GXO Logistics (NYSE: GXO) has signed an agreement with PRG Retail Group to serve as its managed transport partner in Italy GXO will manage transport operations from the Castel San Giovanni warehouse for select Toys Center The partnership leverages GXO's carrier-neutral model and technology solutions including:Real-time shipment visibility through Track&Trace portalCustomized dashboards and reporting toolsKPI tracking for cost optimizationDirect delivery load optimization GXO will provide comprehensive transport management services with capabilities to handle large volumes and seasonal peaks GXO Logistics (NYSE: GXO) ha firmato un accordo con PRG Retail Group per diventare il suo partner di trasporto gestito in Italia GXO gestirà le operazioni di trasporto dal magazzino di Castel San Giovanni per alcuni negozi Toys Center Bimbostore e Fao Schwarz nelle regioni Lombardia La collaborazione sfrutta il modello carrier-neutral di GXO e le sue soluzioni tecnologiche tra cui:Visibilità in tempo reale delle spedizioni tramite il portale Track&TraceDashboard personalizzate e strumenti di reportisticaMonitoraggio dei KPI per l’ottimizzazione dei costiOttimizzazione delle consegne dirette GXO fornirà servizi completi di gestione del trasporto gestione dei vettori e risoluzione delle controversie con capacità di gestire grandi volumi e picchi stagionali GXO Logistics (NYSE: GXO) ha firmado un acuerdo con PRG Retail Group para ser su socio de transporte gestionado en Italia GXO gestionará las operaciones de transporte desde el almacén de Castel San Giovanni para ciertas tiendas Toys Center Bimbostore y Fao Schwarz en las regiones de Lombardía La colaboración aprovecha el modelo carrier-neutral de GXO y sus soluciones tecnológicas que incluyen:Visibilidad en tiempo real de los envíos a través del portal Track&TracePaneles personalizados y herramientas de informesSeguimiento de KPI para optimizar costosOptimización de cargas para entregas directas GXO ofrecerá servicios integrales de gestión de transporte gestión de transportistas y resolución de disputas con capacidad para manejar grandes volúmenes y picos estacionales GXO Logistics (NYSE: GXO)는 PRG Retail Group과 이탈리아에서 관리 운송 파트너로서 계약을 체결했습니다 Fao Schwarz 매장을 위해 카스텔 산 조반니 창고에서 운송 업무를 관리할 예정입니다 이번 파트너십은 GXO의 운송사 중립 모델과 다음과 같은 기술 솔루션을 활용합니다:Track&Trace 포털을 통한 실시간 배송 추적맞춤형 대시보드 및 보고 도구비용 최적화를 위한 KPI 추적직접 배송 적재 최적화 GXO Logistics (NYSE : GXO) a signé un accord avec PRG Retail Group pour devenir son partenaire de transport géré en Italie GXO prendra en charge les opérations de transport depuis l’entrepôt de Castel San Giovanni pour certains magasins Toys Center Bimbostore et Fao Schwarz situés en Lombardie Ce partenariat s’appuie sur le modèle carrier-neutral de GXO et ses solutions technologiques notamment :Visibilité des expéditions en temps réel via le portail Track&TraceTableaux de bord personnalisés et outils de reportingSuivi des KPI pour optimiser les coûtsOptimisation des chargements pour les livraisons directes GXO fournira des services complets de gestion du transport la gestion des transporteurs et la résolution des litiges avec la capacité de gérer de gros volumes et les pics saisonniers GXO Logistics (NYSE: GXO) hat eine Vereinbarung mit PRG Retail Group unterzeichnet um deren Managed-Transport-Partner in Italien zu werden GXO wird die Transportabläufe vom Lager in Castel San Giovanni für ausgewählte Toys Center- Bimbostore- und Fao Schwarz-Filialen in den Regionen Lombardei Die Partnerschaft nutzt GXOs carrier-neutrales Modell und technologische Lösungen darunter:Echtzeit-Sendungsverfolgung über das Track&Trace-PortalIndividuelle Dashboards und BerichtstoolsKPI-Überwachung zur KostenoptimierungOptimierung der Direktlieferungen GXO bietet umfassende Transportmanagement-Dienstleistungen große Volumina und saisonale Spitzen abzuwickeln GXO's new partnership with PRG Retail Group represents a strategic expansion of its service portfolio in Italy moving beyond core warehousing operations into managed transport services – a notable diversification that strengthens its integrated logistics offerings This agreement positions GXO to manage the critical transport chain for three major retail brands (Toys Center and Fao Schwarz) across three economically significant Italian regions The contract showcases GXO's ability to win business from established retailers by leveraging its technological advantages particularly its real-time shipment visibility systems and cost optimization solutions The deal's strategic value extends beyond immediate revenue generation GXO can maintain healthy margins while delivering service quality – crucial in the retail sector where logistics costs significantly impact profitability The toy and children's retail segment presents unique logistics challenges and strict delivery windows to maintain in-store availability This partnership validates GXO's technology investments and demonstrates its ability to successfully cross-sell additional services to retail clients The comprehensive solution including carrier management and dispute resolution provides multiple touchpoints that deepen the client relationship and potentially create additional revenue opportunities this agreement aligns perfectly with GXO's strategy of building recurring revenue relationships with established retailers The win supports GXO's positioning as a technology-forward logistics provider capable of handling specialized retail requirements beyond basic warehousing TREZZO SULL'ADDA, Italy, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GXO Logistics, Inc. (NYSE: GXO) the world’s largest pure-play contract logistics provider announced today the signing of an agreement with PRG Retail Group one of the main retailers of children's items and toys GXO will supervise the transport chain from the Castel San Giovanni warehouse for an important selection of Toys Center Bimbostore and Fao Schwarz stores in the regions of Lombardy providing customized solutions based on technologies that provide real-time visibility on shipments and optimize costs "Following the recent expansion of our transport solutions to include a new managed transport service we are proud to be able to count major brands such as Toys Center Bimbostore and Fao Schwarz among our customers," said Alessandro Renzo GXO's Managing Director for Italy and Switzerland "Thanks to our proven transport network and logistics expertise we will be able to offer a streamlined service capable of handling large volumes and seasonal peaks." GXO’s carrier-neutral model leverages a vast network of carriers to identify solutions tailored to each customer’s needs to optimize outbound transport flows GXO’s expert teams will support PRG Retail Group in all aspects of transport ensuring optimization of loads through direct deliveries to ensure greater control as well as managing all aspects of customer service GXO’s managed transport service also includes state-of-the-art digital solutions a Track&Trace portal to track shipments and view real-time delivery status reporting tools and KPI tracking that improve visibility and optimize costs "We are satisfied with this agreement with GXO a partner we have chosen for its reliability in guaranteeing service levels and its know-how in retail and transport," said Marco Fontana Logistics & Import-Export Director PRG Retail Group Anne LafourcadeGXO+33 (0)6 75 22 52 90anne.lafourcade@gxo.com Already have an account? Login Giovanni da San Giovanni returns to his home town with an exhibition in the "Lands of the Uffizi" seriesGiovanni da San Giovanni is coming home to the Valdarno: the enduring bond between the artist and his homeland so strong that he is even named after his native city is to be celebrated in a new exhibition in the Lands of the Uffizi series entitled "A bizarre and whimsical temperament’ Giovanni da San Giovanni a maverick painter at the Medici court" The exhibition takes the shape of a journey exploring the art of this neo-Mannerist painter in ten tondos painted on terracotta tile Running from 8 October 2023 to 31 March 2024 it is hosted both in the Museo delle Terre Nuove and in the Museo della Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie by the Fondazione CR Firenze and the Gallerie degli Uffizi in the context of their respective Piccoli Grandi Musei and Uffizi Diffusi schemes One of the Medici family’s favourite painters stands out from the sombre virtuosity of his own century’s movement thanks to the airy lightness of his brushwork and his soft His neo-Hellenistic taste and irreverent sense of humour together with his skill in working “fast and well” can be appreciated in the tondos on display in the exhibition in a vibrant flow of delicate luminous forms that will turn the visitor’s enjoyment of his paintings into a positively ethereal experience The unique technique of painting in fresco on terracotta tile which accounted for the artist’s popularity and which is the leitmotif of the exhibition points up the light quality of Giovanni da San Giovanni’s work thanks to the material’s filmy texture and to the sculptural nature of the circular format that smoothes and softens the entire painted scene The artist’s subjects of choice come from mythology and he handles them with a witty verve as in the case of the tondo depicting Aurora and Tithonus in which the youthful carefree goddess looks on almost in amusement at the decline of her ageing husband weary and worn out by the onset of old age But Giovanni’s feeling for the refinement of mythology goes hand in hand with a typically Tuscan taste for brazen provocation to which he gives free rein in his fresco of the Emasculation scene in which a group of women is busy getting its own back on a Satyr His fresco painting earned him the admiration of prestigious patrons in both Florence and Rome thus enabling him to cultivate a close tie with the Grand Dukes It was for the Medici family that Giovanni painted one of his first works in Florence the decoration of the Sala degli Argenti in the Pitti Palace which his premature death prevented him from completing built around the relationship between the artist and a member of the Medici family Grand Duke Ferdinand I’s son Prince Don Lorenzo will be displaying for the first time the full set of eight tondos that Giovanni da San Giovanni painted for the Villa di Petraia c along with two further tondos that he painted for the Villa di Pratolino and other works connected with these commissions  The other aspect on which the exhibition focuses is the painter’s natural link with the town of San Giovanni Valdarno and the works by Giovanni and other artists close to him that are still housed here: first and foremost the paintings in the Museo della Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie This museum’s collection includes one of the artist’s few canvases commissioned by the members of the Compagnia di San Giovanni Decollato for their altar in the church of San Lorenzo The same period in his career is conjured up by two lunettes frescoed in 1621 at the top of the two staircases in the Oratory of Santa Maria delle Grazie with scenes of the Annunciation and the Marriage of the Virgin Today the museum hosts the original version of the Marriage of the Virgin which was discovered during restoration by the Soprintendenza in 1953 which tell us that Giovanni was back in his the city of his birth between 1620 and 1621 testify to his major role in the complex restructuring and embellishment of the Oratory that got under way in the 17th century John the Baptist will be juxtaposed with another of Mannozzi’s canvases depicting the Circumcision from San Bartolomeo in Cutigliano a work also dated 1620 though not widely known to the general public Visitors will also be able to admire a masterly work from a private collection entitled The Paupers’ Kitchen and the coat-of-arms of the Mannozzi family while his skill as a fresco painter is further borne out by an exquisite small work from Mina Gregori’s private collection depicting St Giovanni was to return to his home town again in the 1630s Joseph with the Baby Jesus which is still part of the museum’s collection today Bizzarro e capriccioso umore’. Giovanni da San Giovanni, pittore senza regola alla corte medicea Stanislao Pointeau. A Tuscan "macchiaiolo"of French descent. An exhibition dedicated to Prof. Carlo Del BravoExhibitions The Medici: Mugello Folk. Family portraits from the Gallerie degli UffiziFrom 19 May to 5 November, four works from the Uffizi Galleries bring back the Grand Dukes in the country and towns of the Mugello, the family’s legendary homeland. A bizarre and whimsical temperament. Giovanni da San Giovanni, a maverick painter at the Medici courtGiovanni da San Giovanni returns to his home town with an exhibition in the "Lands of the Uffizi" series The Ceramics of Montelupo and the Uffizi. A gallery of comparisons"Lands of the Uffizi" comes to Montelupo for the first time Embattled thinkers. Fame and oblivion of two men of letters, from the Battle of Anghiari to the siege of FamagustaThe Museo della Battaglia e di Anghiari is to host a new exhibition in the Lands of the Uffizi The Fabulous '60s in the Maremma. The mark of Ico ParisiThe splendour of the fashionable clothes of the Museum of Fashion and Costume of Pitti Palace 'parades' in Grosseto to recreate the dynamism and effervescence of the society of Southern Tuscany in the post-War period. The paintings of Jacopo Vignali, from the Gallerie degli Uffizi to San Casciano In memory of Carlo Del Bravo Masaccio and Fra Angelico. A dialogue on truth in paintingMasaccio returns to his birthplace, Castel San Giovanni, in a dialogue with Fra Angelico La predella degli Uffizi salvata al Castello di MontegufoniThe return to Montespertoli of the Gallerie degli Uffizi predella Nel segno della vita. Donne e Madonne al tempo dell' attesaAn exhibition devoted to the portrayal of the motherhood Pietro Benvenuti in the Age of Canova. Paintings and drawings from public and private collections The first “Lands of the Uffizi” exhibition to be held in Arezzo explores the work of painter Pietro Benvenuti in the age of Canova The Warrior Pope Giuliano Della Rovere and Anghiari’s Soldiers of FortuneThe link between the Warrior Pope Giuliano Della Rovere and Anghiari’s Soldiers of Fortune Giottesque Painters in the ValdelsaTwo versions of the Madonna and Child juxtaposed for visitors to discover Lippo di Benivieni and the followers of Giotto in the Valdelsa "The Final Seal". The Stigmata of St. Francis at La Verna from the collections of the Gallerie degli UffiziThe Pinacoteca Comunale di Castiglion Fiorentino and the Gallerie degli Uffizi trade two masterpieces The Civilisation of Arms and the Courts of the RenaissanceAn exhibition in Anghiari telling the story of the Renaissance courts and of the men who peopled them, amid war and culture. In the Name of Dante. The Casentino in the Divine ComedyDante returns to the castle of Poppi, where the Casentino inspired the Divine Comedy Dante and Andrea del Castagno Return to San GodenzoThe fresco of Dante painted by Andrea del Castagno in the place where the painter was born and where the