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Looking ‘beneath the surface and beyond’ reality

02 March 2026

Read the speech by the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy for a better understand of current events

During complex periods, such as the ones society and the economy are currently experiencing, it is necessary to look beyond appearances and look ‘beneath the surface’ of reality. This is especially important if you have duties and tasks to carry out, like those in business. Reading ‘Squilibri globali e i loro rischi in un’economia mondiale più frammentata’ (Global imbalances and their risks in a more fragmented world economy), the speech given by Sergio Nicoletti Altimari, Deputy Director of the Bank of Italy, at the 32nd Annual ASSIOM FOREX Congress in Venice on 20 February 2026, can help you to better understand the underlying issues in world economic news.

Altimari immediately sets out his case. ‘If the state of the global economy were judged solely on the basis of results for 2025, no particular problems would be apparent. Geopolitical upheavals and trade tensions between countries appear to have had only a marginal impact.’ The facts speak for themselves. Global growth remained above 3% in 2025 and is expected to remain at similar levels in 2026. World trade has shown remarkable resilience despite the introduction of US tariffs.  Inflation continued to decline, approaching the targets set by central banks. Despite episodes of volatility, financial markets performed very well, with double-digit increases in share prices on the main stock exchanges, not to mention the effects of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, which are certainly still to be clarified and managed. Above all, the author writes, ‘companies have demonstrated their ability to adapt, quickly reorienting trade and mitigating the impact of tariffs.’

So far, so good—better than expected, in fact. However, ‘beneath the surface of these favourable results, imbalances are accumulating that could prove destabilising if not addressed in time’. Herein lies the importance of looking beneath the surface,  an exercise that is useful not only in economics, but in observing reality in general. Altimari specifies, ‘These are not new phenomena, but problems that have afflicted many economies in the past.’ These are well-known issues that tend to be overlooked, but wrongly so. The Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy highlights three key issues: the growth of global public debt, trade imbalances between countries, and vulnerabilities in specific segments of the financial markets. These are all issues that ‘can amplify risks’ and generate unexpected and serious problems.  To address these issues, he emphasises the need for a stronger Europe and ‘a fundamental rethink of how we operate, make decisions, and act.’

Altimari’s contribution not only provides clarity on complex issues, but also serves as a valuable tool for fostering a careful understanding of reality that benefits everyone.

Squilibri globali e i loro rischi in un’economia mondiale più frammentata

Sergio Nicoletti Altimari

Speech at the 32nd Annual ASSIOM FOREX Congress, Venice, 20 February 2026, Bank of Italy, 2026

Read the speech by the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy for a better understand of current events

During complex periods, such as the ones society and the economy are currently experiencing, it is necessary to look beyond appearances and look ‘beneath the surface’ of reality. This is especially important if you have duties and tasks to carry out, like those in business. Reading ‘Squilibri globali e i loro rischi in un’economia mondiale più frammentata’ (Global imbalances and their risks in a more fragmented world economy), the speech given by Sergio Nicoletti Altimari, Deputy Director of the Bank of Italy, at the 32nd Annual ASSIOM FOREX Congress in Venice on 20 February 2026, can help you to better understand the underlying issues in world economic news.

Altimari immediately sets out his case. ‘If the state of the global economy were judged solely on the basis of results for 2025, no particular problems would be apparent. Geopolitical upheavals and trade tensions between countries appear to have had only a marginal impact.’ The facts speak for themselves. Global growth remained above 3% in 2025 and is expected to remain at similar levels in 2026. World trade has shown remarkable resilience despite the introduction of US tariffs.  Inflation continued to decline, approaching the targets set by central banks. Despite episodes of volatility, financial markets performed very well, with double-digit increases in share prices on the main stock exchanges, not to mention the effects of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, which are certainly still to be clarified and managed. Above all, the author writes, ‘companies have demonstrated their ability to adapt, quickly reorienting trade and mitigating the impact of tariffs.’

So far, so good—better than expected, in fact. However, ‘beneath the surface of these favourable results, imbalances are accumulating that could prove destabilising if not addressed in time’. Herein lies the importance of looking beneath the surface,  an exercise that is useful not only in economics, but in observing reality in general. Altimari specifies, ‘These are not new phenomena, but problems that have afflicted many economies in the past.’ These are well-known issues that tend to be overlooked, but wrongly so. The Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy highlights three key issues: the growth of global public debt, trade imbalances between countries, and vulnerabilities in specific segments of the financial markets. These are all issues that ‘can amplify risks’ and generate unexpected and serious problems.  To address these issues, he emphasises the need for a stronger Europe and ‘a fundamental rethink of how we operate, make decisions, and act.’

Altimari’s contribution not only provides clarity on complex issues, but also serves as a valuable tool for fostering a careful understanding of reality that benefits everyone.

Squilibri globali e i loro rischi in un’economia mondiale più frammentata

Sergio Nicoletti Altimari

Speech at the 32nd Annual ASSIOM FOREX Congress, Venice, 20 February 2026, Bank of Italy, 2026

Read more...

Cars and beyond

02 March 2026

A just published book provides a historical and contemporary analysis of the automotive sector in Italy and Europe

Even if the path to achieving it is fraught with difficulties and pitfalls, transforming an industrial sector that has been crucial to the economy (and society) for decades is an important goal to pursue. Here, we are talking about the automotive sector, which has been the cornerstone of the European and Italian economies for decades, as well as certain regions more than others. It is now the paradigm of the economic crisis par excellence: the ‘perfect storm’. And it is precisely from the image of the ‘perfect storm’ that ‘Auto-distruzione.  Crisi e trasformazione dell’industria dell’automobile’ (with the author employing a play on words in Italian, where auto means both self and car – Self/Car-destruction. Crisis and transformation of the automotive industry), a recently published book by Francesco Zirpoli, takes its cue.

Zirpoli discusses the state of the automotive industry in Italy and Europe in three stages. First, as mentioned above, he focuses on the decline of the industry in Europe before turning his attention to the situation in Italy and the history and current affairs of Fiat (now Stellantis). Finally, he considers how to overcome the crisis by combining the conditions and prospects of the supply chain, the environmental compatibility of new cars and the need for change to avoid extinction. This requires us to ‘broaden our horizons’ and find solutions beyond those attempted to date.

He debunks certain myths and highlights the benefits of what many today see as harmful, which is one of the book’s defining features.  This is evident in his criticism of EU emissions regulations as ‘convenient narratives that only serve to protect vested interests’, and his suggestion that the ecological shift could in fact be the key to reviving the sector.

Zirpoli writes that the book is also an invitation ‘to move beyond a vision of industry focused on the car, and to highlight the importance of broader reflections on future mobility. Because it’s not just about building new factories or producing cleaner cars. We also need to imagine cities that are less dependent on private cars and more open to shared mobility solutions, such as public transport and car sharing. This is a change that will affect the daily lives of millions of people, from families wondering whether they can afford to buy a car, to factory workers fearing for their jobs, to young people aspiring to live in cleaner, more liveable cities.’

Auto-distruzione. Crisi e trasformazione dell’industria dell’automobile

Francesco Zirpoli

Laterza, 2026

A just published book provides a historical and contemporary analysis of the automotive sector in Italy and Europe

Even if the path to achieving it is fraught with difficulties and pitfalls, transforming an industrial sector that has been crucial to the economy (and society) for decades is an important goal to pursue. Here, we are talking about the automotive sector, which has been the cornerstone of the European and Italian economies for decades, as well as certain regions more than others. It is now the paradigm of the economic crisis par excellence: the ‘perfect storm’. And it is precisely from the image of the ‘perfect storm’ that ‘Auto-distruzione.  Crisi e trasformazione dell’industria dell’automobile’ (with the author employing a play on words in Italian, where auto means both self and car – Self/Car-destruction. Crisis and transformation of the automotive industry), a recently published book by Francesco Zirpoli, takes its cue.

Zirpoli discusses the state of the automotive industry in Italy and Europe in three stages. First, as mentioned above, he focuses on the decline of the industry in Europe before turning his attention to the situation in Italy and the history and current affairs of Fiat (now Stellantis). Finally, he considers how to overcome the crisis by combining the conditions and prospects of the supply chain, the environmental compatibility of new cars and the need for change to avoid extinction. This requires us to ‘broaden our horizons’ and find solutions beyond those attempted to date.

He debunks certain myths and highlights the benefits of what many today see as harmful, which is one of the book’s defining features.  This is evident in his criticism of EU emissions regulations as ‘convenient narratives that only serve to protect vested interests’, and his suggestion that the ecological shift could in fact be the key to reviving the sector.

