The Morning News of Padua / by Nicola Brillo
The new triangle of Italian economic development Veneto-Emilia-Lombardy and their districts (in recovery) are the protagonists of the 11th edition of the Festival Città Impresa. The event will be held April 13-15 in Vicenza. Chief guests at the Vicenza event include Fincantieri CEO Giuseppe Bono, those of Atlantia and Italo, Giovanni Castellucci and Flavio Cattaneo, jurist Sabino Cassese (Friday, April 13, 11:30-12.45), Cna president Daniele Vaccarino, the former commissioner for spending review, Carlo Cottarelli, the chief economists of Intesa Sanpaolo and Confindustria, Gregorio De Felice and Andrea Montanino, Federmeccanica president Alberto Dal Poz (Friday, April 13, 3-4.30 p.m.), the mayors of Piacenza, Bergamo and Vicenza, Patrizia Barbieri, Giorgio Gori and Achille Variati (Friday, April 13, 4.30-5:45 p.m.), Eataly executive chairman Andrea Guerra, major entrepreneurs such as Alberto Bombassei (Saturday, April 14, 6-7.15) and Gianpietro Benedetti but also many small and medium-sized “champion” entrepreneurs, leading university professors and trade unionists, and the protagonists of information, such as the director of the “Corriere della Sera” Luciano Fontana and the director of Tg La7 Enrico Mentana, and of culture such as the president of La Biennale di Venezia Paolo Baratta (Saturday, April 14, 4:30-6 p.m.) and the playwright Stefano Massini (Sunday, April 15, 5-6 p.m.), who will close the Festival. “The novelty that characterizes this edition is the emergence of what we now call ‘new champion enterprises,'” stressed Filiberto Zovico, founder of ItalyPost. “Enterprises that have beaten the crisis and are driving the recovery. Their massive presence at various moments of comparison will also serve to understand the dynamics and business models behind their success. So will the mayors’ confrontation with an industrial fabric that has returned strong and competitive, useful for reasoning about the new virtuous relationships that will need to be developed.” Since 2008, the Città Impresa Festival, directed by journalist Dario Di Vico, has been bringing the spotlight on the real economy, territories and industry, with world-class debates on key issues in the economy and contemporary societies. “Vicenza, which has always been a crossroads of goods, inventions, ideas, and trade on the routes of both continental Europe and the Mediterranean, and today the home of a business system exceptional for its strength and inventiveness, is the natural choice in which to set this discussion,” commented Jacopo Bulgarini d’Elci, deputy mayor of Vicenza and alderman for Growth. The Città Impresa Festival is promoted by ItalyPost, Department of Economic and Business Science “Marco Fanno” (University of Padua) and the Municipality of Vicenza, in collaboration with the European Commission and Corriere della Sera Foundation, main partners Intesa Sanpaolo and Cassa di Risparmio del Veneto. “”We believe that the Festival is an important opportunity for public discussion on issues central to economic growth and innovation in our country,”” explained Professor Guido Cainelli of the University of Padua. – There will be a systematic process of confrontation between the world of scientific research and that of institutions, entrepreneurship and society more generally.” The very rich program can be found at www.festivalcittaimpresa.it.