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  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: A projection of the history of the local textile industry is seen here the textile museum in Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2901.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: A view of the industrial area of Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2393.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: Roberta Travaglini (61), who has lost her job at a textile mille four years ago, poses for a portrait nearby her apartment in Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019.  For the past four years, Roberta Travaglini has been unable to find a job, forcing her to live off support from her retired parents. She says she will not look for work in the Chinese-owned clothing businesses, because she feels uncomfortable there. But she shops for clothes in the Chinese clothing store across the street from her apartment because she can no longer afford the boutiques downtown. Since losing her job, she has survived by fixing clothes for people in her neighbourhood, using the workshop on the ground floor of her parent’s apartment.“When I was young, it was the Communist party that was protecting the workers, that was protecting our social class. Now, it’s the League that is protecting the people, that goes toward the people’s problems. I see a similarity between the Communist Party and the League.”<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostl
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_1549.jpg
  • BOLOGNA, ITALY - 6 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, attends a Police union party organised for the childen of police officers  in Bologna, Italy, on January 6th 2020. <br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200106_NYT-Salvini_M3_9778.jpg
  • BOLOGNA, ITALY - 6 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, arrives at a Police union party organised for the childen of police officers  in Bologna, Italy, on January 6th 2020. <br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200106_NYT-Salvini_M3_9639.jpg
  • BONDENO, ITALY - 6 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, is seen here with the crowd watching the Befana in Bondeno, Italy, on January 6th 2020.<br />
<br />
In Italian folklore, Befana is an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to St Nicholas or Santa Claus.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200106_NYT-Salvini_M3_0679.jpg
  • CESENATICO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, walks with his candidates and supporters during his campaign in Cesenatico, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_6807.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: Signs advertise  Chinese Pronto Moda (Fast Fashion) retailer  in the textile industrial area of Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191127_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3332.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: Chinese immigrants are seen here loading a truck at a showroom of a Chinese Pronto Moda (Fast Fashion) retailer in the textile industrial area of Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3275.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: A sign advertises a Chinese Pronto Moda (Fast Fashion) retailer  in the textile industrial area of Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3241.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: Edoardo Nesi (55), who inherited a textile factory from his father but closed it a few years ago because of Chinese competition, poses for a portrait in his home in Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019. “In Prato, we thought we were the best in the world,” says Edoardo Nesi, who spent his days running the textile factory his grandfather started, and his nights penning novels. “ Everybody was making money.” “We lived in a place where everything had been good for 40 years,” Mr. Nesi says. “Nobody was afraid of the future.”<br />
<br />
In the 1990s, the Germans began purchasing cheaper fabrics woven in the former East Germany, Bulgaria and Romania. Then, they shifted their sights to China, where similar fabric could be had for less than half the price of Prato’s. Chinese factories were buying the same German-made machinery used by the mills in Prato. They were hiring Italian consultants who were instructing them on the modern arts of the trade. By 2000, Mr. Nesi’s business was no longer making money.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2558.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: A 1926 photograph of the owners and workers in the Nesi textile factory is seen here in the house of Edoardo Nesi, who inherited the business that went out of business because of globalization and Chinese competition, in Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2346.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: A Chinese immigrant is seen here in a garage in the Chinatown of Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019.<br />
<br />
Today, roughly one-tenth of the city’s 200,000 inhabitants are Chinese immigrants who have arrived legally, while many estimates put the total number at 45,000 after accounting for those without proper documents. <br />
Chinese grocery stores and restaurants have emerged to serve the local population. On the outskirts of the city, Chinese entrepreneurs oversee warehouses teeming with racks of clothing destined for markets across the continent. Estimates have it that 80 percent of clothing sold in street markets within the European Union is made by Chinese workers in Prato.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: �
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_1975.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: Roberta Travaglini (61), who has lost her job at a textile mille four years ago, ise seen here looking at a shop window of a Chinese clothig store in Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019.  For the past four years, Roberta Travaglini has been unable to find a job, forcing her to live off support from her retired parents. She says she will not look for work in the Chinese-owned clothing businesses, because she feels uncomfortable there. But she shops for clothes in the Chinese clothing store across the street from her apartment because she can no longer afford the boutiques downtown. Since losing her job, she has survived by fixing clothes for people in her neighbourhood, using the workshop on the ground floor of her parent’s apartment.“When I was young, it was the Communist party that was protecting the workers, that was protecting our social class. Now, it’s the League that is protecting the people, that goes toward the people’s problems. I see a similarity between the Communist Party and the League.”<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arr
