“What news from Como, mine and your delight? And of your beautiful suburban villa? And the eternal springtime of your porch?”. With these deeply affectionate and admiring words penned in a letter to his friend Canino Rufo, Pliny the Younger, the nephew of the great naturalist, conveyed for the first time the beauty and benefits of life on Lake Como and described the atmosphere that belonged to the tradition of the typical Lake Como villa, which was to enjoy great success over the centuries with generations of residents and travellers. The remainder of the letter, which dates to between 96 and 100 AD, and other contemporary accounts give us a fairly precise idea of the Roman villa’s structure, and the relationship that this type of building had with the surrounding landscape. Next to the meeting rooms, study and conversation spaces, and rooms for sleeping, were a whole series of continuous porticoes open to the sun, with views of the water, and the green of the gardens.
Conceived as a peaceful location for intellectual pursuits, a space for physical activity and hunting, good reading and conversation, it was during the Roman era that the legend of the Lake Como villa was born. This legend was based on a celebration of villa life within a particular environment – one that was a miraculous contrast between the Mediterranean climate of the lake and the harsh alpine winter of the surrounding mountains, and between the splendour of nature and the work of man.
Carrara’s marble caves are located in the extensive geological and mineral complex of the Apuan Alps, occupying however just 2% of the overall surface area. One of the features of this area is the presence of huge deposits of high-quality marble. They were formed in the early Jurassic period when a large part of the region was still covered by a vast sea with a limestone floor, giving rise to a carbonate platform.
The discovery of marble deposits in Carrara was made in around 155 BC. Over the centuries the new material captured the attention of famous artists and patrons of the arts, such as: Nicola Pisano, who went to Carrara in 1256 to select marble for the creation of the pulpit in the Cathedral of Siena; and, later, in 1497, the young Michelangelo Buonarroti, who visited the caves to look for the most suitable marble to use for his Pietà. But it was the 15th century that sealed the great fame of Carrara marble. It was during this period that many artists, such as Donatello, Bernini and Canova flocked to Carrara, choosing its marble to create their great works of art.
The whole history of this region, which has built its fortunes on marble quarrying, swirls around the caves of Carrara. Thanks to the work of many generations of quarrymen, Tuscan marble is now recognised and prized all over the world, a symbol of an entire Italian manufacturing sector.
The names of its small villages date back to Roman times and derive from the owners of the aristocratic villas that were dotted along the coast. So the town of Positano owes its name to a freed slave, Posides, who is thought to have built a villa there during Claudius’ reign. And the name of a powerful Roman, Ravelius, is believed to be the source of Ravello, and to have owned a villa in the area; and Amalfi to have come from gens Amarfia.
The names of these small, precious gems of villages have echoed down through the ages in the collective imagination, as references to a place where natural and architectural beauty have competed to draw aesthetic praise. The result? A unique history, and one that will never cease to charm.
Like a platform suspended between the cobalt-blue sea and the slopes of the Lattari mountains, its succession of valleys and promontories are set against a backdrop of small bays, beaches, and citrus, grape and olive-growing terraces. This unique environment is protected by UNESCO as a perfect example of the Mediterranean landscape, and one of enormous cultural and natural value resulting from its geographical features and evolution over time. Its towns and villages are all different, each with its own traditions and peculiarities. Yet all feature unique architecture, including Cetara’s Saracen tower; the Romanesque cathedral in Amalfi and its Chiostro del Paradiso – a cloister with strong oriental influences; the church of San Salvatore de’ Bireto in Atrani, where the investiture ceremony for Amalfi’s dogi took place; and Ravello with its beautiful cathedral and magnificent Villa Rufolo.
]]>They recall the work in the fields during the sun-drenched days of high summer, the harvest carried out by hand, with nets to catch the fruit, the noise of the mills, and the smell of fresh oil.
The plant is thought to have arrived on the shores of Puglia from the East, where the first historical references to olive tree cultivation can be found. Observing the plains covered by olive groves from on high, it is hard not to be enchanted by this genuine work of natural architecture, one composed solely of centuries-old olive trees – enormous green expanses that stretch right down to the blue of the sea.
Their trunks twist around themselves, some split into several parts, some curved or bent to one side; almost leaning on the ground as if to rest after all those centuries witnessing the inexorable passage of time.
And between their green canopy you catch a glimpse of another singular work of architecture. A bright white stain – a town in the coastal Murgia region that extends over three hills, the biggest of which is home to the medieval part, enclosed by its Aragonese walls: Ostuni. A hotchpotch of small, tangled streets that makes a visit to the Rione Terra quarter a compelling treasure hunt, one which only ends when you come to the 15th century cathedral. Here you will be amazed by an incredible human feat – its late Gothic facade.
