Multi-energy fueling station in Tuscany adds hydrogen

Tuscan governor Claudio Martini said today his region has put itself at the forefront of the renewable energy movement with the addition of hydrogen to a “multi-fuel” station at Collesalvetti, a town on the Florence-Pisa-Livorno highway. The project is a joint effort between the local government and Italian energy giant ENI, whose subsidiary AGIP runs the station.

The station already offers several fuels with low environment impact (such as natural gas). Today it added 100% renewable hydrogen that is generated on-site from solar panels and wind turbines. It should be able to generate enough H2 for 40,000 km of driving, and will be used to power a handful of local, experimental public and private vehicles that use the fuel.

In addition, the solar panels and turbines help power the station itself, and what’s left over can be put into the local power grid.

Link and link (Italian)

First punishments in soccer scandal handed down

An Italian court has handed down punishments to the major soccer teams involved in a match-fixing scandal that has engulfed the sport there, and which had hung over Italy’s winning performance in the World Cup.

Juventus, one of the prime offenders, was relegated to Serie B (a bit like the minor leagues), along with Fiorentina and Lazio. Milan, however, was allowed to stay in Serie A, but was docked 44 points, which means it will not have an opportunity to contend for the UEFA Champion’s Cup next year.

All the punishments are subject to a round of appeals.

Link

Vespa eyes US market

Fresh from an invigorating IPO, Piaggo is looking to market its trademark Vespa scooter more aggressively in the US, a market which has long been dominated by Japanese brands like Honda and Yamaha.

Company officials are even working with local governments to help make towns and cities more “scooter-friendly.” Which effort we heartily applaud, even if they do have ulterior motives.

Link

Sales start tomorrow in Milan and Turin

In Italy, stores don’t get to choose their own sale days.  In fact, their are legistlated days which everybody has sales.  The summer sale season begins in the northern regions tomorrow, and later on in July for other areas of the country.

The store keepers are optimistic this season.  There is expectation that every family will spend approximately 260 euro on sale purchases.

A little vocab:

sconto=discount

saldi=sales

negozio=shop

commesso/a=store clerk

Link (Italian)

Parmalat criminal trial begins

The implosion of Parmalat (which was referred to as "Parmacrak" by some in Italy)was Italy's Enron scandal. Executives and accountants allegedly hid massive losses and debt on the company's books, leading finally to the company's bankruptcy. Thousands of small investors, many of them elderly and dependent on the stock for their pensions, lost their savings in the crash.

Now the criminal proceedings are beginning, and civil cases are pending as well, both in Italy and the US.

An 80-year-old pensioner who would only give his first name, Orlindo, said he had invested 150 million old lira ($94,600) in Parmalat bonds in May 2003. He moved quickly to sell the investment when Italy’s securities watchdog Consob started questioning Parmalat about an offshore account in the Cayman Islands, but still wound up losing 85 million old lira ($52,000).

Link (English, MSNBC)

BMW and the Mille Miglia

Forbes.com has a nice story describing how Italy's Mille Miglia (thousand-mile) race has shaped the history of BMW. If anything else, it's great to know that people are still racing 1937 BMWs.

Another example of successful German-Italian collaboration also comes from the world of motoring: the relationship between BMW and Italy's Mille Miglia (Thousand Mile) endurance race. The event began in 1927 and is today a race of historic automobiles. In 1940, the BMW 328 Mille Miglia Touring Coupe won the race and set a record with an average speed of 103.6 mph. Drivers Giuliano Cané and Lucia Galliani won the 2006 Mille Miglia, which runs from Brescia to Rome and back again along a different route, in a 1937 BMW 328 MM. It was their sixth Mille Miglia victory in the last 10 years in a BMW 328.

BMW now has a concept car based on the 1940 328 and it is oh-so cool.

Link (English, w/ pics, via Wired.com)

Gas prices–think you have it bad? Think again!

The rising gas prices aren't confined to the US.

If you were filling up in Italy you'd probably be pleased when you saw the price sign. 1.37. You'd even get excited. But then you'd remember that's in euro. And then you'd remember that in Italy they sell gas by the liter, and not by the gallon.