Zirpoli writes that the book is also an invitation ‘to move beyond a vision of industry focused on the car, and to highlight the importance of broader reflections on future mobility. Because it’s not just about building new factories or producing cleaner cars. We also need to imagine cities that are less dependent on private cars and more open to shared mobility solutions, such as public transport and car sharing. This is a change that will affect the daily lives of millions of people, from families wondering whether they can afford to buy a car, to factory workers fearing for their jobs, to young people aspiring to live in cleaner, more liveable cities.’

Auto-distruzione. Crisi e trasformazione dell’industria dell’automobile

Francesco Zirpoli

Laterza, 2026

Read more...

The high-quality information game revived by the veteran Buffett

02 March 2026

‘That noise! What’s that racket?’ ‘That’s the press, baby, the press. And there’s nothing you can do about it. Nothing.’ This is the final scene from the film ‘Deadline’, which has moved generations of audiences, especially young and old journalists, since the early 1950s.
The editor of the popular newspaper ‘The Day’, Ed Hutcheson, played by a serious Humphrey Bogart with a hint of irony in his eyes, brings the telephone handset closer to the large press loudly printing one copy after another. Ignoring the threats of the city boss, who has finally been exposed for his crimes, he responds with just a few words and a gesture.  The threat and the deadline have no effect:  the good guys, the journalists, win and the bad guys, the gangsters, lose. But it won’t always be like this. However, Hollywood has intelligently built a rhetoric around journalism that portrays it as one of America’s positive characteristics, ready to ‘defend the truth’. This has resulted in a valuable film library, ranging from ‘All the President’s Men’ and ‘The Fourth Power’ to ‘The Front Page’, ‘The Post’, ‘Spotlight’, ‘She Said’ and ‘Frost/Nixon’, as well as a myriad of noirs and action movies in which journalists are portrayed in a positive light.

Now, after years of crisis, is great American journalism back in the news? A possible turnaround is being signalled by a surprising move by Warren Buffett, a highly regarded and sage figure in American finance, who is 95 years old and a true legend on Wall Street. He has cut his investments in Amazon, Apple and Bank of America, deciding instead to invest 353 million dollars in buying 5.1 million shares in the New York Times.

Buffett has just relinquished operational leadership of his company, Berkshire Hathaway,  but it is likely that he will continue to be a key figure in identifying new trends in finance and the business world.

But what do paper newspapers have to do with anything? The New York Times‘ accounts are positive, including sales of paper copies, digital subscriptions (especially for digital games and cooking recipes), and various editorial services in the greater New York area and across the US and several other regions worldwide.

Digitalisation has certainly opened up new possibilities in terms of content and extraordinary opportunities for editorial dissemination, and therefore for business, in areas that would otherwise be unreachable for a newspaper with a solid provincial distribution base, in both metropolises and small provincial cities that are very attached to their local newspaper.

However, it also raised a more general issue concerning American civil, cultural, and political society. In short, is a democracy without good-quality information still a solid, healthy democracy? Here it is again: the primacy of paper.  Words written down that remain to be read, understood, reflected upon, digested and used to give birth to other words,  a great public discourse,  built on newspapers.

This brings to mind the old Thomas Jefferson joke: ‘I would rather live in a country without a government than in a country without newspapers’. Many sectors of American public opinion are growing increasingly concerned about the increasing concentration of information power in the hands of government bodies and major players in technology, finance and the economy. This is happening without an effective system of checks and balances to compensate for the fact that the vast majority are poorly and hastily informed by the Big Tech social media and television, and those who hold the world’s most sensitive economic, political and financial information.

Big Tech has extraordinary strength in terms of the speed with which information is disseminated and controlled, and the amount of news that is circulated, but there is little control over the reliability and truth of this information. The dissemination force of Big Tech does not guarantee the  quality or veracity of the information at all,  and therefore has little to do with real information or democracy.

In an age of ‘factoids’ that are more or less passed off as facts in good faith, post-truth (quite the opposite of an inclination towards truth), fake news, and artificial intelligence that creates facts and contributes to current wars with similar truth, affecting popular knowledge and the very principles of democracy, it is the quality of information, its reliability, and its autonomy that act as central factors in being able to speak of democracy, truth, and thoughtful judgement of the actions of public administrations, and the critical formation of ‘public discourse’ (so dear to Habermas as the foundation of civil and democratic life).

When Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon, bought the Washington Post in 2013 and had the words ‘Democracy dies in darkness’ inscribed above the masthead, many readers felt reassured. Combating ‘darkness’ (the concealment of facts and misdeeds by those in power) means ensuring, at least in principle, the quality of information and therefore the transparency and accountability of the actions of the government.

But things don’t seem to be going as expected. Like other Big Tech companies, Amazon has proven itself increasingly sensitive to requests from the White House. And just a few days ago, The Washington Post cut 300 of its 800 editorial staff (almost a third), causing serious concern within the news industry.  Does this mean fewer journalists, less information and lower quality and accuracy?

If this is the direction indicated by Buffett, then welcome back to paper and the good old newspapers. Information machines have become increasingly complex,  and the issue cannot be reduced to paper alone. We must return to considering the quality of information, regardless of the devices used, in order to support publishing companies (which the Meloni government is opposed to), and to ensure that citizens have access to reliable information and genuine opportunities for intellectual exchange. This could involve newspapers being supplemented with specialised weekly newsletters, in-depth analyses, columns, audio and video content, services and data.  In this realm, two qualities stand out: authority and autonomy. Even games and cooking recipes have their own unique qualities, which are precisely the hallmarks of a newspaper’s brand.

On the other hand, Alessandra Gallori, editor-in-chief of the British news agency Reuters, one of the first in the world, recently told Il Sole 24 Ore:  ‘We want to tell the story without renouncing morality’ (28 January).  This refers to the morality of the story, the veracity of the news and the reliability of the facts.

Despite everything, good information can still be produced, even in Italy, where publishing and financial groups focus on quality information. Examples include la Nem in Veneto, the Del Vecchio group for Il Resto del Carlino, Il Giornale and Il Sole 24 Ore, and the international publishing group of Greek origin Kyriakou, which is interested in la Repubblica. All of these groups are speaking, each in their own way, about the quality of information, services for citizens and the careful use of new technologies. This is a situation that is in the midst of change  and should be watched with great interest and attention.

Some years ago, in 2007, the excellent journalist and information expert Vittorio Sabadin published a book entitled ‘The Last Issue of the New York Times: The Future of Newspapers’ (Donzelli, 2007). Building on the work of media scholar Philip Meyer in ‘The Vanishing Newspaper’, the book predicted that the last copy of The New York Times would be sold at the last New York newsstand in the first quarter of 2043. If we look at the actions of our 95-year-old financial guru today, it seems increasingly unlikely that it will happen. It is more likely that my granddaughter Iolanda will be able to start her Sunday morning by sitting on the couch under a blanket, flicking through her copy of the New York Times.  This makes me feel much calmer for her, her friends and a little for us too.

(photo Getty Images)

‘That noise! What’s that racket?’ ‘That’s the press, baby, the press. And there’s nothing you can do about it. Nothing.’ This is the final scene from the film ‘Deadline’, which has moved generations of audiences, especially young and old journalists, since the early 1950s.
The editor of the popular newspaper ‘The Day’, Ed Hutcheson, played by a serious Humphrey Bogart with a hint of irony in his eyes, brings the telephone handset closer to the large press loudly printing one copy after another. Ignoring the threats of the city boss, who has finally been exposed for his crimes, he responds with just a few words and a gesture.  The threat and the deadline have no effect:  the good guys, the journalists, win and the bad guys, the gangsters, lose. But it won’t always be like this. However, Hollywood has intelligently built a rhetoric around journalism that portrays it as one of America’s positive characteristics, ready to ‘defend the truth’. This has resulted in a valuable film library, ranging from ‘All the President’s Men’ and ‘The Fourth Power’ to ‘The Front Page’, ‘The Post’, ‘Spotlight’, ‘She Said’ and ‘Frost/Nixon’, as well as a myriad of noirs and action movies in which journalists are portrayed in a positive light.

Now, after years of crisis, is great American journalism back in the news? A possible turnaround is being signalled by a surprising move by Warren Buffett, a highly regarded and sage figure in American finance, who is 95 years old and a true legend on Wall Street. He has cut his investments in Amazon, Apple and Bank of America, deciding instead to invest 353 million dollars in buying 5.1 million shares in the New York Times.

Buffett has just relinquished operational leadership of his company, Berkshire Hathaway,  but it is likely that he will continue to be a key figure in identifying new trends in finance and the business world.

But what do paper newspapers have to do with anything? The New York Times‘ accounts are positive, including sales of paper copies, digital subscriptions (especially for digital games and cooking recipes), and various editorial services in the greater New York area and across the US and several other regions worldwide.

