Interested in Italy’s renewable energy industry? Here’s a great resource to Italian RE businesses. It’s broken down by category, industry etc.
The Economist recently published an article on this incredibly complex subject. To be sure, I’m not sure what the conclusion is. Nonetheless, from what I’ve read and heard, Italy is a leader on RE such as geothermal power and making inroads in wind power. For more information consult this fact sheet.
A buddy in Florida (a specialist/mechanic in American Hot Rods) forwarded me this. Of course, “Que” should be “Che”. “Que Shkeef” is North American Italian slang (I’m guessing) for “Che schifo” which roughly translates into “how disgusting”!
Many thanks to Alex who maintains Blog From Italy (link on the side. I was too lazy to hyperlink it. I know, my laziness is getting worse) for this post.
It’s a link from a BBC report about an Italian dustbot set to clean the streets of Italy’s ancient narrow streets. I can just picture it giving the finger to those who defy it or even stopping for an espresso at a local bar.
Doesn’t Mrs. Dustbot (I think that was a sexist remark) look a lot like ‘Rosie’ from The Jetsons?
In any event, it’s worth a try. Nature (and man-made urban settings) is the mother of invention. If you can’t get garbage trucks through those streets, why not try a robot? The question is, how many of these will be needed to service a town? How much will it cost? I’ll be curious to see how feasible this project will be.
My wife earned her Masters at McGill University in Early childhood education. It was through her I learned two important Italian innovations in ECEC (early childhood education and care policy). The first is the world renowned Montessori method and the second is the lesser known Reggio Way (or Reggio Emilia approach).
There are many resources and books that cover this subject.
Bambini: The Italian Approach to Infant/Toddler Care. Early Childhood Education Series is one such book. Is it me or does it suck that worpdress doesn’t allow for amazon links?
Anyway.
Abstract about the book:
“This book describes Italian experiences in providing early care and education, focusing on four cities–Milan, Parma, Reggio Emilia, and Pistoia–with outstanding city-run systems designed to serve children under 3 and their families. The book considers specific strategies or practices used, and interprets the significance of the Italian innovations for American early childhood practice. Following an introduction on the historical context of Italian early care and questions addressed by the book…”
Who saidItaly is just about pasta and soccer?
Ok, that was lame. I couldn’t figure out a way to close this post.
America is a child of the Age of Enlightenment. Italy, for its part, is an offspring of first indigenous cultures from, for example, Villanova and the Etruscans and later (after 500 B.C.) classical Greece and Phoenicia. – also referred to Magna Graecia (Greater Greece).
Though to some, the Etruscans are criminally overlooked as having greater influence as Baccolini writes:
“I can never succeed in understanding why Italians still fail to recognize the enormous contribution that the Etruscan civilization has made to our Western civilization. We keep on believing the teaching that the Greeks and above all the Romans are the peoples to whom the Western world owes its origins. All of this is considerably exaggerated and based on historical falsehoods. However, I have ascertained instead that it is the Etruscans, coming from the East, who are the true founders of our European culture, for both good and bad aspects.”
Nonetheless, Italy evolved and eventually witnessed Ancient Greece give way to the splendor of Rome and later the Renaissance.
With all these civilizations, and I haven’t even mentioned Germanic influences, spiritually flowing within the blood of its people, it’s no wonder Italy has produced some of history’s greatest cultural and industrial masterpieces.
The rest is, to capture a cliched caption, history.
20 years ago I worked a summer night job and saved some cash to buy my first bicyle – a $1000 Gardin by Joe Gardin who I believe worked out of Ontario and was of Italian heritage.
Anyway.
A Sweet, Successful Ride
As I shopped around I remember an owner of a bicycle shop taking me and a friend upstairs to show us his prized possessions: Italian bikes.
Usually, Italian bikes are not kept in showrooms fully mounted. Rather, the frames are hanging from the ceiling. It was at this particular bike shop I saw my first Pinarello with a price tag listed at a cool $4000 (for just the frame).
Pinarello, not surprisingly, has helped propel many great cyclists to victory over the years. They include Miguel Indurain, Bjarne Riss, Pedro Delgado, Jan Ulrich and Alessandro Petacchi.
From Blacks Cycle who also recites Pinarello’s rich history and tradition:
“In 1980 Pinarello affiliated itself with Inoxpran, the leader in the development of stainless steel (also known for its specialty kitchen accessories). Inoxpran was in part responsible for revitalizing the once victorious cycling athletes that made up the Jolly team.”
“Pinarello has earned a reputation for new tubing technology before other builders even considered experimenting with it…carbon fiber are some of the cutting edge raw material used by Pinarello in recent times to manufacture bikes with an exquisite knack for overwhelming their owners’ most optimistic expectations…delight in Pinarello’s groundbreaking designs, their hardheaded attention to detail in production, and their delicious paint and finish work.”
Although I’m not sure what they mean by”delicious.” Did they eat it?
Actually, on a slightly off topic, now’s a good time to mention if there’s one weakness I consistently find on Italian websites is the poor English grammar structure. I don’t blame them but there are great writers out there who can enhance their message to heights they probably never imagined. If they’re masters of attention to detail and perfection then language is no different; it’s still art.
Yes, I’m available to help out. Heh.
Enough of that. Here’s a link to ‘Rello’s factory in Treviso:
In an earlier piece I wrote about a possible merger with Fiat and Chrysler and whether an Italian company is capable of taking on the corrosive situation.
