Food and wine, not surprisingly, rank in third place among the export goods that the world envies us and buys us, moving a market of 6.4 billion dollars every year. To certify it is Symbola, foundation for Italian quality, which has calculated that sales of Italian wine abroad have grown by 575% in the last thirty years. And that in 2015, all over the world, one in five bottles spoke Italian, 
Their share of merit in relaunching the Italian brand among global brands goes hand in hand with that of starred chefs, ambassadors of Italian style on the tables
, among the first to see the export potential of Italian excellence, made of knowledge even before that of flavors: «The most important ingredient for the future is culture - said the three Michelin stars Massimo Bottura at the awarding of his Osteria Francescana as the best restaurant in the world in the 50 Best Restaurants ranking -. Culture brings knowledge and knowledge brings consciousness ". An awareness that perhaps, finally, is awakening. Renzo Piano, another Italian of intercontinental fame, is convinced of this: "There is an Italianness that is not that of national pride. We Italians are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants. The giant is culture, ancient culture, which has given us an extraordinary and invisible ability to grasp the complexity of things, to articulate reasoning, to weave together art and science. For this Italianness there is always a place at the table, in the rest of the world ". You just have to sit down.
, among the first to see the export potential of Italian excellence, made of knowledge even before that of flavors: «The most important ingredient for the future is culture - said the three Michelin stars Massimo Bottura at the awarding of his Osteria Francescana as the best restaurant in the world in the 50 Best Restaurants ranking -. Culture brings knowledge and knowledge brings consciousness ". An awareness that perhaps, finally, is awakening. Renzo Piano, another Italian of intercontinental fame, is convinced of this: "There is an Italianness that is not that of national pride. We Italians are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants. The giant is culture, ancient culture, which has given us an extraordinary and invisible ability to grasp the complexity of things, to articulate reasoning, to weave together art and science. For this Italianness there is always a place at the table, in the rest of the world ". You just have to sit down.
A novembre sarà impegnato ancora in “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” alla Royal Opera House e poi a gennaio l’attende “Roméo et Juliette” al Metropolitan di New York.
«Frattanto vorrei dare alle stampe un disco lirico già pensando, però, a un nuovo progetto crossover per tentare nuovamente la via del pop. Se ci fosse ancora Lucio (Dalla ndr), chiederei un pezzo a lui; penso a qualcosa come ‘Amore disperato’, brano della sua ‘Tosca’ rimasto, nonostante l’interpretazione di Mina, ben al di sotto dell’attenzione che avrebbe meritato. A proposito di ‘Tosca’ nella stagione 2018-19 debutterò con quella di Puccini al Covent Garden; si tratta di un grandissimo traguardo visto che nel ’90 per me tutto è nato proprio con quell’opera in cui interpretavo il pastorello accanto al mito Pavarotti. E poi interpreterò ‘Un ballo in maschera’ che era la sua opera preferita».
Pavarotti rimane una costante della sua carriera.
«Ricordo ancora il nostro ultimo incontro. Uscendo dalla sua casa a Pesaro per volare in America, Pavarotti mi disse: ‘Ciccio ricorda che sei il mio campionissimo. Un ‘signor’ tenore. Vai e prenditi il tuo successo e torna che facciamo un album insieme’. Ma purtroppo il destino ha disposto diversamente».