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_1393.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: Stocked fabric samples are seen here at Marini Industrie, a textile company that has survived Chinese competition in Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019. Marini Industrie is one of the few companies in Prato that weren’t hit by Chinese competition, by elevating their quality.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_0533.jpg
  • BONDENO, ITALY - 6 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, poses for a pictures with the Befana in Bondeno, Italy, on January 6th 2020.<br />
<br />
In Italian folklore, Befana is an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to St Nicholas or Santa Claus.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200106_NYT-Salvini_M3_1182.jpg
  • BONDENO, ITALY - 6 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, poses for a pictures with two Befanas in Bondeno, Italy, on January 6th 2020.<br />
<br />
In Italian folklore, Befana is an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to St Nicholas or Santa Claus.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200106_NYT-Salvini_M3_1092.jpg
  • BONDENO, ITALY - 6 JANUARY 2020: A crowd tries to reach Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, to take a selfie with him in Bondeno, Italy, on January 6th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200106_NYT-Salvini_M3_0803.jpg
  • BONDENO, ITALY - 6 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, greets a supporter as he campaigns  in Bondeno, Italy, on January 6th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200106_NYT-Salvini_M3_0292.jpg
  • BOLOGNA, ITALY - 6 JANUARY 2020: A woman walks by the entrance of the theater of the Istituto Antoniano, an institution governed by Franciscan friars as  a community service initiative that temporarily rented its theater to a  police union to host a party organised for the childen of police officers during the holidays in Bologna, Italy, on January 6th 2020. The police union invited Matteo Salvini raising criticism since the Istituto Antoniano was previsouly a migrant center until Mr. Salvini became Interior Minister and changed the application requirements in his anti-migrants security decree, which the institution didn't agree with, therefore choosing not to apply and closing the center.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200106_NYT-Salvini_M3_0197.jpg
  • LUGO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, looks at a cake with the party sign at a dinner in Lugo, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_9328.jpg
  • FAENZA, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, speaks to the crowd waiting to take a selfie with him in Faenza, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_8448.jpg
  • CASTROCARO TERME E TERRA DEL SOLE, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: A supporter of Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, is seen here after a rally in Castrocaro Terme e Terra del Sole, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_8185.jpg
  • CESENATICO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: A view of the floating nativity scene on the canal in the historical center of Cesenatico, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_7533.jpg
  • CESENATICO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Supporters of Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, watch him during his rally in Cesenatico, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_6961.jpg
  • CESENATICO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, greets his supporters on his way to the stage during a rally in Cesenatico, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_6930.jpg
  • CIVITAVNOVE MARCHE, ITALY - 28 NOVEMBER 2019: Cesare Catini (81), a former shoemaking entrepreneur, poses for a portrait in Civitanove Marche, Italy, on November 28th 2019. At 12, he left school and began working with his uncle making shoes. In 1961, when Mr. Catini was only 22, he launched his own business, making women’s shoes in a small garage at his home. By the 1980s, they had hired a designer from Milan and were buying advertisements in the Italian edition of Vogue magazine. In 2001, China secured entry to the World Trade Organization, opening markets to its exports.  That year, Italian footwear manufacturers exported 354 million pairs of shoes. By 2018, that number had plunged to 203 million, a drop of more than 40 percent. <br />
Over the same period, China displaced Italy as Germany’s largest source of shoes. By 2017, China was selling $3.7 billion worth of footwear to Germany, according to the World Bank, nearly triple Italy’s sales. Mr. Catini’s sales and production were down by 80 percent by 2005.   He shut it down in 2008, throwing 70 people out of work, unable to compete with China.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around.
    CIPG_20191128_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_4039.jpg
  • MONTEGRANARO, ITALY - 28 NOVEMBER 2019: Mauro Lucentini (46), a real estate agent and elected member of the of the League in his hometown Montegranaro, poses for a portrait in his office in Montegranaro, Italy, on November 28th 2019.<br />
<br />
Montegranaro is a hilltop town that has seen its 600 footwear companies cut down to 150. The town’s population has dropped from about 14,000 two decades ago to 13,000 today, and about 1,000 are now immigrants -- Albanians, Africans, Chinese. According to Mauro Lucentini, this is not a trend to be proud of. The Africans loiter the streets, drunkenly harassing women, he says: “The Nigerians are savages.”<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around.
    CIPG_20191128_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3858.jpg
  • MONTEGRANARO, ITALY - 28 NOVEMBER 2019: A failed show factory is seen here in Montegranaro, Italy, on November 28th 2019.<br />
<br />
Montegranaro is a hilltop town that has seen its 600 footwear companies cut down to 150. The town’s population has dropped from about 14,000 two decades ago to 13,000 today, and about 1,000 are now immigrants -- Albanians, Africans, Chinese. According to Mauro Lucentini, this is not a trend to be proud of. The Africans loiter the streets, drunkenly harassing women, he says: “The Nigerians are savages.”<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around.