Digitalisation has certainly opened up new possibilities in terms of content and extraordinary opportunities for editorial dissemination, and therefore for business, in areas that would otherwise be unreachable for a newspaper with a solid provincial distribution base, in both metropolises and small provincial cities that are very attached to their local newspaper.

However, it also raised a more general issue concerning American civil, cultural, and political society. In short, is a democracy without good-quality information still a solid, healthy democracy? Here it is again: the primacy of paper.  Words written down that remain to be read, understood, reflected upon, digested and used to give birth to other words,  a great public discourse,  built on newspapers.

This brings to mind the old Thomas Jefferson joke: ‘I would rather live in a country without a government than in a country without newspapers’. Many sectors of American public opinion are growing increasingly concerned about the increasing concentration of information power in the hands of government bodies and major players in technology, finance and the economy. This is happening without an effective system of checks and balances to compensate for the fact that the vast majority are poorly and hastily informed by the Big Tech social media and television, and those who hold the world’s most sensitive economic, political and financial information.

Big Tech has extraordinary strength in terms of the speed with which information is disseminated and controlled, and the amount of news that is circulated, but there is little control over the reliability and truth of this information. The dissemination force of Big Tech does not guarantee the  quality or veracity of the information at all,  and therefore has little to do with real information or democracy.

In an age of ‘factoids’ that are more or less passed off as facts in good faith, post-truth (quite the opposite of an inclination towards truth), fake news, and artificial intelligence that creates facts and contributes to current wars with similar truth, affecting popular knowledge and the very principles of democracy, it is the quality of information, its reliability, and its autonomy that act as central factors in being able to speak of democracy, truth, and thoughtful judgement of the actions of public administrations, and the critical formation of ‘public discourse’ (so dear to Habermas as the foundation of civil and democratic life).

When Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon, bought the Washington Post in 2013 and had the words ‘Democracy dies in darkness’ inscribed above the masthead, many readers felt reassured. Combating ‘darkness’ (the concealment of facts and misdeeds by those in power) means ensuring, at least in principle, the quality of information and therefore the transparency and accountability of the actions of the government.

But things don’t seem to be going as expected. Like other Big Tech companies, Amazon has proven itself increasingly sensitive to requests from the White House. And just a few days ago, The Washington Post cut 300 of its 800 editorial staff (almost a third), causing serious concern within the news industry.  Does this mean fewer journalists, less information and lower quality and accuracy?

If this is the direction indicated by Buffett, then welcome back to paper and the good old newspapers. Information machines have become increasingly complex,  and the issue cannot be reduced to paper alone. We must return to considering the quality of information, regardless of the devices used, in order to support publishing companies (which the Meloni government is opposed to), and to ensure that citizens have access to reliable information and genuine opportunities for intellectual exchange. This could involve newspapers being supplemented with specialised weekly newsletters, in-depth analyses, columns, audio and video content, services and data.  In this realm, two qualities stand out: authority and autonomy. Even games and cooking recipes have their own unique qualities, which are precisely the hallmarks of a newspaper’s brand.

On the other hand, Alessandra Gallori, editor-in-chief of the British news agency Reuters, one of the first in the world, recently told Il Sole 24 Ore:  ‘We want to tell the story without renouncing morality’ (28 January).  This refers to the morality of the story, the veracity of the news and the reliability of the facts.

Despite everything, good information can still be produced, even in Italy, where publishing and financial groups focus on quality information. Examples include la Nem in Veneto, the Del Vecchio group for Il Resto del Carlino, Il Giornale and Il Sole 24 Ore, and the international publishing group of Greek origin Kyriakou, which is interested in la Repubblica. All of these groups are speaking, each in their own way, about the quality of information, services for citizens and the careful use of new technologies. This is a situation that is in the midst of change  and should be watched with great interest and attention.

Some years ago, in 2007, the excellent journalist and information expert Vittorio Sabadin published a book entitled ‘The Last Issue of the New York Times: The Future of Newspapers’ (Donzelli, 2007). Building on the work of media scholar Philip Meyer in ‘The Vanishing Newspaper’, the book predicted that the last copy of The New York Times would be sold at the last New York newsstand in the first quarter of 2043. If we look at the actions of our 95-year-old financial guru today, it seems increasingly unlikely that it will happen. It is more likely that my granddaughter Iolanda will be able to start her Sunday morning by sitting on the couch under a blanket, flicking through her copy of the New York Times.  This makes me feel much calmer for her, her friends and a little for us too.

(photo Getty Images)

Read more...

Campiello Junior 2026: The Finalist Books Narrated by Their Authors

20 February 2026

Want to find out about the finalist titles of the fifth edition of the Campiello Junior award?

The Pirelli Foundation has invited the writers shortlisted by the Selection Jury to read an excerpt from their book for young readers and explain why it deserves their vote.

The Readers’ Jury – 240 strong, from across Italy and abroad – will cast their ballots to choose the winners in the two categories. The two authors who receive the prestigious literary prize established by the Pirelli Foundation and Fondazione Il Campiello will be revealed on Thursday, 16 April 2026, at the Teatro Comunale in Vicenza, during an event hosted by Armando Traverso of RAI Radio Kids.

The interviews will be published on this page and on the social media channels of the Pirelli Foundation and of the Premio Campiello.

26 February: Mariangela Gualtieri, Album per pensare e non pensare, Bompiani Editore (7-10-year shortlist)
5 March: Matteo Bussola, Il talento della rondine, Adriano Salani Editore (11-14-year shortlist)
12 March: Michela Guidi, Il seminatore di storie e altri strani mestieri, Feltrinelli Editore (7-10-year shortlist)
19 March: Luisa Mattia, Segui la tigre, Il Battello a Vapore (11-14-year shortlist)
26 March: Rosella Postorino, Un fratellino. Storia di Nanni e Mario, Adriano Salani Editore (7-10-year shortlist)
2 April: Daniele Mencarelli, Adelmo che voleva essere Settimo, Mondadori Editore (11-14-year shortlist)

On 8 and 9 April, we will also meet all six authors in two joint interviews. They will discuss their books and share their most treasured memories of childhood reading.

To keep up to date with the Campiello Junior prize initiatives, visit: www.fondazionepirelli.org and www.premiocampiello.org.

Want to find out about the finalist titles of the fifth edition of the Campiello Junior award?

The Pirelli Foundation has invited the writers shortlisted by the Selection Jury to read an excerpt from their book for young readers and explain why it deserves their vote.

The Readers’ Jury – 240 strong, from across Italy and abroad – will cast their ballots to choose the winners in the two categories. The two authors who receive the prestigious literary prize established by the Pirelli Foundation and Fondazione Il Campiello will be revealed on Thursday, 16 April 2026, at the Teatro Comunale in Vicenza, during an event hosted by Armando Traverso of RAI Radio Kids.

The interviews will be published on this page and on the social media channels of the Pirelli Foundation and of the Premio Campiello.

26 February: Mariangela Gualtieri, Album per pensare e non pensare, Bompiani Editore (7-10-year shortlist)
5 March: Matteo Bussola, Il talento della rondine, Adriano Salani Editore (11-14-year shortlist)
12 March: Michela Guidi, Il seminatore di storie e altri strani mestieri, Feltrinelli Editore (7-10-year shortlist)
19 March: Luisa Mattia, Segui la tigre, Il Battello a Vapore (11-14-year shortlist)
26 March: Rosella Postorino, Un fratellino. Storia di Nanni e Mario, Adriano Salani Editore (7-10-year shortlist)
2 April: Daniele Mencarelli, Adelmo che voleva essere Settimo, Mondadori Editore (11-14-year shortlist)

On 8 and 9 April, we will also meet all six authors in two joint interviews. They will discuss their books and share their most treasured memories of childhood reading.

To keep up to date with the Campiello Junior prize initiatives, visit: www.fondazionepirelli.org and www.premiocampiello.org.

Multimedia

Video
Mariangela Gualtieri - Album per pensare e non pensare
Matteo Bussola - Il talento della rondine
Michela Guidi - Il seminatore di storie e altri strani mestieri
Luisa Mattia - Segui la tigre
Rosella Postorino - Un fratellino

Read more...

New and innovative companies

17 February 2026

This collection of research develops the theory and practice of startups

While the phenomenon of start-up companies is certainly promising,  it should not be mistaken for a universal solution to economic development.  It is more a question of culture than entrepreneurship. However, it is an issue that requires careful examination through detailed, practical analysis. To this end, the collection of research and analysis edited by Martha Friel and Angelo Miglietta (both professors of economics and business management at IULM University, Milan) is essential reading.

