A book has just been published that discusses economics based on trust

Have faith despite everything. To believe, in other words, that in the end the night will not triumph over the light. Even in everyday life, in the economy and in social relations. It is a question of optimism. That doesn’t mean not seeing the problems, but looking beyond them to find the best solution. So, the economics of optimism. This is the title of a recently published book by Luciano Canova (a professor of behavioural economics), which discusses economic relationships from an unusual point of view.
“Economia dell’ottimismo. Perché la speranza evita il fallimento delle nazioni” (Economics of optimism. Why hope prevents the failure of nations) is a remarkable exercise in interpreting the cardinal principles of economics, but also of human history and behaviour, from a different perspective than usual. Canova begins by taking the following into consideration: the economics of optimism shows us how a confident vision of tomorrow has been crucial in the history of economic thought, and how it can still be for us and our planet.
The author begins with an observation: looking at the world today, with all its inequalities and crises, it’s hard to argue that there hasn’t been progress, even compared to half a century ago. Some data are indisputable, such as the staggering drop in infant mortality, the steady rise in literacy, the global decline in poverty. Objective data that go hand in hand with a fundamental idea: it is necessary to combat both nostalgic thinking, which leads to the idealisation of the past, and apocalyptic thinking, which paints the future in dark colours. In other words, it means acquiring the critical capacity to interpret well what has been and to make good use of what is available today.
Moving between economics, behavioural science and psychology – and drawing on the reflections of Nobel laureates such as Esther Duflo and Amartya Sen, as well as the studies of Paul Romer and Erik Angner – this seven-chapter book leads the reader to appreciate the economics that teaches us to be optimistic. The main features of this idea and its history are first outlined and then some themes are examined: happiness, risk, social relationships, health, cooperation, the fight against poverty, hope. The features of each concept are outlined and examples are given. This is not, it must be emphasised, a hymn to ignoring the problems that exist, but a “handbook” that teaches us to take risks, to innovate, to embrace uncertainty and to face the unexpected. All this while remaining alert to the dangers of overconfidence and of closing our eyes to problems until they overwhelm us. In other words, it is an economy of prudent optimism that Canova describes.
Luciano Canova’s book offers a new perspective that does not diminish the great problems of our time, first and foremost climate change, but makes it clear that only by recognising them and projecting ourselves beyond them in a positive way will we be able to find creative and truly effective solutions.
The conclusion is beautifully summed up in the quote from a poem by Dylan Thomas – Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night – which in its meaning recalls the final lines of Bertolt Brecht’s “Life of Galileo” about the “night” always being “clear”.

Economia dell’ottimismo. Perché la speranza evita il fallimento delle nazioni
Luciano Canova
Saggiatore, 2025

“The destruction of language is the premise for all future destruction.” The words of Tullio De Mauro, a sophisticated and sensitive linguist, also attentive to the political dimensions of the wise use of words (political in the sense of polis, to refer to a person’s capacity to be a responsible member of a community, a citizen, in short). And, on rereading his writings eight years after his death (at the beginning of January 2017), one is minded to seek a horizon of meaning and a perspective of intellectual engagement, as the development and expansion of social media have an increasingly radical impact on the quality of public discourse, the formation of opinions, the political leanings of communities and, more generally, on cultural processes. On the dynamics of knowledge, in short.

A mechanism that affects the roots, values and functioning of liberal democracy, of that intertwining of freedom, enterprise, work, market and welfare, of common values and legitimate interests that has been the supporting structure of Western thought. It is a system that we are dismayed and saddened to see in crisis, but which, despite all its limitations, deserves to be defended and revitalised in the face of the dangers of authoritarianism, of overbearing technocracies and of the temptations of so-called “illiberal democracies”, which are also widespread in Europe.

And the fight against the degradation and impoverishment of language is part of that protection. Avoiding the shallowness of likes and emoticons and the trivialisation of standpoints (almost always emotional, hasty, passionate, simplistic to the point of crudeness). To escape the pitfalls of opinion-forming untethered from facts, which are becoming increasingly more insidious with the spread of fake news, especially on social media, which the major players on the internet refuse to control in the name of a misunderstood respect for “freedom of opinion” (not least Facebook). Knowing how to distinguish between the sharpness of common sense and the superficiality of generic common sense. And build new and better tools of critical awareness.

This is a fundamental task, especially in view of the pitfalls of an artificial intelligence, which (beyond the positive implications linked to scientific research and medical diagnostics and high-tech applications for industry and services) in its “generative” form, sets in motion sophisticated mechanisms of manipulation and thus profoundly changes the panorama of knowledge and dialogue.

