Italian Innovators

The inventor of plastic and the ethics of innovation. A presentation by Luca Cottini (PhD) * Oslo, December 10, 1963. The only Italian #scientist to receive a Nobel Prize in Chemistry * Achievement & fragility. From the invention of plastic to the management of waste * The imaginative mind of Giulio Natta. On #literature and #chemistry (Primo Levi) * A groundbreaking lab of innovation. Monteca...

The woman behind Italy’s greatest wine (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * The call to serve. The beginning of Giulia Falletti’s mission in Turin’s prisons * The story of Juliette Colbert de Maulevriér. From the French revolution to the Parisian encounter with Carlo Tancredi Falletti * From Napoleon’s rule to the Risorgimento. The growth of Turin in the 19th century, between anticlericalism an...

The Masters of Italian Publishing (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * The Martinitt orphanage in Milan, home of 3 great #innovators * From poverty to entrepreneurship. The parallel path of Angelo Rizzoli and Arnoldo Mondadori * The project of the Italian encyclopedia (Rizzoli, Bocconi, and Treccani) * The Borletti-Mondadori partnership. The rights of D’Annunzio and the birth of detective novel...

Liquore Strega and the bewitching power of literature (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * The fascination for "La" Strega (the witch) and the apprenticeship at "Lo" Strega liqueur factory * Poster #advertising and the aura of Strega. The blue, green, and red "witch" by Marcello Dudovich * The Roman city of Benevento, the legends of witchery, and the #drink of Giuseppe Alberti * A Southern Ital...

A presentation by Luca Cottini (PhD). Keynote address of the International Conference of the Canadian Association of Italian Studies (CAIS). Delivered on July 5, 2022. * The culture behind the label. What model lies behind the Italian "impresa"? * The three components of the Italian "incanto": limit, #design, the chorality of "works" (#opera) * 1. The creative power of limit: care, respect, and #s...

The creative compass of Ferrero (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * Finding the recipe. How Pietro Ferrero arrived to the hazelnut and cocoa paste * The early years. The marriage of Piera and Pietro, the birth of Michele, three entrepreneurial failures, and the return to Alba * The Langhe and Italy’s civil war. From WWII to reconstruction (1943-1945) * The post-war birth of the Giandujot (the...

The father of Italian design (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * Domus. The theory and practice of “industrial design” (What is design? Who is the designer?) * Designing life: a worldview in an object; a particular character in a space * Ponti and Milano. From formation to expositions, from practice to theory * Object-worlds. The passion for ceramics and glass. Lightness as brightness and weig...

A conversation between Luca Cottini (PhD) and Marco Baldocchi, Neuromarketing research director at NINA (the Italian Association of Applied Neurosciences), author, public speaker, and visionary entrepreneur in consulting and advertising. * From Lucca to Miami. From advertising to #neuroscience (1:05) * What is neurobranding? Why is neuroscience a key tool for #marketing? (2:35) * The understanding...

The pursuit of legend (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * The finish line at the 1908 Targa Florio. How it all started * The birth of Italy's #automobile industry. Nazzaro (#Ferrari); Trucco (#Maserati); Ceirano (#fiat) * The mechanic of Isotta Fraschini who became a pilot. The story of Alfieri Maserati * Visionary entrepreneurship, competition, and elegance. At the core of Maserati * Maserati...

A conversation between Luca Cottini (PhD) and Michael F. Moore, PhD (freelance translator, interpreter, and author of a wonderful English version of Alessandro Manzoni’s novel “The Betrothed") * A novel (and a language) for the Italian nation. Manzoni's I promessi sposi (1:00) * From Manzoni's characters to Italy's character. A prototype of the Italian psychology (6:20) * The American reception of...

The secret language of shoes (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * The mission to make #shoes visible. * The journey of a young #shoemaker from Campania to America * Italian immigrants and American #shoemaking * The immigrant's mindset. Rooted openness (from Boston to California) * Shoemaking and the cinematographic industry. The first Ferragamo store in #hollywood * Return to Italy. #florence a...

A conversation between Luca Cottini (PhD) and Paolo Ciuccarelli (architect, communication designer, professor of design at Northeastern University, and founder of the Density Design Research Lab at Politecnico di Milano) * The impact of Italian education on a professional career (1:26) * The Italian cultural model as an archetype of design thinking (6:41) * Architecture and communication. The insi...