The Baroque came to Sicily several decades after it had spread to Rome and other cities. Despite that, several buildings of the early part of the 17th century foreshadow baroque themes in some ways. These examples, while attributable to Late Renaissance and classical architectural forms, possess a characteristic specific to the new style developed in Rome: “the strong sense of theatricality, achieved through experimenting with perspective and scenography on an urban scale.”
The main feature of Baroque architecture in Sicily was a great decorative exuberance, marked by a particular warmth, expressive joy, and freedom.
Around 1730, the Sicilian Baroque gradually began to diverge from the style developed in Rome; and two factors helped establish its uniqueness. First, after the earthquake that had struck the Val di Noto in 1693, the race to rebuild was subsiding, with construction work entering a calmer and more deliberate phase. Second, a new group of Sicilian architects was coming to the fore, adapting their projects to local needs and traditions with an often manically creative style.
One definition of Sicilian Baroque is the following: “whether those viewing it find it charming or repellent, this style is a characteristic demonstration of Sicilian exuberance, and should be counted among the most important and original artistic creations on the island.”
Thus discovering that we are genuine Aristotelians!
From the ontological point of view, the relationship of resemblance between natural constructions and artistic ones is asymmetrical. It is the latter that imitate the former and not vice versa. The image resembles the model and not the other way round. But πρὸς ἡμᾶς (pròs hemâs), as Aristotle says, that is, for us, or in other words from the gnosiological point of view, the resemblance is reciprocal. We understand the natural processes teleologically, or by comparing them with those that we have set in motion ourselves. We are full of admiration for how nature works with such great art, only to imitate again the nature that we have thus understood.
What remains of nature are not the natural beings, but structural physical laws, in other words exactly what Aristotle calls not phýsis but ἀνάγκη (anánke), necessity. And thus we have arrived at something that cannot be imitated, but that is indifferent to the distinction between nature and imitation. Considering things in this way, the concept of the imitation of nature loses all its meaning. What is truly phýsei cannot be imitated, and everything that can be imitated is already none other than perfect simulation.
So how do nature and artifice differ? Not simply in the fact that the former is not the work of man, it would seem. Chance and necessity are not either. What modern critics of the concept of nature reject is rather the idea of an ἀρχή κινήσεος (arché kinéseos), that is, the idea that the movement typical of all species is based on a principle within the real natural world and does not ultimately consist in the function of a universal parallelogram of forces in reciprocal collision. What is rejected is the idea that natural objects are autonomous, if such autonomy entails emancipation from generative conditions. And it is what Nietzsche had in mind when he affirmed that the last anthropomorphism that remains to be overcome is the idea that things are natural units. And Nietzsche completed the last step in that sense: even imagining oneself as a unit, the idea of one’s own identity itself, is anthropomorphic, and man himself is none other than anthropomorphism. We must not think about things in comparison to ourselves, but rather ourselves in comparison to things. But it is the things themselves that don’t exist, since they are only thought of in comparison with ourselves.
Because of its unique urban features and its rich artistic patrimony, Venice is universally considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world and has been declared, with its lagoon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Alongside the Rialto Bridge, the other symbol of Venice is undoubtedly Piazza San Marco (the only urban space in Venice called a piazza, in that all of the other such spaces in Venice are called “campi”). Also known as the “Living Room of Europe”, Piazza San Marco houses St. Mark’s Basilica, a superb example of Romanesque-Byzantine style. Inspired by the Church of the Twelve Apostles in Constantinople, it was originally built to house the body of Mark the Evangelist. The facade is decorated with precious marbles and mosaics and divided in two parts by a terrace, on which rest the four golden copper horses sent from Constantinople to Doge Enrico Dandolo in 1204. The monumental interior, shaped like a Greek cross, is rich in paintings and sculptures. The bell tower next to the basilica was once a light house for sailors.
To the right of the basilica, one can visit the Ducal Palace (formerly the Doge’s Palace as it was the seat of the Doge), a masterpiece of Venetian Gothic architecture. The interiors, which have been partially stripped of the artwork that once decorated them, still house a large art collection which includes pieces by masters like Tintoretto, Tiziano Vecellio, and Paolo Veronese. The Ducal Palace has followed in the footsteps of the Serenissima and today houses the Civic Museum of the Ducal Palace, part of the Civic Museums Foundation of Venice.
Just a few minutes away from Venice by ferry is Murano, the second largest island in the lagoon after Venice and world famous for its multi-century artisan tradition of blown glass, still the island’s primary economic activity.
The first is due to the presence of a university which dates back to 1088, the oldest in the western world; the second speaks for its substantial and opulent culinary tradition; the third refers to the colour of the bricks with which its towers and buildings have been built since the Middle Ages and, more recently, the “Reds” Ducati and Ferrari which, together with Lamborghini, Maserati, and Pagani, make Bologna and its region known as the “land of motors”.