    CIPG_20191128_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3687.jpg
  • MONTEGRANARO, ITALY - 28 NOVEMBER 2019: A nine-story apartment block above a supermarket, entirely vacant save for one unit, is seen here in Montegranaro, Italy, on November 28th 2019.<br />
<br />
Montegranaro is a hilltop town that has seen its 600 footwear companies cut down to 150. The town’s population has dropped from about 14,000 two decades ago to 13,000 today, and about 1,000 are now immigrants -- Albanians, Africans, Chinese. According to Mauro Lucentini, this is not a trend to be proud of. The Africans loiter the streets, drunkenly harassing women, he says: “The Nigerians are savages.”<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around.
    CIPG_20191128_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3613.jpg
  • MONTEGRANARO, ITALY - 28 NOVEMBER 2019: A two-story home has been, on sale for more than a year, remains unsold in Montegranaro, Italy, on November 28th 2019. A decade ago, it was worth 250,000 euros. Now listed at 125,000 euros.<br />
<br />
Montegranaro is a hilltop town that has seen its 600 footwear companies cut down to 150. The town’s population has dropped from about 14,000 two decades ago to 13,000 today, and about 1,000 are now immigrants -- Albanians, Africans, Chinese. According to Mauro Lucentini, this is not a trend to be proud of. The Africans loiter the streets, drunkenly harassing women, he says: “The Nigerians are savages.”<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around.
    CIPG_20191128_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3589.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 27 NOVEMBER 2019: The weaving of a fabric is seen here in the Tronci textile factory, a supplier of Marini Industrie, in Prato, Italy, on November 27th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191127_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3367.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 27 NOVEMBER 2019: Chinese clothes with a "Made in Italy" label are shown here in a showroom of a Chinese Pronto Moda (Fast Fashion) retailer  in the textile industrial area of Prato, Italy, on November 27th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191127_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3297.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: A local policewoman confiscates the vegetables sold illegally by a Chinese immigrant in the Chinatown of Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019.<br />
<br />
Today, roughly one-tenth of the city’s 200,000 inhabitants are Chinese immigrants who have arrived legally, while many estimates put the total number at 45,000 after accounting for those without proper documents. <br />
Chinese grocery stores and restaurants have emerged to serve the local population. On the outskirts of the city, Chinese entrepreneurs oversee warehouses teeming with racks of clothing destined for markets across the continent. Estimates have it that 80 percent of clothing sold in street markets within the European Union is made by Chinese workers in Prato.<br />
<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixe
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3084.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: Edoardo Nesi (55), who inherited a textile factory from his father but closed it a few years ago because of Chinese competition, poses for a portrait in his home in Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019. “In Prato, we thought we were the best in the world,” says Edoardo Nesi, who spent his days running the textile factory his grandfather started, and his nights penning novels. “ Everybody was making money.” “We lived in a place where everything had been good for 40 years,” Mr. Nesi says. “Nobody was afraid of the future.”<br />
<br />
In the 1990s, the Germans began purchasing cheaper fabrics woven in the former East Germany, Bulgaria and Romania. Then, they shifted their sights to China, where similar fabric could be had for less than half the price of Prato’s. Chinese factories were buying the same German-made machinery used by the mills in Prato. They were hiring Italian consultants who were instructing them on the modern arts of the trade. By 2000, Mr. Nesi’s business was no longer making money.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2747.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: Marco Weng (20), a first-generation Italian-Chinese and son of Chinese immigrants who arrived in Italy 30 years ago, poses for a portrait at his partner's fried chicken take-away restaurant in the Chinatown of Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019. “There was no clothing industry here. Italians only made textiles. Chinese people didn’t take jobs. We have created jobs”, Mr Weng says.  Marco Weng is about to launch a chain of Korean fried chicken restaurants with a partner.<br />
<br />
Today, roughly one-tenth of the city’s 200,000 inhabitants are Chinese immigrants who have arrived legally, while many estimates put the total number at 45,000 after accounting for those without proper documents. <br />
Chinese grocery stores and restaurants have emerged to serve the local population. On the outskirts of the city, Chinese entrepreneurs oversee warehouses teeming with racks of clothing destined for markets across the continent. Estimates have it that 80 percent of clothing sold in street markets within the European Union is made by Chinese workers in Prato.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s facto
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_1829.jpg
  • BOLOGNA, ITALY - 6 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, attends a Police union party organised for the childen of police officers  in Bologna, Italy, on January 6th 2020. <br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200106_NYT-Salvini_M3_9939.jpg
  • BONDENO, ITALY - 6 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party,  takes a selfie with the burning Befana in Bondeno, Italy, on January 6th 2020.<br />
<br />
In Italian folklore, Befana is an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to St Nicholas or Santa Claus.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200106_NYT-Salvini_M3_1322.jpg
  • BONDENO, ITALY - 6 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, is seen here during a rally in Bondeno, Italy, on January 6th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200106_NYT-Salvini_M3_1158.jpg
  • BONDENO, ITALY - 6 JANUARY 2020: A woman watches Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party,  taking selfies with supporters in Bondeno, Italy, on January 6th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200106_NYT-Salvini_M3_0952.jpg
  • BONDENO, ITALY - 6 JANUARY 2020: A crowd is seen here waiting for the appeance of the Befana and for Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, during his campaign in Bondeno, Italy, on January 6th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200106_NYT-Salvini_M3_0239.jpg
  • BONDENO, ITALY - 6 JANUARY 2020: A large-scale simulacrum of a Befana is seen here before being burnt in a bonfire in Bondeno, Italy, on January 6th 2020.<br />
