High performance sports cars are, of course, synonymous with Italy's fascination with speed. The country has earned a racy reputation with the likes of Alfa Romero, Maserati, and Ferrari to name a few. But design does not begin and end with form in Italy. In all aspects of manufacturing it includes all the tiny pieces of metal that create the whole machine-cranks and blocks, hydraulic lifters, cam shafts, bearing caps, breaks and gear boxes, and countless other parts. They are not your run-of-the-mill machine-shop components that make a car go - they are high quality works of art that complement the design geniuses of Gio Ponti, Pinifarina, Zagato, Michelotti, and others.
They are not just cars. They are “involved in both the civilization of the machine and of the image,” as commentator Alberto Abruzzese put it.
Nor does innovation end with moveable parts in an engine. It includes aerodynamic designs — found in bicycles for example — and the manufacturing of the materials that go with it - carbon fibre, titanium, exotic steel and aluminum alloys.
In the land where the Etruscans, Romans, and Renaissance Humanists once lived, Italy was among the first European nations to offer its engineering know-how in space exploration through the Italian Space Agency. Together with NASA, the Italian Space Agency takes part in various development projects - the ultimate recognition of Italy's presence in the post-industrial age.
After enjoying a fine Italian lunch recently, the French-Canadian restaurateur casually remarked that Italians did not just invent espresso coffee, but in doing so they invented the machine to perfect it. They also make the knives and metalwork to cut their culinary creations; they produce the machines to perfect the shoes, gloves, and countless other items. Even in the production of olive oil Italians have created machines to ensure the highest quality of oil is made. They are, in today's global economy, fully integrated artists.
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I think that,In this consummate portrait of the Italian people, bestselling author, publisher, journalist, and politician Luigi Barzini delves deeply into the Italian national character, discovering both its great .