The first western school of its kind, the University of Bologna has attracted students from all over Europe since 1088. Thanks to the attendance of illustrious students like Dante, Petrarca, and Boccaccio, the University of Bologna has, over the centuries, affirmed its position as a breeding ground for knowledge, while the approximately 80,000 students which it currently welcomes keep it culturally and socially alive. The ancient seat of the university, Palazzo dell’Archiginnasio, houses one of the most impressive anatomical theatres in the world, where cadavers were dissected during lessons in medicine and anatomy. For centuries this location was one of the primary and most devout reference points for European knowledge.
Bologna’s evocative historic centre, one of the most well-preserved in Europe, with ancient buildings and churches that conceal a multitude of artistic masterpieces, is characterised by 40 kilometres of porticos that make the city like none other in the world. Since 1100, when the growth of the university made it necessary to create a new urban area, the porticos have come to be used as both a public and private, social and commercial, space, serving as an open air living room that is the very symbol of Bolognese hospitality. The San Luca Portico, which connects the city to the Sanctuary of San Luca in Colle della Guardia, is the longest in the world, measuring 3,796 meters and with 666 archways.
]]>A stunning region, full of vineyards and historic villages; its uncontaminated landscape criss crossed by medieval roads and dotted by patrician palaces, churches, and fortresses from a distant past that now blends with the present.
A land with so much to explore and taste. Alba is, of course, the heart of this area of Piedmont. A city famous for its truffles, as well as for its picturesque historic centre with the Duomo, Church of San Domenico, and medieval layout full of towers and fortified homes. Then there is Barolo, a town known for its famous wine. In 2014 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While strolling through the natural landscape and traversing vineyards, one may catch a glimpse of the Castello Falletti (with wine museum inside) and medieval village. The castle is a unique structure: climb the stairs to the top to enjoy a view of the gentle hills of the Langhe.
Then there’s Bergolo, the “stone town”; Neive, with its trattorias; Bossolasco, with its charming historic centre dotted with roses; Murazzano, known for its medieval tower and its typical cheese; and the tiny San Benedetto Belbo, where Beppe Fenoglio spent his summer holidays as a child. And of course Santo Stefano Belbo, the home of delicious Moscato wines, but above all the birthplace of the famous author Cesare Pavese who set the events of his last novel, La Luna e i Falò [The Moon and the Bonfires], here in this very area.
But while the hills of Piedmont were once explored through their history, through Pavese and Fenoglio, through their antiques and their peasant tradition, today this is no longer the case and it is, rather, contemporary art, with its avant garde writers and musicians, who have taken centre stage. These days people come from all over the world to visit the Barolo Chapel, on the road to La Morra, where a small church that was never consecrated (a shelter for 20th century harvesters) was painted by two internationally famous artists. The first, British artist David Tremlett, in the mid-1990s, painted the interior with the colours of Africa and Australia, while the second, American artist Sol LeWitt, transformed the exterior with his famous wall paintings.
Bergamo, Città Alta, represents a unique patrimony of art and timeless beauty. To this day it preserves the layout of its ancient roads and the medieval and renaissance atmosphere evoked by Piazza Vecchia and Piazza del Duomo. Palazzo della Ragione and Santa Maria Maggiore take us back in time to the communal era of the Middle Ages, while the extraordinary Colleoni Chapel, built to house the mausoleum of the Condottiero and his daughter, represents a quintessential expression of renaissance elegance. Palazzo del Podestà in Piazza Vecchia, built in the 14th century and frescoed by Bramante in 1477, is a symbol of Venetian power over Bergamo. The remains of these precious frescos can today be seen in the Sala delle Capriate in Palazzo della Ragione.
Enormously evocative is the walk around the walls of the city, during which one comes across the 16th century Porta Sant’Agostino, topped by the Lion of Venice, and the Porta Sant’Alessandro, near which was located the citadel commissioned by Visconti in the 14th Century.
Thanks to the most viral installation in the history of art (the Floating Piers by Christo), Lake Iseo’s world fame has grown exponentially. Just half an hour from Bergamo, it boasts at least two villages of enormous artistic and natural value in the area of Alto Sebino: Lovere, among the most beautiful towns in Italy with its rich art gallery, and Pisogne with its picturesque lakeside waterfront.
Over the course of decades, the mild and sunny climate, fertile terrain, and vast countryside have turned this lakeside region into the perfect place to plant thousands of grape vines and to build numerous wineries producing the most well-loved sparkling wines in Italy, named after Franciacorta itself. The movement of glaciers shaped its geography thousands of years ago, creating a combination of depressions and hills that are similar to those in Tuscany, and creating a rural landscape that is uniquely fascinating.
