slip into your own culture

'tis the season and I feel it, love it as I always did since I can remember.

It’s ingrained in my genes, blood, traditions, customs and comfort, beloved and cherished memories. I celebrate Christmas and I am happy to wish Merry Christmas to all, to be a little Santa Elf, to buy gifts, hide them and put them under the tree on Christmas Eve. We eat fish on the 24th and Christmas lunch is a profusion of delicacies, from tortellini to the Pandoro with powdered sugar. 

And the tree? It must be up at least by December 1st when the Advent calendar begins. Flickering lights, gilded decorations, wreaths, silver silverware and champagne flutes always on duty. 

I find it hard to express it all though now that I am not in Italy. I am not alone. I was reading ‘Changing Into Your Christmas Culture’ by Richard Bronson and it was reassuring to read that 

Your culture greatly informs how you perceive the world. It determines what you interpret as honorable, good and true. Its intangible presence can be felt in most everything you do […] However, what you take to be your culture is as much a matter of what you identify with and value as the circumstances to which you were born.

Now, where is my culture? The best depiction (very proud to brag it) is the Mona Lisa culture.

Here’s the latest study done by 2 researchers of the University of Urbino that describes in minute details where is the most famous balcony in the world overlooking. 

Mine is the culture of the culture, something impalpably rich that takes me everywhere I go. it is something that people would love to reproduce by saying “I was in Florence and Tuscany (as if being in Florence isn’t being in Tuscany already…)  in a 7 days tour, I was in Rome and Venice too”.

Culture is not Monopoli, you can’t touch and buy, it grows.

Can’t help it.

Why not being proud of it and show it off? 

Happy 26 days ‘til Christmas!!

how cool it is to wear socks this fall? 

Motherhood: do it like Andrea Mantegna

In Miami Beach we are in a type of exhilarating wait for Art Basel that we all seem pregnant.

Making sure we are all in for the Private Preview, playing puzzle to have all must-go-to-be-seen events match and not overlap. 

Now, lets pretend we live in Florence, Tuscany.

We would be standing in line at the Galleria dell’Accademia (via Bettino Ricasoli, 58/60). Beginning today until December 8 La Madonna col Bambino of Andrea Mantegna is open to the public.

After four years of restoration at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, one of Renaissance’s undiscussed masterpieces is previewing worldwide in Florence, before going back to its own residence, tht is the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo.

The colors, the eyes, the expressions, the love, the future 

And without any denigratory intention, I couldn’t help but thinking: would Victoria Beckham and daughter Harper be considered the modern versions of the Madonna col Bambino ?

Would Mantegna even understand this modern take on motherhood ? Your kid as necessary as every handpicked accessory to complete the look before facing the paparazzi? 

Yours truly,

wanna visit my palazzo?

Prada has launched Il Palazzo  an iPad-only app that takes you on a virtual tour of a villa thanks to, no less than, visual effect specialist James Lima. 

Be ready to take the journey to admire capsule collections and special edition pieces through the maze of mirrored walls, corridors and window draperies. The experience is mysterious, modern, tech and take the brand at the top in innovation technology.

Portrait, the man and women sunglasses collection, is currently featured and soon Bloom jewelry will follow (we are all for it).

Meanwhile, I am still dreaming of this suit, hair, make-up and how chic would be to be able to go to work in it …

four decades of W Magazine

If talking about ‘fine living’ sounds passe’ , demode’  and plainly dumb, try this: if you don’t know what we are talking about, too bad for you.

A sort of The Tatler’s List no BS, just exceptional always.

Santa Baby’s list … 

what Cinderella and Marie Antoinette have in common

a girl’s best friends Marilyn taught us it’s supposed to be diamonds. but just for a moment think of Cinderella, if it weren’t for the crystal slipper she would have never lived happily ever after with her Prince charming. (FYI, the Christian Louboutin limited edition is the closest reality to the dreamy one designed by Walt Disney).

or Marie Antoinette, much less fortunate and happy ending (blunt), but the shoes she wore during her last hours were sold at an auction for over $ 62,000.00 and some museum will have them in display as well as any of her crown jewelry. so, although her unfortunate death, a pair of shoes are redeeming her fame.

yours truly,