Farinetti is Better Than Pelè

A paraphrase of the slogan Napoli supporters chanted when Diego Maradona joined the club in the summer of 1984. The Maradona of the Italian food sector is a certain Oscar Farinetti, a charming, volcanic and intelligent businessman from Piedmont who with his Eataly supermarkets is racking up successes the world over. His latest is about to open in the old Air Terminal at Rome's Ostiense train station. Well over 17,000square feet of space, seven or eight restaurants, countless shelves filled with the finest Italian food products, cooking and wine appreciation classes. It is a titanic effort that comes on the heels of the great success of the ones in Turin and New York City (the latter being the third-most visited site in Manhattan after the Metropolitan Museum and Museum of Modern Art and which in 12 months has had a turnover of $87 million) and the smaller outlets in Milan, Bologna and Tokyo.

Farinetti is the former owner of the UniEuro appliance and electronics chain which he sold after we learned in the famous Tv spot the late Tonino Guerra's view that optimism is the salt of life. And this is a lesson Farinetti understood well. With an optimism and business sense uncommon in Italy he focused his attention on the production and distribution of quality food products, something which has won him praise and applause and even an interview on Lilli Gruber's TV program on La 7. How did Farinetti become a successful businessman, great paladin of Slow Food and icon of the Italian Left? With intelligence matched by legitimate business interests. Yes, he may be a saint but he is a saint who can balance the books, one who is not afraid to make a profit and create jobs with that goal in mind and not ideological or populist visions. This is why I gladly add my compliments to those showering in, from all political persuasions, in recognition of the fact that Eataly and his related activities (he has been buying wineries and farms in recent years) are above all business enterprises and not charity work, as well they should be.