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This new figurative language, associated also with a new way of perceiving man and the world, was inspired by both the local culture and humanism, which had already been brought to the forefront in the previous century by individuals like Francesco Petrarca and Coluccio Salutati. The new artistic styles introduced at the start of the 15th century by masters like Filippo Brunelleschi, Donatello, and Masaccio, did not immediately receive patronage. On the contrary, next to the dominant international Gothic style of the time, they remained of minor artistic relevance and were largely misunderstood for at least twenty years. Later, the Renaissance style became the more admired figurative language and started appearing not only in other Italian courts (most notably the Papal court of Rome), but, thanks to the artists’ movements, courts throughout Europe as well. After the first twenty years of the 15th century, Florentine Renaissance style spread rapidly until the middle of the century, with experiments based on a technical-practical approach. The second phase began in the time of Lorenzo de’ Medici, approximately 1450 until his death in 1492, and was characterised by a more intellectual approach.
What followed was a break from the past, dominated by figures like Girolamo Savonarola, who profoundly influenced many artists, convincing them to rethink their choices. The final phase, dating between 1490 and 1520, is known as the Late Renaissance, and is characterised by the presence, in Florence, of three absolute artistic geniuses whose influence would be felt for generations to come: Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, and Raffaello Sanzio.
Naples is an ancient city. Tombs found in the Materdei neighbourhood and dating back to the Neolithic period prove that small settlements were already present during prehistoric times. Nevertheless, the birth of the city cannot be dated with absolute certainty. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why numerous legends exist which attempt to explain its origins. Numerous, yet all with a single common character: the beautiful siren, Parthenope. According to one of these legends, the siren, rejected by Homer’s hero, Ulysses, washed up on the islet of Megaride, where the Castel dell’Ovo is located. It was here that the city was born. However, historical records indicate that it was between the islet of Megaride and Mt. Echia that several Cuman colonies were first established, creating a small agglomeration which they called Parthenope (7th century BC). In 475 BC the Cumans, due to frequent conflicts with the Etruscans, decided to found another city a bit more inland, corresponding to today’s historic centre. This city was renamed Neapolis (new city) to distinguish it from Parthenope which, in the meantime, had acquired the name Palepolis (old city).
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It is far from our intention to define our day-to-day work as art. Nevertheless, our actions every day stem precisely from meaningful and unique knowledge and tend towards the act of creation based on an equally elevated and ideal sense of aesthetics. It is, therefore, the Platonic idea of art that nurtures and guides our manual and mechanical creativity each day. But at the same time, it is the Aristotelian idea of art which guides that mechanical skill, that ability to make minor art, that is necessary for the creation of our garments, which are often spontaneously defined actual artistic masterpieces!
John Malkovich plays a complex character who is at the centre of the narrative. Sir John Brannox loves quality and elegance, also when it comes to clothing. “Despite being a cardinal turned pope, in his private life he never gives up wearing the splendid outfits of an English aristocrat dandy. These are part of his story, his past, but they continue in his present as well, even though the official nature of his position requires that he wear a trim white cassock,” explain Carlo Poggioli and Luca Canfora, the series’ costume designers.
It was by talking with Paolo Sorrentino, the two costume designers, and John Malcovich himself that Massimiliano and Giuseppe Attolini were able to custom-create this character’s style, taking full advantage of the family’s immeasurable sartorial know-how, its concept of timeless elegance, and the incredibly rich patrimony of exclusive fabrics, often of British of Scottish make.
“I think I can say that I changed outfits in every single scene,” says John Malkovich in a televised interview. “Tons of handmade garments, including suits, sports jackets, shirts, scarves, ties… I don’t know where Paolo got the idea but he told me that that’s what he wanted to do and I said that it seemed pretty expensive but that it was okay with me!”
It all started in September 2018, with an initial meeting in Paris during which Massimiliano and Giuseppe Attolini met with Carlo Poggioli and John Malkovich themselves, to begin sharing the ideas of the Oscar-winning director: stylistic inspirations, the directorial requirements of each scene, and the subsequent characteristics necessary of each outfit. They went on to take John Malkovich’s measurements and to choose the most appropriate models and fabrics. After this first successful meeting came many more in the following months in which the various garments were tried and fitted, including one which took place right in Cesare Attolini’s workshop in Casalnuovo, just outside of Naples.
A long, heartfelt, and very successful project which resulted in the creation of twenty complete outfits made up of coats, suits, jackets, shirts, scarves, ties: the vibrant expression of Cesare Attolini’s timeless tailoring and elegance, made only from exclusive fabrics like Prince of Wales, Tweed, Shetland, cashmere, velvets, damask, light flannel, precious silk, and cotton.
