Innovazione

🍸 Entrepreneur Vincenzo Dascanio expands his hospitality concept with the new Vincenzo Dascanio Cafe in Portofino, joining his successful bistros in Cernobbio and St. Moritz and the Terrazza Olmo restaurant on Lake Como. Executive Chef Simone Tognetti creates a menu featuring fresh raw fish and authentic sea flavors, while Executive Pastry Chef Imma Iovine offers a selection of artisanal ice creams and sorbets. For drinks, there's a local wine list and signature cocktails like Flower Fizz, Princess, Sirena di Portofino, Blood Margarita, and Pesto Champagne. The VD Cafe is set for a summer 2025 season with plans to open a new cafe in Taormina that highlights Sicilian culinary tradition.

🍪 - Pasqua 2025 introduces a savory Easter egg alternative, "CacioBUovo," featuring buffalo milk caciocavallo cheese with a hidden salami heart, reflecting modern Easter gastronomy's trend towards original savory flavors. Created by Fattorie Garofalo, the world's leading Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP producer with a fully integrated, circular, sustainable supply chain, CacioBUovo is exclusively available on Bufala.shop and Garofalo stores across major Italian cities. Inspired by early 20th-century Italian emigrants' "caciocavallo dell’emigrante," it offers an organoleptic richness and is suggested to be enjoyed fresh or melted on bruschetta.

🍷 Dibaldo Spirits introduces Sando, a modern interpretation of Vermouth Chinato, crafted by master blender Baldo Baldinini, sommelier Francesco Cioria, and Chef Max Mascia. Sando blends tradition with a contemporary spirit and is named after the affectionate nickname for the Michelin-starred San Domenico restaurant in Imola. Highlighted by the intense bitterness of South American cinchona bark, it offers a complex symphony of flavors rooted in robust Piedmontese red wine, complemented by herbal and bitter nuances of wormwood and cinchona. Sando aims to appeal to younger palates by presenting a traditional excellence with renewed language.

🍴 In 2024, Italian restaurant industry saw over €96 billion spent on dining out, a post-pandemic record. However, there was a negative balance of -19,019 between new and closed businesses, the worst in a decade. Registrations at Chambers of Commerce decreased by 1.26% to 382,680. 29,019 businesses ceased, versus 10,719 new openings. Biggest closures were in Rome (-495) and Bologna (-3%). Positive growth was noted in Palermo (+1.4%) and Naples (+0.3%). Data by Osservatorio Ristorazione, RistoratoreTop, Movimprese, and FIPE.

🏖 Danilo Curzi, CEO of Idee per Viaggiare, announced in Milan that the company is projected to close fiscal year 2025 (ending October 31) with a turnover of €122 million, up from €112 million in 2024. Starting in 1989 with a travel agency, Curzi's company has grown to 170 employees and is celebrating 30 years with events and 21 fam-trips. Idee per Viaggiare specializes in long-haul travel and is embracing digitalization, with a potential ownership transition planned around 2028-2029.

✈ Airbus is developing future aircraft with a prototype expected in four years, and passenger flights slated between 2035 and 2040. These planes will feature narrower fuselages, lighter and new materials, wider and folding wings, and open fan engines. The goal is to reduce CO2 emissions by 30% compared to the A320 neo, using more efficient materials and engines. The wings will be thinner, longer, and foldable to suit airport gates, and cockpits will integrate advanced technology, including artificial intelligence.

🚀 Egyptair, in 2024, transported over 10.2 million passengers, a 4% increase from 2023's 9.8 million. International flights accounted for 8.6 million passengers. Available seats rose by 15%, with flight hours reaching 218,798, a 10% increase from 2023. The Italian market saw a 5.1% growth, with a load factor of 74% in 2024, totaling over 264,000 passengers. Italy's Rome and Milan flights grew to 72% and 75%, respectively. Summer 2024's top destinations via Cairo were Nairobi (25%), Jakarta (23%), Guangzhou (20%), and Johannesburg (15%). Egyptair offered 30 weekly flights to Cairo from Milan and Rome, serving over 4,000 passengers each week and introduced Milan Malpensa-Luxor direct flights. They are expecting new aircraft deliveries from early 2025 through late 2026, including 10 Airbus A350-900s with Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines and 18 Boeing B737-8 Max, all operational by the end of 2026.

🛒 MarTech Company Retex introduced Italy's first "Smart Cart" by Shopic in Mercatò, Piossasco (TO), providing an AI and Computer Vision powered shopping experience. The interactive touchscreen cart enhances the checkout process, offers real-time promotions, personalizes the shopping experience, and collects data to improve marketing strategies and store profitability. Launched in 2024, the rollout in Piossasco occurred in March 2025, in collaboration with Dimar S.p.A., a Piemontese company active for over 40 years.

🍹 L'Angolino, a bar in Firenze, offers classic and innovative cocktails below €10. Eight years ago, Dusan Bozic, a former client and business consultant, stepped in to help and eventually became a partner. The team includes majority partner Sergio Borghi, bartender Pietro Giannetti, recent addition Federico Domini, and multimedia artist Asia Niero. Their drinks menu, limited to nine options due to space, now features a color-based Pantone system for selection. Prices range from €8 for a basic Gin Tonic to €13, with a careful balance between costs and quality. The clientele is diverse, including locals, Italians, and foreigners, with few hit-and-run tourists. L'Angolino participated in the Florence Cocktail Week and is considering "reverse guest" events in other cities like Palermo. They plan to refresh their menu biannually and are currently designing a new bar setup for the summer.

🌊 Antigua and Barbuda's Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Transport and Investments launched www.ArriveAntigua.com for travelers at V.C. Bird International Airport, enhancing arrival and departure management. Minister Charles Fernandez announced the system, intended to create a seamless experience and reduce time at the terminal. Features include an intuitive interface, automatic passport scanning, a quick questionnaire, and a QR code to expedite immigration and customs. The service will soon expand to maritime ports and private jet passengers.