The title of the collection is ‘Fare startup. Strumenti, visioni e competenze per creare imprenditorialità innovativa in Italia’ (Doing startups. Tools, visions and skills to create innovative entrepreneurship in Italy). It first clarifies the basic idea that creating a startup is not only an entrepreneurial choice, but also a cultural challenge. The collection then elaborates on this concept by presenting the experience of the BOOSTER project (Business, Communication and Strategic Analysis Training for Entrepreneurship), which was developed at IULM University to enhance the entrepreneurial abilities of startups chosen for the Berkeley SkyDeck Europe acceleration programme.
The work consists of two parts. The first section contains analyses that explore the dynamics of the startup ecosystem in depth. It focuses on emerging trends, the training needs of startups, the peculiarities of the Italian context, and investment prospects.  It is an analysis path that integrates theoretical approaches and experiences gained as part of the programme.
The second part is a collection of operational tools and resources designed to accompany the different phases of a startup’s development. Six experts address key issues such as strategic positioning, launching a business, growth, financial planning and communication.  Each contribution is divided into a series of guidelines aimed at providing entrepreneurs with tools they can use immediately.
This collection of studies and analyses coordinated by Martha Friel and Angelo Miglietta is valuable because it is both in-depth research and a practical tool.

Fare startup. Strumenti, visioni e competenze per creare imprenditorialità innovativa in Italia

Martha Friel, Angelo Miglietta (edited by)

Franco Angeli, 2026

This collection of research develops the theory and practice of startups

While the phenomenon of start-up companies is certainly promising,  it should not be mistaken for a universal solution to economic development.  It is more a question of culture than entrepreneurship. However, it is an issue that requires careful examination through detailed, practical analysis. To this end, the collection of research and analysis edited by Martha Friel and Angelo Miglietta (both professors of economics and business management at IULM University, Milan) is essential reading.

The title of the collection is ‘Fare startup. Strumenti, visioni e competenze per creare imprenditorialità innovativa in Italia’ (Doing startups. Tools, visions and skills to create innovative entrepreneurship in Italy). It first clarifies the basic idea that creating a startup is not only an entrepreneurial choice, but also a cultural challenge. The collection then elaborates on this concept by presenting the experience of the BOOSTER project (Business, Communication and Strategic Analysis Training for Entrepreneurship), which was developed at IULM University to enhance the entrepreneurial abilities of startups chosen for the Berkeley SkyDeck Europe acceleration programme.
The work consists of two parts. The first section contains analyses that explore the dynamics of the startup ecosystem in depth. It focuses on emerging trends, the training needs of startups, the peculiarities of the Italian context, and investment prospects.  It is an analysis path that integrates theoretical approaches and experiences gained as part of the programme.
The second part is a collection of operational tools and resources designed to accompany the different phases of a startup’s development. Six experts address key issues such as strategic positioning, launching a business, growth, financial planning and communication.  Each contribution is divided into a series of guidelines aimed at providing entrepreneurs with tools they can use immediately.
This collection of studies and analyses coordinated by Martha Friel and Angelo Miglietta is valuable because it is both in-depth research and a practical tool.

Fare startup. Strumenti, visioni e competenze per creare imprenditorialità innovativa in Italia

Martha Friel, Angelo Miglietta (edited by)

Franco Angeli, 2026

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Modern or old world?

17 February 2026

In his latest book, Vanni Codeluppi tackles the subject of the present day in ten ‘steps’

 

Our world is moving faster than ever before.  Screens and social media are blurring the line between reality and the digital world.  Perhaps it’s too much modernity. However, it must be understood in order to avoid feeling overwhelmed.  Is it truly a new world, or just an intensification of the previous one?  How can we interpret this seemingly unstoppable flow? These are important questions for everyone, and finding the answers is anything but easy. Vanni Codeluppi attempts to address them in ‘Megamodernità. Capire la società’ (Megamodernity. Understanding society).

The book’s 150 pages begin with an observation of the many labels with which our present is characterised. However, these labels can never fully encapsulate the complexity of the world in which people, institutions and companies exist. What is evident to all, however, is that we live in an ‘over-excited society’, in which digital media produce an accelerated succession of informational ‘shocks’ that spill over into a social structure composed of increasingly vulnerable individuals, as the author explains.

Rather than providing more labels, Codeluppi tries to offer a set of tools to help us better understand and experience what is happening, set out in ten key concepts:  from ‘aesthetic capitalism’ and ‘hyper-consumerism’ to ‘hyperdivism’, ‘body-flux’ and ‘bio-capitalism’.

In this way, the reader is guided along a path that makes them wonder whether they are living in a completely new world or simply one that is ‘more intense’ in terms of the content and speed of dissemination.

Codeluppi’s book does not claim to provide absolute interpretations of reality; it merely aims to help us understand and be more aware of what is happening. And it is a worthwhile read.

 

Megamodernità. Capire la società

Vanni Codeluppi

Laterza, 2026

In his latest book, Vanni Codeluppi tackles the subject of the present day in ten ‘steps’

 

Our world is moving faster than ever before.  Screens and social media are blurring the line between reality and the digital world.  Perhaps it’s too much modernity. However, it must be understood in order to avoid feeling overwhelmed.  Is it truly a new world, or just an intensification of the previous one?  How can we interpret this seemingly unstoppable flow? These are important questions for everyone, and finding the answers is anything but easy. Vanni Codeluppi attempts to address them in ‘Megamodernità. Capire la società’ (Megamodernity. Understanding society).

The book’s 150 pages begin with an observation of the many labels with which our present is characterised. However, these labels can never fully encapsulate the complexity of the world in which people, institutions and companies exist. What is evident to all, however, is that we live in an ‘over-excited society’, in which digital media produce an accelerated succession of informational ‘shocks’ that spill over into a social structure composed of increasingly vulnerable individuals, as the author explains.

Rather than providing more labels, Codeluppi tries to offer a set of tools to help us better understand and experience what is happening, set out in ten key concepts:  from ‘aesthetic capitalism’ and ‘hyper-consumerism’ to ‘hyperdivism’, ‘body-flux’ and ‘bio-capitalism’.

In this way, the reader is guided along a path that makes them wonder whether they are living in a completely new world or simply one that is ‘more intense’ in terms of the content and speed of dissemination.

Codeluppi’s book does not claim to provide absolute interpretations of reality; it merely aims to help us understand and be more aware of what is happening. And it is a worthwhile read.

 

Megamodernità. Capire la società

Vanni Codeluppi

Laterza, 2026

Read more...

From neo-feudal power to servitude, this is the dark soul of unacceptable capitalism

17 February 2026

‘Feudal Capitalism’ is the working title of the new book by Roberto Seghetti, a seasoned economic journalist (Agi, Panorama, Paese Sera, etc.), which recounts how liberalism and technocracy have reversed the progress of history.  It has just been published by Laterza. Rights, once equal for all, the noble legacy of the French and American Revolutions after the ‘Age of Enlightenment’, one of the finest periods in our political and civil history inspired by reason  (read Leonardo Sciascia and Voltaire to get a sense of the nostalgia this period inspires), now seem to have disappeared from the constitutions of liberal democracies. Instead, they are entrusted to the capricious protection of the ‘winners of capitalism’: populist politicians and the masters of Big Tech (monsters, as they were aptly described eight years ago on the cover of The Economist, a liberal weekly business magazine, not a radical Anglo-Saxon left-wing publication).

The weak, like new serfs, search for a master who will decide ‘who has the cards and who doesn’t’ in the new great global game of power, a sort of villainous game of Risk in which the strongest, already benefiting from guns, soldiers and tanks, immediately take everything, including icy Greenland.

Of course, ‘feudal capitalism‘ is the exact opposite of the ‘democratic’ capitalism that many of us have relied on: a system based on market rules that limit monopolies’ arrogance and protect information symmetry (which is always relative, let’s not delude ourselves). This system also punishes unscrupulous ‘lions of Wall Street’ and real financial fraudsters.

In short, we appreciated the ‘civil economy‘ capitalism theorised by Antonio Genovesi, who taught Adam Smith, the father of liberalism, as well as the ‘just economy’, ‘sustainable’ and ‘circular’ economies dear to Pope Francis (whom we recently learned Epstein and Bannon were plotting against because he was too friendly with the weak, la Repubblica, 15 February). This is also the approach favoured by the best of American and European economic literature, which tries to reconcile liberal democracy, the market economy and welfare through entrepreneurship, freedom, innovation and progress. In short, it builds wealth without blocking the ‘social ladder’.

Even in recent days, the newspapers have offered excellent examples of this ‘feudalism’.

