Italian Innovators

Luca Cottini

The Italian Innovators podcast tells the stories of great modern Italians in the fields of fashion, technology, business, music and design from the 19th century to the present. Episodes are 15-20 minutes each. They are published on the 1st of the month (presentation) and mid-month (interview). Check out the YouTube channel for video versions of episodes and the official webpage for a full outline of #innovators #interviews and #lessons.

  1. S5 E100 - Giulio Natta

    09/05/2023

    S5 E100 - Giulio Natta

    The inventor of plastic and the ethics of innovation. A presentation by Luca Cottini (PhD) * Oslo, December 10, 1963. The only Italian #scientist to receive a Nobel Prize in Chemistry * Achievement & fragility. From the invention of plastic to the management of waste * The imaginative mind of Giulio Natta. On #literature and #chemistry (Primo Levi) * A groundbreaking lab of innovation. Montecatini: from nylon to Moplen * The new material that God forgot to create. The birth and misuse of plastic * A new imagination of plastic. On the role of culture and ethics on innovation Check out all the other episodes in the content library and make sure to join the newsletter of the show at www.italianinnovators.com. Don't forget to leave your comment here below and subscribe to the YouTube channel. Thanks for listening!

    12 min
  2. S5 E99 - Giulia Falletti di Barolo

    08/01/2023

    S5 E99 - Giulia Falletti di Barolo

    The woman behind Italy’s greatest wine (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * The call to serve. The beginning of Giulia Falletti’s mission in Turin’s prisons * The story of Juliette Colbert de Maulevriér. From the French revolution to the Parisian encounter with Carlo Tancredi Falletti * From Napoleon’s rule to the Risorgimento. The growth of Turin in the 19th century, between anticlericalism and religious renewal * Carlo and Giulia’s effort in the betterment of the city, from the monumental cemetery to prison reform * The Falletti estate in the Langhe countryside. Giulia’s investment in the Nebbiolo grape and the “discovery” of Barolo * A story of holiness and redemption. The Barolo wine as mirror of Giulia’s personality Check out all the other episodes in the content library and make sure to join the newsletter of the show at www.italianinnovators.com. Don't forget to leave your comment here below and subscribe to the YouTube channel. Thanks for listening!

    15 min
  3. S5 E98 - Arnoldo Mondadori & Angelo Rizzoli

    07/01/2023

    S5 E98 - Arnoldo Mondadori & Angelo Rizzoli

    The Masters of Italian Publishing (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * The Martinitt orphanage in Milan, home of 3 great #innovators * From poverty to entrepreneurship. The parallel path of Angelo Rizzoli and Arnoldo Mondadori * The project of the Italian encyclopedia (Rizzoli, Bocconi, and Treccani) * The Borletti-Mondadori partnership. The rights of D’Annunzio and the birth of detective novels * A long-lasting rivalry. From magazines to literary classic series * Mondadori, America, and the creation of the critical theory publisher Il saggiatore * Rizzoli, cinema, and the sponsorship of Fellini’s masterpieces * Rizzoli & Mondadori today. The legacy of two masters on Italian 20th century culture Check out all the other episodes in the content library and make sure to join the newsletter of the show at www.italianinnovators.com. Don't forget to leave your comment here below and subscribe to the YouTube channel. Thanks for listening!

    14 min
  4. S5 E97 - Guido Alberti

    06/01/2023

    S5 E97 - Guido Alberti

    Liquore Strega and the bewitching power of literature (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * The fascination for "La" Strega (the witch) and the apprenticeship at "Lo" Strega liqueur factory * Poster #advertising and the aura of Strega. The blue, green, and red "witch" by Marcello Dudovich * The Roman city of Benevento, the legends of witchery, and the #drink of Giuseppe Alberti * A Southern Italian excellence from 1860 to the present. Guido Alberti as #entrepreneur * The passion for #storytelling. The Nazi occupation of Rome and the salotto of Maria Bellonci * The birth of Premio Strega, a laboratory of postwar culture & Italy's most important literary award * From literature to #cinema. The acting career of Guido Alberti, from Fellini to Rosi * Of #cocktails and literary imagination. What do #stories do? What is their added value? * Guido Alberti. A complex entrepreneur and #intellectual in search of never-fading #beauty Check out all the other episodes in the content library and make sure to join the newsletter of the show at www.italianinnovators.com. Don't forget to leave your comment here below and subscribe to the YouTube channel. Thanks for listening!

