MONTEROSSO AL MARE, Italy — For years, Antonio Scognamillo paid $1,200 a month to power La Smorfia, his cozy pizzeria offering dozens of styles of pies in this hilly, medieval tourist enclave by the Ligurian Sea.
That was before energy and food costs soared in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, threatening the future of his long-profitable business. Today, Scognamillo stares down at a $5,200 monthly power bill — on top of 40% increase in costs for mozzarella, grain and flour in a country where inflation is now at a 40-year high.
And it could soon get even worse. On Saturday, Russia said that it would pull out of a United Nations-brokered deal to allow grain exports from Ukraine, adding another layer to the toll of war that’s reached across the globe.