A political and cultural challenge is essential. And this calls for a renewed intellectual commitment. Because, if the crisis of the traditional way of conceiving intellectual work is true and well-founded (“Thinking is tiring”, wrote David Bidussa, with acute and somewhat painful irony, reasoning on “the past, present and future of the intellectual”, for the Feltrinelli editions), it is equally necessary for all those who, in their personal and professional choices, measure themselves by the creation of ideas, by research, by philosophy and science, by law and technology, by economics and artistic creativity, by writing AI algorithms and by genetics, to take responsibility for action, analysis and critical judgement. In short, with the construction of thoughts and their expression in words. All functions that require freedom, a sense of responsibility

and autonomy. And a critical eye. Reading for the “simple pleasure of it” and the context. And for the grateful remembrance of Jorge Luis Borges‘s reference to “the righteous”, who counts among them “those who enjoy discovering an etymology”, along with “those who are happy that music exists” and “those who tend their garden, as Voltaire wished”. Literature has a salutary value for free thought and the civilisation of life.

From this perspective, it may be helpful to remember the lesson of Susan Sontag: “We live in a culture in which intelligence is denied relevance altogether, in a search for radical innocence, or is defended as an instrument of authority and repression. In my view, the only intelligence worth defending is critical, dialectical, skeptical, desimplifying” (the quote is taken from “Women, the Arts and the Politics of Culture: an Interview with Susan Sontag”, 1975: fifty years ago).

So let us return to the good use of words. If Emilio Isgrò, one of the greatest artists of our troubled times, plays creatively and ironically with removing words to highlight banalities and emphasise the few undeleted words that regain weight, there is Giulio Guidorizzi, a scholar of the anthropology of the ancient world, who, for Raffaello Cortina Editore, has devoted almost 250 clear and essential pages to “The Greek lexicon” or “A civilisation in 30 words” (including chaos, love, the soul, justice and law, patriarchy, hospitality, fate, myth, poetry, politics and wisdom). Our cultural roots and therefore the foundations of our future.

And then there is Giuseppe Antonelli, Professor of the History of Italian Literature at the University of Pavia, who wrote “Il mago delle parole” (The word wizard), just published by Einaudi, in order to remind especially the new generations of the value of grammar as a tool of knowledge and therefore of freedom, but also of its charm (highlighting the link between grammar and glamour). There is an evocative quote from a film of great intensity and beauty, “Dead Poets Society”, directed by Peter Weir and starring Robin Williams as Professor John Keating, an extraordinary teacher of free souls: “You will learn to savour words and language. No matter what anyone tells you, words and ideas can change the world.”

So, we must understand. Knowing how to read and speak are tools of freedom. Let us also remember the lesson of Gianni Rodari and his “The Grammar of Fantasy: “’Everyone can use any meaning of any word’ seems a good motto to me, with a nice democratic ring to it, not because everyone is an artist, but because no one is a slave.”

What tools should we use? Simple. A book. A pen. Reading. And writing by hand.

Read from childhood and fill our homes with good books. And open and revitalise libraries, public and private, in schools, neighbourhoods, businesses, prisons and all places where cultural initiatives and activities to promote reading can be encouraged (something we have often talked about this in these blogs). Combine the paper book with animated words on digital screens. Discuss with the writer and enjoy the somewhat theatrical pleasure of reading aloud. And play with words, as suggested in the pages of a very popular book for parents and children in the mid-1980s, “I draghi locopei” by Ersilia Zamboni, to “imparare l’italiano con i giochi di parole” (learn Italian with word games) (“draghi locopei” is an anagram of the Italian for word games).

Read for pleasure and enjoyment, curiosity and a desire for knowledge. And write by hand.

We must, of course, be able to use computer keyboards and other digital devices with ease and competence. But without forgetting the gesture of a hand holding a pen or a pencil. Because, as authoritative scientific studies confirm, this gesture activates our brains in complex ways, stimulating neural networks, moving complex thoughts, setting in motion relationships that enhance learning. It creates better words and organises them more deeply and intelligently.

And we need quality words. Poetic words. And scientific words. Words heavy as stone and light as feathers. Sincere words. Free and responsible words.

Knowledge, for example, is a really beautiful word.

A series of pedagogical studies explores issues related to economy and civic life

A good education for a good society. An all-round civil life, attentive to humanity and nature, to regions and to responsible production. Also from the point of view of economy and production.  The task of institutions and the duty of individuals. A duty of care that falls to everyone.