Take, for example, the new revelations about the clandestine and criminal ties between sex and business that were woven by Jeffrey Epstein, a financier who liked to portray himself as a philanthropist (Il Foglio, 14 February). He had a dense network of ‘intimate friends’ (Corriere della Sera, 14 February) and ‘kept managers from Wall Street to the Emirates in his network’ (Il Sole24Ore, 14 February), as well as prominent figures ‘from the progressive world’, (Corriere della Sera, 15 February).  Political and power cross-cutting is always good for business, isn’t it?

But there are also those who reject the neo-feudalism of the  US and China. Take ‘Europe, USA, Merz’s shake-up’ (Corriere della Sera, 14 February), for example, which refers to a Europe that acknowledged the fracture in the West at the last summit in Belgium and tried to organise its own security and autonomy project. Then there’s ‘The new Atlantic alliance is born:  European autonomy and division of fronts’ (La Stampa, 14 February),

which suggests that powers and alliances are being mixed up. Finally, while not renouncing its special relationship with the US, Europe is attempting to build its own autonomous and better future by drawing on Mario Draghi‘s competitiveness projects and Enrico Letta‘s Single Market project.  It is not acting as a Maga satellite, but moving forward as a leading player on the global stage.  It is investing and innovating rapidly to build its own defence system, and forging

alliances with India, Mercosur and others that will guarantee it a broader and more favourable playing field than that dictated by Washington.  ‘I do not share Merz’s criticism of Maga.’ says Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, adding that ‘the US and the EU must move together’ (Corriere della Sera, 15 February).  Meanwhile, Jack Rubio, the US Secretary of State, is trying to bring everyone together: ‘We are ready for a future together’.  In fact, the Quotidiano Nazionale (Il Resto del Carlino, La Nazione and Il Giorno) ran with the headline  ‘Rubio extends a hand to the EU’, even though it is widely known that tensions between the US and the EU will continue. On the other hand, the traditions of feudal capitalism are based above all on obedience,  although it would of course be up to good politics to reach agreements that do not reward the arrogance of feudal lords or humiliate allies. It is a changing world, of course.

Everything is more fragile and uncertain,  but reviving and defending the democratic cultures and values of old Europe (or the old democratic transatlantic West) is probably more valuable than reviving neo-feudalism. This would ensure greater stability and a better economic and social balance, as well as making wealth gaps more acceptable and limiting their excesses.

If we descend from the heights of politics ‘everywhere and down to earth’ (to use a fascinating image from Censis) and delve into social relations, other reasons for rejecting the neo-feudal model come to mind.  Here, too, it is worth reading the news and looking at examples.

Take Milan, for example, which has recently been shining splendidly with gold and silver medals from the Winter Olympics, not to mention the sky-high prices for the beautiful international audience of sports fans and shoppers in Via Montenapoleone and Cortina.

The flip side of the metropolis of the ‘thousand lights of luxury’ is the homeless people dying of cold, eight victims since the beginning of 2026, while the Corriere della Sera and Il Giorno campaign on the ‘invisible victims of frost’, and Giorgio Gualzetti, president of the Opera Cardinal Ferrari, which provides assistance guaranteed by the Ambrosian Church, speaks of 700 daily hospitalisations and services that are not enough to look after everyone:  ‘The tragic winter of the streets… (Il Giorno, 14 February).

Beyond the issue of homelessness, another social drama is occupying the pages of Milanese newspapers these days:  that of the delivery riders who bring food and other goods day and night to anyone who calls one of the many service cooperatives.  More than 5,000 people are involved, and in peak periods this figure can rise to 9,000.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Milan has opened an investigation to determine whether these individuals are self-employed, as the service companies claim, or employees, in which case contracts, job guarantees and security would be required. One of the companies, Just Eat, has stated that it has complied with this, but salaries are often lower than contractual rates.

Data from the CGIL trade union (Il Giorno, 12 February) shows that: 55% of riders work for multiple platforms, 72.9% work six or seven days a week, 50% work seven to ten hours a day, 66% travel more than 40 kilometres a day,  39.8% have been injured at least once and 67.4% have not received any compensation.
It’s hell.

In most cases, routes are defined by an algorithm, so those who work the most get the best services.

And what about employment contracts?  ‘Flexibility is compatible with subordinate work,  and the Milan model is booming,  filling a service gap while exploiting workers,’ comments Orsola Razzolini, a professor at the University of Milan who has been investigating the phenomenon for years (Il Giorno, 12 January).

Serfs, indeed. It is one of the darkest pages of capitalism, ensuring services that satisfy real needs and personal whims (such as a midnight pizza) for just 2.5 euros per ride,  often without even a tip.  Is that okay?

Sooner or later, the system will collapse. The dark side of this widespread ‘feudal capitalism’ will provoke revolts, protests or, at the very least, movements of conscience.

Therefore, it will be worth heeding the warnings of those who truly understand the principles of good capitalism.  Take Larry Fink, for example, the CEO of BlackRock, the largest global investment company based in New York,  who said:  ‘Capitalists, beware.  You risk losing your political and moral legitimacy. In the virtuous scheme of stakeholder values, legitimacy, even if only ethical, is essential to make the imbalances of capitalism tolerable.’

Speaking in Davos at the end of January at the annual conference of the most powerful men and women in world finance and business,  Larry Fink was not new with his warnings about the degradation of speculative excesses (La Stampa, 21 January).  In Davos, he didn’t specifically talk about delivery riders,  but rather everything that makes unacceptable a capitalism that violates or circumvents the rules and offloads the costs onto the poorest and weakest.  He spoke about ‘global capitalism‘  and its distortions, which are now feudal in nature. It is certainly worth paying full attention to his words.

(photo: Getty Images)

‘Feudal Capitalism’ is the working title of the new book by Roberto Seghetti, a seasoned economic journalist (Agi, Panorama, Paese Sera, etc.), which recounts how liberalism and technocracy have reversed the progress of history.  It has just been published by Laterza. Rights, once equal for all, the noble legacy of the French and American Revolutions after the ‘Age of Enlightenment’, one of the finest periods in our political and civil history inspired by reason  (read Leonardo Sciascia and Voltaire to get a sense of the nostalgia this period inspires), now seem to have disappeared from the constitutions of liberal democracies. Instead, they are entrusted to the capricious protection of the ‘winners of capitalism’: populist politicians and the masters of Big Tech (monsters, as they were aptly described eight years ago on the cover of The Economist, a liberal weekly business magazine, not a radical Anglo-Saxon left-wing publication).

The weak, like new serfs, search for a master who will decide ‘who has the cards and who doesn’t’ in the new great global game of power, a sort of villainous game of Risk in which the strongest, already benefiting from guns, soldiers and tanks, immediately take everything, including icy Greenland.

Of course, ‘feudal capitalism‘ is the exact opposite of the ‘democratic’ capitalism that many of us have relied on: a system based on market rules that limit monopolies’ arrogance and protect information symmetry (which is always relative, let’s not delude ourselves). This system also punishes unscrupulous ‘lions of Wall Street’ and real financial fraudsters.

In short, we appreciated the ‘civil economy‘ capitalism theorised by Antonio Genovesi, who taught Adam Smith, the father of liberalism, as well as the ‘just economy’, ‘sustainable’ and ‘circular’ economies dear to Pope Francis (whom we recently learned Epstein and Bannon were plotting against because he was too friendly with the weak, la Repubblica, 15 February). This is also the approach favoured by the best of American and European economic literature, which tries to reconcile liberal democracy, the market economy and welfare through entrepreneurship, freedom, innovation and progress. In short, it builds wealth without blocking the ‘social ladder’.

Even in recent days, the newspapers have offered excellent examples of this ‘feudalism’.

Take, for example, the new revelations about the clandestine and criminal ties between sex and business that were woven by Jeffrey Epstein, a financier who liked to portray himself as a philanthropist (Il Foglio, 14 February). He had a dense network of ‘intimate friends’ (Corriere della Sera, 14 February) and ‘kept managers from Wall Street to the Emirates in his network’ (Il Sole24Ore, 14 February), as well as prominent figures ‘from the progressive world’, (Corriere della Sera, 15 February).  Political and power cross-cutting is always good for business, isn’t it?