“An entirely different approach as compared to the strict elegance of Fred Ballinger/Michael Caine in Youth, tending towards (as was the case for Toni Servillo’s unforgettable Jep Gambardella) a certain aristocratic dandy-ism, full of sophisticated character,” says Giuseppe Attolini. “A style that is an expression of Cesar Attolini’s timeless elegance and which, we hope, will help to contribute to creating the distinctive personality of another one of Paolo Sorrentino’s remarkably interesting characters.”
“Once more we have had the enormous privilege of pairing our clothing with that which we firmly believe to be the highest expression of Italian film making today,” affirms Massimiliano Attolini. “What has most enthused us throughout all of our years collaborating with Paolo Sorrentino and his team, from Il Divo to The Great Beauty, as well as Youth and Loro, is the meaningful opportunity for creative collaboration, in which all of our artisan know-how and expressive ability to create elegance, are used to help shape a story and its main character, contributing to the creation of his personality.
This is how it was for Giulio Andreotti and Jep Gambardella, played by Servillo, and that is how it is now for John Brannox, played by John Malkovich, an absolute icon of film and a man with impeccable taste and enormous sensitivity. These were exceptional opportunities in which an incredibly fertile creative environment was developed!”
Another thing we do every day is to teach people what the characteristics of extra-virgin olive oil are. We try to disseminate the culture of oil, because the world is inundated by millions of litres of fake extra-virgin olive oil, which slashes the prices of real oil, causing olive groves, even monumental ones, to be abandoned by their owners.
We’re their caretakers, even though I like to think that, in a region as drought-ridden as Apulia, they have been the ones to ensure our livelihood for dozens of generations. Can you imagine how many adversaries these plants have had to face over the centuries and millennia? Right now we are fighting the greatest battle in their history, that against xylella… We hope to be victorious.
We could describe aesthetics as the subjective (but shared) perception of our connection to nature, a deep and balanced dynamic harmony. And we could describe ethics as the subjective and intersubjective ability to imagine and then take action so that we keep that connection to nature healthy and balanced. Both are two sides of the same coin that sit in the pockets of the two remarkable superstars you will read about in the following pages.
Cesare Attolini has managed to preserve a timeless male aesthetic by upholding the weighty ethics of a manual craft (tailoring). Cascina Brancati has managed to preserve this unique place by upholding the weighty ethics of manual work (farming).
The first unstructured jacket in the history of male elegance against a backdrop that includes Apulia’s oldest olive tree. Both express a vision that is deeply rooted in the human condition: creating beauty out of what is good and fair.
The first dates back to 1930 and is the product of Vincenzo Attolini’s creativity and talent. The second was planted, at a guess, over 3000 years ago by the Messapians. The unique and distinctive features of the first were perfected and then fiercely guarded for decades by Cesare Attolini, Vincenzo’s son, and then his grandsons Massimiliano and Giuseppe, who now run the tailor’s shop in Casalnuovo on the outskirts of Naples. The second was looked after and fiercely guarded like a relic for centuries by the farm’s owners. For the last 200 years this has been the Rodio family, led today by Corrado Rodio.
Two incredible stories meet under Apulia’s glorious blue skies, sparking a tale of timeless beauty.
Happy reading!
Not just a simple hotel, but a refuge in which time stands still and one can bask in an atmosphere of authentic and timeless beauty.
La Sommità is a historic 16th century residence, originally a castle in 1200, located in the heart of the historic centre of Ostuni, a popular tourist village in Apulia, also known as the “White City”.
Behind its Catalan-inspired gates lies a true oasis: the harmony of white and cream-coloured shades, natural stone, and minimalist décor are an invitation to get away and recharge.
An exclusive location in which the silence is interrupted by only pigeons and the bells of the cathedral, which mark the lazy hours as they pass by during those warm and languid summer days.
Here one can enjoy a book while relaxing in the shade of an alcove or under the branches of an orange tree in the Spanish courtyard, or perhaps by the side of the small pool, allowing one’s gaze to wander over the roofs of the city and across the olive grove, all the way down to the sea on the horizon, before enjoying some sophisticated and reinvented Apulian cuisine.
We meet Corrado Rodio in his agritourism, Masseria Brancati, a place like none other in the world, which boasts a park of inestimable value with over 800 monumental olive trees, including “Il Grande Vecchio” [The Grand Old Man], thought to be one of the oldest olive trees in Apulia.
The plain in which your Masseria Brancati is located is known around the world as a sanctuary for ancient olive trees, some dating back as far as 3000 years to the time of the ancient Messapii. Can you tell us a bit more about this?
Yes, during archaeological digs conducted in the Messapian settlements, oil lanterns and olive pits were recovered from within the tombs. This demonstrates that the cultivation of olive trees dates back to the pre-Roman period. It was a small cultivation. They certainly produced for just their own needs. There weren’t actual plantations of olives, but where they found productive trees, these were then cared for. It’s possible that practiced grafting as it seems that the Roman “Salentina” variety, today “Ogliarola Salentina”, was already quite common.