These were the questions that many researchers discussed at the 7th International Conference “Educazione Territori Natura. Utopia, impegno e cura per trasformare il futuro” (Education, Territories and Nature. Utopia, commitment and care to transform the future), whose findings were later collected in a one-volume issue of LLL Lifelong Lifewide Learning by the Siped Working Group, Pedagogy of the Environment and Sustainability of Wellbeing. Ecological Transition, Justice, Educational Resistance, written by Cristina Birbes, Giovanna Del Gobbo and Monica Par.

The collection of research provides an accurate overview of the state of the art of pedagogy and the educational tools to be used in the vast field of the relationship between society and the environment, and therefore of sustainability in terms of the well-being of individuals and organisations.

The research series is made up of three parts: in the first, the major themes of contemporary education and pedagogy are considered; in the second, those of the relationship between education, the environment and sustainability; and the third deals with some issues such as innovation, sustainability, SMEs and energy issues.

And it is precisely by looking closely at the aspects related to corporate culture and production that the research highlights how the company “should be considered as an emblematic environment for the promotion of responsible communities” and how “categories such as sustainability, impact, responsibility and integral human development should be central as founding values to encourage the involvement of all stakeholders and, at the same time, promote a continuous improvement of the organisational context itself”.

Ambiente, sostenibilità e benessere. Percorsi pedagogici e approcci educativi (Environment, sustainability and well-being. Pedagogical paths and educational approaches)

Cristina Birbes, Giovanna Del Gobbo, Monica Parricchi (edited by)

LLL – Lifelong Lifewide Learning, vol. 20, 43

A just-published book that effectively relates music to life’s moments

Music for a better and more intense life. But also with more concentration, or more light-heartedness, with a better soul, nourished by notes that make reality clearer, supported by melodies that make you more sensitive and attentive. But also to work, to relate, to produce more and better, to organise oneself in a different way. To take a different approach to creating culture – including that of the company.
All these concepts will be at the forefront of the minds of those who read “L’arte dell’ascolto: musica al lavoro” (The art of listening: music at work), the latest literary work that Filippo Poletti, journalist and music expert, has decided to dedicate to the intense relationship between numerous aspects of life and music. He achieves this feat by giving voice to 120 individuals, each of whom represents a particular combination of music and everyday life.
Interview after interview, the reader immerses themselves in absolute listening, that is to say, in the art necessary for correct dialectics in the private and social spheres, essential for the good functioning of democracy, in society, in the family, in love, in friendship, in politics, in communication. An art, on the other hand, which seems to be increasingly forgotten by contemporary society.
The protagonists – grouped into seven macro-categories: “arts and crafts”, “law and economics”, “science”, “writing”, “society”, “entertainment” and “sport” – are from all walks of life. From Al Bano to Francesco Alberoni, from Piero Angela to Piero Antinori and then Giorgio Armani, Enzo Biagi, Norberto Bobbio, Walter Bonatti, Mike Bongiorno, Renato Dulbecco, Dario Fo, Vittorio Gregotti, Umberto Guidoni, Margherita Hack, Enzo Jannacci, Krizia, Rita Levi-Montalcini, Alda Merini, Franco Modigliani, Indro Montanelli, Piergiorgio Odifreddi, Ottavia Piccolo, Nicola Piovani, Carlo Rambaldi, Gianfranco Ravasi, Antonio Tabucchi and many others, as well as industrialists such as Giacomo Ponti, Pietro Beretta, Ernesto Illy and others. To accompanying the reading is a playlist, L’arte dell’ascolto: musica al lavoro (The art of listening: music at work), published on Spotify. It includes 34 hours of listening to the pieces mentioned in the 120 interviews, from the Greek tragedy of Euripides to Monteverdi, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Chopin, Verdi, Puccini, Rota, Pink Floyd, Vasco, Capossela or Swift.
The stated aim of the book is to make those who read it become active listeners and followers of a music-life balance, that is, the balance between music and life, capable of making us feel at ease with ourselves and with the rest of the world. But “The Art of Listening” also says something else, like how much music can help at certain moments in life, when you are faced with certain choices (productive, existential, economic), when you have to set up new projects or teach you how to approach certain problems. Music, therefore, as an essential tool for living well in every possible way. Filippo Poletti’s book is worth reading and, of course, worth listening to.