But there are also those who reject the neo-feudalism of the  US and China. Take ‘Europe, USA, Merz’s shake-up’ (Corriere della Sera, 14 February), for example, which refers to a Europe that acknowledged the fracture in the West at the last summit in Belgium and tried to organise its own security and autonomy project. Then there’s ‘The new Atlantic alliance is born:  European autonomy and division of fronts’ (La Stampa, 14 February),

which suggests that powers and alliances are being mixed up. Finally, while not renouncing its special relationship with the US, Europe is attempting to build its own autonomous and better future by drawing on Mario Draghi‘s competitiveness projects and Enrico Letta‘s Single Market project.  It is not acting as a Maga satellite, but moving forward as a leading player on the global stage.  It is investing and innovating rapidly to build its own defence system, and forging

alliances with India, Mercosur and others that will guarantee it a broader and more favourable playing field than that dictated by Washington.  ‘I do not share Merz’s criticism of Maga.’ says Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, adding that ‘the US and the EU must move together’ (Corriere della Sera, 15 February).  Meanwhile, Jack Rubio, the US Secretary of State, is trying to bring everyone together: ‘We are ready for a future together’.  In fact, the Quotidiano Nazionale (Il Resto del Carlino, La Nazione and Il Giorno) ran with the headline  ‘Rubio extends a hand to the EU’, even though it is widely known that tensions between the US and the EU will continue. On the other hand, the traditions of feudal capitalism are based above all on obedience,  although it would of course be up to good politics to reach agreements that do not reward the arrogance of feudal lords or humiliate allies. It is a changing world, of course.

Everything is more fragile and uncertain,  but reviving and defending the democratic cultures and values of old Europe (or the old democratic transatlantic West) is probably more valuable than reviving neo-feudalism. This would ensure greater stability and a better economic and social balance, as well as making wealth gaps more acceptable and limiting their excesses.

If we descend from the heights of politics ‘everywhere and down to earth’ (to use a fascinating image from Censis) and delve into social relations, other reasons for rejecting the neo-feudal model come to mind.  Here, too, it is worth reading the news and looking at examples.

Take Milan, for example, which has recently been shining splendidly with gold and silver medals from the Winter Olympics, not to mention the sky-high prices for the beautiful international audience of sports fans and shoppers in Via Montenapoleone and Cortina.

The flip side of the metropolis of the ‘thousand lights of luxury’ is the homeless people dying of cold, eight victims since the beginning of 2026, while the Corriere della Sera and Il Giorno campaign on the ‘invisible victims of frost’, and Giorgio Gualzetti, president of the Opera Cardinal Ferrari, which provides assistance guaranteed by the Ambrosian Church, speaks of 700 daily hospitalisations and services that are not enough to look after everyone:  ‘The tragic winter of the streets… (Il Giorno, 14 February).

Beyond the issue of homelessness, another social drama is occupying the pages of Milanese newspapers these days:  that of the delivery riders who bring food and other goods day and night to anyone who calls one of the many service cooperatives.  More than 5,000 people are involved, and in peak periods this figure can rise to 9,000.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Milan has opened an investigation to determine whether these individuals are self-employed, as the service companies claim, or employees, in which case contracts, job guarantees and security would be required. One of the companies, Just Eat, has stated that it has complied with this, but salaries are often lower than contractual rates.

Data from the CGIL trade union (Il Giorno, 12 February) shows that: 55% of riders work for multiple platforms, 72.9% work six or seven days a week, 50% work seven to ten hours a day, 66% travel more than 40 kilometres a day,  39.8% have been injured at least once and 67.4% have not received any compensation.
It’s hell.

In most cases, routes are defined by an algorithm, so those who work the most get the best services.

And what about employment contracts?  ‘Flexibility is compatible with subordinate work,  and the Milan model is booming,  filling a service gap while exploiting workers,’ comments Orsola Razzolini, a professor at the University of Milan who has been investigating the phenomenon for years (Il Giorno, 12 January).

Serfs, indeed. It is one of the darkest pages of capitalism, ensuring services that satisfy real needs and personal whims (such as a midnight pizza) for just 2.5 euros per ride,  often without even a tip.  Is that okay?

Sooner or later, the system will collapse. The dark side of this widespread ‘feudal capitalism’ will provoke revolts, protests or, at the very least, movements of conscience.

Therefore, it will be worth heeding the warnings of those who truly understand the principles of good capitalism.  Take Larry Fink, for example, the CEO of BlackRock, the largest global investment company based in New York,  who said:  ‘Capitalists, beware.  You risk losing your political and moral legitimacy. In the virtuous scheme of stakeholder values, legitimacy, even if only ethical, is essential to make the imbalances of capitalism tolerable.’

Speaking in Davos at the end of January at the annual conference of the most powerful men and women in world finance and business,  Larry Fink was not new with his warnings about the degradation of speculative excesses (La Stampa, 21 January).  In Davos, he didn’t specifically talk about delivery riders,  but rather everything that makes unacceptable a capitalism that violates or circumvents the rules and offloads the costs onto the poorest and weakest.  He spoke about ‘global capitalism‘  and its distortions, which are now feudal in nature. It is certainly worth paying full attention to his words.

(photo: Getty Images)

Read more...

AI and humans, the alliance and its conditions

11 February 2026

Guido Saracco’s latest book explores what the relationship between humans and technology might look like ten years from now

 

The ideal for all is to be open to progress while remaining mindful of our humanity.  This  is key and applies from both a social and economic perspective,  and it is particularly relevant in this era when technology and innovation seem to surpass human ingenuity (from which they originated).  As always, this is a question of culture, which is not just knowledge, but critical and careful thinking. To foster this kind of culture, ‘Alleati digitali. La nostra IA personale’ (Digital allies: Our personal AI), written by Guido Saracco and recently published, is definitely worth a read.

Franco begins by considering the following:  artificial intelligence is now part of our daily lives. It is defined by its rapid development and the urgent and necessary changes it brings to the way we understand and perform many daily tasks and productive activities. Saracco points out  that if we design it well, starting with a personal digital assistant to help each of us, the future can be a better place.

The book takes readers on a journey into the future, imagining how we might study, work and live in ten years’ time with an AI-based digital assistant by our side.
Guido Saracco shares the most relevant features of the mechanisms of the mind and the most recent neuroscientific and neurotechnological discoveries on human-machine interfaces. He then analyses the developments in artificial intelligence that have already been achieved and those that are expected. He then predicts how the alliance between humans and artificial intelligence will be consolidated in two ways:  new devices and shared functions, and the definition of a new regulatory framework that will dictate the technology’s boundaries of applicability and probably redefine humanity’s rights.

Saracco’s book is well written and can be read in one sitting, although it requires attentive reading.  Regarding AI and digital allies, he makes a crucial point that should be clear to everyone:  ‘The digital ally,’ he writes, ‘will firstly be a device based on generative artificial intelligence that will accompany us during advanced training after our brains have undergone adequate development in adolescence, and will remain at our side for our entire lives. Its hardware and software will improve over time in terms of performance, architecture and functions.  The only constraint is that control, evaluation and final decision-making must always be retained by the human.’

 

Alleati digitali. La nostra IA personale

Guido Saracco

Laterza, 2026

Guido Saracco’s latest book explores what the relationship between humans and technology might look like ten years from now

 

The ideal for all is to be open to progress while remaining mindful of our humanity.  This  is key and applies from both a social and economic perspective,  and it is particularly relevant in this era when technology and innovation seem to surpass human ingenuity (from which they originated).  As always, this is a question of culture, which is not just knowledge, but critical and careful thinking. To foster this kind of culture, ‘Alleati digitali. La nostra IA personale’ (Digital allies: Our personal AI), written by Guido Saracco and recently published, is definitely worth a read.

Franco begins by considering the following:  artificial intelligence is now part of our daily lives. It is defined by its rapid development and the urgent and necessary changes it brings to the way we understand and perform many daily tasks and productive activities. Saracco points out  that if we design it well, starting with a personal digital assistant to help each of us, the future can be a better place.

The book takes readers on a journey into the future, imagining how we might study, work and live in ten years’ time with an AI-based digital assistant by our side.
Guido Saracco shares the most relevant features of the mechanisms of the mind and the most recent neuroscientific and neurotechnological discoveries on human-machine interfaces. He then analyses the developments in artificial intelligence that have already been achieved and those that are expected. He then predicts how the alliance between humans and artificial intelligence will be consolidated in two ways:  new devices and shared functions, and the definition of a new regulatory framework that will dictate the technology’s boundaries of applicability and probably redefine humanity’s rights.

Saracco’s book is well written and can be read in one sitting, although it requires attentive reading.  Regarding AI and digital allies, he makes a crucial point that should be clear to everyone:  ‘The digital ally,’ he writes, ‘will firstly be a device based on generative artificial intelligence that will accompany us during advanced training after our brains have undergone adequate development in adolescence, and will remain at our side for our entire lives. Its hardware and software will improve over time in terms of performance, architecture and functions.  The only constraint is that control, evaluation and final decision-making must always be retained by the human.’

 

Alleati digitali. La nostra IA personale

Guido Saracco

Laterza, 2026

Read more...

