano di Camastra, Burgio, Caltagirone, Patti and Sciacca) present the characteristic pieces of their productions.

Milan, Nov. 30th (Adnkronos) - Ugc Banca (Unicredit Group) is beginning a commercial partnership with Huarong Asset Management Company (public banks credit recovery) to enter into the Chinese non-performing credit market. The two companies are currently analysing this collaboration which could start up in January 2006.

Bologna, Nov. 30th (Adnkronos) - Mandarina Duck, a brand from Bologna specialized in leather and accessory goods, debuts in the e-commerce market today with a section dedicated to online sales at the website www.mandarinaduck.com. This decision to add online sales to the traditional distribution channels was taken to respond to the numerous requests received, according to a company spokesperson. Online shopping for Mandarina products is currently available throughout Europe and initially forecasts a range of 150 products including luggage, bags and accessories.

Milan, Nov. 30th (Adnkronos) - Italy is a great star in the niche markets for beautiful and luxury products. Distributors and craftspeople are also continuously increasing in this sector of luxury goods”, stated Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, president and MD of Ferrari and president of Fiat, connected via video to a conference on the future of the Italian fashion sector, held in Piazza Affari in Milan.

Milan, Nov. 30th (Adnkronos) - ''We’re only asking for the set up of a system and government credibility, otherwise the Made in Italy sector will become even more difficult. The institutional levels have to act more seriously, more than what they have in the recent past”, said Diego Della Valle, the president and MD of Tod’s, during his speech at a conference on the future of the Italian fashion sector at Piazza Affari in Milan.

Milan, Nov. 30th (Adnkronos) - ''The problem is giving higher added value to Made in Italy products. We have to elevate the qualitative level of our work”, stated Patrizio Bertelli, the president and MD of the Prada Group, during his speech at a conference on the future of the Italian fashion sector at Piazza Affari in Milan.

Milan, Nov. 30th (Adnkronos) - ''Instead of helping the fashion world, the finance world has only distracted it. Analysts don’t consider the history, the time and the difficulties in creating a brand but they only consider the numbers”, stated Patrizio Bertelli, the president and MD of the Prada Group, during his speech at a conference on the future of the Italian fashion sector at Piazza Affari in Milan.

Palermo, Nov. 30th (Adnkronos) -The Regional Province of Palermo and the City of Warsaw will underwrite an institutional and economic agreement on Friday in the Polish capital city. President Francesco Musotto and the mayor of Warsaw and newly elected president of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, will undersign a MoU rendering effective the collaboration between the Province and Warsaw on EU projects and activating bilateral and trans-national special agreements. This agreement has been extended to the farm food sector upon an initiative by Agriculture councillor, Marcello Caruso.

Rome, Nov. 29th (Adnkronos) – It is necessary to “consolidate the presence of Italy on the international markets” and “we have to get over the difficulties and gain back the market positions we held up to 10 years ago”, said Productive Activities Minister, Claudio Scajola, during his speech at the assignment of the Leonardo Awards at the Quirinale. Even though “more than 60% of made in Italy products is affected by the impact of a foreign competition which has low costs as its winning weapon – he stated – the outlook of foreign trade is not completely negative” .

Rome, Nov. 29th (Adnkronos) – Indesit Company announced that Alessandro Iozzia is its new Communications and Image Director beginning January 1st 2006. Mr. Iozzia is 40 years old, has a long career in journalism and experience in communications gained as the Director of Public Relations of the Camuzzi Group and as a D&C Financial Communication partner and then as the senior director of Bonaparte48.

Milan, Nov. 29th (Adnkronos) – Pirelli Ambiente , the company within the Pirelli Group dedicated to renewable energy sources and technologies for environment, has signed an agreement with ReEnergy , soon to be quoted on the London stock exchange, for the exploitation in the United Kingdom of Pirelli's patented RDF ( Refuse Derived Fuel ).

Under the terms of the agreement, ReEnergy will produce and sell the Pirelli fuel throughout UK. Pirelli Ambiente will also supply the technical assistance necessary for the technology’s implementation.