poet's exile began pittore senza regola alla corte medicea" Museo delle Terre Nuove Museo della Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie Sunday and holidays10.00 AM - 1.00 PM / 3.00 - 7.00 PM One ticket admits holder to both exhibition venues and to the twomuseums Amazon expects to create 900 new full-time jobs within three years of opening The Rovigo facility is the third hub in Italy equipped with the latest technology by Amazon Robotics September 21 marks opening day for Amazon’s latest fulfillment center this one located in Castelguglielmo - San Bellino The warehouse facility is the fifth such center opened by Amazon in Italy The Castelguglielmo - San Bellino site joins the group which includes Castel San Giovanni (Piacenza) and Piedmont’s Vercelli and Torrazza Piemonte (Turin) sites Amazon expects to create 900 new full-time jobs within three years at this latest facility This newest opening allows Amazon to expand its logistics network to take on the ever-increasing demand by customers across the peninsula The opening allows them to expand their product offering while providing additional support for small and medium-sized enterprises who sell their merchandise across the Amazon.it platform and who use the “Logistics by Amazon” service; a program that provides sales and delivery services to third party vendors “Ten years after Amazon’s arrival in Italy we’re thrilled to begin this new venture at our latest fulfillment center in Castelguglielmo - San Bellino It will soon become an integral part of our Italian logistics network we can count on one of the most advanced warehouses around to help us continue to bring the best possible services to our customers,” remarked Stefano Perego Vice President of Amazon Operations for Europe “We’ll continue working closely with local authorities while we carry on providing top services to customers we’ll continue protecting the health and safety of workers as we have since the onset of the health crisis that we have all faced over the last few months and that is still ongoing The new Rovigo site marks the third such fulfillment center for Amazon Italia to be outfitted with the most advanced technology in the field The warehouse uses the most innovative technology available to assist workers in carrying out their duties The new tech makes it easier and more efficient for staff due to reduced time spent moving around the facility This is due to intelligent shelving units that move automatically to an ergonomically designed area where staff can process orders the distribution hub is a fully sustainable structure integrating energy efficiency and thereby reducing its environmental footprint Sustainable principles were applied throughout the construction of the site bringing to light avant-garde solutions such as photovoltaic lighting systems for a total of over 2MW led lighting and a cooling and heating system that recoups energy while providing hot water without using methane gas and siding and other materials that provide additional insulation an intelligent system for building maintenance and was conceived entirely with the goal of receiving BREEAM certification from the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method To preserve balance and biodiversity of the surrounding area green areas and groves of local species have been planned to fit seamlessly into the area “The launch of this much awaited Amazon facility was a note of good news for the entire Polesana area We’re certain that this latest opening will bring additional social-economic benefits along with a touch of optimism for all the surrounding communities Keep in mind that from the very onset of planning we have been very careful to safeguard the environmental impact seeing to it that works to mitigate waste have already been partially implemented.” engage and bring our utmost to integrate the complex Amazon reality into our area of the Polesine and was a sort of ‘on-the-job training’ for me personally; but one that allowed me to enhance my own skills and sharpen my tenacity Nine hundred full-time jobs over the next three years is quite a big deal for our Rovigo province People who can count on a stable work environment are able to make long term decisions for their families and I think this will also help mitigate emigration away from this area Amazon is an important piece that interconnects with work already found in the area in a marvelous jigsaw puzzle: the Polesine area Amazon’s arrival extends to other types of jobs as well catalyzing a win-win in terms of social-economic and cultural terms,” remarked Aldo D’Achille “Being able to make deliveries in the time frame as promised by this advanced warehouse is the direct result of the excellent teamwork by Amazon local Authorities – in particular the Towns involved - the General Contractor all working in concert during an exceptionally trying time due to COVID-19 This is the third project that Amazon and P3 have worked on together further affirming our partnership not just in Italy We’re very proud of the positive impact that this project will have on the entire local community of Rovigo.” Jean-Luc Saporito Chief Development Officer and Managing Director Italy of P3 Logistic Parks remarked the new facility joins two other Amazon sorting centers – in Vigonza (Padova) and in Verona It will be an important factor in the economic and job growth across the area for Castelguglielmo Amazon salaries are some of the highest in the logistics sector and include a number of benefits such as discounts off items purchased on Amazon.it and private medical insurance Amazon also offers innovative opportunities to its staff such as the Career Choice program that covers up to 95% of tuition and materials costs for staff to gain training or personal development Amazon has invested over 5.8 billion euro in since its arrival in Italy in 2010 creating over 6,900 full-time jobs that will see another 1,600 by year’s end This brings its total number of employees to 8,500 across its 25 sites throughout Italy the Company has opened two new top-of-the-line fulfillment centers: in Castelguglielmo/San Bellino (Rovigo) and in Colleferro (Rome) while the two years prior saw Amazon opening various distribution hubs and sorting centers across the peninsula Two additional urban distribution hubs were opened in Milano and Rome to serve Amazon Prime Now customers On top of these investments in its Italian logistics network Amazon opened its Customer Service center in Cagliari alongside its Milanese corporate headquarters as well Amazon moved to its new corporate offices (17,500 square meters) in the emerging business district of Porta Nuova The Company also opened a Development Center for research on speech recognition and natural language understanding to support the Alexa voice recognition technology Above and beyond full-time employment opportunities that Amazon continues to bring with it the Company also provides support to entrepreneurs and business people looking to open an online store either by taking an existing business online or those desiring to expand their business The Company offers various options available on its platform: from Marketplace for direct sales to customers to utilizing the Amazon Logistics network for stocking and delivery of items through its FBA program (Fulfillment by Amazon) Italian companies selling merchandise through the Amazon.it portal have generated over 18,000 jobs Amazon is guided by four main principles: Obsession with customer satisfaction over the competition Amazon Echo and Alexa are just some of the innovative products and services introduced to the world by Amazon Tobias Jones uncovers its fascinating history Sun 10 Jul 2022 16.00 CESTLast modified on Sun 10 Jul 2022 22.14 CESTShareItaly’s longest river was once called the “king of rivers” by Virgil (“fluviorum rex”) It was considered mighty less for its length – it’s only about 400 miles (652 kilometres) long – than for its expanding girth: the countryside next to the river was so flat that the Po was often less of a river than a slow-moving marsh always flooding land dozens of miles either side of its porous banks I walked from one bank to the other without wetting my feet There was only white gravel with buddleia where the “great river” was supposed to be so further downstream the river does return fell below an average of 145 cubic metres per second (the historic average flow for June is 1,805 cubic metres per second) At Cremona – roughly halfway along the Po – the water is currently more than 8 metres (26ft) below “hydrographic zero” the Italian government declared a state of emergency in five northern regions – Emilia-Romagna ornamental fountains in Milan have been shut and daytime hosepipe bans are in place because water is simply evaporating faster than it falls The Adriatic Sea has come about 12 miles inland from the Po estuary burning crops and salinating drinking water The vast maize plantations used for cattle forage are yellowing Hundreds of thousands of hectares along the Po basin are fallow this summer because of doubts about the reliability of irrigation for the “second planting” and the peaks around Folgarida and Madonna di Campiglio were stone grey rather than white It was so warm at altitude that most people were walking only in vests The Po tells many other stories about the consequences of human inventiveness and cunning part of the trade route for Baltic amber in the bronze age Romans navigated the Po from Adria (the town that gave the sea its name) to their fortress in Turin dozens of rival signorie (baron states) fought for access to its banks to impose passage taxes and reinforce strategic defences: the Po was always a vast So the river became built up with brick castles chains perpendicular to the flow and pump houses 300 flour mills on the river and dozens of bridges made up of strapped-up barges it feels as if you’re visiting Earth after the humans have gone The promise of silence and solitude was partly what drew me to the river in the first place But I also wanted to understand the land where I live go almost pagan in describing the sacredness of the river: to them They told me about mythological animals such as the Fojonco or villages where socialist violinists had squatted and bought out the local noble’s farm I followed the stories and slowly came to appreciate my friends’ sense of loss The ruin of the river was almost total: paddling against the current a Nerf gun bullet The river was always both a donor and a thief It’s commonly called a “traitor” or “promiscuous” because it had a habit of leaving its established bed and changing course Settlements that were once on the left bank are now on the right there’s a village called Alluvioni Cambiò (“flood-changed”) The river’s deliverance of silt even became an instrument of expansionism: almost as soon as the house of Este at Ferrara died out in 1597 the Venetian republic radically altered the direction of the Po (1600-04) forcing it south with a four-mile cut so that Ferrara’s harbours became silted up and the Venetians could reclaim the land where the river had once run the draining of the swamps and floodplains Industrialisation meant that coal pump houses were capable of moving millions of gallons in a day: through the 20th century the number of valli – lagoons – were reduced from 50 to just 24; between 1957 and 1975 18,000 hectares (44,000 acres) of the Mezzano lagoon disappeared Water removal meant that the new lands were often below the level of the river The discovery of methane in the 1920s and its extraction through following decades meant that land levels slipped another vital metre or two The natural obedience of water to gravity was being challenged by human hubris Mechanised banking of the river was now needed to protect the hard-won land because the Po became “perched” meaning above the level of the surrounding countryside Human intervention upended ecosystems: the coypu was introduced from South America for its fur the nutrie had no predators and merrily multiplied gliding with their nostrils poking above the algal blooms Every industry along the Po seemed to stain or change it Its waters were used to cool power stations Star cucumber (known as zucca pazza or “mad pumpkin”) was introduced from the Americas to give shade to Italian orchards but the plant went rogue and now covers the floodplains like a lumpy silk carpet The ugly wels catfish has almost entirely eradicated the native sturgeon Canadian poplars were introduced and now stand like regimented troops The ruin of the river was almost total: as I paddled against the current I would memorise the objects I saw: hay-baling plastic What I didn’t see was even more alarming: pollution has improved from the high point in the mid-1990s (when the Po was estimated to disburse into the Adriatic every year 2,642kg of zinc but analysts still frequently see peaks in benzoylecgonine a chemical excreted by cocaine users in urine The polythene sky of the Padanian plain through winter is partly the result of thick fogs but those fogs also occur because of the habit of drenching farmland in nitrogen fertilisers that then volatilise to form ammonium salts Fertiliser run-offs also cause those algal blooms because of eutrophication – which occurs when waters become overenriched with nutrients and minerals typically from agriculture – in our ever-slower rivers Most irrigation channels look like bowling creases But just as I began to despair about the ecological disaster of the river something uplifting and intriguing emerged Because land adjacent to the river frequently flooded it was precarious and therefore affordable It was somewhere the impoverished and dispossessed found shelter The floodplains attracted outlaws because the Po always marked the border between rival jurisdictions and it was easy to slip across the river to avoid arrest live music was forbidden without a permit so various musical ensembles held concerts on bridges so that they could shuffle to one end or the other according to the police presence possibly gets its name from a twist on “guilty” and another – Bergantino – probably comes from “brigand” The riverbanks were often the sites of socialist or surrealist communes and of lazarets (quarantine quarters)“It’s as if there’s an anarchic and libertarian spirit that attracts particular individuals to the Po,” the documentary-maker and musician Alessandro Scillitani wrote recently “People who have decided to live in their own way and thus have a vision of the world different to ours.” It’s something that has been noted for centuries with all sorts of explanations: the Po just draws “personalities who are a bit strange” Because the river made land and possessions impermanent many villagers decided to offer each other an effective insurance policy by holding land in common the floodplains have been held communally by the villagers since 1588 Privatisations have eaten into the commonhold but even today 1.3m sq metres (14m sq ft) are shared by the villagers meaning that each has about a hectare of land there’s an extraordinary communal woodland that has been