    15 min
  5. S5 E96 - What is "Made in Italy" made of? (lecture)

    05/01/2023

    S5 E96 - What is "Made in Italy" made of? (lecture)

    A presentation by Luca Cottini (PhD). Keynote address of the International Conference of the Canadian Association of Italian Studies (CAIS). Delivered on July 5, 2022. * The culture behind the label. What model lies behind the Italian "impresa"? * The three components of the Italian "incanto": limit, #design, the chorality of "works" (#opera) * 1. The creative power of limit: care, respect, and #sustainability * 2. Design as #storytelling. The characters of the "speaking object" (genealogy, vitalism, performativity & consistency) * 3. Hybridity of languages and chorality of interactions (the piazza as a negotiating site, the family as a guarantor of continuity, the fabbrica as community, the theatre as a site of emotional action) Visit the official webpage at www.italianinnovators.com to find out more about the project and sign up for the newsletter of the show. Check out the video version of the episode on YouTube and subscribe to the Italian Innovators channel to receive notification of new episodes and lessons. Thanks for listening!

    28 min
  6. S5 E95 - Piera Cillario

    04/01/2023

    S5 E95 - Piera Cillario

    The creative compass of Ferrero (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * Finding the recipe. How Pietro Ferrero arrived to the hazelnut and cocoa paste * The early years. The marriage of Piera and Pietro, the birth of Michele, three entrepreneurial failures, and the return to Alba * The Langhe and Italy’s civil war. From WWII to reconstruction (1943-1945) * The post-war birth of the Giandujot (the forerunner of Nutella) and the foundation of the Ferrero chocolate company * A new model of social reconstruction. To work, create, and give (from the early days to the Ferrero foundation) * Piera’s presidency and Piera’s legacy. A remarkable story of female entrepreneurship Check out all the other episodes in the content library and make sure to join the newsletter of the show at www.italianinnovators.com. Don't forget to leave your comment here below and subscribe to the YouTube channel. Thanks for listening!

    13 min
  7. S5 E94 - Gio Ponti

    03/01/2023

    S5 E94 - Gio Ponti

    The father of Italian design (A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD) * Domus. The theory and practice of “industrial design” (What is design? Who is the designer?) * Designing life: a worldview in an object; a particular character in a space * Ponti and Milano. From formation to expositions, from practice to theory * Object-worlds. The passion for ceramics and glass. Lightness as brightness and weightlessness * Secular and religious architecture. The “continuity” of opposites * Vivere all’italiana, vivere alla Ponti. The synthesis of tradition and modernity Check out all the other episodes in the content library and make sure to join the newsletter of the show at www.italianinnovators.com. Don't forget to leave your comment here below and subscribe to the YouTube channel. Thanks for listening!

    17 min
  8. S5 E93 - Italy and the neuroscience of branding and innovation (Interview)

    02/15/2023

    S5 E93 - Italy and the neuroscience of branding and innovation (Interview)

    A conversation between Luca Cottini (PhD) and Marco Baldocchi, Neuromarketing research director at NINA (the Italian Association of Applied Neurosciences), author, public speaker, and visionary entrepreneur in consulting and advertising. * From Lucca to Miami. From advertising to #neuroscience (1:05) * What is neurobranding? Why is neuroscience a key tool for #marketing? (2:35) * The understanding of emotions. Our decisions take place at the unconscious level (6:00) * The powerful impact of #storytelling in activating our #senses and our #memory (7:50) * Italy, melodrama, and the transformation of products into emotional platforms (10:30) * What moves our brain to #innovate? (13:43) * What is #luxury and what mental associations do we refer to it? (15:25) Check out all the other episodes in the content library and make sure to join the newsletter of the show at www.italianinnovators.com. Don't forget to leave your comment here below and subscribe to the YouTube channel. Thanks for listening!

    18 min
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5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

The Italian Innovators podcast tells the stories of great modern Italians in the fields of fashion, technology, business, music and design from the 19th century to the present. Episodes are 15-20 minutes each. They are published on the 1st of the month (presentation) and mid-month (interview). Check out the YouTube channel for video versions of episodes and the official webpage for a full outline of #innovators #interviews and #lessons.

Information

  • Creator
    Luca Cottini
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2023
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Luca Cottini
  • Show Website
    Italian Innovators