The Codex by Leonardo Da Vinci – ambassador of quality Italian industry – on display in Washington
The strength of Italian enterprises on global markets lies in their “polytechnic culture”, i.e. the ability to produce competitive products through a unique blend of humanities and science that also integrates an aptitude for beauty and sophisticated high-tech innovation, quality and environmental and social sustainability, the digital economy and customisation (“tailor-made” manufacturing not merely related to fashion and furnishing but – above all – to industrial plants and tool machinery, robotics and aerospace components, luxury shipbuilding and automotive, fine chemistry and exact pharmaceutics, special materials and mechatronics, and so on). Data on export confirm this: at the end of 2022, Italy had gained €650 billion export value – a real record – and, in 2023, international demand for manufactured goods will surpass domestic demand, amounting to half of the total turnover, for the first time ever (Affari&Finanza section of la Repubblica, 12 June, based on forecasts by Prometeia and Intesa Sanpaolo Research Department).
A systematic and productive “polytechnic culture” then, or, rather, “industrial humanism” – an approach to be consolidated and revived.
And also the contextual approach that informed the decision by territorial entrepreneurial institution Confindustria’s choice to promote the exhibition of 12 drawings from Leonardo Da Vinci’s Atlantic Codex. Curated by Monsignor Alberto Rocca (director of the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana of Milan, where Leonardo’s Codex is preserved) and sponsored by large and prominent international companies (Intesa Sanpaolo, ITA, 24Ore Cultura, Dolce e Gabbana, Dompé, Pirelli and Trenitalia), the exhibition takes place at the Washington’s Martin Luther King Memorial Library from 20 June to 20 August, and is entitled Imagining the future – Leonardo da Vinci: In the mind of an Italian genius.
A diplomatic cultural event showcasing extraordinary feats of technical proficiency (the drawings illustrate machinery, gears, the art of flying), combined with balance and beauty, as well as demonstration of how, over time, entrepreneurship has always been bolstered by genius. A culture focused on planning and cutting-edge engineering, relics of a unique creative drive that despite its visionary nature led to concrete change (such as the sluices and shipping canals that were built as per Leonardo’s drawings), of an attitude towards innovation, of the extraordinary ability to write “a future-oriented story”. And therefore an example to the rest of the world, as the Italian genius embodied a universal zest that Italian enterprises still know how to harness today, “compelled by a culture that builds bridges”, as Confindustria president Carlo Bonomi believes (Sunday supplement of Il Sole24Ore, 11 June).
Bridges that include the opening of a Confindustria office in Washington, concomitant with the exhibition’s inauguration, an event that further enhances the association’s presence abroad, spanning from Brussels to Singapore, with more locations to come. “Systemic diplomacy”, they call it at Confindustria – implementing structures to support the efforts of Italian businesses on the international markets.
Indeed, these are all strategic initiatives and assessments we must take into consideration when talking about how to boost the “made in Italy” reputation and implementing policies aimed at maximising what is Italy’s real pivotal development strength in Europe and abroad: high-quality industry. An industry that already played a leading role in the incredible post-Covid recovery of 2021/22 (with a total GDP growth of almost 11%), though in this first half of 2023 is showing some signs of distress, following the impact of the German recession, the cost of energy and international tensions.
“Manufacturing competitiveness is at risk”, warns in fact the Centro Studi Confindustria research centre (10 June), also highlighting Italy’s general scarce production levels – which are affecting businesses – as well as tax rates, poor margins on invested capital, difficulties in finding a qualified workforce, and so on.
Hence, an industry that needs to be revived through a clever and effective use of PNRR (Italian recovery and resilience plan) funds, so as to bolster the environmental and digital twin transition, whose material and immaterial infrastructures (from high-tech networks to essential training for the “knowledge economy” and the use of Artificial Intelligence in education) would give Italy the competitive edge it needs.
Indeed, we’re living in a difficult era ruled by terms of trade and “selective re-globalisation”, marked by the “reconfiguration of the global economy in line with integrated groups in like-minded countries, coalitions competing for economic, political and cultural hegemony” (quote from the lavoce.info website). An era where value chains are shorter and more efficient in relation to finished products’ outlet markets (re-shoring) and trade has been reshaped to suit areas sharing the same values, such as a market economy, economic and political democracy – a friends-shoring approach especially dear to the US government.
Actually, the Italian economy and Italian enterprises should take advantage of such competitive and selective circumstances, by emphasising their products and services, maintaining trade opportunities with China, India, Brazil and the other countries part of the so-called ‘Global South’ (Africa also appears very interesting) while also pinpointing areas where Italian products with higher added value are most appreciated, such as other EU countries and the US and therefore smartly exploit the free-trade opportunities offered by the “NAFTA superhighway” (which includes USA, Canada and Mexico, where several Italian and European businesses have already opened highly productive sites).
Basically, this is the time to strategically choose new sites of production (applying a “local for local” strategy, where production and distribution stay close to the consumption market) but with the support of appropriate policies, starting with EU ones.
And the time to bring into play all necessary development tools, corporate visions, investments in innovation, an international perspective based on solid regional traditions, production chains and production platforms, as well as economic and cultural diplomacy – all traits found in Leonardo da Vinci, the perfect ambassador for the Italian industrious spirit.