operative since the late 13th century: it’s called “the woodland of fates” because the felling areas are assigned by drawing lots every autumn The riverbanks were often the sites of socialist or surrealist communes and of lazarets (quarantine quarters) something given added resonance in our era of Covid and contagion After the construction of the Cavour canal the Italian rice industry became hydrologically viable and sophisticated irrigation agreements were drawn up between the great monasteries and tenant farmers to flood the fields of Lomellina the water forced social mobilisation: the exploitation of female manual labourers – the mondine or weeders – gave rise to unionism and successful campaigns for an eight-hour day The arduous 40-day weeding had a Lenten feel and the mondine had a playbook of bagpipey “Lombardy-blues” songs taken from the socialist partisan and feminist repertoire: “Shut up there are no manual labourers left in these fields I was often drawn to the traces of the cottage industries that relied on the Po’s waters Carmagnola was the capital of international hemp trading from the 16th to 18th centuries Its covered market was where hemp uniforms and ropes were sold to emissaries of the maritime republics of Genoa and Venice Hemp production was basic: the long stalks of cannabis sativa were rotted in the ditches so they could be stripped down You can still see one or two long arcades where women and children twisted A few farmhouses have holes where poles were inserted like rigid clothes lines on which to dry fibres Just occasionally there were botanical connections between the Po and England from where you can see the equilateral peak of Monviso at almost 4,000 metres Pancalieri’s low-lying marshes (the name means “waning plain”) made it ideal for a cottage industry that had thrived in the 1800s in the then Surrey village of Mitcham: the cultivation and distillation of lavender and mint and the transformation of their essences into cosmetics and tinctures (the crest of the south-west London football team Tooting & Mitcham still boasts lavender flowers curving around a tower) Turin was the centre of Italian chemistry and various investors and farmers decided to imitate Mitcham’s know-how and farm peppermint in the rich soils adjacent to the Pancaliera stream the main client being the nearby confectionery giant Ferrero But the horror of writing a book about the natural world in 2022 is that everything has turned inside out Almost all the images of the river through history are of a male thug (“a drunken father” The fears of Po-side humans were always focused on floods but suddenly centuries of architecture and literature seem redundant because we now we have exactly the opposite fear: not an excess is crumbling as the glacial glues give way My hike to the source was interrupted every hour by the roar of a small rockslide and the puff of smaragdite dust Despite the damp mosses of the Alpine tundra less a drunken father now than an absent one The Po: An Elegy for Italy’s Longest River is published by Head of Zeus (£25). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025 The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media Amazon faces a rash of strikes and protests at sites across Europe as warehouse workers lash out over what they say are gruelling labor conditions minimal protection and the risk of infection after several employees tested positive for coronavirus Spain and France — among the countries worst-hit by the virus — is testing the e-commerce giant's ability to keep operating its labor-intensive warehouses amid surging demand and radical containment measures Amazon has ordered office staff to work from home and abide by social distancing rules rolled out in many countries But at the vast warehouses where the company processes orders for shipment workers are still expected to show up and in many cases work overtime to meet exploding demand — including in Italy which is currently the outbreak's global epicenter and where millions of people are under orders to remain home a worker at a fulfilment center in Castel San Giovanni "I can’t walk in the streets because the police will stop me if I don’t have a proper reason Why do I have to go into the fulfilment center and work surrounded by thousands of people?” “This company is using our health to make a big fortune" — Agnieszka Mróz we are working to ensure we can continue to deliver to the most impacted customers while keeping our people safe," the statement read “We also have a process in place so that employees who are unable to work overtime for personal reasons are able to speak with managers and map out a schedule that works for them." But such measures are far from being enough for many Amazon workers many say they have no choice but to keep working and they are outraged that the company has kept operating warehouses in Italy and Spain even after employees in those locations tested positive for the virus the Italian General Confederation of Labor (CGIL) has organized a strike at the warehouse in Castel San Giovanni and announced a “state of agitation” in other facilities in Piedmont and Passo Corese 200-300 workers protested outside their warehouse in Saran Spanish union Comisiones Obreras (CC.OO) has lodged an official complaint to labor authorities about Amazon's response to the crisis and in Poland unionized workers — who are actually serving the German market — voiced outrage over their working conditions a packer in Amazon’s warehouse in Poznań in western Poland and an activist at Inicjatywa Pracownicza (the Workers' Initiative) “This company is using our health to make a big fortune." The growing outrage in Europe underscores a paradox for Amazon whose share price has so far held up better than other Silicon Valley giants during the crisis: The virus is a direct risk to the health of thousands of warehouse workers To keep up with the surge, the company has said it would hire 100,000 additional workers in the U.S. and will no longer take in non-essential goods from third-party sellers who account for about a third of the total offerings on the site bringing in more people will only compound the risk of transmission they argue — criss-crossing other workers in a race to grab and stack packages and meet numerical productivity targets — goes against the principle of social distancing “If we have to wash our hands additionally workers will be afraid to do it in fear that they will not meet their targets,” said Mróz are particularly aggrieved as they have yet to benefit from the hourly wage increases that Amazon has rolled out in other countries (of $2 in the U.S. Amazon says it is negotiating a salary increase with Polish union representatives Workers on temporary contracts may be more willing to ignore health warnings | Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images Mróz — one of 11,000 workers from the villages surrounding Amazon's Poznań warehouse to hitch a bus ride to work each day — says Polish workers like her earn 20 zlotys (around €4.40) per hour before tax far below what their colleagues in the eurozone are earning “Polish people are coming from their villages to send boxes to Germany We are giving our lives and our health to bring more profit to [Amazon boss] Jeff Bezos,” she added the need to meet targets is particularly intense for workers on temporary contracts known internally as "green badges" because of the color of their identifying badges Such workers are more likely to overlook health warnings to keep their jobs “It’s very easy to find green badges running around they ignore it because they need to work,” he said national officer at British trade union GMB saying that the physical demands of work in fulfilment centers could make them more vulnerable to infection “Amazon employees have no options whatsoever They do this or they go work elsewhere,” he said “Amazon workers are on the front lines of this crisis” — Christy Hoffmann the company has avoided stricter regulation in the European Union while sticking by its policy of not negotiating with unions on work conditions “Amazon workers are on the front lines of this crisis,” Christy Hoffmann the general secretary of Switzerland-based UNI Global Union said in a statement that also demanded that Amazon provide protective gear to its workers “Amazon needs to negotiate with unions to ensure worker safety and smoothly functioning supply chains." where the loudest protests have broken out the government has signalled it wants Amazon to change its practices The pressure Amazon puts on its employees is “unacceptable and we'll let Amazon know,” Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told France Inter This article is part of POLITICO’s premium Tech policy coverage: Pro Technology. Our expert journalism and suite of policy intelligence tools allow you to seamlessly search, track and understand the developments and stakeholders shaping EU Tech policy and driving decisions impacting your industry. Email [email protected] with the code ‘TECH’ for a complimentary trial Also On POLITICO Coronavirus in Europe: Coverage in full By POLITICO Poland declares coronavirus ‘epidemic’ By Zosia Wanat The Dutch tax authority ruined thousands of lives after using an algorithm to spot suspected benefits fraud — and critics say there is little stopping it from happening again Finnish President Sauli Niinistö will meet US President Joe Biden to discuss the war in Europe Prime Minister Sanna Marin also announced that Finland would provide Ukraine with lethal aid International organization had already been searching for a replacement Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Cornelia Lauf selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter A small village in Sabina in Italy’s Rieti province has been my country home for 15 years Castel San Pietro is an hour by car from the capital This hilly region was settled thousands of years ago with a pastoral base preceding systematic agriculture; many roads winding through Sabina were paths once used for the transhumance the passage of humans and animals toward the valleys in winter My husband Giuseppe Catalano di Melilli and I settled on Castel San Pietro as a fusion of our backgrounds He’s a lighting architect and farmer from a notable Sicilian family and great-nephew of the writer Giovanni Verga We met in Rome; I had lived between New York City with two daughters from my marriage to the American artist Joseph Kosuth with an aesthetic both contemporary and prehistoric Giuseppe and I sought a hideaway to experience nature in full and yet live within a village Lauf with her husband Giuseppe Maria Catalano di Melilli © Stefan GiftthalerOver the years doing our part to keep the spirit of an ancient community alive Our home overlooks what once was an ancient Roman villa estate said to have belonged to the emperor Diocletian Its stepped terraces are built in a style channelling Near Eastern hanging gardens The lowest ramp gives way to a surprise vista This open-air greenhouse is a historic specimen garden filled with many plant varieties It shelters delicate citrus plants from climate shifts and I solicited proposals from a few former students developed the wine labels under Giuseppe’s watchful eye while I took control of the art direction on the olive oil cans doing our part to keep the spirit of an ancient community alive I was as passionate then about the cause of agriculture in relation to art and sustainability as I am today Farmers everywhere are the base of our lives and yet an undervalued group of workers The culture and wisdom of people in agriculture is never mapped in visual studies yet every vegetable stand run by a farmer must be an aesthetic composition Farming as an aesthetic of the land keeps Europe looking like it does and turns a flight descending into Rome into an astounding glide across fields cultivated over millennia I remember reading Virgil in college and being utterly moved by pastoral poetry Now Giuseppe and I were farming the stuff we were eating as well as visiting students from exchange programmes such as Workaway Giuseppe and I have grown as a couple from the experience of mentoring and guiding young people on the land; they gave unstintingly of their time and energies the many fruit trees we have growing on the property bursting into bloom and harvested into baskets Cherries in May; apples throughout summer and fall doing our best to maintain and improve what was lovingly tended before just now that the legacy of Gordon Matta-Clark’s New York restaurant Food means art and food design have become commonplace Perhaps it’s a century that Giuseppe and I were not born in mastered by the students I teach at John Cabot University and NABA Giuseppe can look at any leaf and identify its health but he has posted only a dozen times on Instagram in the past 10 years and one of the pictures is an image of a snail and I am aware of what we don’t know as much as what we do We are taking the step with reluctance but decisively – to leave a garden in full bloom My children are on their separate paths now So we are taking the step with reluctance but decisively – to leave a garden in full bloom The countryside was the scene for my wedding with Giuseppe: an idyllic ceremony captured by his cousin the late cinema photographer Pietro Coccia is like a bucolic Watteau painting; the pre-Revolutionary fête champêtre I had always wanted to inhabit changing life (though not partner) once again make more constellations of contemporary artists and interiors A Jonathan Monk table sculpture in the living room at Castel San Pietro with a floor lamp by Jasper Morrison for Artemide Above the fireplace hangs a late- 19th-century French painting © Stefan GiftthalerArtist editions for the estate’s olive oil © Stefan GiftthalerWe’ll surely stay in Rome The artists’ olive oil editions will continue; we know good sources And I’m working on a book about my time in the New York art world in the ’80s and ’90s; it will help if I can sit in one place This spring there’s an exhibition about my curatorial vision; things are growing in other ways Our Sabine country home is thus available to new patrons of beauty and culture We can vouch for the honour of tending plants that symbolise Rome – acanthus tendril-rich plant that lends its leaves to the Corinthian column Other plants with allegorical value fill our park – oak trees as I have learned from the eminent botanist Giulia Caneva Artistic representations of these plants were once signage connecting properties throughout the Mediterranean to the command centre on the Capitoline A guest bedroom with Russian icon and baroque angel artwork fragments The lamp is by Ionna Vautrin for Foscarini © Stefan GiftthalerA piano that belonged to Lauf’s grandmother with a sculpture by Nicolas Boulard filled with olive oil on the top © Stefan GiftthalerThe massive holding wall in our secret garden is a marvel of pre-modern engineering But even more important is the trickle of water that winds down mossy rocaille into a fountain fed by a still-operative Roman hydraulics system A statue of river god Tiberinus presides