Rome, Nov. 29th (Adnkronos) - Alessandro Profumo is the recipient of the 2005 Leonardo Award, the recognition given annually to an Italian businessperson who has contributed the most to the prestigious image of Italy in the world. Mr. Profumo is the MD of Unicredito Italiano Group, the main banking institute of Central and Eastern Europe and the first Italian banking Group for market capitalization.

Milan, Nov. 29th (Adnkronos) - The Banca Popolare dell'Emilia Romagna closes the first 9 months of 2005 with net profits at € 138.5 million, for a 1.04% growth rate with respect to the same period in 2004. The banking group from Modena announced that ordinary profits were registered at € 206.4 million against the € 176.2 million in 2004 (+17.16%). Last year’s balance benefited from extraordinary profits equalling € 59.3 million against the € 2 million in extraordinary profits registered during the first 9 months of 2005.

Milan, Nov. 29th (Adnkronos) – The Campari Group will distribute the spirits produced by the Irish C&C (formerly Cantrell Cochrane) company in the USA, Brazil, Holland, Belgium and Luxemburg. This was announced by the company from Milan, which was awarded the rights to distribute the products made by the Irish company, listed in the Dublin Stock Exchange, beginning on January 1st 2006. Carolans Irish Cream, Tullamore Dew Irish Whisky and Irish Mist Liquor are among the products that Campari will distribute.

Milan, Nov. 29th (Adnkronos) –There has been a reorganization of the Luxottica shares held by Leonardo Del Vecchio through three holding companies. La Leonardo Finanziaria, entirely controlled by Del Vecchio, has bought out 10 million ordinary Luxottica Group shares equalling 2.2% of the company capital from Delfin Srl, also completely controlled by the businessman. This was announced by La Leonardo Finanziaria Srl.

Rome, Nov. 28th - (Adnkronos) – Italian researchers have created a filter capable of reducing the negative effects of cigarette smoke. This new filter has been tested in the lab on samples of blood cells. The filter is the result of a long research conducted by the Biomedical Sciences Advanced Technology Research and Training Centre of the Catholic University of Campobasso. The team, coordinated by the clinical biochemist, Bruno Zappacosta, now has to test the filter of volunteer smokers.

Milan, Nov. 28th - (Adnkronos) - Pirelli will supply tires for the IVECO trucks and Eurocargos used by Motorsport Italia Team to compete in the Dakar 2006 Rally which will start on December 31st in Lisbon with arrival on January 15th in Dakar. Through this initiative, Pirelli renews its partnership with IVECO and Motorsport Italia, companies it participated with in the 2005 Dakar Rally, the last edition of the Orient Rally of Turkey, the Baja Aragon (Spain) world rallies and the recent Rally of the Pharaohs in Egypt.

Milan, Nov. 28th - (Adnkronos) – Assebeton is aiming towards the new trade market in India. The National Cement Goods Industries Association, belonging to Confindustria, is in fact an important part of the “Italy – India Construction Quality” Project, together with ICMQ, the Lombardy Region and CID- the Indian government agency involved in the development of the construction industry. The project has the objective of transferring know-how to the Indian organisations through the development of a series of competences and knowledge on the topics of quality certification and the regulations applied in Italy and Europe in the field of prefabricated units.

Prato, Nov. 28th - (Adnkronos) –Confartigianato Imprese Prato is already at work, with the objective of the protection of the Italian fashion, in view of the next WTO Summit that will be held in Hong Kong from December 13th to the 18th. Tomorrow, a delegation from Prato including the president of Confartigianato Moda Toscana, Marco Barni and the Regional Coordinator of the Confartigianato Fashion Area, Marco Pieragnoli, will fly to Brussels to participate in a preliminary meeting promoted by the National Confartigianato in the ambit of activities carried out by the office of the Association in the EU capital.

Brussels, Nov. 28th - (Adnkronos) – “Urbino, Ideal City, the Heart of the European Renaissance” is the title of an exhibit that will be inaugurated on December 17th at the European Regions Committee Building, in Rue Belliard 101, Brussels. The exhibit is organised by the Culture Service of the Marches Region and the Marches People in Brussels Association. This is an exceptional event because it is the first time ever that an Italian region organises an exhibit at the seat of the Regions Committee of the European Union.