<br />
In Italian folklore, Befana is an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to St Nicholas or Santa Claus.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200106_NYT-Salvini_M3_0222.jpg
  • BOLOGNA, ITALY - 6 JANUARY 2020: People gathered to protest Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, who attended a Police union party organised for the childen of police officers  in Bologna, Italy, on January 6th 2020. <br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200106_NYT-Salvini_M3_0074.jpg
  • LUGO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Leftovers are seen after a League dinner with Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, in Lugo, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_9591.jpg
  • LUGO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Leftovers are seen after a League dinner with Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, in Lugo, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_9580.jpg
  • LUGO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, claps his hands at his arrival at the League party dinner in Lugo, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_9135.jpg
  • LUGO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Clara Agnoletti, a longtime supporter of the League, shows signs and bracelets of the party that she personalized with Swarovski crystals as she waits for Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, to show up for a party dinner in Lugo, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_9056.jpg
  • FAENZA, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: The Niballo, a large simulacrum depicting Hannibal (the Saracen warrior who symbolizes the adversities of the past year) is seen here before being burnt at the stroke of midnight in a bonfire during the "Nott de Bisò", an annual event that takes place in Faenza, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_9046.jpg
  • FAENZA, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, is seen here giving a statement to a local TV station during a rally in Faenza, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_8951.jpg
  • CASTROCARO TERME E TERRA DEL SOLE, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Supporters of Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, watch taking selfies with other supporters after a rally in Castrocaro Terme e Terra del Sole, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_8040.jpg
  • CASTROCARO TERME E TERRA DEL SOLE, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, is seen here during a rally in Castrocaro Terme e Terra del Sole, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_7888.jpg
  • CASTROCARO TERME E TERRA DEL SOLE, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Supporters, a TV crew and passerby are seen here in the main square shortly before the arrival of Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, during a campaign in Castrocaro Terme e Terra del Sole, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_7795.jpg
  • GAMBETTOLA, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: A supporter of Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, shows his League bracelets and watch after a rally in Gambettola, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_7700.jpg
  • CESENATICO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Clara Agnoletti, a longtime militant of the League and supporter of  Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, waits for him to walk by in Cesenatico, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_7445.jpg
  • CESENATICO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: A table with a "Italians First" flag, candidate flyer, League balloons and food is seen here during a rally with Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party,  in Cesenatico, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_7413.jpg
  • CESENATICO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini (center), former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, takes a selfie with young  supporters during his campaign in Cesenatico, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_7410.jpg
  • CESENATICO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Supporters wait in line to take a selfie with Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, after a rally in Cesenatico, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_7364.jpg
  • CESENATICO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Supporters of Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, watch him during his rally in Cesenatico, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_7226.jpg
  • CESENATICO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Supporters of Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, watch him during his rally in Cesenatico, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_7067.jpg
  • CESENATICO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, eats bread and sardines (in reference to the grass-roots movement protesting him) that was offered to him by a supporter as he walks towards the stage of his rally in Cesenatico, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_6872.jpg
  • CESENATICO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, eats bread and sardines (in reference to the grass-roots movement protesting him) that was offered to him by a supporter as he walks towards the stage of his rally in Cesenatico, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_6869.jpg
  • CESENATICO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Supporters wait for Matteo Salvini, former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, during his campaign in Cesenatico, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_6693.jpg
  • CESENATICO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini (center), former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, takes a selfie with a  supporter during his campaign in Cesenatico, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_6319.jpg
  • CESENATICO, ITALY - 5 JANUARY 2020: Matteo Salvini (center), former Interior Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right League party, visits the floating nativity scene during his campaign in Cesenatico, Italy, on January 5th 2020.<br />
<br />
Matteo Salvini is campaigning in the region of Emilia Romagna to support the League candidate Lucia Borgonzoni running for governor.<br />
<br />
After being ousted from government in September 2019, Matteo Salvini has made it a priority to campaign in all the Italian regions undergoing regional elections to demonstrate that, in power or not, he still commands considerable support.<br />
<br />
The January 26th regional elections in Emilia Romagna, traditionally the home of the Italian left, has been targeted by Matteo Salvini as a catalyst for bringing down the government. A loss for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) against Mr Salvini’s right would strip the centre-left party of control of its symbolic heartland, and probably trigger a crisis in its coalition with the Five Star Movement.