over the grotto because the water flowing into the goldfish- papyrus- and lotus-filled pond will make its way to the Farfa An antique Sicilian console and bowl in the hall © Stefan GiftthalerInside Castel San Pietro’s secret garden © Stefan GiftthalerCaravaggio apparently indicated our cypress-lined property in his one and only landscape with architecture in the background depicting Castel San Pietro from afar in a painting illustrating a Biblical scene An architect neighbour identified the location Seems Caravaggio was on the run and came under the protection of the Mattei family Our formal garden is outfitted with sculptures from some of the contemporary artists who have visited us Ancient citrus varieties are still grown in the climate-controlled hortus conclusus jasmine and an enormous 400-year-old yew listed on the Lazio register of trees The Roman villa grounds became a castle garden and then a baronial park before being given to a religious order of nuns and his art historian and curator wife – me A late 19th-century chiavarina chair in a guest bedroom from the Neapolitan school © Stefan GiftthalerA 19th-century British sink and fittings brought from a former home in Sicily © Stefan GiftthalerOur interior-decorating style is a mix of Giuseppe’s Sicilian antiques A wicker-lined sofa-and-chair set was purchased by my grandmother in the 1960s There’s a colourful steel sculpture by English artist Jonathan Monk that wittily references artists Liam Gillick and Donald Judd The main works in the living room are by Ken Lum also the author of a sculpture in the park hosting half the art world back in the day The style of the New York loft in which we lived (neon palm trees) has since rippled the world over Maybe I’m confident that our Sabine mix of time-channelling in nature and the easy elegance with which Giuseppe practises agrarian life will make its mark as a sustainable interiors style Her appreciation helps the pain of letting go I hope the future garden isn’t filled with garden dwarves I hope that the next denizens see the majesty in the plants and feel what it is to be Roman It’s a connectedness to forebears who understood the rhythms of nature and how to frame this with architecture and customs Roman elegance is in proportion and standards Living in a village such as Castel San Pietro has taught us that time travel is indeed possible Verdant views and pomegranate harvests evoke ancient Mediterranean rhythms: to be lived and loved Castel San Pietro is on sale though Sotheby’s International Realty workers from a number of unions in Italy took to the streets in dozens of cities to protest against the Draghi government and the bosses’ policies he is implementing All the main Italian rank-and-file unions (also called “base” unions which over the years have broken away from the large and more mainstream trade union confederations) held a general strike on Monday taking to the streets in dozens of cities to protest the government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi and the policies of Confindustria (General Confederation of Italian Industry) The strike involved the USB (Unione Sindicale di Base) several different Cobas (Confederazione di Comitati di Base) unions the USI (Unione Sindicale Italiana) and the SGB (Sindicato Generale di Base) workers were joined by students and other young people At some particularly important workplaces — at the ports of Genoa and Naples and in front of the Amazon plant in Castel San Giovanni in Piacenza province — the protests began very early in the morning.  Noticeably scarce or completely absent were any of the “anti-green pass” (vaccine passport) groups The base unions have rejected the divisiveness the government has been whipping up for months aimed at pitting workers against each other as “vax” or “no vax.” It is a maneuver made easier than ever after the fascist attack on the Rome headquarters of the CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labor) by members of Forza Nuova (New Force brought out tens of thousands of participants all told creating inconveniences in some particular situations two critical issues should not be overlooked The first is that the “unity” of the day among the rank-and-file unions was largely superficial and impromptu not based on a genuine convergence from below but more like a cold fusion lacking a clear Rome was a conspicuous example: when marchers arrived at the rally point one with USBers and workers with other unions in the other issue that cannot be overlooked is the absence of most of the workers from the large trade union confederations who are tied to a bureaucracy that ignores — if not openly opposes — strikes and mobilizations The strike of the base unions in some cities — Florence in particular given the situation at the GKN auto parts factory — managed to attract only very limited sectors of workers who are in the larger union groups It is clear that without the country’s largest union confederation as a tailwind it is difficult to do more than what was seen on Monday And it is difficult to see how whatever unity has been achieved thus far can develop into something better CGIL secretary-general Maurizio Landini prefers to have photos taken with Draghi even after a fascist attack on the CGIL headquarter This obscures any government or Confindustria responsibility for the opening that has been granted to the extreme right and that resulted in the beating of workers Draghi has called a separate day of mobilization on Saturday That leaves a difficult path: continue to organize workplace by workplace and try to strengthen the struggle by deepening the links between precarious workers and what the base unions have created and by challenging the union bureaucracies to broaden and generalize the struggle against the bosses and their government First published in Italian on October 11 in La Voce delle Lotte Trump’s attacks and authoritarian agenda won’t be defeated by the Democrats and the courts the Left and the broader working class must learn again how to strike together in unity This May Day offers us an opportunity to build such a struggle Alamo United workers in New York City forced Sony to reverse its layoffs Their victory shows what’s possible when workers unite as one fist Despite claiming to offer an alternative to Shawn Fain's chauvinistic defense of U.S Sean Crawford and Labor Notes are just putting forward a slightly more progressive vision of business unionism Amazon calls a recent worker death a “third-party” tragedy but the real culprit is brutal conditions that put corporate profits over worker safety On Thursday CUNY students organized an action for Palestine and public safety brutalized students Prominent figures of the French Left held a press conference on April 24 to denounce the attempt by the French government to jail Anasse Kazib for social media posts in solidarity with Palestine Under pressure from financial markets and internal divisions Trump has announced a de-escalation in his trade war with China The international working class must fight both countries’ nationalist and warmongering rhetoric and any attempts to make workers pay for the trade war The abundance agenda appears to be an attack on the Trumpist Right but it is really an attack on the socialist Left This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page After the important exhibition in Reggello for the six hundredth anniversary of the Triptych of St another review delves into the figure of Masaccio (San Giovanni Valdarno in dialogue with another Renaissance protagonist set up in two locations: at the Museo delle Terre Nuove and at the Museum of the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie The exhibition is part of Terre degli Uffizi a project of the Uffizi Galleries and Fondazione CR Firenze within their respective projects Uffizi Diffusi and Piccoli Grandi Musei Promoted by the Municipality of San Giovanni Valdarno and curated by Michela Martini Carl Brandon Strehlke and Valentina Zucchi the Valdarno exhibition presents a selection of works that allow visitors to delve into the innovations that Masaccio and Angelico offered to the history of art putting them in relation with other artists close to them and enhancing their connection with the city and the territory.On display at the Museo delle Terre Nuove is a selection of works centered on the figure of Masaccio related to the iconography of the Madonna and Child These are two masterpieces from the Uffizi Galleries: the so-called Casini Madonna a small panel painted by Masaccio for the Sienese clergyman Antonio Casini that depicts Mary with the baby in swaddling clothes to whom she tenderly tickles which shows Mary intent on suckling the baby Jesus based on the iconography of the Madonna of Milk the public will find the work of Masaccio’s brother Giovanni di ser Giovanni as well as the Madonna and Child from the workshop of Lorenzo Ghiberti These works are accompanied by an in-depth look at the figures of Mariotto di Cristofano his collaborator and at the same time sensitive to Angelico’s taste The exhibition section at the Museum of the Basilica is dedicated to Angelico where works by the artist from public and private property are located with a special focus on the theme of theAnnunciation Here they will encounter Beato Angelico’sAnnunciation a reliquary from Santa Maria Novella and commissioned to the painter by Dominican and sacristan Giovanni Masi the artist now reveals full adherence to Renaissance novelties depicting the mystery of the incarnation through real Entirely human is the crossing of glances between the divine messenger and Mary caught in the most earthly moment of welcoming the angel’s announcement into her womb Also by the friar painter is the preparatory drawing from the Drawings and Prints Cabinet of the Uffizi Galleries as he beats his bare chest with a stone and turns his moved gaze probably toward the Crucifix who appreciated his authenticity of life and faith “Dialogue” therefore wants to be the key word of this valuable exhibition which offers the opportunity to admire refined masterpieces to observe their mutual influences and to reflect on the highest and deepest components of artistic representation “In this 2022,” says Uffizi director Eike Schmidt “interest in the early Tuscan Renaissance glorified and studied in so many initiatives Under this aegis opens the San Giovanni Valdarno exhibition Dialogue on Truth in Painting.’ The common thread is the relationship with the territory and in particular the local community The exhibition itinerary offers a selection of works from the early 15th century linked to the Valdarno territory by destination (Annunciation by Beato Angelico predella by Andrea di Giusto) or the origin of the authors (Masaccio reconstructing an ideal panorama of Florentine art at the dawn of the Renaissance From the Uffizi come absolute masterpieces: above all one recalls Masaccio’s moving Madonna del solletico.” “Yet another highly stimulating and unprecedented confrontation between two giants of our early Renaissance and a new opportunity to enhance an area and its treasures that are less known to the general public as is in the spirit of the project,” stresses Luigi Salvadori these events offer not only the knowledge of works of dazzling beauty but are an opportunity to get in touch with environments and suggestions that are among the new peculiarities of post-covid tourism as indicated by the most qualified operators is the trend of the moment and Tuscany is the undisputed queen for this type of offer.Terre degli Uffizi perfectly intercepts this new trend that has greatly increased the attendance in the venues involved in the first cycle and is having the same multiplier effect in the first exhibitions of the second edition." “For the City of San Giovanni Valdarno,” says Mayor Valentina Vada “it is an honor and a privilege to be part of Terre degli Uffizi because finally we are able to bring Masaccio back to his native land (after the last exhibition dedicated to him in 2001 on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of his birth Masaccio and the Origins of the Renaissance) in an exhibition organized in collaboration with Le Gallerie degli Uffizi and Fondazione CR Firenze And why certainly the exhibition ”Masaccio and Angelico Dialogue on Truth in Painting,“ as we hope will attract visitors and tourists constituting an important tool of enhancement and promotion for our municipality and the entire Valdarno as well as an opportunity for the economic operators of the area I am convinced that the great effort made by the Municipality of San Giovanni Valdarno will be rewarded and will serve to make known a city that is a small jewel in the heart of Tuscany and that has the ambition to stand alongside with its characteristics and peculiarities the best-known and largest cities in the Region The link between San Giovanni Valdarno and the Uffizi Galleries will not end with the exhibition on Masaccio and Angelico but will continue with a project of long-term loans of works that will be housed in the Museo delle Terre Nuove.” Pictured is Beato Angelico’sAnnunciation You can read this article in 2 minutesPölös Zsófia GXO Logistics has signed an agreement with PRG Retail Group to oversee outbound transport operations from the group’s warehouse in Castel San Giovanni to a selection of its retail stores in northern Italy GXO will coordinate deliveries to Toys Center Bimbostore and Fao Schwarz locations in Lombardy The logistics provider will manage all aspects of transport According to GXO, the service will include the use of digital tools such as a Track&Trace portal and reporting systems intended to improve visibility and support cost optimisation “We will be able to offer a streamlined service capable of handling large volumes and seasonal peaks,” said Alessandro Renzo Managing Director for GXO Italy and Switzerland which operates several brands focused on childcare and toys cited operational expertise as a key factor in choosing GXO “We are satisfied with this agreement with GXO a partner we have chosen for its reliability in guaranteeing service levels and its know-how in retail and transport,” said Marco Fontana Logistics & Import-Export Director at PRG Retail Group The announcement follows GXO’s recent expansion of its managed transport services in the Italian market The company employs a carrier-neutral model working with a range of providers to adapt solutions to specific customer needs Agnieszka Kulikowska - Wielgus Journalist Trans.info | 5.05.2025 Sabina Koll Journalist Trans.info | 5.05.2025 Pölös Zsófia Journalist Trans.info | 2.05.2025 Europe-wide truck checks underway this weekAgnieszka Kulikowska - Wielgus Journalist Trans.info | 5.05.2025 Covid rules prompted Stefano Bozzini to play songs on his accordion for Carla The wife of an 81-year-old Italian man whom he serenaded from beneath her hospital window has died. Read moreEarlier this month Stefano Bozzini touched the hearts of many after he was filmed playing songs that had defined their love on his accordion in the courtyard of the hospital in Castel San Giovanni