What’s interesting about this Bloomberg piece is how 3D printing complements Italy’s small factories, giving them the means to compete in a globalized market dominated by Asian manufacturing. Additive manufacturing doesn’t mean nearly as much to mass-scale undifferentiated production as it does for high-precision, detailed creations. At least for now. The fact that 3D printing in Italy looks different to 3D printing elsewhere, as Bruce Sterling has observed, probably helps too.  Like architect Rosa Topputo says in the piece: “Even when you do something with new technology, you can’t forget the aesthetics of the past.” The fusion of the craftsmanship of the past and the application of new technology helps put Italy at the cutting edge of a small but important global shift in manufacturing. (photo: www.darcstudio.net)