    CIPG_20200105_NYT-Salvini_M3_6161.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: A view of the quality control area of Marini Industrie, a textile company that has survived Chinese competition in Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019. Marini Industrie is one of the few companies in Prato that weren’t hit by Chinese competition, by elevating their quality.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    SMAS_20191125_NYT_Italy-Crisis_DSCF7...jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: Luca Campigli (56),  walks by the stocked fabric samples at Marini Industrie, a textile company that has survived Chinese competition in Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019. Luca Campagni has been working at Marini Industrie for 27 years. Marini Industrie is one of the few companies in Prato that weren’t hit by Chinese competition, by elevating their quality.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    SMAS_20191125_NYT_Italy-Crisis_DSCF7...jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: Wool fabric samples are seen here at Marini Industrie, a textile company that has survived Chinese competition in Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019. Marini Industrie is one of the few companies in Prato that weren’t hit by Chinese competition, by elevating their quality.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    SMAS_20191125_NYT_Italy-Crisis_DSCF7...jpg
  • CIVITAVNOVE MARCHE, ITALY - 28 NOVEMBER 2019: Cesare Catini (81), a former shoemaking entrepreneur, poses for a portrait in Civitanove Marche, Italy, on November 28th 2019. At 12, he left school and began working with his uncle making shoes. In 1961, when Mr. Catini was only 22, he launched his own business, making women’s shoes in a small garage at his home. By the 1980s, they had hired a designer from Milan and were buying advertisements in the Italian edition of Vogue magazine. In 2001, China secured entry to the World Trade Organization, opening markets to its exports.  That year, Italian footwear manufacturers exported 354 million pairs of shoes. By 2018, that number had plunged to 203 million, a drop of more than 40 percent. <br />
Over the same period, China displaced Italy as Germany’s largest source of shoes. By 2017, China was selling $3.7 billion worth of footwear to Germany, according to the World Bank, nearly triple Italy’s sales. Mr. Catini’s sales and production were down by 80 percent by 2005.   He shut it down in 2008, throwing 70 people out of work, unable to compete with China.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around.
    CIPG_20191128_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_4096.jpg
  • MONTEGRANARO, ITALY - 28 NOVEMBER 2019: Mauro Lucentini (46), a real estate agent and elected member of the of the League in his hometown Montegranaro, poses for a portrait in his office in Montegranaro, Italy, on November 28th 2019.<br />
<br />
Montegranaro is a hilltop town that has seen its 600 footwear companies cut down to 150. The town’s population has dropped from about 14,000 two decades ago to 13,000 today, and about 1,000 are now immigrants -- Albanians, Africans, Chinese. According to Mauro Lucentini, this is not a trend to be proud of. The Africans loiter the streets, drunkenly harassing women, he says: “The Nigerians are savages.”<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around.
    CIPG_20191128_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3958.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 27 NOVEMBER 2019: The fabric fabric produced in the Tronci textile factory, a supplier of Marini Industrie, is seen here in Prato, Italy, on November 27th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191127_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3409.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 27 NOVEMBER 2019: A man is seen here at work in the Tronci textile factory, a supplier of Marini Industrie, in Prato, Italy, on November 27th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191127_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3400.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 27 NOVEMBER 2019: The weaving of a fabric is seen here in the Tronci textile factory, a supplier of Marini Industrie, in Prato, Italy, on November 27th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191127_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3389.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: A sign advertises a Chinese Pronto Moda (Fast Fashion) retailer  in the textile industrial area of Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191127_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3344.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 27 NOVEMBER 2019: Chinese clothes with a "Made in Italy" label are shown here in a showroom of a Chinese Pronto Moda (Fast Fashion) retailer  in the textile industrial area of Prato, Italy, on November 27th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191127_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3300.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: A Chinese Pronto Moda (Fast Fashion) retailer is seen here in the textile industrial area of Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3215.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: A building with Chinese Pronto Moda (Fast Fashion) retailers is seen here in the textile industrial area of Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3172.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: A sign advertises a Chinese Pronto Moda (Fast Fashion) retailer  in the textile industrial area of Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3153.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: A Chinese immigrant rides his bycicle in a public park by an abandoned wool mill, tat went out of business in 2002, in the Chinatown of Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019.<br />
<br />