L’arte dell’ascolto: musica al lavoro
Filippo Poletti
GueriniNext, 2024

A slim book adds another factor to the ESG criteria – a focus on humans – to give them the full importance they should have

Is an ESG world really more sustainable? Massimo Lapucci and Stefano Lucchini try to answer this somewhat surprising question in a short but comprehensive book that has just been published. The meaning of “Ritrovare l’umano” (Rediscovering the human) is immediately apparent from its subtitle: “Because there is no sustainability without Health, Human and Happiness”. And this comes from an observation: the famous criteria for verifying and measuring environmental, social and governance impacts are certainly necessary to define and improve companies and investments in terms of sustainability, but in recent years their importance has sometimes been exaggerated, altered by communication needs or eroded to the point of becoming a bureaucratic requirement or a mere budget quantification. Conditions found in most approaches that companies at all levels have to the topic.

In order to adapt the acronym ESG and its approach to the speed of current changes, Lapucci and Lucchini argue for the addition of an “H” as the real leap that needs to be made to transform ESG into an adequate tool for progress focussed on “quality of the future”. The H – as the book’s subtitle states – of Health, but also of Human, of Heart and Happiness. An approach that is not only lexical but also substantial, and that can be traced back to four aims: make ESG more visible to people and communities, create a model that makes ESG natural and necessary before it is useful, share ESG more widely and, finally, free it from the elitist connotations that have characterised it to date.

Lapucci and Lucchini arrive at these conclusions by tracing the historical evolution of the industrial revolutions, through to the most topical issues of work, AI and ethical finance, drawing up a truly pragmatic manifesto on the ESG of the future and accompanying the reader in the rediscovery of that impulse, already expressed in the Age of Enlightenment, which looks to place the dignity of the Person (not by chance written with a capital P) at the centre of the pursuit of an increasingly indispensable collective well-being.

Ritrovare l’umano

Massimo Lapucci, Stefano Lucchini

Baldini+Castoldi, 2024

A thesis presented at the University of Pisa takes stock of STEM fields

Gender inclusiveness as a goal yet to be fully achieved. This is no small matter, even in STEM fields, which are often characterised by an imbalance of status and power in this respect. This is the subject of Esmeralda Ceraj’s research, presented in the form of a thesis at the University of Pisa’s Department of Political Science, Business Communication and Human Resources Policy.

“Donne e STEM: il contributo chiave delle risorse umane nella promozione dell’inclusività. Un’analisi qualitativa” (Women and STEM: the key contribution of human resources in promoting inclusiveness. A qualitative analysis) is based on the observation there is still a great deal of gender disparity in companies, especially in sectors that have always been traditionally dominated by men, despite the fact that many recent policies have aimed to counteract this dominance. In the introduction, Ceraj emphasises that in order to tackle prejudices, which are most often hidden by unconscious bias, a good dose of skills ‘injection’ is needed, including through the use of storytelling, to try and change the misconception that STEM is seen as a uniquely male-dominated path.

The thesis first examines the “current state of gender equality” both in general terms and with regard to STEM in particular. Then – also using a particular narrative research method based on semi-structured interviews – a specific case study (that of Baker Hughes, an oil company that has made gender equality one of its guiding principles) and a series of “stories that aim to capture emotions, personal reflections that might elude more formal methodologies” are examined.

The research not only identifies existing gender barriers, but also delves deeply into individual experiences and identifies ways to improve industrial relations to achieve greater gender equality. Approaches that, once again, focus on a particular evolution of corporate culture that embraces inclusiveness as well as efficiency.

Donne e STEM: il contributo chiave delle risorse umane nella promozione dell’inclusività. Un’analisi qualitativa

Esmeralda Ceraj, Thesis, University of Pisa, Political Science, Corporate Communication and Human Resources Policy, 2024

Those were formidable years, the years of an economic boom so great that it was called a miracle. The long period from the end of the war to 1963, during which Italy’s GDP grew by an average of 5.9% a year, with a peak of 8.3% in 1961. A period marked by enterprise, by the desire to act and to grow, by the widespread hope of improving living and working conditions. A period to which thoughts and memories have been returning for some time, a certain rogue nostalgia, a desire, veiled in melancholy, to return to a time when things were worse and we were busy working, producing, inventing and changing.

Without succumbing to the sickly sweet aftertaste of nostalgia (only Fellini’s irony, mindful of Ennio Flaiano’s sharp critical intelligence, could have dealt with nostalgia in a way that made his film Amarcord a masterpiece), it is still worth thinking back to those years in order to reflect today on how to bring creative and productive energies back into play, to try to effectively face a period of radical and overwhelming economic, political and social changes.