In fact, by the time you did the calculations you'd find out you'd be paying a whopping $6.55 a gallon.

Makes $3 a gallon seem a real bargain!

Telecom to provide 20Mbit DSL w/o voice line

Competition among internet service providers wins: Italian Telecom is going to sell wholesale bandwidth to multiple ISPs so that they can provide 20Mbit ADSL service to residential customers, even if they don't pay for a voice line subscription through Telecom. Business customers can't get in on the deal, though they can get 640k or 4Mbit service without a voice subscription.

This is good news for customers: ISPs will have to compete for their business, and it could mean that VOIP phone services can take off. My DSL from Verizon, on the other hand, requires me to have a voice line. I wish US telephone and cable companies would be this flexible…

Link (Italian) 

Chinese copycats: first Gucci, now Ferrari??

The ’shameless’ copying of watches and purses apparently was successful. Now they’re moving on to bigger and better things. Italy watches in horror as their symbolic masterpiece is reduced to the level of fake leather purses sold by street vendors.

And they’re not copying ‘just any Ferrari.’ The copycats brazenly chose to make the very rare 330 P4 from 1967.

Franco Frattini, vice president of the European Commission, spoke about the copy in regards to the new proposed EU law about ‘knockoffs.’

“There are only six of this car in the world. Well, this is the seventh,” he joked wryly, as he showed the photo of the bright red car parked in a squalid area outside Shanghai. “It’s beautiful, production was stopped.” He continued, speaking of the original Ferrari, “They explained that there were hardly any made. And now it’s being copied and produced in China.”

From the photos, experts say it’s hard to tell if it was copied well or not. Though there’s little hope that it was, since cars from this time period are very difficult to replicate.

The orginal six are worth about 3 million a piece.

Link(Italian)

1 million tourists in Italian countryside for Easter

Despite the uncertain weather for this weekend, over 1 million travelers (both Italian and foreigners) will visit the countryside for the Easter holiday, including those staying at hotels, second homes, B&Bs, and 15000-odd agriturismi. Easter is a big holiday in this country, somewhat comparable to Thanksgiving in the US, when families are expected to get together and enjoy a fine meal. Link (it)
Some related vocabulary: the word for Easter is Pasqua, which is related to the English theological term paschal, which refers to both Passover and Easter. (In Christian theology, Easter is the new Passover.)

Agriturismo is a phenomenon in which small farms have converted themselves for tourism purposes, often allowing guests to experience work on the farm, in combination with lessons in cooking and wine (turismo enogastronomico). It is also common for farms to increase revenue with gift shops that feature local products and specialties. The trend has become increasingly important for the survival of small (often organic) farms worldwide, especially in areas known for a diverse range of local products.

Italy bans seal pelt imports

Remember a few years back when baby seals were the poster children of the animal-rights activists? Italy has become the first European country to ban seal pelt imports, citing the yearly cull or "massacre" of the animals. In fact, the ban extends to all products made from seals. The LAV (Lega anti-vivisessione, or Anti-vivisection League, an animal rights group) called the move a "historic victory."

Link 

2000th Lamborghini Murciélago rolls off line

Lamborghini celebrated today as they reached a production milestone with the 12-cylinder Murciélago. It comes on the heels of their record success with the Gallardo, the 3000th of which was built last November. The company plans to introduce a new version of the Murciélago, the Murciélago Coupe LP640, which will have a 640-horsepower engine, reach a top speed of 211 mph, and accelerate from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 3.4 seconds.

Link

Milan hosts historic car design exhibit

Don't drool on the keyboard, car-lovers.

Until the 13th of April (when the exhibit ends), you can indulge in 50 years of Italian auto design at the Milan National Museum of Science and Technology. The show features the work of some of the most celebrated houses in the field, such as Bertone, Pininfarina, and Italdesign-Giugiaro. These are the folks who have created the styles of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, and Alfa-Romeo (as well as some for foreign brands like VW, Volvo, Peugeot, Austin, Rolls, and others). Unfortunately the museum's website doesn't seem to have any info up yet.

Link