Economist, Feb 21, 2015 (II)

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Obituary | Sweet Secrets; Michele Ferrero, Italy’s chocolate king, died on Valentine’s day, aged 89.
www.economist.com/news/obituary/ ... ed-89-sweet-secrets

Note:
(a) Italian English dictionary (alphabetically)
* alto (adjective masculine; Latin [adjective masculine] altus high): "high, tall"
* classico (adjective masculine): “classic”
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/classico
* ella (pronoun): "archaic  she (subject form)"
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ella
* metodo (noun masculine; Ancient Greek méthodos): "method"
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/metodo
* stampa (noun feminine): "press (device, or printed media); print"
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stampa

(b)
(i) Nutella is “manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero * * * Ferrero consumes 25% of the global supply of hazelnuts.”  
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutella
(note the pronunciation only)
(ii) The headquarters of Ferrero SpA is Alba, Piedmont.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alba,_Piedmont
(iii) The History of Nutella (2). Nutella, undated
www.nutellausa.com/history2.htm
(The original version of Nutella® spread was called ‘pasta gianduja,’ pasta which means paste, and ‘gianduja’ which is the name of a carnival character famous to the region, a character that can be found in the first advertisements for the product. * * * ‘Supercrema gianduja’ was eventually renamed ‘Nutella®’ in 1964, with the origin of the word being ‘nut’ and the ‘ella’ giving it a soft ending”)
(iv) For gianduja, see the following posting.

(c) "IN THE only interview he ever gave, to La Stampa, Michele Ferrero did not once remove his sunglasses. * * * his second name was indeed 'Eugenio'”
(i) La Stampa
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Stampa
(a daily newspaper published in Turin [which is capital of the Piedmont region], Italy; since 1867)
(ii) "Michele" is Italian form of "Michael."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michele
(note the pronunciation)
(iii)
(A) The Italian (Piedmont and Liguria) surname Ferrero: "variant of Ferraro"
(B) The Italian surname Ferraro: "a smith or iron worker, from ferro ‘iron’ (Latin ferrum)"  (Geraldine Ferraro (1935 – 2011) was 1984 Vice-President candidate.)

choi

(d) “the boy with the thick Piedmontese accent whose life had come to revolve round the farmers of the Alta Langa and their abundant, delectable hazelnut crop."
(i) Piedmont
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piedmont
(The name Piedmont comes from medieval Latin Pedemontium or Pedemontis, ie, ad pedem montium, meaning “at the foot of the mountains”)
(ii) tom hyland, First-Rate Sparkling Wines From Piemonte. learnitalianwines, Oct 25, 2010.
learnitalianwines.wordpress.com/tag/alta-langa/

Quote:

“There are numerous producers that make metodo classico sparkling wines in the region and there are several types. Arguably the finest examples are the Alta Langa; currently there are about a dozen firms that make one or more of these wines.

“The name Alta Langa, means 'high Langa' (Langa, a.k.a. Langhe is a district in southern Piemonte where these wines- as well as Barolo and Barbaresco – are produced). This particular territory is called the Alta Langa because of the elevation of the vineyards that receive cool breezes from the nearby Liguria sea; while much of the Langa is quite warm – a necessary condition to ripen the red grapes – the Alta Langa is much cooler, making it an ideal location for the production of sparkling wines.

* For Langa, see Langhe
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langhe

(e) "Mon Chéri, his cherry-liqueur chocolates"
(i) Mon Chéri
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mon_Chéri
(French for "My darling")
(ii) French English dictionary
* mon (masculine): "my"
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mon
* chéri
(verb): "past participle of chérir"
(adjective masculine): "cherished, beloved"
(noun adjective): "dear, darling"
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ch%C3%A9ri

(f)
(i) Tic-Tac
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tic_Tac
(ii) Kinder Surprise
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinder_Surprise

(g) “His third secret was more mysterious and surprising. At the centre of his business strategy were two women. The first was ‘la Valeria,’ his name for the typical housewife, mother, nonna or aunt who had to decide what to buy every day, who might want a little treat for herself or something, besides kisses, to spoil a favourite child. Unless he could keep her custom, he was finished.”
(i) Valeria is the Italian (actually, Latin; see etymology) form of English female given name Valerie.
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Valeria
(ii) nonna (noun feminine; masculine: nonno grandfather; from Latin [noun masculine] nonnus old person): “grandmother”
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nonna

(h) "The second woman was Maria, the Virgin Mary. * * * Every year he went on pilgrimage to Lourdes, and arranged for his workers to go. (One company legend was that the shape of Ferrero Rochers was inspired by the grotto there.)
(i) Lourdes
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lourdes
(ii)  Ferrero Rocher
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrero_Rocher
(Rocher comes from French [noun masculine] and means ‘rock,’ after a grotto in the Roman Catholic shrine of Lourdes, reflecting Michele Ferrero's devout faith)