To get an accurate idea of the scale of the issue, it is worth reading the work of Nicola Rossi, a bright economist with a solid political culture (he was a member of parliament for the Democratic Party and is now a member of the board of the Bruno Leoni Institute, a centre of the best liberal culture), in “Un miracolo non fa il santo – La distruzione creatrice nella società italiana, 1861-2021” (A miracle does not make a saint – Creative destruction in Italian society, 1861-2021), published by Ibl Libri.

On the basis of data, facts and a critical re-reading of our economic history, he illustrates how Italian growth in the 1950s and 1960s was determined not only by far-sighted international and domestic policies (the Marshall Plan, the opening up of the European market, Einaudi’s attention to the stability of the lira and the balance of public accounts, public investment in infrastructure and basic industries: energy, steel, etc.), but also by the considerable freedom given to the dynamism of private entrepreneurs, so much so that in a short time Italy became one of the great European industrial powers.

Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia cars, Eni and Montedison chemical products, Pirelli tyres, Piaggio Vespas and Innocenti scooters, Pesenti cement, Motta, Alemagna, Pavesi, Galbani, Barilla and Ferrero food products, household appliances, clothing, furniture, etc., are all examples of this (the company museums and archives preserve and promote their history).

“Creative destruction”, to be precise. “Animal spirits” of widespread capitalism. But Rossi argues that since the end of the 1960s these have been replaced by political choices that have seen Italy “return to protecting companies and wealth rather than creating them”, with ruling classes that have “restricted the space for economic freedom” and protected the strength and arrogance of electorally influential corporations rather than enterprise. In short, that economic miracle seems unrepeatable.

It’s still worth discussing, though. Not only, and not so much, for the sake of historical criticism and to examine the negative role of failed reforms and decisions to build a fragile and costly consensus with the casual instrument of increasing public debt (shifting the cost of contingent well-being onto new generations since the early 1980s). But above all, to try to understand, now, in times of radical transitions (environmental, technological, social) and profound geopolitical changes, which policies to adopt, which social actors to engage, in order to build beneficial paths of sustainable development. Socially sustainable, i.e. acceptable to democratic public opinion (without contradicting the need to protect the environment and maintain jobs and incomes). And sustainable over time, that is, capable of providing long-term beneficial paths of economic growth and improvements in living and working conditions.

In the 1950s and early 1960s there was confidence, thinking and working for a better time (despite acute social tensions and fears related to the Cold War between the West and the Soviet Union). And so there was a clear willingness to invest, to save, to go into debt, to make sacrifices (to educate their children, to buy a house, to start a business, to expand their business, to start a magazine or a newspaper, to start a cooperative). An extraordinary spring of progress and a prudent and far-sighted use of progressive social capital.

So, today it is essential to rebuild trust and encourage the writing of a story for the future. Start thinking and writing again that, despite everything, there is room for hope. With a strong commitment to “optimism of the will” and to change. And to relaunching the values of democracy and business culture, to an open, well-regulated and competitive market.

It is no coincidence that hope, trust and respect are three of the most important words used by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, in his end-of-year address to Italians. He talked of an “urgency for peace”, but also a great need to mend the torn social fabric, to realign civil coexistence. A mild and civil patriotism (as the following sentence makes very clear: “It is the patriotism that comes from those who, although they come from other countries, love Italy, embrace its constitutional values and laws, live its daily life to the full and, with their work and their sensibility, become part of it, contributing to the enrichment of our community”.). And so it is an extraordinary sign for the future of a community that escapes the traps of selfishness and nationalism and knows how to bring strong social values to life in the daily lives of each one of us.

How? In such difficult times, we certainly need European-style industrial and fiscal policies, technically wise choices in relation to public finances (a guarantee for the new generations to be relieved of the burden of debt and reassured with the possibility of productive investment for better development) and practical responses to industrial sectors and social environments in crisis. But following Mattarella’s inspiration, our first step must be to look to the wider horizon.

It is worth rereading Aldo Moro‘s warning on the need for good politics that feed and guide public opinion: “This country will not be saved, the season of rights and freedoms will prove fleeting, unless a new sense of duty is born.” And we must understand that hope cannot be a generic word, but must be instilled with wise, responsible, far-sighted choices for a better future, firmly focussed on the new generations.

The horizon is Europe, its political and cultural tradition of reconciliation of liberal democracy, the market and welfare, between freedom of enterprise and responsibility for a common destiny. And now, when the EU seems fragile and barely visible in the midst of geopolitical tensions, threatened not only from outside but also from within by illiberal and populist doctrines and behaviours, it is necessary to return to its founding values: freedom and development, democracy and common destiny walking together. In short, Europe as hope.