a retired member of the Italian army’s Alpini mountain infantry told the local press that he had lost his “alpine star” spent 10 days in the hospital as she underwent tests for cancer and was discharged the day after her husband’s romantic gesture The hospital does not treat Covid patients but visitors are banned in case they bring the virus in Speaking to the Guardian on 10 November, Bozzini said he had simply followed his heart on the day of the serenade “I did it for Carla – to show her how much I love her and to thank her for all she has given me,” he said “I wasn’t able to see her in hospital and so went to the courtyard with the accordion – my heart told me to go After she heard the music she looked out of the window The first song he played was Spanish Eyes by Engelbert Humperdinck A lot of the sick people in the hospital were looking out of their windows.” in the simplicity and immediacy of its universal language,” Patrizia Barbieri “The disease broke their embrace … with a special thought to them both and on behalf of the entire Piacenza community I want to thank Stefano for a gesture of tenderness that remind us of what it really means to love – you do everything to ensure that the other person doesn’t feel alone The couple met when they were in their 20s and went on to have three children but lost their youngest 2021 – Amazon announced today the opening of two new sites in Italy this year With the fulfillment center in Novara and the sortation center in Spilamberto (MO) Amazon will create 1,100 permanent jobs in three years on top of the company’s 8.500 existing roles in the Country The launch of the two new sites means Amazon is adding over 230 million euros to the 5.8 billions euros already invested since 2010 Amazon is further increasing the size of its Italian logistic network to meet increasing customer demand expand its product selection and support a growing number of independent small businesses selling at Amazon using Fulfillment by Amazon warehousing and delivery “We are proud and excited to expand our operation with two new facilities in Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna,” said Stefano Perego “We’ve invested heavily in the country during the last 10 years employing thousands of talented individuals who receive competitive pay and comprehensive benefits from day one This new investment is another sign of our commitment to the people and communities of Italy creating 1100 new permanent jobs and helping us deliver to even more customers across the Country I would like to highlight we implemented over 150 safety measures to face the Covid emergency ensuring we can continue to serve communities while taking care of our employees” The fulfillment center located in Agognate a hamlet of Novara municipality in Piedmont region will create up to 900 jobs within three years of launch of the site whose construction works are carried out by Vailog srl (Gruppo Segro) will be equipped with advanced Amazon Robotics technology focused on the health and well-being of the employees This is just the latest in a long line of innovative technology Amazon introduced to assist warehouse associates that help to reduce walking time by moving the shelves to them The new fulfillment center in Novara will become a vital element in Amazon’s network of fulfillment centers The Spilamberto (MO) sortation center will be the second building of this type opened by Amazon in Emilia Romagna region after the Castel San Giovanni facility Vailog srl (Gruppo Segro) will be responsible for the construction of the warehouse that will provide over 200 new permanent jobs within 2023 In this facility our employees will sort and prepare the parcels to be shipped to the delivery stations and then to customers The new facilities will be operational in Autumn 2021 and will integrate energy savings and a low overall CO2 footprint The energy produced by solar panels placed on the roof of the warehouse will power both sites the Spilamberto sortation center will be powered with about 720 kW while the Novara fulfillment center with 1000 kW The buildings are managed by the BMS (Buliding Management System) a system that allows a smart management and maintenance of the building Mobility will also have a sustainability footprint since parking lots will be equipped with charging stations for electric cars and the use of bicycle transport will be encouraged through the construction of new bike paths to increase city routes The facilities will have the BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) certification with the “Very Good” rating green areas and tree spaces will be designed in harmony with the area In Spilamberto a redevelopment of green areas has been planned by creating environmental paths as part of a landscape project of rebirth to preserve the balance and biodiversity of the areas near the Rio Secco which involves the planting of native species the planning of green areas designed to integrate with the context aims to redevelop the rural and wooded area with particular attention to the preservation of plant and animal life: 15 hectares dedicated to greenery with 1,500 shrubs and trees the redevelopment of 9 hectares of the Agognate wood with 11,000 new trees together with the use of native species only are just part of the initiatives to protect the local ecosystem the project envisages the redevelopment of a stretch of the banks of the Cavour Canal the renaturalization of its banks in order to ensure the biodiversity of flora and fauna plant barriers will be created between the natural and urbanized areas to protect the fauna These developments are in line with The Climate Pledge co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism a commitment signed last year to reach the Paris Agreement ten years early and be net zero carbon by 2040 "The opening by next autumn of the new Amazon center in Novara at the logistics hub of Agognate - explains the Mayor of Novara Alessandro Canelli - is an absolutely positive event for the city and for our territory First of all because the presence of Amazon will bring 900 new jobs (including highly specialized ones) in a period when the need for new employment is more than ever felt especially as a consequence of the pandemic that is heavily penalizing the economic landscape of the whole country and the surrounding area The arrival of Amazon in Novara also guarantees the presence of a serious operator who will work with innovative technologies and in compliance with environmental sustainability parameters with very high standards " "When we chose to host the new plant in 2018 we knew that the employment generated would be a real breath of fresh air for our community and for the Modena area which had not yet recovered from the 2008 crisis This discourse is even more valid today that we are living in an unpredictable historical moment and that in the coming months will see us face post-Covid unemployment being able to count on these certain jobs will make many of our families feel better and I am satisfied with this Since the early days of the global health crisis Amazon has adapted its processes and facilities to ensure employees can work safely while serving customers The company has introduced over 150 processes gloves and additional hand-washing stations as well as ensuring the rapid implementation of two meters of social distancing measures at our sites All over the world Amazon has already invested more than $800 million in COVID-19 safety measures In Italy alone have been purchased in 2020 more than 230 million units of hand disinfectant and 35 million units of disinfectant wipes to thank its employees for the exceptional work and the extraordinary effort done last year Amazon recognized a special bonus to front-line employees with a € 300 gross payout if employed full-time and a re-proportioned amount if they work on part-time contracts This recognition adds to the one-off € 500 (and a proportionate amount for part-time workers) that was awarded this spring bringing total budget incentive spending in 2020 to over $ 2.5 billion globally In addition to the safety measures and additional pay for our people in Italy we also committed 3.5 million euros to important causes We donated 2.5 million euros to the Italian Civil Protection Department as a contribution to their incredible efforts in supporting the Italian health system fighting the COVID-19 outbreak And we donated 1 million euros to local NGOs helping vulnerable groups such as young people the elderly or families with limited resources where Amazonians live and work Amazon warehouse associates hiring will start in Spring They will be hired at the 5th grade of the Transport and Logistic CBA with an entry base salary of 1.550 gross euros in the highest range of the logistics industry and a benefit package including employee's discount on Amazon.it and an integrative insurance against injuries Amazon also offers employees an innovative program called Career Choice that provides funding for adult education offering to pay up to 95% of tuition and associated fees for nationally recognized courses Amazon has invested over 5.8 billion euro in Italy generating over 8500 full-time jobs since its arrival in 2010 1,600 new permanent jobs has been created in 202 the Company opened two new top-of-the-line fulfillment centers: in Castelguglielmo/San Bellino (Rovigo) and in Colleferro (Rome) Amazon has opened various centers and warehouses for sorting packages throughout the Peninsula along with two additional urban fulfillment centers to serve Amazon Prime Now customers in Milano and Rome Italian companies selling merchandise through the Amazon.it portal have generated over 25,000 jobs by /// March 14 The warm season in Emilia-Romagna is marked by numerous initiatives dedicated to greenery On Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd March 2025 the historic centre of Rimini will host the spring edition of Giardini d’Autore the botanical event dedicated to plants and gardens between Castel Sismondo and Piazza Malatesta On Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 March 2025, the city of Piacenza will celebrate the arrival of spring with Piacenza in Fiore On Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th of April 2025, the traditional spring date with Carpinfiore returns to Carpi. In the large and picturesque Piazza dei Martiri, in the shadow of the Palazzo dei Pio floriculturists from all over Italy will meet to exhibit their production of many varieties and types of plants On Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 May 2025, the beautiful gardens of Villa Pallavicino in Busseto will host Ortocolto a market festival of floricultural biodiversity where you can find selected botanical varieties but also the creations of artisans and artists and many typical agri-food products of local biodiversity You can also take the opportunity to visit the Renata Tebaldi Museum with a fascinating multimedia itinerary on the heritage of Italian melodrama On Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 May 2025, the gardens of Villa Braghieri in Castel San Giovanni on the border between the provinces of Piacenza and Pavia a traditional exhibition and market dedicated to flowers There will be special areas for children with workshops and themed games while adults can take part in guided tours inside the villa On Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May 2025, Santarcangelo di Romagna will host the traditional Balconi Fioriti (Balconies in Bloom) festival Social Media Manager for @inEmiliaRomagna and full-time mom by /// March 11 by /// March 18 by /// March 30 an email (in Italian) with selected contents and upcoming events i am looking for a map and any other info you can provide on Dante’s walk For information, contact us: inemiliaromagna@aptservizi.com “After graduating with a degree in Communications I was really proud to join the team as a packer,” says Riccardo “Witnessing Amazon’s exponential growth not only in Castel San Giovanni but throughout Italy has been a truly special experience – you sort of feel as though you’re part of an ever-expanding family,” states Riccardo Since joining the packaging area at Amazon Riccardo has always worked in the Shipping department he has come to know shipping in all its facets: “One of the best training experiences I had was in the dock area covering both incoming and outgoing vehicles.” Riccardo was promoted to Team Lead in his packing and shipment department Here he gained more in-depth on-the-job training he was promoted again in the same warehouse department “Being able to grow so quickly was really heartening It’s not easy to find a company that allows you to learn so much where you can give it your all and then find yourself compensated in terms of professional job growth.” Riccardo led a critical shift in his same department working alongside the Ops Manager during a peak period he was given responsibility to lead the night shift Riccardo was given the opportunity to manage the night shift as Proxy Operations “I was given the chance to deliver amazing results and get recognized based on merit,” explains Riccardo Riccardo received some great news: “Right before the Prime Day peak And you don’t have to be super-specialized; all you have to do is go for it and show your stuff.” Riccardo speaks highly of his Line managers: “I was fortunate to have managers who believed in my potential and who really encouraged me I really want to be a person who transmits a positive vibe to our newest team members.” Riccardo highlights one main point: “I believe that being genuinely curious and open to learn were essential factors in my professional growth at Amazon I walked into the company and I looked for new input about my job; trying to see how I could go beyond the daily routine you face new challenges with one single objective: To work as part of a team to achieve results.” At Amazon there’s always space for new ideas and improvement and it’s a place where every minimal contribution is essential it doesn’t stop at personal growth either: “The job of a manager is managing your team that’s the most important part of my professional life.” Riccardo hopes that his career path is an example for others Perhaps an inspiration for new employees making their way as he did seven years ago Luxembourg Amazon’s new fulfillment center in Torrazza Piemonte will help meet growing customer demand and support more third-party sellers under Fulfillment by Amazon Amazon is investing €150 million in the new building creating 1,200 permanent jobs within three years of launch together with the recently opened building in Vercelli will strengthen Amazon’s delivery network in the northwestern part of Italy and support Italian SMEs selling on Amazon The fourth Amazon fulfillment center in Italy will start operations in fall 2018 one year after the opening of the fulfillment centers in Passo Corese (Rieti) and Vercelli which started operations in September 2017 Amazon plans to create up to 1,200 permanent jobs within three years of launch at the site Amazon employees will receive an attractive