And what era is your Masseria Brancati from, with its amazing underground olive mill?
The farm was built in different eras above an ancient underground olive mill. It was most likely a small natural cave which was subsequently enlarged, probably during the time of the Romans and then in the Middles Ages. Many flint fragments were found all around the farm, including one in particular: the fragment of a knife dating from the Upper Palaeolithic period (25-26,000 years ago), demonstrating a truly ancient human presence in this location.
A large press base demonstrates that olives were processed during the pre-Roman age, when true presses hadn’t yet been invented and pressing was performed using tables and large stones on stacks of diaphragms made from rope, straw, and twigs, where the olive paste was spread.
Two other, smaller, press bases date from the Roman Age, when they used fiscoli (filters) stacked in height and squeezed with the help of powerful presses.
The last expansion took place in the Middle Ages with the creation of eight new presses. The underground oil mill is a shrine to human effort, where people and animals lived and worked together, in shifts, day and night, for many months out of the year.
During the Middle Ages underground storage areas were built and, later, in the 1500s, a fortified tower which was expanded in the 1600s. A chapel with other additions, rooms, stables, a barn, and an oven were built in 1768 and a “modern” oil mill in 1880. This is where work stopped with the exception of a garage built in the 1940s, today used as our company store.
For how many years and generations has your family looked after this unique structure?
The farm was purchased at the start of the 1800s by my ancestors, I believe around 1820, so it has been my family’s property for close to 200 years. Obviously everyone produced oil on site. I’m the only one in the family who produced remotely, in a small cooperative, because I have enormous love and respect for this farm and I refused to build a new oil mill and restore the ancient one as I would like to leave my children and the following generations an authentic structure.
How many ancient olive trees does the park connected to the farm have and what era are they from?
The olive grove has about 1000 ancient olive trees, of these almost 800 have been declared “monumental” by the Apulia region. Most of these date back to the Roman Age and some are even older. The Roman plantation, as described by Roman agronomist Columella, is confirmed by the fact that they were planted at regular intervals of approximately 60 Roman feet, almost 17 linear meters. Meanwhile, the older trees have a more disorderly placement.
What kinds of plants are we talking about and what kind of oil do they produce?
The Ogliarola Salentina is the variety identified with the monumental olive trees. It was probably chosen because of its staggered ripening, which begins in October and ends in April. Given that processing at the time was very slow, this allowed for natural preservation of the product on the plant. The fruit is medium/small and creates an oil that is very fruity, bitter and spicy if the olives are harvested while green, and a very sweet oil if they are harvested when they are fully ripe.
You have a truly special olive tree among your plants, “Il Grande Vecchio”, the olive tree that many believe to be the absolute oldest in Apulia. Can you tell us a bit more about this natural gem?
That’s probably true, though it’s very difficult to identify the oldest plant. At the moment there are no scientific studies being conducted, but it’s thought to be 3000 years old, or maybe more. This is demonstrated by the fact that it is outside of the Roman rows, at its base it shows the skeleton of a pre-existing trunk, it is bent 90°, and it is held up by a pile of stones. But the most amazing thing is that it has twisted around itself horizontally three times, making it a truly unique specimen.
What do you and your family have to do every day to ensure that the authentic Italian patrimony which Masseria Brancati represents remains intact?
Cultivating ancient plants is hard work. We must be particularly careful while harvesting. We can’t use modern shakers because the main branches would break, so, to produce high quality oil, we use small pneumatic combs, which have much higher costs. Plus, we must monitor the trees daily. These plants have many enemies: insects like the olive fruit fly which can destroy the entire harvest in just a few days, moths, birds that eat the olives, wind that can break the branches, drought which consequently makes it easier for the plants to catch fire.
Another thing we do every day is to teach people what the characteristics of extra-virgin olive oil are. We try to disseminate the culture of oil, because the world is inundated by millions of litres of fake extra-virgin olive oil, which slashes the prices of real oil, causing olive groves, even monumental ones, to be abandoned by their owners.
We’re their caretakers, even though I like to think that, in a region as drought-ridden as Apulia, they have been the ones to ensure our livelihood for dozens of generations. Can you imagine how many adversaries these plants have had to face over the centuries and millennia? Right now we are fighting the greatest battle in their history, that against xylella… We hope to be victorious.
]]>What does Erbusco represent for the Moretti family and, more specifically, the Bellavista hill?
It’s our home, the place where we’re all together, the place that we always return to. Each of my three daughters has her own home on this hill. Valentina, who is an architect, even built one with a contemporary design.
What is Bellavista’s philosophy, both in the vineyard and in the cellar?