Today, roughly one-tenth of the city’s 200,000 inhabitants are Chinese immigrants who have arrived legally, while many estimates put the total number at 45,000 after accounting for those without proper documents. <br />
Chinese grocery stores and restaurants have emerged to serve the local population. On the outskirts of the city, Chinese entrepreneurs oversee warehouses teeming with racks of clothing destined for markets across the continent. Estimates have it that 80 percent of clothing sold in street markets within the European Union is made by Chinese workers in Prato.<br />
<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Ital
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_3026.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: A projection of the history of the local textile industry is seen here the textile museum in Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2864.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: An interior view of the textile museum in Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2831.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: A rag opener of 1953 used in a Prato textile factory is seen here in the textile museum in Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2830.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: Edoardo Nesi (55), who inherited a textile factory from his father but closed it a few years ago because of Chinese competition, poses for a portrait in his home in Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019. “In Prato, we thought we were the best in the world,” says Edoardo Nesi, who spent his days running the textile factory his grandfather started, and his nights penning novels. “ Everybody was making money.” “We lived in a place where everything had been good for 40 years,” Mr. Nesi says. “Nobody was afraid of the future.”<br />
<br />
In the 1990s, the Germans began purchasing cheaper fabrics woven in the former East Germany, Bulgaria and Romania. Then, they shifted their sights to China, where similar fabric could be had for less than half the price of Prato’s. Chinese factories were buying the same German-made machinery used by the mills in Prato. They were hiring Italian consultants who were instructing them on the modern arts of the trade. By 2000, Mr. Nesi’s business was no longer making money.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2582.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: Edoardo Nesi (55), who inherited a textile factory from his father but closed it a few years ago because of Chinese competition, poses for a portrait in his home in Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019. “In Prato, we thought we were the best in the world,” says Edoardo Nesi, who spent his days running the textile factory his grandfather started, and his nights penning novels. “ Everybody was making money.” “We lived in a place where everything had been good for 40 years,” Mr. Nesi says. “Nobody was afraid of the future.”<br />
<br />
In the 1990s, the Germans began purchasing cheaper fabrics woven in the former East Germany, Bulgaria and Romania. Then, they shifted their sights to China, where similar fabric could be had for less than half the price of Prato’s. Chinese factories were buying the same German-made machinery used by the mills in Prato. They were hiring Italian consultants who were instructing them on the modern arts of the trade. By 2000, Mr. Nesi’s business was no longer making money.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2547.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: Edoardo Nesi (55), who inherited a textile factory from his father but closed it a few years ago because of Chinese competition, poses for a portrait in his home in Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019. “In Prato, we thought we were the best in the world,” says Edoardo Nesi, who spent his days running the textile factory his grandfather started, and his nights penning novels. “ Everybody was making money.” “We lived in a place where everything had been good for 40 years,” Mr. Nesi says. “Nobody was afraid of the future.”<br />
<br />
In the 1990s, the Germans began purchasing cheaper fabrics woven in the former East Germany, Bulgaria and Romania. Then, they shifted their sights to China, where similar fabric could be had for less than half the price of Prato’s. Chinese factories were buying the same German-made machinery used by the mills in Prato. They were hiring Italian consultants who were instructing them on the modern arts of the trade. By 2000, Mr. Nesi’s business was no longer making money.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2538.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: A view of the former Nesi textile factory, that went out of business, is seen here in Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019.<br />
<br />
In the 1990s, the Germans began purchasing cheaper fabrics woven in the former East Germany, Bulgaria and Romania. Then, they shifted their sights to China, where similar fabric could be had for less than half the price of Prato’s. Chinese factories were buying the same German-made machinery used by the mills in Prato. They were hiring Italian consultants who were instructing them on the modern arts of the trade. By 2000, the Nesi textile factory was no longer making money.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2328.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 26 NOVEMBER 2019: A view of the former Nesi textile factory, that went out of business, is seen here in Prato, Italy, on November 26th 2019.<br />
<br />
In the 1990s, the Germans began purchasing cheaper fabrics woven in the former East Germany, Bulgaria and Romania. Then, they shifted their sights to China, where similar fabric could be had for less than half the price of Prato’s. Chinese factories were buying the same German-made machinery used by the mills in Prato. They were hiring Italian consultants who were instructing them on the modern arts of the trade. By 2000, the Nesi textile factory was no longer making money.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Italy”.