salary in the high range of the logistics sector and a benefits package including employees discount on Amazon.it and private medical care Amazon also runs an innovative program called Career Choice which pre-pays up to €8,000 of tuition fees for selected courses for entry-level employees with a 1-year tenure over four years Amazon is investing €150 million in the new 60.000 square meters facility which will help ensure Amazon continues fast and reliable deliveries for Italian and European customers and will be a significant economic and employment development driver for the local area The site will be equipped with advanced Amazon Robotics technology The robots will slide under tower of shelves where products are stowed lift them and move them through the fulfillment centre to the employees working stations Amazon Operations Director for Spain and Italy said: “The new fulfillment center in Torrazza is a strong evidence of Amazon’s commitment to Italy who use Amazon marketplace to grow their businesses across Europe We are looking forward to creating 1,200 permanent jobs in Torrazza and broad career development opportunities in our fast-growing global organization” stated: "Our administration warmly welcomes the great job opportunities offered by Amazon young and old will be able to find a concrete response to local employment needs The new logistics hub will be a driving force for the growth and recovery of several entrepreneurial business in our Municipality I would like to point out that all this springs from our commitment to welcome and encourage productive settlements that respect the environment and are compatible with our territory” Mayor of the Metropolitan City of Turin stated: "Amazon's decision to launch in a few months the fourth distribution center in our country a few kilometers from the capital city of Piedmont region is a farsighted choice for several reasons This is a considerable investment which will increase the vitality of local businesses and trade for the benefit of consumers and offers also a concrete opportunity for employment concerning the opening of a new center for artificial intelligence and Machine Learning in Turin Amazon's decision represents another opportunity for our district to catalyze international attention and continue to grow more generally throughout the local productive environment renewing and specializing even more: all actions that are essential in our increasingly competitive world Councillor for Productive Activities of Piedmont Region said: “Vercelli's experience has had a great and positive impact on the area and we will enjoy the benefits for many years to come is a significant achievement under three aspects at least: the employment opportunities double the system of local SMEs is enhanced and Piedmont further proves it is a region in which institutions can create an ideal environment that attracts significant investments” stated: “This good news is a further confirmation that Piedmont is a region worth investing in a place that is home to innovation and skills an environment of choice for large operations to major multinational companies Announcements like those of Amazon do not happen by chance but are the consequence of a serious and reliable system of relationships which is built and strengthened over time” The new fulfillment will become a vital element in Amazon’s network of fulfillment centers which are spread across eight European countries Amazon has invested more than €800 million and has created more than 3,000 jobs in Italy since its opening in 2010 The Castel San Giovanni fulfillment center In November 2015 Amazon opened its 1,500 sqm Urban Fulfillment in Milan to serve Amazon Prime Now customers Amazon new fulfillment centers of Passo Corese (RI) and Vercelli started operations: Amazon invested respectively €150 million and €65 million in the two facilities creating 1,200 new jobs at Passo Corese and 600 jobs at Vercelli within three years from launch to further support the growing increases in customer demand and accommodate the fast growth of Amazon product catalog Amazon launched also one sortation center in Castel San Giovanni and eight delivery stations in Avigliana (TO) Amazon opened its Italian Customer service center in Cagliari in 2012 The Milanese corporate office was opened in 2012 as well In November 2017 Amazon moved to its new corporate offices of 17,500 square meters in the emerging business district of Porta Nuova The brand new building has become the office for more than 400 current corporate employees and will provide the company with enough space to accommodate more than 1,100 employees The company will open a Development Center for research on speech recognition and natural language understanding and will support the technology that has already been used for the voice assistant Alexa which at the moment is available only in English on services and products like Amazon Echo Carlo Bertelli was convinced that Masolino da Panicale’s voice had begun to take on an “already entirely personal” timbre in Empoli’s works The scholar had in mind especially Christ in Pity the monumental fresco that a then already 40-year-old Tommaso di Cristoforo Fini painted for the Baptistery of San Giovanni Battista in that turn of years and in the Tuscan land there has perhaps been no artist who has modulated his tone of voice in as sophisticated perhaps there was never a time when Masolino was not an artist marked by an attitude all his own since on the first forty years of his career we have to sail through the documentary void: Masolino is an artist who emerges from the records when he is by now a done painter and when his fame has already crossed the borders of his native land the Valdarno of Panicale near Castel San Giovanni (where and not the Umbria of Panicale overlooking Trasimeno Masolino is an artist who emerges from the mists of history in the year 1423 the time to which the first document about him dates as a member of the Arte dei Medici e degli Speziali the guild that brought together not only physicians but also artists and the time to which his first dated work painting in the church of Santo Stefano.Precisely 1424 is for Empoli a kind of annus mirabilis a year in which some happy convergences add up: Bicci di Lorenzo is hired to paint a triptych in the parish church of Sant’Andrea while Masolino is summoned to the church of Santo Stefano to paint first the decoration of the sacristy door and then the chapel of the Compagnia della Croce Masolino’s story revolves around what happened in Empoli that year and the critical reconstruction of his profile from there had to start and on the exact six-hundredth anniversary of Saint Stephen’s exploits to host the exhibition so far able to gather the largest number of works by the Valdarno artist and divided between the city’s two most “Masolini-esque” venues namely the Museo della Collegiata di Sant’Andrea and the church of Santo Stefano itself transformed for the occasion aims first and foremost to investigate thecontribution of Empoli in the elaboration of that “third way to the Renaissance,” as De Marchi calls it that Masolino had in fact opened and on which he had routed his own production especially after his encounter with Masaccio an inescapable subject for any reconnaissance on the artist it is an opportunity to take stock of the developments in Masolino’s own art and to formulate new hypotheses on the roads taken by the artists active in the city during that dense juncture also intersect those of the Renaissance: Masolino obtained the commission to the Brancacci Chapel because he was advocated to Felice Brancacci by Carlo Federighi commissioner of the sacristy of Santo Stefano and friend of Brancacci with whom he had also left on a diplomatic mission in 1422 thus shortly before the Florentine commissioned Masolino and Masaccio to carry out the celebrated decoration according to a hypothesis by Silvia De Luca formulated precisely on the occasion of the exhibition And it is precisely from Lorenzo Monaco that Masolino’s path can be said to start It must be premised that organizing an exhibition on Masolino is not an easy business: there are few of his known works and therefore it is not easy to see an exhibition that manages to gather all that can be gathered The Empoli exhibition lacks a few pieces that would have been more than pertinent: yet it is surprising to observe offer a rather complete overview of the evolution of a complex artist like Masolino da Panicale because the exhibition begins with the context where the first two sections are set up (those who want to start instead from the church of Santo Stefano will count on immersing themselves in a kind of cinematic flashback ) fragments of a polyptych by Niccolò di Pietro Gerini framing an early 14th-century wooden crucifix by a follower of Giovanni Pisano and a Madonna of the Girdle by Lorenzo di Bicci the central compartment of a polyptych that was in the chapel of theAssumption in Santo Stefano have above all the function of introducing the public to the lively context of Empoli in the early 15th century to a city that grew thanks to trade and the good management of a rich bourgeoisie that knew how to administer it intelligently: normal that it became a pole of attraction for artists especially for artists who were linked to Florence we are talking about a center in the province where artists typically worked who “could no longer find space on the Florentine market which was much more up-to-date and competitive,” as Silvia De Luca points out: yet “there was no lack of events of notable importance for the caliber of the artists involved and for the size of the places invested by these operations That of the various Niccolò di Pietro Gerini and Lorenzo di Bicci (to whom one could add other artists present in the permanent collection of the Museo della Collegiata: the exhibition has in fact been set up in the middle of the rooms with the works included in the itinerary recognizable because they are marked by captions with different graphics) is an essentially fourteenth-century setting linked to the Giottesque modes of theOrcagna and the artists who looked to him and which would be somewhat modernized in 1404 with the arrival in Empoli of Lorenzo Monaco who introduced into the city a ”breeze," as the exhibition curators call it of international Gothic: this breeze arrives with the triptych that the friar painter painted for the church of San Donnino which is now housed in the Museo della Collegiata di Sant’Andrea and which also makes Empoli a decidedly up-to-date center since Lorenzo Monaco’s work for San Donnino is among the earliest attestations of late Gothic in Tuscany The second section of the exhibition shows how the Empolese area had to react to the arrival of Lorenzo Monaco along a span of time that is indeed rather long since we move from the polyptych compartments of Scolaio di Giovanni the remains of a dismembered triptych executed also for la Collegiata to the panels of a Rossello by Jacopo Franchi who shortly before the middle of the century is still an artist extremely true to himself and a good forty years later Lorenzo Monaco’s triptych is still caught up in calligraphic flourishes nostalgic sighs exhaled while the author was evidently thinking of some dukesque model with whom he must perhaps have felt a certain affinity (look at the Madonna and Child loaned by the Museo di Santa Verdiana in Castelfiorentino to find easy confirmation) was a response to the finesse that Gherardo Starnina had brought back from Spain (in which the aforementioned Scolaio di Giovanni shows an enduring interest: he is among the artists most receptive to Starnina’s suggestions in the Empolese territory) and to the innovations that Lorenzo Ghiberti was elaborating from 1401 onward in the north door of the Baptistery of Florence: this is also the context on which Masolino’s art sprouts The protagonist of the exhibition enters the scene in the church of Santo Stefano revolutionized for the occasion with a temporary set-up that is not exactly exciting (it follows the course of the nave thus closing the view of the side chapels) and also a little tortuous because the various sections of the exhibition intertwine often forcing one to retrace one’s steps (the positive element is that the path thus constructed induces the public to make continuous comparisons and to question with some insistence what they are looking at) Masolino arrives almost immediately: he is first appropriately introduced by the Master of the Strauss Madonna and the Master of 1419 inserted at the start of routes as early colleagues with whom Masolino shares the desire to reform late Gothic painting by seeking a more natural and more substantial rendering of the figures abandoning the scheme laid out primarily by Gherardo Starnina This can be seen most clearly in the Madonna and Child by the Master of the Strauss Madonna a panel in which the refinement of an essentially late Gothic design yields to a massive dose of Giottesque robustness: Doubt will remain as to the degree to which the operation conducted by the master is accurate whether it is the actual and sought-after desire to set up a new and alternative language or whether the master in question was motivated above all by the intent to mediate turning his gaze sideways toward Stranina and backward toward the neo-Giottesque in order to project his painting toward an elegant solidity that does not seem to touch much on the early Masolino that of the highly sophisticated Madonna dell’Umiltà that arrived on loan from the Uffizi executed by a Masolino probably in his thirties or at any rate several years before the Empoli works that already mark a substantial change given by Alfred Scharf to Masolino as early as 1932 evidently originated as a precious panel for private devotion and is perhaps the clearest evidence of Masolino’s alumnuship at the workshop of Lorenzo Ghiberti a circumstance also mentioned by Vasari in Lives: for the Aretine historiographer Masolino would have trained as a sculptor (he was “the best rinettatore Lorenzo had,” “in the cloths of the figures he was very right and skilful and in rinettare he had very good maniera et ingelligenza; for which in chiseling he made with more dexterity some dents softly as well in the human limbs as in the cloths”) Poses and drapery speak the same language as Ghiberti’s North Door: the knee of the Madonna protruding amid the iridescence of the robe struck by the light and the course of the drapery falling to the floor giving rise to that sinuous train enlivened by the glow of the light source are to be found in the Saint Ambrose of Ghiberti’s enterprise a mere rehash of the master’s solutions: that delicate and diaphanous grace which is substantiated in the very tender flesh tones and which makes this Madonna look like a most elegant phantom capable of identifying him already at these heights as an original artist already capable of departing as much from the master as from his neighbors Lorenzo Monaco and Gherardo Starnina the former more marked by a kind of abstractionism that would have remained