For the new generations of Italians, such a choice means focusing on education, on quality schools, on scientific research, on innovation, on building a new and better sense of community. Strong values and the social capital of “participation” (this is another of the key words used by President Mattarella). Even if miracles cannot be repeated, the social and political decline of Europe and Italy is by no means an inevitable fate, far from it. What is needed is “good politics”, culture, critical knowledge, and trust in the values of common projects. Here too, certain experiences from the 1950s and 1960s, both public (i.e. political and cultural) and private (responsible business, capable of taking on quality work and development values), can still teach us something. Without succumbing to nostalgia.

(Photo Getty Images)

Turin will host a special presentation of The Sports Workshop: Team Work, Research, Technology, Passion and Social Value, a book edited by the Pirelli Foundation and published by Marsilio Arte. The event is scheduled for Friday, 17 January 2025, at 6:30 p.m. at the Circolo dei Lettori, with Antonio Calabrò, director of the Pirelli Foundation and Darwin Pastorin, journalist and writer. The meeting will be moderated by Alberto Infelise of the daily newspaper “La Stampa”.

This publication, first released in June 2024 and available in separate Italian and English editions, investigates the world of sport by exploring its worksites, laboratories, factories, and the behind-the-scenes world of racing. It provides thematic insights into the disciplines where Pirelli has played a leading role, showcasing its victories, innovations, and champions throughout its long history. The volume includes contributions from the Texan author Joe R. Lansdale, who penned the unpublished story “Batman’s Punch is a Guide to Life”, and the artist Lorenzo Mattotti, who created six original illustrations as well as the cover of the book. Other contributors include Calabrò, Christillin, and Pastorin, who during the evening will discuss the project, reflecting on the rights and rules of the game, reports by the great masters of journalism, and insights into the century-and-a-half-long bond between the Long P and sport.

Pirelli is a byword for products that have become part of consumers’ everyday lives, and for shaping the popular imagination through its effective, innovative and high-quality advertising. By involving internationally acclaimed artists—designers, painters, film directors, writers and graphic designers—in its creations, Pirelli has anticipated the developments in the styles and instruments of visual communication in Italy and beyond.

The camera lens plays a vital role in conveying the company’s message. Advertising photography is what emerges when an artist’s vision encounters the brand’s product, with the aim of highlighting the product’s qualities and capturing the observer’s attention, captivating and inspiring them. Visual storytelling is not just a matter of conveying a message, for it needs to involve and excite.

In the 1950s, the focus was on action and speed, on legendary drivers and historic victories. The iconic face of Juan Manuel Fangio appeared on brochures, posters, and postcards, symbolising the prestige of the Stelvio—the “record-breaker” that powered the Argentine driver’s Maserati to victory, taking him to the top spot on the podium in 1954. Similarly, the world champion Alberto Ascari was captured in his Ferrari fitted with “Long P” tyres, both during the race and before the start, looking confidently into the camera and showing that “no tyre company in the world can boast such prestigious titles”. Pirelli’s communication extended beyond the racetrack as it explored the backstage world of motor racing. During the 1950 Italian Grand Prix, the Stella Bianca—a symbol of the golden age of racing—took centre stage in Federico Patellani’s photo shoot, which appeared on posters and brochures. His lens captured the mechanics and tyre fitters at work in the pits, wearing their Pirelli overalls and caps, celebrating the Group’s technical expertise. A couple of years later, the Pirelli Racing Service was again showcased in Monza, tending to Nino Farina’s Ferrari no. 20. This scene dominated the pages of Pirelli magazine, showing a team of specialists who “assist and advise the masters of speed, in all races, on all roads”.

This tradition of using big-name endorsers continued into the 1990s. By this time, the product itself was taking a back seat, with champions the focus of attention. Carl Lewis became an icon, photographed by Annie Leibovitz at the starting blocks in 1994, with the now-famous slogan: “Power is nothing without control”. Two years later, Albert Watson’s dramatic black-and-white portrait of the sprinter likened him to the Dragon motorcycle tyre, with a close-up of his fierce expression and sharpened teeth that “devour the road” with unparalleled intensity.