The strength of Italian enterprises on global markets lies in their “polytechnic culture”, i.e. the ability to produce competitive products through a unique blend of humanities and science that also integrates an aptitude for beauty and sophisticated high-tech innovation, quality and environmental and social sustainability, the digital economy and customisation (“tailor-made” manufacturing not merely related to fashion and furnishing but – above all – to industrial plants and tool machinery, robotics and aerospace components, luxury shipbuilding and automotive, fine chemistry and exact pharmaceutics, special materials and mechatronics, and so on). Data on export confirm this: at the end of 2022, Italy had gained €650 billion export value – a real record – and, in 2023, international demand for manufactured goods will surpass domestic demand, amounting to half of the total turnover, for the first time ever (Affari&Finanza section of la Repubblica, 12 June, based on forecasts by Prometeia and Intesa Sanpaolo Research Department).
A systematic and productive “polytechnic culture” then, or, rather, “industrial humanism” – an approach to be consolidated and revived.
And also the contextual approach that informed the decision by territorial entrepreneurial institution Confindustria’s choice to promote the exhibition of 12 drawings from Leonardo Da Vinci’s Atlantic Codex. Curated by Monsignor Alberto Rocca (director of the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana of Milan, where Leonardo’s Codex is preserved) and sponsored by large and prominent international companies (Intesa Sanpaolo, ITA, 24Ore Cultura, Dolce e Gabbana, Dompé, Pirelli and Trenitalia), the exhibition takes place at the Washington’s Martin Luther King Memorial Library from 20 June to 20 August, and is entitled Imagining the future – Leonardo da Vinci: In the mind of an Italian genius.
A diplomatic cultural event showcasing extraordinary feats of technical proficiency (the drawings illustrate machinery, gears, the art of flying), combined with balance and beauty, as well as demonstration of how, over time, entrepreneurship has always been bolstered by genius. A culture focused on planning and cutting-edge engineering, relics of a unique creative drive that despite its visionary nature led to concrete change (such as the sluices and shipping canals that were built as per Leonardo’s drawings), of an attitude towards innovation, of the extraordinary ability to write “a future-oriented story”. And therefore an example to the rest of the world, as the Italian genius embodied a universal zest that Italian enterprises still know how to harness today, “compelled by a culture that builds bridges”, as Confindustria president Carlo Bonomi believes (Sunday supplement of Il Sole24Ore, 11 June).
Bridges that include the opening of a Confindustria office in Washington, concomitant with the exhibition’s inauguration, an event that further enhances the association’s presence abroad, spanning from Brussels to Singapore, with more locations to come. “Systemic diplomacy”, they call it at Confindustria – implementing structures to support the efforts of Italian businesses on the international markets.
Indeed, these are all strategic initiatives and assessments we must take into consideration when talking about how to boost the “made in Italy” reputation and implementing policies aimed at maximising what is Italy’s real pivotal development strength in Europe and abroad: high-quality industry. An industry that already played a leading role in the incredible post-Covid recovery of 2021/22 (with a total GDP growth of almost 11%), though in this first half of 2023 is showing some signs of distress, following the impact of the German recession, the cost of energy and international tensions.
“Manufacturing competitiveness is at risk”, warns in fact the Centro Studi Confindustria research centre (10 June), also highlighting Italy’s general scarce production levels – which are affecting businesses – as well as tax rates, poor margins on invested capital, difficulties in finding a qualified workforce, and so on.
Hence, an industry that needs to be revived through a clever and effective use of PNRR (Italian recovery and resilience plan) funds, so as to bolster the environmental and digital twin transition, whose material and immaterial infrastructures (from high-tech networks to essential training for the “knowledge economy” and the use of Artificial Intelligence in education) would give Italy the competitive edge it needs.
Indeed, we’re living in a difficult era ruled by terms of trade and “selective re-globalisation”, marked by the “reconfiguration of the global economy in line with integrated groups in like-minded countries, coalitions competing for economic, political and cultural hegemony” (quote from the lavoce.info website). An era where value chains are shorter and more efficient in relation to finished products’ outlet markets (re-shoring) and trade has been reshaped to suit areas sharing the same values, such as a market economy, economic and political democracy – a friends-shoring approach especially dear to the US government.
Actually, the Italian economy and Italian enterprises should take advantage of such competitive and selective circumstances, by emphasising their products and services, maintaining trade opportunities with China, India, Brazil and the other countries part of the so-called ‘Global South’ (Africa also appears very interesting) while also pinpointing areas where Italian products with higher added value are most appreciated, such as other EU countries and the US and therefore smartly exploit the free-trade opportunities offered by the “NAFTA superhighway” (which includes USA, Canada and Mexico, where several Italian and European businesses have already opened highly productive sites).
Basically, this is the time to strategically choose new sites of production (applying a “local for local” strategy, where production and distribution stay close to the consumption market) but with the support of appropriate policies, starting with EU ones.
And the time to bring into play all necessary development tools, corporate visions, investments in innovation, an international perspective based on solid regional traditions, production chains and production platforms, as well as economic and cultural diplomacy – all traits found in Leonardo da Vinci, the perfect ambassador for the Italian industrious spirit.