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As an Italian this makes me happy and sad at the same time. We had so much talent and so many great ideas, I'm glad that they're still around in the world, it's

• LoSboccacc 9y ago
  the problem here is the lack of financing. most great startups get outgrown by better financed global competition and are left with scraps of the Italian market
  • deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
• keithpeter 9y ago
  My little Bialetti mokapot makes me smile every morning. There is a family run Italian restaurant with premises in a 1960s shopping block on a corner. They have used the strongly horizontal feel of the space and produced something that is calm, feels spacious (actually quite a lot of covers) and looks great. Scooters are still popular with youth wearing parkas here in the UK. The value is travelling but not perhaps in the way that was hoped for.
  • doozy 9y ago
    You made me think of Smeg's 50's Style line of appliances. Not only are they, by far, the best looking appliances I've seen, they are also built to last a lifetime. Modern technology, retro design and built like they don't make them anymore, what's not to like?
• jotm 9y ago
  Italian heavy machinery (agricultural, wood and metal processing, construction) was pretty popular a couple of decades ago, simple and reliable, nowadays it's all Dutch and German. I wonder what happened.
  • eecc 9y ago
    Decline. An all-me hedonistic generation didn’t want to let go and retire, and kept the X and the Millenials at the door. Italy is now stuck in a 20 year long Groubdhog Day bitterly bickering about Berlusconi, corruption, The Crisis and Reforms (selling the last nails of the house before finally going bankrupt.) it’s a disaster... I have no words for the amount of regret for the missed opportunities... but to be honest, it’s the Italian true spirit: a bit sleazy, servile, unwilling to take any risk to the point of being a hostile reactionary. See Adriano Olivetti’s life and what came of his legacy.
    • pokemongoaway 9y ago
      In terms of it making a come back... Why would it when the ambitious could just go somewhere with lower taxes to reduce risk of testing their ideas?
      • eecc 9y ago
        I don’t understand where you get this obsession against taxes: It’s not the problem! Corruption, cronyism, backward selection process, those are the real bugs, not just taxes. Besides, in Italy they are high but only for the lower middle class, the well connected elite has been getting a free pass since forever
  • doozy 9y ago
    Was? Italy is one of the main heavy machinery producers in the world. They own CASE and New Holland.
• projektfu 9y ago
  Here's an example from the field of Lab Animal care. http://www.tecniplast.it/en/product/dgm-digital-ready-ivc.html http://www.tecniplast.it/en/product/dgm-digital-ready-ivc.ht... The bits of color actually humanize things a little for the caretaker and there are innovative design elements like water bottles accessible from the outside so they don't require the cage to be opened to replace them. I have worked with several caging systems and Tecniplast are the best.
• the-dude 9y ago
  I am making a living [1] on the fact that Rancilio has not updated their Silvia [2] espresso machines beyond some exterior styling for almost 20 years now. We did some innovation instead. It is still a popular machine, but it could be so much better. [1] https://mecoffee.nl/ https://mecoffee.nl/ [2] https://www.ranciliogroup.com/1-Rancilio-Homeline--Silvia https://www.ranciliogroup.com/1-Rancilio-Homeline--Silvia
• Boothroid 9y ago
  But Italy is still very strong in interior design right? On the odd occasion I leaf through a fancy interiors magazine I often find myself lusting after a beautiful Italian sofa.
• twoodfin 9y ago
  When my wife and I got married, we used the opportunity to upgrade all our daily use tableware to Alessi. It’s wonderful.
• pokemongoaway 9y ago
  I think lower taxes would benefit Italy a lot in this regard...