Fun fact for the Tour Italy Now community: Did you know that Italy is the world’s 8th largest exporter? Don’t groan, this is not a rehash of Econ 101 with an Italian twist! You probably recognize many of these names, Italy’s major exporters and companies by sector, especially the lifestyle ones, vroom on the cars and ooh la la on the fashion!
Italy’s leading exports are, drum roll please, motor vehicles (Fiat Group, Aprilia, Ducati, Piaggio); chemicals and petrochemicals (Eni); energy and electrical engineering (Enel, Edison); home appliances (Candy, Indesit), aerospace and defense technologies (Alenia, Agusta, Finmeccanica), firearms (Beretta), fashion (Armani, Valentino, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Roberto Cavalli, Benetton, Prada, Luxottica); food processing (Ferrero, Barilla Group, Martini & Rossi, Campari, Parmalat); sport and luxury vehicles (Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Pagani); yachts (Ferretti, Azimut).
Did you know you can visit some of these factories, in fact, such visits figure in many a visit to Italy, You can tour the Barilla Pasta factory in Parma. (They’ve got a great website, too, with recipes!) And of course, during your tour of Italy, you can shop at the Prada outlet in Florence. For inspiration, take Tour Italy Now’s Virtual Tour of Florence!
We’d love to hear your funnest (or funniest) Italy Fun Facts!
Yours in celebrating Italy,
Barbara Fellini