Reactions in Europe: from the Mercosur and India agreements to Draghi’s proposal for ‘pragmatic federalism’

11 February 2026

‘The old world is dying,  and the new world struggles to be born:  now is the time of monsters’. This quote by Antonio Gramsci, taken from the Prison Notebooks, is the epigraph to one of the most beautiful films of the late 1970s: Don Giovanni, directed by Joseph Losey and starring the magnificent tenor Ruggero Raimondi and soprano Kiri Te Kanawa, with excellent conducting by Loris Maazel. The epigraph is not only perfect for the film, but also for the more general political context to which it alludes, which is strikingly relevant today.

Gramsci’s ‘new world’ generated an October Revolution that nourished great hopes and ambitious dreams of redemption and social progress. However, it also fuelled the nightmare of the Soviet dictatorship in Moscow. It is worth revisiting the works of Vladimir Majakovsky, Osip Mandelstam and Gramsci himself for vivid accounts of this period.

On the other hand, Losey’s version shifts the timing and expectations with poetic flair,  taking centre stage in that extraordinary period from the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment, characterised by the ‘Civilisation of Conversation’, as recounted by Benedetta Craveri, to the French Revolution and the birth of the Europe of rights and freedoms that still shapes our political and civil conscience today.

The protagonist of Mozart’s opera, Don Giovanni, is a libertine rather than a libertarian or a liberal; he is a man who seeks pleasure without moral qualms.  But in the 18th century, liberalism, libertinism, libertarianism and a passion for new and unusual ideas coexisted in an extraordinary, and at times unbearable, combination. Look closely at the exhibition on Casanova at the Cini Foundation in Venice for proof of this.

The manner in which Don Giovanni opens the palace doors for a sumptuous feast is accompanied by a mighty chorus, repeated twice: ‘Long live liberty!’, which is as much about the passions of reason as it is about a lack of ethical and civic scruples. On the other hand,  Mozart is a devout Freemason and a liberal.  Don Juan, who is unscrupulous, will end up in hell. And the ‘New World’ evoked by the verses and music will indeed be new,  with freedoms, human rights, research and the precursors of democracy, our civilisation.

It is worth remembering that Gramscian motto reimagined in the Losey-Mozart style when considering the challenging times we are living through. The Europe of glittering wit in the salons of the Hôtel Particulier in the Marais, with debates between Voltaire, Diderot and their Neapolitan guests, such as Abbot Galliani and the economist Antonio Genovesi, no longer marks the time of new ideas.  The brilliant and cultured ‘conversations’, even in the palaces of power in Brussels and other European capitals, have given way to sloppy populist chatter.

So, adieu to Europe?  Far from it!  It is always time to sing the chorus, ‘Long live liberty!’.  Liberal Europe still has a place in today’s world, despite everything.  It has a culture,  a power and  a reason. As Antonio Scurati rightly notes in La Repubblica (4 February), ‘Against empires, Europe is alone with its freedom’, defining this solitude as an excellent opportunity to act as a ‘bridge between civilisations’, mindful of Peter Burke‘s cultural and civil lesson of the ‘explosion of knowledge’.

Here’s the point.  Following the recent barrage of insults against Europe from the US, China and Russia, as well as Big Tech, (the EU and Great Britain are skilfully moving forward, embracing rules, limits and critical reasoning.  Corriere della Sera, 6 February), for some time now, certain key figures in Brussels and some political circles in European countries have decided to take sensible, intelligent and prudent steps to avoid continuing to suffer aggression and insults.

Examples include the signing of the Mercosur Treaty for substantial mutual economic benefits  and the establishment of good trade relations with India, which immediately prompted Trump to pursue agreements with New Delhi, despite having denied doing so until yesterday.  Another small political victory was the clear ‘no’ from Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Minister (a politician whom Trump and his administration have always viewed as an obstacle), to the US’s dual option  of either buying or invading Greenland.

Carney waved the concise yet profound book ‘The Power of the Powerless‘, a dialogue with Václav Havel, a former leading anti-communist intellectual and later wise president of the Czechoslovak Federation, under Trump’s nose. It is a wise argument about the power of good ideas against the arrogance of ideals-less force. Trump has taken a step back and the good reasons for defending the European space remain firmly in the hands of NATO.

Is this too insignificant to suggest that Europe is regaining its spirit?  No, because during the ceremony for his honorary degree at the University of Leuven, Mario Draghi revived the idea of a ‘European federation’ and said  that this is how Europe will become a power.  In fact, he said that ‘the global order is dead and the US is seeking dominance. Now we need pragmatism:  let’s move forward with partners willing to do so in areas where progress can be made’ (La Stampa, 3 February).  ‘Pragmatic federalism’, reads the headline in Il Sole 24 Ore on 3 February,  while Lucrezia Reichlin sagely comments in Corriere della Sera on 6 February that ‘ Italy can now count on a change of pace in Berlin’.

For some time now, Draghi has emphasised the need for Europe to develop its own policies on security, technology, scientific research and innovation, industrial policy and training. These are all related issues for a Europe that wants to continue defending its industrial and production advantages, as well as its political, social and civil values. He is now raising his voice  and preparing to relaunch his competitiveness programme in the coming days, ahead of the European Council. He will be working with Enrico Letta on the common market,  and it is Letta who has made an important announcement:  ‘The EU must break the mould with quick decisions and cooperation’ (Il Sole 24 Ore, 6 February).

The era of cautious small steps, of small states putting the brakes on and of strong micro-nationalisms with paralysing veto rights, or even outright complicity with Europe’s enemies, such as the harmony between Orbán and Putin, seems to be over.  Otherwise, Europe itself will be reduced to a colony or a consumer market to be exploited and humiliated at will.

Patrizio Bianchi comments in Il Sole 24 Ore on 5 February:  ‘Europe must move from being little more than a confederal union to becoming a true federation that, while leaving room for national and local governments, consistently makes unitary choices in terms of foreign policy, defence and the economy, breaking free from the double trap of internal unanimism and submission to the US’.

Can it be done?  With difficulty,  but yes. Even the euro was the result of a small group of around a dozen countries coming together, with Italy rightly striving to be at the forefront,  and the others following.  The single currency has been one of the greatest policy successes in contemporary history, not just in terms of monetary policy.

Naturally, the relationship with the US remains crucial,  as does the dialogue with China  and the maintenance of good multilateral relations with Latin America, the Gulf countries and Africa. And why not Russia too, once it has extricated itself from the Ukrainian crisis. The objective is clear:  a foreign, security and economic/trade policy for Europe,  starting with those who are in it.

The Draghi-Letta lesson is clear, as is the European federalism espoused in the Ventotene Manifesto, written by Eugenio Colorni, Altiero Spinelli and Ernesto Rossi, and supported by ‘the mothers of Europe’, Ursula Hirschmann and Ada Rossi, as well as Simone Weil and Hannah Arendt.

It is a matter of pragmatic federalism and ambitious political intelligence.  Certainly, one cannot be caught between the old and the new worlds,  for amidst the shadows, political miseries and fears, the sleep of reason breeds monsters.

(photo Getty Images)

‘The old world is dying,  and the new world struggles to be born:  now is the time of monsters’. This quote by Antonio Gramsci, taken from the Prison Notebooks, is the epigraph to one of the most beautiful films of the late 1970s: Don Giovanni, directed by Joseph Losey and starring the magnificent tenor Ruggero Raimondi and soprano Kiri Te Kanawa, with excellent conducting by Loris Maazel. The epigraph is not only perfect for the film, but also for the more general political context to which it alludes, which is strikingly relevant today.

Gramsci’s ‘new world’ generated an October Revolution that nourished great hopes and ambitious dreams of redemption and social progress. However, it also fuelled the nightmare of the Soviet dictatorship in Moscow. It is worth revisiting the works of Vladimir Majakovsky, Osip Mandelstam and Gramsci himself for vivid accounts of this period.

On the other hand, Losey’s version shifts the timing and expectations with poetic flair,  taking centre stage in that extraordinary period from the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment, characterised by the ‘Civilisation of Conversation’, as recounted by Benedetta Craveri, to the French Revolution and the birth of the Europe of rights and freedoms that still shapes our political and civil conscience today.

The protagonist of Mozart’s opera, Don Giovanni, is a libertine rather than a libertarian or a liberal; he is a man who seeks pleasure without moral qualms.  But in the 18th century, liberalism, libertinism, libertarianism and a passion for new and unusual ideas coexisted in an extraordinary, and at times unbearable, combination. Look closely at the exhibition on Casanova at the Cini Foundation in Venice for proof of this.