alien to Masolino and the latter instead attracted by flourishes and preciosity that would also leave the young Valdarno artist indifferent It is Masolino’s most Masaccesque work “the painter’s late Gothic temperament is relegated to the wholly decorative conduct of the cymatium and the careful rendering of details such as the veins of the cross or the traces of blood at the nails.” Masolino looks ahead: the tomb is foreshortened in perspective the body of Christ is set in volumes that try to approach those of Masaccio the composition itself tries to be credible tries to draw the attention of the relative to the pain of the Virgin and the Magdalene Little to do with the neighboring lunette where the artist “even seems to be invested by a stroke of the tail of early 20th-century neo-Giottism,” as De Luca writes is an artist of reference for understanding what was happening in Empoli at the beginning of the new century and in the wake of his presence in the city an event that resonates in the works of a number of artists active in the city in the same years as Masolino This is the theme of the fourth section of the exhibition (which actually begins on the wall opposite the one on which Masolino’s works have been arranged) opened by Lorenzo Monaco’s other triptych from the Museo della Collegiata with a slightly later chronology than the one for San Donnino and hypotheses about its provenance from the same church of Santo Stefano The first artist one encounters is Francesco d’Antonio di Bartolomeo a collaborator on a few occasions with Masolino and the author of some works in which the language of his colleague is interpreted in a more rubicund and light-hearted key as can be seen in the Madonna della cintola di Loppiano a work capable of bypassing without too much fuss the lesson of Lorenzo Monaco in which Francesco d’Antonio was trained who moreover also worked as a fresco painter in the church of Santo Stefano: the Madonna and Child Enthroned and Simone Guiducci da Spicchio accompanied by a compartment that was part of the same polyptych painted for the collegiate church of Empoli for a large part of the critics we witness here the pinnacle of his entire career) and while lingering on late Gothic veins it shows that he already knew how to look to the Masaccesque spatiality of the Triptych of San Giovenale a masterpiece in regard to which he should not have remained insensitive And if a painter such as Giovanni Toscani remains proudly late Gothic albeit within the limits of their entirely vernacular lexicon shows himself to be an artist capable of some elegance mindful of Masolino’s lesson while more daring and coarse is the eloquence of Borghese di Pietro who was nevertheless fascinated by Masolino and especially by Masaccio of the Carmine polyptych in Pisa Returning to the work around which much of the exhibition revolves on the occasion of the exhibition it was decided to advance its chronology a little from the traditional 1424: not by much enough to shift its execution to the last months of that year when Masolino and Masaccio had already begun to organize the work at the Brancacci Chapel which might suggest that Masolino returned to Empoli when Cappella Brancacci was started is motivated by the substantial novelty of the Christ in Pieta (admittedly little compared to what Masaccio was painting and had painted but it all has to be weighed against what Masolino had produced up to that time) especially when one considers the fresco of the Baptistery with the Madonna that Masolino painted in the sacristy of the church of Santo Stefano: the comparison in the same location thus allows us to appreciate the forward momentum of the Pietà justifiable perhaps by a more delayed execution The last two sections of the exhibition are devoted precisely to two fresco enterprises: the earlier one by Gherardo Starnina in the chapel of the Annunziata a few fragments of which remain (some of the saints in the access sub-arch: Moreover it is thanks to these fragments that it has been possible to give a name to Gherardo Starnina otherwise known earlier as the “Master of the Vispo Child,” because of his initial somewhat exuberant attitude later diluted after his return from his trip to Spain) enriched with some works dating from the same turn of ’years and Masolino’s in the chapel of the Cross (where the altarpiece that stood here in ancient times was returned from the Museo della Collegiata) very little remains: they are mostly sinopites and a few fragments if they cannot give us an idea of what the completed work must have looked like nevertheless manage to suggest the originality of some solutions of the false loggia under which the artist had arranged the figures the presence of which can be guessed today just from some remnants of the architecture reveal how Masolino had imagined a complex marked by a certain degree of illusionism just as unusual in these parts was the idea of setting the scenes continuously Masolino had to look to examples from northern Italy especially Padua (from Altichiero to Giusto de’ Menabuoi via Guariento): the Empolese cycle is made up of paintings executed "at a time of full inventive freedom and rethinking of works seen as much in Tuscany as outside the region; that freedom which will happily return in the decorative campaigns of Castiglione Olona and which in Empoli is so passionate as to persuade Bicci di Lorenzo [in the frescoes of the right transept of Santo Stefano ed.] to ignore for once the coherence between fake and real space and invent marble crustae that continue like wallpaper from one wall to another." which concerns the fragment of fresco in the right transept located not far from the lunette decorating the access to the sacristy The fragment has always been identified with a St but on the occasion of the exhibition Suppa proposes a different hypothesis: St a symbol of the causes upheld in defense of the weak and with at his right side a small gathering of widows and the poor The saint depicted by Masolino holds what Suppa says appears to be a candle rather than a scroll while to his right appears a group of young girls might be the identification with the scene of the miracle of the Candlemas narrated by Jacopo da Varazze: the young girls would thus be the bidders who would have witnessed the appearance of Christ on the feast day and here depicted waiting to receive the candle from the figure in the center Suppa does not explain why the church would have accommodated a depiction of Candlemas a feast nevertheless quite popular in Tuscany at the time but the hypothesis is certainly interesting and adds to the many identifications that have been provided for this scene: Saint Julian has been mentioned the name of Saint Sigismund has been advanced and given the elements perhaps a Saint Ursula could also be thought of The martyr typically wears a cloak lined with vaio and if one assumes that that white flap above the archway above the young women is what remains of a banner then one might think that what she holds in her hand is her typical banner also worth seeing is the panel with Saint Nicholas of Tolentino Protecting Empoli from the Plague an in situ work by Bicci di Lorenzo from 1445 thus far removed from the period on which the exhibition focuses and yet illustrative ofa phase of retreat to traditional modes that is among the trends occurring after Masolino’s arrival in Empoli and which therefore perhaps deserved perhaps not inclusion in the visiting itinerary despite the lack of a few pieces (essentially the Bremen Madonna and the St and despite a visiting itinerary challenged by a revisable layout the public will find itself visiting an excellent exhibition Masolino and the Dawn of the Renaissance is a quality exhibition that returns Masolino to his context and unties him from the cumbersome name of Masaccio An exhibition that draws extraordinary strength from the fact that it was organized in Empoli a center of no secondary importance in the geography of early fifteenth-century art and that stands as a solid project of in-depth study of an artist largely ignored by the “exhibition world,” if we want to call it that on the round anniversary of the most important year of his career deserved a dense in-depth study that would reconstruct the first part of his career in an accomplished manner (it should be specified that it is on Masolino di Empoli that the review focuses: everything after the Brancacci Chapel was not made the subject of the exhibition) is perhaps the city that more than any other lends itself to a vertical investigation of this significant protagonist of the early fifteenth century of the fundamental years in which the gradual transition from late Gothic to Renaissance painting was accomplished at least in the present state of our knowledge holds so many traces of the reflections Masolino must have made in those crucial months And surely no other has a church where it is possible to see a Madonna of late Gothic sweetness and a fresco cycle a city located along the border like Monaco as I chartered my way down the coast of northern Italy but I had three days to kill along the way The plan: Find a beach town where I would camp for a couple of nights Perhaps one of the most breathtaking stretches of coastline is the northern coast of Italy along the Ligurian Sea Picturesque towns on stony hillsides tumble down to the turquoise-and-cobalt Mediterranean Sea A gently winding highway curves around the coast moving at a slow and leisurely Italian-style pace allowing travelers to take in the sights with a few stops along the way Following are several stops away from the tourist-trodden Cinque Terre including suggestions by Matteo Della Grazia co-owner and founder of Discover Your Italy as I parked the Fiat along the beach drive Finale Ligure sits on a Mediterranean beach with the Rock of Caprazoppa — a limestone mountain — looming overhead lined with outdoor restaurants with expansive menus of wood-fired pizzas and handmade pastas There are several historic sites to catch in Finale Ligure a castle said to be built in 1181 as the former seat of the Del Carretto Marquesses which is a 17th-century Spanish fort above the walled town But the main purpose for a stop in Finale Ligure should be to relax at a beach bar GenoaThe first stop after Finale Ligure should be Genoa which for centuries has been one of the most powerful maritime cities in the Mediterranean and is also the birthplace of Christopher Columbus a stop at the local Opera House Teatro Carlo Felice is a must The best way to know Camogli is by exploring the many hiking trails that you’ll often find yourself to be the only one on the trails here known for its excellent homemade Ligurian dishes drive farther south to Santa Margherita Ligure The commune (municipality) is known for its amazing Villa Durazzo mansion and adjoining park The 17th-century building is adorned with statues Guided tours are available of the villa-turned-museum continue to Portofino to take in the glamorous yacht culture which is managed by the Italian National Trust the stretch of coast is best visited by private boat in order to easily hop from one beach town or village to the next the road reaches the southeast coast of Liguria A stop in Cinque Terre is certainly a must for first-timers but in-the-know Italy travelers are aware that the five villages have been overrun by tourism This coastal city is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site (a title shared with Cinque Terre) and can be visited in a day whether by boat around the city’s three famous islands or by hiking its stunning trails through the hills as well as the many caves in Portovenere on Palmaria Island The total travel time between Sanremo and Rome is less than eight hours — if you drive straight through But Italy is less known for its efficiency and more for its relaxed beauty and with plenty of time for a coastal stroll Copyright © 2025 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 301 Route 17 N, Suite 1150, Rutherford, NJ 07070 USA | Telephone: (201) 902-2000 Looking to access paid articles across multiple policy topics Interested in policy insights for EU professional organisations A cross-party group of lawmakers in the European Parliament have issued a joint call for the establishment of an ambitious “European Blue Deal” to protect water resources from climate stress and promote ocean energies either observed and verified directly by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources The almost dry bed of the river Po at Castel San Giovanni, near Piacenza, Italy, 22 June 2022. "Water is a fundamental resource that sustains life on earth, our ecosystems and economy," says the letter, signed by a cross party group of MEPs. [EPA-EFE/Pierpaolo Ferreri] Donec et orci aliquet nisl suscipit molestie sed sit amet tortor. Duis vel urna ac mi sollicitudin lacinia mollis sit amet lorem. Sed finibus erat nec libero scelerisque fringilla. Morbi at orci sed urna vulputate vulputate. Nulla facilisi. Donec et orci aliquet nisl suscipit molestie sed sit amet tortor. Get a subscription on Euractiv Pro and elevate your political insight! An employee chooses the right size box before packing a parcel at the Amazon fulfillment center in Castel San Giovanni, Italy. Italian parcel delivery is one of the fastest-growing markets in Europe with a compound annual growth rate of 8.5% over the last five years. Behind the steady expansion is an explosion of e-commerce, fostered by the global economy’s ongoing digital transformation and an additional push from the COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted consumers to purchase online to avoid in-store shopping. The next five years should see even faster growth, with projections for 11% year-over-year increases per annum.  At the same time, the exponential expansion in volume has brought its share of disruption and unprecedented challenges to traditional shippers and online sellers. In particular, it has changed their relationship with end customers, who now require a higher level of service because they rely on parcel delivery for more and increasingly immediate needs. Being able to meet those demands has become a competitive edge for players looking to increase their share of the market. What’s playing out in the Italian parcel delivery market is being seen around the globe as consumers are looking to online shopping to satisfy an ever bigger percentage of their consumption. Digitization, globalization, the COVID-19 pandemic and the growth of online customer segments all came together to fuel the dramatic growth in e-commerce and, ultimately, the pressure on the parcel market. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the volume of business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce saw a large jump of more than 25%.  Parcel delivery became a point of differentiation — those companies that could meet customer needs best and those that couldn’t. But none of this expansion would have been possible without the sophisticated parcel delivery and logistics systems that have been developed in recent years to support ever bigger e-commerce volumes. And with this most recent spike, they have been put to the test.  