What's in a leather purse? (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * The #houseofgucci movie. Story-branding, Italian family businesses, the founder's story * What an elevator attendant at a fashionable hotel learned about #celebrity. How Guccio Gucci really started his entrepreneurial adventure in 19th century #London * #Florence, 1921. The foundation of the House of Gucci and its Italian growth (R...

The joy of Italian dresses. The art of Italian living (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * A stroll through #Florence. From the 13th century (Dante's house, the Bargello) to 15th century city (Brunelleschi's dome, Palazzo Pucci) * Aristocracy & #fashion, Renaissance & #modernity. The Florentine upbringing of Emilio Pucci * Pucci's American discovery. From the winter olympics of 1932 to his stud...

Forever Modern. Jewels are laboratories of lasting originality (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * From Studio 54 to Tiffany's. How a young Italian model became NYC's top jewel #designer * An independent and unexpected path, from Italy to Japan, from Spain to New York City * An extraordinary career at Tiffany's. The most remarkable pieces of Peretti's creative imagination * The aesthetics of P...

A conversation between Luca Cottini (PhD) and Andrea Prencipe (Professor of Organization and Innovation, and Rector of Luiss Guido Carli University in Rome) * The founding vision of Luiss Guido Carli University. To establish a #university requires trust and the willingness to invest in the future (1:45) * What makes the institution distinctive in the Italian #academic landscape (6:45). * The #pand...

From Naples to Milan. The Birth of Alfa Romeo (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * The road to Naples. From the periphery to the big city, from poverty to #education * The formation as civil #engineer and the start of #business (air compressors, train tracks) * The great war and the great occasion. The acquisition of the #automobile company Alfa * Alfa Romeo. The growth of the company, the crea...

A presentation by Luca Cottini (PhD). Delivered on June 24, 2022 at the Superyacht Design Festival, organized in Milan by Boat International Media Company. * Industria (industriousness) and cultura (cultivation): the 2 concomitant faces of value creation * Italian #design is not "Made in Italy". What makes on object Italian? What does "Italian" add to it? * The origin of Italy's distinction. From...

A conversation between Luca Cottini (PhD) and Alberto Milani (entrepreneur & creator of the jewelry & lifestyle luxury brand Alberto Milani "a love affair with Italy", president of the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce of New York, and co-founder of Piazza Italia Market) * A leader in jewelry. The path to entrepreneurship (1:10) * Between tradition and innovation. What's in a jewel? (3:00) * How d...

The epic of boating (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * The joy of a boat ride. From Dante to the 21st century * #boating as a #storytelling metaphor and a long-lasting craft * Four generations of #boat making. The Riva story from Sarnico to the world. From racing to luxury * The vision of a bold entrepreneur. The synthesis of wood craft and American engine technology * Carlo Riva's transforma...

A conversation between Luca Cottini (PhD) and Gianfranco Zaccai (designer, architect, innovator, founder of the design firm Continuum, president of the Foundation for Augmented Intelligence) * A story in between worlds. From education to the establishment of Continuum (1:26) * The genesis of Reebok Pump (5:50) * The migrant's mindset as a key to originality (7:40) * Design & food (8:12) * How is a...

From female entrepreneurship to cultural diplomacy (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * An American woman in Italy at the turn of the 20th century. The marriage with Ruggero Ranieri * Pioneering female entrepreneurship in Italy. The Arti decorative italiane from Umbria to New York * Education and female emancipation. The school of Pischiello and the Montessori method * A living legacy. The Sorb...

A conversation between Luca Cottini (PhD) and Chiara Montanari (Antarctic expedition leader, manager, researcher, coach, consultant in strategic mindset, TEDx speaker and author of “Ice chronicles. 90 days in Antarctica"). * The Antarctic mindset as a metaphor of entrepreneurship (2:05) * The success of an "impresa" in an extreme environment: a balance of rigor and flexibility (4:00) * How to see...

The extraordinary adventure of a cultural explorer (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * Across the Gustav Line. How a scholar became a war hero (1943-1945) * A man in between worlds, from his upbringing in Perugia to his travels to his first trip to the US * The long journey to anti-Fascism and republicanism * American in Italy and Italian in America. The creation of the bulletin "The Italian S...

A conversation between Luca Cottini (PhD) and Luigi Crema (associate professor of international law at the University of Milan) * Roman law and the foundation of modern legal systems (0:45) * The post-war making of Italy's constitution and the primacy of labor (7:00) * A comparative analysis. The young Italian constitution and the old American constitution (12:30) * The Italian constitution and th...