Advertisements were made not only for the tyres that shaped the history of motor racing, but also for those that became icons of mass motorisation. In the late 1950s, Aldo Ballo captured the Inverno tyre in action, conquering snow-covered roads both uphill and downhill, on curves and while braking, delivering a level of performance that could “calm even the most cautious driver”. Meanwhile, Gianni Berengo Gardin’s 1958 photograph of high water in St Mark’s Square in Venice promoted the revolutionary P3. Pirelli’s “unique heritage of energy and intelligence” not only contributed to the conceptual design of a flood barrier for Venice but also inspired the development of the P3, a tyre that embodied the three essential characteristics required by the motorist—durability, safety, and comfort. In the 1960s came François Robert’s dynamic image of a car speeding along a road in the pouring rain on Cinturato tyres, emphasising their safety on wet surfaces. This same tyre took pride of place in Fulvio Roiter’s joyful depiction of children playing with a wooden cart in the street, as well as in Ugo Mulas’s shot of a parked car, in which the tread pattern is clearly shown, near a body of water and with a girl immersed in reading. The first radial from Pirelli became a symbol of the evolution of Italian society, reflecting the rise of a new concept of mobility that was now accessible to all, and a modern vision of leisure. It was again Mulas who showed the Cinturato against the backdrop of Lake Como, and who took a close-up view of the Sempione in a work of great artistic elegance, with the reflection of himself lying on the ground appearing in the chrome-plated bumper of a Bianchina. He also highlighted the reliability of the nylon and rayon N+R tyre, with parents and children, and brothers and sisters—and even an Irish setter—as the faces of his campaign.

Artists have also turned their creative eye to the world of two wheels. In 1953, a photo shoot of a young woman on a Vespa—a symbol of progress and independence—shows how Pirelli was the first company in Italy to design tyres for motor scooters, contributing to the success of this “most modern vehicle”. The iconic bicycle tubulars, on the other hand, took centre stage in a celebrated 1964 advertisement by Massimo Vignelli. Aldo Ballo’s photograph of a smiling girl on a bicycle was transformed by the Milanese designer into a graphic masterpiece, first against a pink background and later a yellow one. Now part of the permanent collection of MoMA, this work transcended the product itself, becoming a tribute to freedom, a statement of female emancipation, and a joyful ode to life.

These same artists were also called upon to capture the vast range of Pirelli’s diversified products. Ballo created many still lifes for catalogues, from beach items to rubber toys. Fulvio Roiter’s image of a dove in flight, on its way back to its “soft, warm” nest, was used to promote Pirelli foam mattresses, while Ugo Mulas photographed men and women wearing Pirelli raincoats, in timelessly elegant portraits.

This is a story of iconic images and products, of experimentation and artistry, today as vibrant as ever. Technical know-how and communication know-how are two fundamental, intertwined aspects of the world of Pirelli. The evolution of digital media and the continuous innovation of production processes go hand-in-hand with the company’s commitment to telling its story, preserving its memories, and communicating its aspirations for the future. Sharing its identity with the world.

“How is the night?”

“Clear.”

These are the last lines in Bertolt Brecht’s Vita di Galileo (Life of Galileo): The scientist has just submitted to the impositions of the doctors of the Church and renounced his discoveries about the centrality of the Sun and the movement of the Earth as a planet. And he sits sadly in a corner of his study. Yet, even though humiliated, he does not submit to silence and ignorance. And to the disciple who questions him, he speaks of a “clear night”, reaffirming the power of science, the beauty of research, the need for knowledge and the importance of a truth to be verified, discussed and tested. There is always a sky to continue exploring.

The words of Brecht’s Galileo and his indomitable passion for knowledge come to mind when reading the reports on the latest OECD Piaac survey on the education and skills of adults (aged 16 to 65) in 31 countries of the organisation (La Stampa and Il Sole24Ore, 11 December), which unfortunately show that Italy is at the bottom of the list in terms of literacy, numeracy and the ability to solve slightly complex problems. At the top of the ranking are Japan, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Denmark.

The situation in Italy, the OECD points out, is worse than it was ten years ago. And cognitive deficiencies are particularly prevalent among people aged between 54 and 65. Regional disparities are also significant: the north and centre are in line with the OECD average, while the south is struggling.

“Italy’s illiterates,” was the brutal headline in La Stampa. And Viola Ardone, a successful teacher and writer, adds: “We no longer understand what we read, because the trend of “parla come mangi” (literally, speak as you eat, or speak without fuss) prevails, the sloppiness of an impoverished and vulgarised everyday language and the subculture of the “simple”, which discards anything that seems “complex”. “Functional illiterates”, comments Paolo Di Paolo (la Repubblica, 11 December), adding that “a citizen who has difficulty reading a text of average complexity … does not fully enjoy their rights and may not even be aware of them. They run the risk of remaining, and often remain, on the margins of participation in democratic life. They expose themselves, almost defenceless, to those who want to crush them, to cheat them, to flatter them, to turn them into lazy and apathetic consumers. They end up being swallowed up by the most toxic propaganda, both commercial and political.”