The manner in which Don Giovanni opens the palace doors for a sumptuous feast is accompanied by a mighty chorus, repeated twice: ‘Long live liberty!’, which is as much about the passions of reason as it is about a lack of ethical and civic scruples. On the other hand,  Mozart is a devout Freemason and a liberal.  Don Juan, who is unscrupulous, will end up in hell. And the ‘New World’ evoked by the verses and music will indeed be new,  with freedoms, human rights, research and the precursors of democracy, our civilisation.

It is worth remembering that Gramscian motto reimagined in the Losey-Mozart style when considering the challenging times we are living through. The Europe of glittering wit in the salons of the Hôtel Particulier in the Marais, with debates between Voltaire, Diderot and their Neapolitan guests, such as Abbot Galliani and the economist Antonio Genovesi, no longer marks the time of new ideas.  The brilliant and cultured ‘conversations’, even in the palaces of power in Brussels and other European capitals, have given way to sloppy populist chatter.

So, adieu to Europe?  Far from it!  It is always time to sing the chorus, ‘Long live liberty!’.  Liberal Europe still has a place in today’s world, despite everything.  It has a culture,  a power and  a reason. As Antonio Scurati rightly notes in La Repubblica (4 February), ‘Against empires, Europe is alone with its freedom’, defining this solitude as an excellent opportunity to act as a ‘bridge between civilisations’, mindful of Peter Burke‘s cultural and civil lesson of the ‘explosion of knowledge’.

Here’s the point.  Following the recent barrage of insults against Europe from the US, China and Russia, as well as Big Tech, (the EU and Great Britain are skilfully moving forward, embracing rules, limits and critical reasoning.  Corriere della Sera, 6 February), for some time now, certain key figures in Brussels and some political circles in European countries have decided to take sensible, intelligent and prudent steps to avoid continuing to suffer aggression and insults.

Examples include the signing of the Mercosur Treaty for substantial mutual economic benefits  and the establishment of good trade relations with India, which immediately prompted Trump to pursue agreements with New Delhi, despite having denied doing so until yesterday.  Another small political victory was the clear ‘no’ from Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Minister (a politician whom Trump and his administration have always viewed as an obstacle), to the US’s dual option  of either buying or invading Greenland.

Carney waved the concise yet profound book ‘The Power of the Powerless‘, a dialogue with Václav Havel, a former leading anti-communist intellectual and later wise president of the Czechoslovak Federation, under Trump’s nose. It is a wise argument about the power of good ideas against the arrogance of ideals-less force. Trump has taken a step back and the good reasons for defending the European space remain firmly in the hands of NATO.

Is this too insignificant to suggest that Europe is regaining its spirit?  No, because during the ceremony for his honorary degree at the University of Leuven, Mario Draghi revived the idea of a ‘European federation’ and said  that this is how Europe will become a power.  In fact, he said that ‘the global order is dead and the US is seeking dominance. Now we need pragmatism:  let’s move forward with partners willing to do so in areas where progress can be made’ (La Stampa, 3 February).  ‘Pragmatic federalism’, reads the headline in Il Sole 24 Ore on 3 February,  while Lucrezia Reichlin sagely comments in Corriere della Sera on 6 February that ‘ Italy can now count on a change of pace in Berlin’.

For some time now, Draghi has emphasised the need for Europe to develop its own policies on security, technology, scientific research and innovation, industrial policy and training. These are all related issues for a Europe that wants to continue defending its industrial and production advantages, as well as its political, social and civil values. He is now raising his voice  and preparing to relaunch his competitiveness programme in the coming days, ahead of the European Council. He will be working with Enrico Letta on the common market,  and it is Letta who has made an important announcement:  ‘The EU must break the mould with quick decisions and cooperation’ (Il Sole 24 Ore, 6 February).

The era of cautious small steps, of small states putting the brakes on and of strong micro-nationalisms with paralysing veto rights, or even outright complicity with Europe’s enemies, such as the harmony between Orbán and Putin, seems to be over.  Otherwise, Europe itself will be reduced to a colony or a consumer market to be exploited and humiliated at will.

Patrizio Bianchi comments in Il Sole 24 Ore on 5 February:  ‘Europe must move from being little more than a confederal union to becoming a true federation that, while leaving room for national and local governments, consistently makes unitary choices in terms of foreign policy, defence and the economy, breaking free from the double trap of internal unanimism and submission to the US’.

Can it be done?  With difficulty,  but yes. Even the euro was the result of a small group of around a dozen countries coming together, with Italy rightly striving to be at the forefront,  and the others following.  The single currency has been one of the greatest policy successes in contemporary history, not just in terms of monetary policy.

Naturally, the relationship with the US remains crucial,  as does the dialogue with China  and the maintenance of good multilateral relations with Latin America, the Gulf countries and Africa. And why not Russia too, once it has extricated itself from the Ukrainian crisis. The objective is clear:  a foreign, security and economic/trade policy for Europe,  starting with those who are in it.

The Draghi-Letta lesson is clear, as is the European federalism espoused in the Ventotene Manifesto, written by Eugenio Colorni, Altiero Spinelli and Ernesto Rossi, and supported by ‘the mothers of Europe’, Ursula Hirschmann and Ada Rossi, as well as Simone Weil and Hannah Arendt.

It is a matter of pragmatic federalism and ambitious political intelligence.  Certainly, one cannot be caught between the old and the new worlds,  for amidst the shadows, political miseries and fears, the sleep of reason breeds monsters.

(photo Getty Images)

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The crisis that sparked development

11 February 2026

Recently published research links the COVID-19 pandemic with the launch of new female businesses

 

A crisis can present an opportunity for development and rebirth,  and this is true of both societies and economies.  This process can, of course, be traumatic in many ways, but it needs to be carefully understood and observed. The unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses and society is a clear example of how crises can have a profound and differentiated effect on different business sectors. To study this topic from the perspective of female entrepreneurship, a research group coordinated by Alessandra Micozzi recently published a study entitled ‘Donne e impresa al tempo del COVID-19: il ruolo dell’ecosistema aziendale’ (Women and business at the time of the coronavirus pandemic: the role of the business ecosystem).

The idea underlying all the research is that female entrepreneurship has faced a crisis in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has amplified existing structural weaknesses in terms of access to credit, professional networks, work-life balance and care responsibilities, but which has also highlighted the capacity for adaptation, innovation and resilience that is often underestimated.
The research systematically analysed the impact of the pandemic crisis on the setting up and development of women’s businesses in Italy, taking an interdisciplinary perspective that integrated legal, economic and regional factors.

The adopted method involved analysing administrative data and resilience indicators, as well as the results of a survey aimed at women entrepreneurs who started their businesses between 2020 and 2021. The results enable us to understand how business systems have adapted to the effects of the crisis, revealing sectoral and regional variations.
However, the research coordinated by Micozzi also demonstrates how crises can act as a ‘stress test’ for local systems, revealing vulnerabilities while also creating opportunities for transformation.

Donne e impresa al tempo del COVID-19. Il ruolo dell’ecosistema imprenditoriale

Alessandra Micozzi (edited by)

Franco Angeli, 2026

Recently published research links the COVID-19 pandemic with the launch of new female businesses

 

A crisis can present an opportunity for development and rebirth,  and this is true of both societies and economies.  This process can, of course, be traumatic in many ways, but it needs to be carefully understood and observed. The unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses and society is a clear example of how crises can have a profound and differentiated effect on different business sectors. To study this topic from the perspective of female entrepreneurship, a research group coordinated by Alessandra Micozzi recently published a study entitled ‘Donne e impresa al tempo del COVID-19: il ruolo dell’ecosistema aziendale’ (Women and business at the time of the coronavirus pandemic: the role of the business ecosystem).

The idea underlying all the research is that female entrepreneurship has faced a crisis in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has amplified existing structural weaknesses in terms of access to credit, professional networks, work-life balance and care responsibilities, but which has also highlighted the capacity for adaptation, innovation and resilience that is often underestimated.
The research systematically analysed the impact of the pandemic crisis on the setting up and development of women’s businesses in Italy, taking an interdisciplinary perspective that integrated legal, economic and regional factors.

The adopted method involved analysing administrative data and resilience indicators, as well as the results of a survey aimed at women entrepreneurs who started their businesses between 2020 and 2021. The results enable us to understand how business systems have adapted to the effects of the crisis, revealing sectoral and regional variations.
However, the research coordinated by Micozzi also demonstrates how crises can act as a ‘stress test’ for local systems, revealing vulnerabilities while also creating opportunities for transformation.

Donne e impresa al tempo del COVID-19. Il ruolo dell’ecosistema imprenditoriale

Alessandra Micozzi (edited by)

Franco Angeli, 2026

Read more...

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