We have just one philosophy: excellence. In order to excel in the world of sparkling wines you must use exceptional raw ingredients for the production of your cuvée, choosing the best exposures and using artisan techniques to care for your vineyards, treating the process like an art. In addition to having an actual school that trains wine professionals, we’re experimenting with using horses for all of the elements of production that currently require machinery. We start with the grape and only the grape. If your standards for the grape are high, then you’re already half way there and you’ll be able to maximise the work in the cellar and even have fun with the oenologists, choosing from more than eighty selections every spring in order to produce each cuvée. I think that my daughter Francesca, an oenologist, chose this path precisely because she was so fascinated by the beauty of this occupation which manages to incorporate so many others: agriculture, business, craftsmanship, and even art. Because ultimately, producing a cuvée has a lot in common with creating art: there’s technique and experience, as well as interpretation. We value manual skill. Each gesture in Bellavista is not only the result of centuries of know-how, but of our daily commitment to excellence and to expressing, as much as possible, the human capacity to imprint something with our own personal touch of beauty.
L’Albereta opened in 1993 and has become an icon of the territory, synonymous with excellence, wellness, and exclusivity as well as, for years, a sanctuary of fine Italian cuisine thanks to the presence of chef Gualtiero Marchesi. In the past as well as now, what is L’Albereta’s predominant concept of hospitality?
It’s a concept of authentic hospitality, based on the knowledge that the meeting of individuals is a value capable of generating excellence. All of us, when we receive guests at home, give them the best of what we have and what we know how to do. We as Italians are particularly good at this. It’s something that’s been in our blood throughout history, something that we’ve inherited from the sophisticated civilisation that came before us. When we opened L’Albereta, in 1993, we had a very specific idea which my daughter, Carmen, now at the head of this sector, very skilfully knew how to actualise. We didn’t intend for it to be a hotel or a resort, and it’s still hard for us to call it that. We wanted it to be a home in which people would feel welcomed like special guests. A unique place with a strong identity, full of light and warmth and featuring harmonious design choices. Nothing standard. Everything tailor made, from the kitchen to the spa; from the rooms, each one decorated differently from the other, to the outdoor spaces with the vineyard and large garden characterised by a fitness path dotted with sculptures, ensuring that beauty is everywhere. This sense of hospitality gives us as hosts great pleasure. To this day it makes me happy when I go to L’Albereta and I see people peacefully enjoying their vacation, appreciating the view, the food, and the company of good wine. This region was born with the concept of celebratory and joyful wine. In fact, sparkling wine is the wine of joy. And today Franciacorta is just that: a region of happiness.
The Moretti family’s deep and authentic connection to Franciacorta continues, today, to be fuelled by a new gesture of love and gratitude towards this region: the creation of a foundation whose objective is the promotion of the values which define the identity of Franciacorta, with headquarters in the splendidly restored spaces of the Convento della Ss. Annunciata on Mont’Orfano, in Rovato. How was this institution born and what are its plans for the future?
The foundation was born in response to a challenging moment for the Order of the Friars which had lived in this special area of Franciacorta, on Mont’Orfano, since 1450. We’ve always had a privileged relationship with this structure due to our friendship with Father Sebastiano who, in the 1980s allowed us to cultivate one of his vineyards, actually the most beautiful of his vineyards, located on the southern side of the mountain. A vineyard that has produced an extraordinary wine which can hold its own against great French whites. Last year the friars decided to close the convent and leave its management to someone else, because Father Sebastiano was very old and no longer able to care for himself (sadly he passed away recently) and also because there were no longer vocations and that large building had been designed for a larger community. In the name of this friendship and as a thank you to those who allowed us to cultivate this special vineyard, my wife Mariella and I decided to take over management of the structure for the next twenty years. We did it through a foundation so that our purely cultural intention would be clear. This structure will remain true to its origins and will welcome travellers with a concept of sincere, sustainable, and spiritually comforting hospitality. This place already has everything one needs to be at peace with oneself and with others: nature, architectural beauty, silence, and, finally, good wine which, with every sip, embodies this region’s history and culture.
“That which guides our daily operations is, above all, an exhaustive propensity for excellence; the desire to create garments that are unique, genuinely and exclusively handmade, and that express authentic and timeless elegance. Our grandfather and father wrote important chapters in the history of the Neapolitan and Italian sartorial schools. We, of the family’s third generation, are aware that we guard a unique patrimony of know-how, a timeless concept of elegance which escapes the dialectic of fashion, in which we recognise a limitless community, made up of the most sophisticated men in the world. People who do not limit themselves to merely appreciating the aesthetics of the garments that they wear, but who possess the culture to understand the ethical significance of manual and personalised labour, the element which gives these garments their value. We are, and would like always to be, a stronghold, a bastion that protects artisan authenticity, diametrically opposed to standardisation and serialisation; without compromises, without shortcuts, fuelled exclusively by the pride that we feel everyday upon seeing garments that have a soul take shape in our workshops.”.