    CIPG_20191126_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2231.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: Chinese clothes are shown here in a showroom of a Chinese Pronto Moda (Fast Fashion) retailer  in the textile industrial area of Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019.<br />
<br />
Today, roughly one-tenth of the city’s 200,000 inhabitants are Chinese immigrants who have arrived legally, while many estimates put the total number at 45,000 after accounting for those without proper documents. <br />
Chinese grocery stores and restaurants have emerged to serve the local population. On the outskirts of the city, Chinese entrepreneurs oversee warehouses teeming with racks of clothing destined for markets across the continent. Estimates have it that 80 percent of clothing sold in street markets within the European Union is made by Chinese workers in Prato.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fash
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2086.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: Chinese clothes are shown here in a showroom of a Chinese Pronto Moda (Fast Fashion) retailer  in the textile industrial area of Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019.<br />
<br />
Today, roughly one-tenth of the city’s 200,000 inhabitants are Chinese immigrants who have arrived legally, while many estimates put the total number at 45,000 after accounting for those without proper documents. <br />
Chinese grocery stores and restaurants have emerged to serve the local population. On the outskirts of the city, Chinese entrepreneurs oversee warehouses teeming with racks of clothing destined for markets across the continent. Estimates have it that 80 percent of clothing sold in street markets within the European Union is made by Chinese workers in Prato.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fash
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2070.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: A Chinese immigrants walk by a grocery store in the Chinatown of Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019.<br />
<br />
Today, roughly one-tenth of the city’s 200,000 inhabitants are Chinese immigrants who have arrived legally, while many estimates put the total number at 45,000 after accounting for those without proper documents. <br />
Chinese grocery stores and restaurants have emerged to serve the local population. On the outskirts of the city, Chinese entrepreneurs oversee warehouses teeming with racks of clothing destined for markets across the continent. Estimates have it that 80 percent of clothing sold in street markets within the European Union is made by Chinese workers in Prato.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: �
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2056.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: A Chinese immigrant walks by a grocery store in the Chinatown of Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019.<br />
<br />
Today, roughly one-tenth of the city’s 200,000 inhabitants are Chinese immigrants who have arrived legally, while many estimates put the total number at 45,000 after accounting for those without proper documents. <br />
Chinese grocery stores and restaurants have emerged to serve the local population. On the outskirts of the city, Chinese entrepreneurs oversee warehouses teeming with racks of clothing destined for markets across the continent. Estimates have it that 80 percent of clothing sold in street markets within the European Union is made by Chinese workers in Prato.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: �
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2048.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: A view of a general items store in the Chinatown of Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019.<br />
<br />
Today, roughly one-tenth of the city’s 200,000 inhabitants are Chinese immigrants who have arrived legally, while many estimates put the total number at 45,000 after accounting for those without proper documents. <br />
Chinese grocery stores and restaurants have emerged to serve the local population. On the outskirts of the city, Chinese entrepreneurs oversee warehouses teeming with racks of clothing destined for markets across the continent. Estimates have it that 80 percent of clothing sold in street markets within the European Union is made by Chinese workers in Prato.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “Made In Ital
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_2039.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: A posing wedding studio is seen here in a garage in the Chinatown of Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019.<br />
<br />
Today, roughly one-tenth of the city’s 200,000 inhabitants are Chinese immigrants who have arrived legally, while many estimates put the total number at 45,000 after accounting for those without proper documents. <br />
Chinese grocery stores and restaurants have emerged to serve the local population. On the outskirts of the city, Chinese entrepreneurs oversee warehouses teeming with racks of clothing destined for markets across the continent. Estimates have it that 80 percent of clothing sold in street markets within the European Union is made by Chinese workers in Prato.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_1969.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: A Chinese cafe and restaurant is seen here in the Chinatown of Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019.<br />
<br />
Today, roughly one-tenth of the city’s 200,000 inhabitants are Chinese immigrants who have arrived legally, while many estimates put the total number at 45,000 after accounting for those without proper documents. <br />
Chinese grocery stores and restaurants have emerged to serve the local population. On the outskirts of the city, Chinese entrepreneurs oversee warehouses teeming with racks of clothing destined for markets across the continent. Estimates have it that 80 percent of clothing sold in street markets within the European Union is made by Chinese workers in Prato.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to their creations: “M
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_1906.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: Marco Weng (20), a first-generation Italian-Chinese and son of Chinese immigrants who arrived in Italy 30 years ago, poses for a portrait at his partner's fried chicken take-away restaurant in the Chinatown of Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019. “There was no clothing industry here. Italians only made textiles. Chinese people didn’t take jobs. We have created jobs”, Mr Weng says.  Marco Weng is about to launch a chain of Korean fried chicken restaurants with a partner.<br />
<br />
Today, roughly one-tenth of the city’s 200,000 inhabitants are Chinese immigrants who have arrived legally, while many estimates put the total number at 45,000 after accounting for those without proper documents. <br />
Chinese grocery stores and restaurants have emerged to serve the local population. On the outskirts of the city, Chinese entrepreneurs oversee warehouses teeming with racks of clothing destined for markets across the continent. Estimates have it that 80 percent of clothing sold in street markets within the European Union is made by Chinese workers in Prato.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s facto