Customers have been demanding higher levels of service the more reliant they become on online shopping. In a short amount of time, it became standard for customers in urban areas to expect and get same-day or next-day delivery, user-friendly package tracking and the ability to change delivery locations in real time. Customers wanted what they wanted, when they wanted it and where they wanted it.  E-commerce had to leverage parcel delivery services to meet customer needs and increase perceived quality. That meant parcel delivery became a point of differentiation — those companies that could meet customer needs best and those that couldn’t. The heightened service made shopping for almost anything easier and more convenient, and customers who are now used to this time-saving approach to errands are unlikely to go back. Here’s a checklist of what best-in-class European carriers are expected to provide: competitive prices, a tracking system, high-quality customer care support and fast delivery that, if not same-day or next-day, has to be complete within a few days. As a result, carriers must excel in peak management and last-mile operations to cope with increasing volume demand and volatility and optimize capacity, flexibility and delivery speed.  Sustainability and innovation are becoming driving forces for improved courier service process efficiency. As a response to public demand and client and investor concerns, many leading logistics companies and small, new specialized players in Europe are setting ambitious carbon dioxide reduction targets. The ambition for most leading logistics companies is to be fully carbon free by 2040.  At the moment, the new and traditional players need each other, but it will soon become evident that this is an unstable equilibrium. Parcel delivery incumbents should begin diversifying customer portfolios now to reduce their dependence on a few large e-commerce players.  Success will not be achieved by choosing one path or another. The ultimate winners will be those with the flexibility to address demands for both guaranteed fast and traceable delivery and full-scale decarbonization.  Roberto Scaramella, a Rome-based partner in Oliver Wyman’s transportation and services practice, specializes in strategy redesign, M&A, commercial effectiveness, and operational excellence. He is a former chief executive of an airline and chairman of an air navigation service provider. Joris D’Incà is a partner in Oliver Wyman’s Transportation practice, based in Zurich. Joris specializes in the postal services, e-commerce and logistics industries. Emanuele Raffaele is a Milan-based engagement manager in Oliver Wyman’s transportation and services practice, focusing on strategy redesign, commercial and operational excellence.  Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Amazon is struggling to hire enough people to meet an order spike a sobering development for a company already struggling to deal with a spike in orders for food and household essentials from customers hunkering down at home have appeared at Amazon warehouses in Spain and Italy two countries hard hit by the spreading disease the company has opted to keep the three facilities open prompting criticism from unions that Amazon is putting sales ahead of worker safety; on Monday workers at Amazon’s main Italian logistics hub in Castel San Giovanni called for a strike MILAN (Reuters) — Workers at Amazon's main logistics hub in Italy vowed on Thursday to continue with their work to rule in a dispute over pay and shift patterns refusing to work overtime during the current peak season for making deliveries On Wednesday workers at the Castel San Giovanni plant cut short every shift by two hours as a series of protest meetings were held throughout the day FILCAMS CGIL union leader Fiorenzo Molinari told Reuters "For now the protest will continue until Dec then we'll have to discuss with workers how to proceed," Molinari said Amazon has long faced pressures in Italy and elsewhere in Europe over union allegations that its warehouse staff are pushed too hard for too little money where online sales are still half the European average also say workers should benefit more from rising profits as the country catches up on e-commerce Last month workers at Castel San Giovanni walked out on 'Black Friday' another one of the busiest online shopping days of the year over demands for bonus payments and to have a bigger say over the way shifts are allocated Following that strike the Italian labour ministry sent officials to inspect working conditions at the plant But the industrial action involves only staff with a permanent position and Amazon brings in additional temporary workers at Castel San Giovanni during peak times such as the run-up to Christmas Amazon has said that pay levels for its logistics workers are among the highest in the industry and it also provides other benefits including private medical insurance and funding for training programmes we are committed to ensuring a fair co-operation with all our employees granting valuable working conditions and a caring and inclusive environment in all our workplaces," an Amazon spokeswoman said Molinari said Amazon's executives had failed to attend a meeting on Wednesday morning at the offices of the local government representative But the spokeswoman said the group was never due to attend and met later in the day with the government official without unions being present Title of the exhibition: In the sign of DanteLocation: Castle of the Guidi CountsDate: July 17 – November 30 Project: The exhibition falls within the celebrations dedicated to Dante and displays artworks related to the three Canticles of the Divine Comedy The paintings exhibited deal with themes and characters of the Casentino Valley a territory which the poet had close relations with: he was hosted there several times by the Guidi Counts he participated in the battle of Campaldino depicting one of the best-known episodes of Dante’s Inferno is a recent acquisition of the Uffizi Galleries and is historically linked to the exhibition territory documents testify ties of kinship between the House of Guidi the County of Ghiaggiolo in Romagna and Guido from Montefeltro (father of Bonconte who had married Manentessa from Ghiaggiolo who was the daughter and heiress of Uberto was killed by him together with Francesca from Rimini as Dante recalls in the 5th Canto of the Inferno Title of the exhibition: Dante Alighieri and Andrea del Castagno return to San GodenzoLocation: Visitor Centre of the Foreste Casentinesi Monte Falterona and Campigna National Park – Il Castagno d’Andrea (San Godenzo the Municipality of San Godenzo celebrates a double anniversary: 2021 marks 700 years since the death of Dante and 600 years since the birth of Andrea di Bartolo di Bargilla named Andrea del Castagno after his birthplace the village of Castagno (near San Godenzo) the cycle of frescoes detached from Villa Pandolfini in Legnaia the Uffizi own the one depicting Dante Alighieri which has been recently restored by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure The famous effigy of the “fugitive Ghibelline” will be on display the whole summer at the Visitor Centre of the Foreste Casentinesi It will be a celebration of its author and at the same time a remembrance of the Convention of the exiled Ghibellines which took place at the Abbey of San Godenzo in 1302 when Dante had already been exiled from Florence and sentenced to death in absentia he would leave his beloved Tuscany never to return again Title of the exhibition: The civilization of weapons and the Courts of the RenaissanceLocation: Museum of the Battle of AnghiariDate: August 31 Project: The aim of the exhibition is to highlight the relationship between city and suburbs in the Renaissance which ideally relates to the guiding principle of the project Uffizi Diffusi the village of Anghiari provided men-at-arms loyal to various noble armies of cities whose nobility was related to the one of Anghiari but noblemen who knew the propagandistic value of works of art and had an interest in the artists of their time The exhibition is thus focused on historical figures related to Anghiari who were committed to transform themselves from knights and soldiers into courtiers and men of culture Attention is drawn especially to the relationship with the Montefeltro of Urbino Title of the exhibition: Giottesque painters in ValdelsaLocation: Museum of Sacred Art in San Piero in MercatoDate: September 25 in the rectory of the church of San Piero in Mercato among the 14th-century panels is a small Madonna with Child an imaginative and expressive Giottesque painter of which the Uffizi own a Madonna with Child of almost identical size part of the renowned polyptych of the Alessandri family The painting of the museum in Montespertoli was originally housed inside the church of San Lorenzo in Montegufoni near the castle that during World War II was turned into a shelter for the artworks from the museums of Florence endangered by the bombing and the passage of armies the painting will be compared with the Madonna from the Uffizi; the juxtaposition will be useful to reflect on the spread of Giotto’s style throughout the Elsa Valley an area rich in works by Taddeo Gaddi and other masters who received Giotto’s teachings first-hand Title of the exhibition: "The Last Seal" The Stigmata of Saint Francis in La Verna from the collections of the Uffizi GalleriesLocation: Municipal Art GalleryDate: October 2 Project: The exhibition focuses on the figure of Saint Francis of Assisi who has one of the most celebrated places of Christendom in the Sanctuary of La Verna On the occasion of the Feast of the Patron Saint of Italy the Uffizi Galleries and the Municipal Art Gallery of Castiglion Fiorentino will ‘exchange’ two important paintings illustrating the episode of the Stigmata The Uffizi will hand over the masterpiece by Ludovico Cardi Saint Francis receiving the Stigmata (1596) while Castiglion Fiorentino will lend to the Uffizi ‘its’ version of Saint Francis receiving the Stigmata a beautiful painting of 1487 by Bartolomeo della Gatta which is among the most valuable pieces in the Municipal Art Gallery The painting will be on display in the 15th-century Halls of the Uffizi Gallery throughout the duration of the exhibition To mark the 600th anniversary of Masaccio’s San Giovenale Triptych on 23 April 2022, the great Renaissance master’s altarpiece is being displayed in dialogue with work by the great painters of his day. From 23 April to 23 October the Museo Masaccio d’Arte Sacra in Reggello hosts an exhibition entitled ‘Masaccio and the Masters of the Renaissance, in Dialogue to Celebrate the San Giovenale Triptych’s 6th Centenary’. "Masaccio and Renaissance masters compared to celebrate 600 years of the Triptych of San Giovenale" Card The Mall holders Free: children up to 10 years Amazon was hit by strikes at various locations in Britain Germany and Italy during the annual “Black Friday” shopping extravaganza as workers demand higher wages and better working conditions UNI Global Union said Amazon would face strikes and protests in more than 30 countries around the world as part of a “Make Amazon Pay” campaign “Workers know that it doesn’t matter what country you’re in or what your job title is We are all united in the fight for higher wages an end to unreasonable quotas and a voice on the job,” said Christy Hoffman “That’s what workers in Coventry are striking for and that is why workers around the world are standing up to Make Amazon Pay,” Hoffman said Held the day after the US Thanksgiving holiday “Black Friday” has been increasingly adopted in Europe and beyond with stores offering big discounts to kick off shopping for the holiday gift-giving season More than 1,000 workers went on strike at an Amazon hub in Coventry which employs 2,300 people and supplies other warehouses the industrial action called by Union Verdi began overnight Thursday affecting five out of the US e-commerce giant’s 20 logistics sites in Europe’s biggest economy England – Copyright AFP Manolis LAGOUTARIS Amazon said the strikes in the UK and Germany would have no impact on customers Workers at the Amazon hub in Castel San Giovanni Italy’s Ansa news agency reported that 60 percent of permanent employees and 50 percent of temporary workers at the site took part in Friday’s strike “The mood music is souring for Amazon over this important time as industrial action over pay and conditions by warehouse staff could threaten performance,” said Sophie Lund-Yates lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown This “will be something monitored closely by investors,” she added – ‘Turning point’ – the GMB union said Amazon has refused to talk to the workers “The pressure GMB members have put on the company has led to Amazon offering pay rises across the board but what they offer is still a long way short of what workers want,” Richards said Workers want their pay to rise from £12 ($15) per hour currently to £15 per hour An Amazon UK spokesman said the company regularly reviews its pay “to ensure we offer competitive wages and benefits” He said starting pay in the UK will rise to between £12.30 and £13 per hour depending on the location from April — a 20-percent increase over two years and 50 percent since 2018 Amazon said workers already had a “fair wage and good additional benefits” Starting wages are at 14 euros ($15.30) and above per hour higher than Germany’s minimum wage of 12 euros But Verdi is pushing for the company to recognise the regional collective agreements of the retail and mail order sector the union complained about “unacceptable” pay increases as well as a failure by Amazon to raise the amount of meal vouchers and a lack of attention to health issues The actions in Italy coincided with a strike called across the whole of northern Italy against Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s budget one-hour work stoppages are planned for “Cyber Monday” on November 27 and the following day which pointed to poor working conditions and “persistent problems” with human resources at the company’s Spanish sites   “Today will go down as a turning point in Amazon’s history,” said GMB official Amanda Gearing “With industrial action escalating and workers joining strike action in Europe and the USA it’s clear this strike is inspiring Amazon workers worldwide to fight to force the company to change its ways,” Gearing said there were no strikes at any Amazon facilities With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives Image: ©AFPUS President Donald Trump said Sunday he was ordering new tariffs on all films made outside the United States Oil prices slumped on Monday after eight OPEC+ members announced a sharp increase in production Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Monday ordered at least a 20 percent reduction in the number of active-duty four-star generals and admirals one Rome tailor has been making the white cassock new popes don immediately after election.