A political and social disaster, in short. But it is also a negative condition from an economic point of view: low levels of knowledge and skills correspond to low wages, poor employment, low levels of financial literacy (the ability to take out a mortgage or loan responsibly and to decide on one’s savings), inadequate ability to deal with bureaucratic and tax procedures or to understand the consequences of political and governmental decisions on many aspects of one’s life as a citizen, worker, consumer.

And this is nothing new, unfortunately. Ten years ago, the great linguist Tullio De Mauro was already warning of the phenomenon of adult illiteracy, but no one in politics or government was willing to tackle the problem. The 2021 Censis Report spoke of a “cultural regression”. And again, Censis, in its 2025 report a few days ago, documented how many Italians know very little about Manzoni and Mazzini, are “trapped in mediocrity” (and therefore also in ignorance) and are almost digitally illiterate.

The roots of this condition are well known: the deterioration and decline of schools, the almost total disappearance of traditional “educational agencies” (in the 1960s and 1970s they included political parties, trade unions, parishes, associations and social organisations), the tendency not to read (only one Italian in two picks up a book at least once a year), the growing habit of seeking information quickly and therefore poorly, only through social media and television (newspaper sales are constantly declining and the government shows no interest in supporting the processes of technological modernisation and qualitative improvement of newspaper publishing).

It is the season of ignorance, “the ignorance of those who know everything“, comments Aldo Grasso ironically in the Corriere della Sera (15 December). An ignorance, moreover, that is displayed, asserted and shamelessly opposed to those who bring their skills and knowledge to bear. The infamous exchange between a 5-Star Movement MP and Pier Carlo Padoan comes to mind. When Padoan, one of the world’s leading economists, an expert in using scientific analysis and data to discuss economic development and government policy, tried to explain how the spread affected mortgage rates, the junior parliamentarian insinuated that he was lying and responded aggressively: “So you say!”

And this is how public discourse suffers. It becomes increasingly impoverished and trivialised. This is detrimental to the quality of democracy itself, which is based on the ability of citizens to make informed critical judgements, to express opinions based not on instinct, fear or the distortions of propaganda, but on awareness of problems and discussion of possible solutions.

In short, liberal democracy cannot do without good schools and the dissemination of knowledge, which are indispensable both for conscious citizenship and responsible participation, and for scientific research and progress. Any authoritarian regime, on the other hand, views quality education, independent information, critical thinking and even the freedom of scientific research with suspicion, if not outright hostility. The lesson of Isaiah Berlin, Jurgen Habermas, Karl Popper and Norberto Bobbio is very clear and still very relevant. The better Europe we believe in depends on understanding this.

There is a second aspect worth emphasising. That is, the negative consequences of growing ignorance and the anti-scientific subculture on Italy’s competitiveness.

Indeed, in the age of the primacy of the “knowledge economy”, the management of the environmental and digital transition and the productive use of artificial intelligence call for an increasingly sophisticated set of multidisciplinary skills, long-term training that goes well beyond traditional school and university pathways.

The capacity for creativity that we have historically used to compensate for educational deficits is no longer sufficient. A solid corporate culture that can meet the challenges of international competition must be “polytechnic”, open, dynamic and constantly evolving. Productivity, especially in advanced manufacturing and high-tech services, can only be guaranteed by a high level of culture, not only technical but also humanistic in the broadest sense. The Italian situation is therefore particularly worrying, with a low number of graduates and high rates of the “functional illiteracy” we have just discussed.

There is one other point to consider. Even the proud attitude of “knowing how to do things”, so dear to entrepreneurs, must be accompanied by a commitment to “making known”, to building a new and better story of entrepreneurship, industry and work.

So, invest in training and knowledge. This is the fundamental need that needs to be addressed. This is how the NRRP funds should have been used. Only at the end of the spending process will we see how much has been invested in schools, universities, training, knowledge, digital transformation and artificial intelligence, innovation, and with what results. Today, of course, there is still concern about the growing ignorance, the low productivity of the Italian system as a whole, the crisis of competitiveness in relation to international competitors.

And the night of knowledge, science and development is unfortunately in danger of no longer being “clear”.

(Photo: Getty Images)