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_1894.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: Marco Weng (20), a first-generation Italian-Chinese and son of Chinese immigrants who arrived in Italy 30 years ago, poses for a portrait at his partner's fried chicken take-away restaurant in the Chinatown of Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019. “There was no clothing industry here. Italians only made textiles. Chinese people didn’t take jobs. We have created jobs”, Mr Weng says.  Marco Weng is about to launch a chain of Korean fried chicken restaurants with a partner.<br />
<br />
Today, roughly one-tenth of the city’s 200,000 inhabitants are Chinese immigrants who have arrived legally, while many estimates put the total number at 45,000 after accounting for those without proper documents. <br />
Chinese grocery stores and restaurants have emerged to serve the local population. On the outskirts of the city, Chinese entrepreneurs oversee warehouses teeming with racks of clothing destined for markets across the continent. Estimates have it that 80 percent of clothing sold in street markets within the European Union is made by Chinese workers in Prato.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s facto
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_1890.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: Marco Weng (20), a first-generation Italian-Chinese and son of Chinese immigrants who arrived in Italy 30 years ago, poses for a portrait at his partner's fried chicken take-away restaurant in the Chinatown of Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019. “There was no clothing industry here. Italians only made textiles. Chinese people didn’t take jobs. We have created jobs”, Mr Weng says.  Marco Weng is about to launch a chain of Korean fried chicken restaurants with a partner.<br />
<br />
Today, roughly one-tenth of the city’s 200,000 inhabitants are Chinese immigrants who have arrived legally, while many estimates put the total number at 45,000 after accounting for those without proper documents. <br />
Chinese grocery stores and restaurants have emerged to serve the local population. On the outskirts of the city, Chinese entrepreneurs oversee warehouses teeming with racks of clothing destined for markets across the continent. Estimates have it that 80 percent of clothing sold in street markets within the European Union is made by Chinese workers in Prato.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s facto
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_1765.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: Chinese immigrants are seen here walking by a general items store in the Chinatown of Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019.<br />
<br />
Today, roughly one-tenth of the city’s 200,000 inhabitants are Chinese immigrants who have arrived legally, while many estimates put the total number at 45,000 after accounting for those without proper documents. <br />
Chinese grocery stores and restaurants have emerged to serve the local population. On the outskirts of the city, Chinese entrepreneurs oversee warehouses teeming with racks of clothing destined for markets across the continent. Estimates have it that 80 percent of clothing sold in street markets within the European Union is made by Chinese workers in Prato.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label t
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_1624.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: Chinese immigrants are seen here by a gambling machines facility in the Chinatown of Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019.<br />
<br />
Today, roughly one-tenth of the city’s 200,000 inhabitants are Chinese immigrants who have arrived legally, while many estimates put the total number at 45,000 after accounting for those without proper documents. <br />
Chinese grocery stores and restaurants have emerged to serve the local population. On the outskirts of the city, Chinese entrepreneurs oversee warehouses teeming with racks of clothing destined for markets across the continent. Estimates have it that 80 percent of clothing sold in street markets within the European Union is made by Chinese workers in Prato.<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostly from the coastal city of Wenzhou, famed for its industriousness - to exploit an opportunity.<br />
They set up sewing machines across the concrete floors and imported fabric from factories in China. They sewed clothes, cannily imitating the styles of Italian fashion brands. They affixed a valuable label to
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_1562.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: Roberta Travaglini (61), who has lost her job at a textile mille four years ago, poses for a portrait nearby her apartment in Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019.  For the past four years, Roberta Travaglini has been unable to find a job, forcing her to live off support from her retired parents. She says she will not look for work in the Chinese-owned clothing businesses, because she feels uncomfortable there. But she shops for clothes in the Chinese clothing store across the street from her apartment because she can no longer afford the boutiques downtown. Since losing her job, she has survived by fixing clothes for people in her neighbourhood, using the workshop on the ground floor of her parent’s apartment.“When I was young, it was the Communist party that was protecting the workers, that was protecting our social class. Now, it’s the League that is protecting the people, that goes toward the people’s problems. I see a similarity between the Communist Party and the League.”<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arriving from China - mostl
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_1491.jpg
  • PRATO, ITALY - 25 NOVEMBER 2019: Roberta Travaglini (61), who has lost her job at a textile mille four years ago, ise seen here looking at a shop window of a Chinese clothig store in Prato, Italy, on November 25th 2019.  For the past four years, Roberta Travaglini has been unable to find a job, forcing her to live off support from her retired parents. She says she will not look for work in the Chinese-owned clothing businesses, because she feels uncomfortable there. But she shops for clothes in the Chinese clothing store across the street from her apartment because she can no longer afford the boutiques downtown. Since losing her job, she has survived by fixing clothes for people in her neighbourhood, using the workshop on the ground floor of her parent’s apartment.“When I was young, it was the Communist party that was protecting the workers, that was protecting our social class. Now, it’s the League that is protecting the people, that goes toward the people’s problems. I see a similarity between the Communist Party and the League.”<br />
<br />
Italy has proved especially vulnerable to China’s emergence as a manufacturing juggernaut, given that many of its artisanal trades -- textiles, leather, shoe-making -- have long been dominated by small, family-run businesses that lacked the scale to compete on price with factories in a nation of 1.4 billion people. <br />
In recent years, four Italian regions that were as late as the 1980s electing Communists and then reliably supported center-left candidates -- Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Emilia-Romagna  -- have swung dramatically to the extreme right. Many working class people say that delineation has it backwards: The left abandoned them, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
Between 2001 and 2011, Prato’s 6,000 textile companies shrunk to 3,000, and those employed by the plants plunged from 40,000 to 19,000, according to Confindustria, the leading Italian industrial trade association. As Prato’s factories went dark, people began arr
    CIPG_20191125_NYT_Italy-Cris_M3_1341.jpg
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