Massimiliano Attolini
“Consistent with our vision and our daily operations, we constantly shy away from the error of trivialisation or of falling into sterile or stereotypical clichés, preferring a language and a concept of narration that is meaningful, authentic, and timeless; capable of expressing our exclusivity and artisan excellence through an approach that is as full of aesthetic suggestions as it is relevant content. For over four years now, on occasion of the presentation of each of the two annual collections, we have thought to set the photographic representation of these collections in the fascinating locations in which the products of other outstanding protagonists of high quality Made in Italy goods come to life. And, after the photographs of the Spring-Summer 2019 collection, taken in the spectacular region of Versilia, known for the noble Carrara marble, with its big-little artistic workshops, for the Autumn-Winter 2019/20 collection we were inspired by the beauty of the Franciacorta region, known for its wine production and for the history of the Moretti family who wrote an important chapter in the transformation of the region and its wine into a prestigious Made in Italy product which is now admired around the world. Happy reading!”.
Giuseppe Attolini
It is a stylish boutique hotel, with an accurate, modern linear structure. Softly sophisticated rooms offer privacy and intimacy with floor-to-ceiling windows. A remarkable spa, offers top quality and bespoke treatments in a glamour oasis of well-being. Dalmazia Beach Club offers the ideal atmosphere for a delightful and authentic experience. A contemporary restaurant at the panoramic roof is submerged in an ambiance endowed with a modern and unique elegance.
A Michelin star in recognition of excellence for Valentino Cassanelli, Executive Chef at the Lux Lucis, Principe Forte dei Marmi gourmet restaurant. An expression of great creativity, continual innovation and recognised talent, his cuisine is an undisputed icon of Tuscan and Italian gastronomic tradition.
“Mine is free expression of Italian cuisine. Promotion of Italy as an ambassador of taste and at the same time the character of mindful cuisine with strong personality. My story is hidden in what I cook. Lux Lucis is our force, our team and our destination.
I honestly have no idea what my next goals are! I am continuing to work on my team and on constant growth of an ambitious project that shows great potential in terms of the most prestigious awards. However, its prime objective is always the satisfaction of each and every diner who sits at one of our tables”, tell us with passion Valentino Cassanelli.
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Another important piece is the 5-metre tall statue we created in Bianco Carrara marble for the sculptor Paolo Cavallo, transported to the Vatican in Rome and depicting the Saint Giovanni Leonardi.
We continue to collaborate with a great many famous international artists, including Richard Erdman, for example on a work measuring 3 metres that next year will be sent to Kaohsiung in Taiwan.
An enormous sculpture made of 5 blocks of granite will also be delivered to Virginia for Larry Kirkland, for whom we have completed two projects: a monument dedicated to Martin Luther King in black granite, delivered to Atlantic City and another for the American Red Cross in Bianco Carrara marble and red granite, installed in Washington.
Unfortunately in 2012 we lost an important mainstay: Paolo Grassi. Despite missing him, we continue to complete pieces for external sculptors and Silvio Santini and Mario Fruendi also continue to work on their own pieces, taking part in international exhibitions.
]]>“Our horizon, what guides us every day, is what defines the limits of excellence and knowledge, intended as the culture of knowhow. It is what takes shape thanks to the painstaking work of our tailors’ hands and becomes unique garments that however all share the same striving for perfectionism, for absolutely authentic tailoring. Our grandfather and our father wrote important chapters of the history of the Neapolitan and Italian school of tailoring.
We know that we, the representatives of the third generation of our family, preserve unique knowhow, an idea of beauty and elegance that is timeless, that transcends the dialectic of fashion, in which a community without borders composed of the world’s most refined men recognizes itself.
Men who not only appreciate the aesthetics of the garments they wear, but also the ethic of manual, customised creation, which reflects their value. We are and will always be a stronghold, a bastion in defence of authenticity, of taking your time, against standardisation and serialisation. Without compromise, without shortcuts, fuelled solely by the pride of seeing our tailor-made garments take shape every day, garments that have a soul”.
Massimiliano Attolini
“It is precisely for these reasons that we constantly shy away from the error of banalising or running into sterile and stereotyped clichés, for these reasons that we have chosen to communicate using pregnant, authentic, timeless language.
Capable of expressing our exclusivity and excellence through a narrative approach loaded with suggestion and inspiration but also with relevant content. For the last four years, each time we have presented our twice-yearly style collections, we have chosen to set our photo shoots in fascinating places, places where other outstanding, authentic, very high quality Italian products come to life.
And so, for our Spring-Summer 2019 collection, we were attracted by the appeal of an iconic location, famous for its marble, unique the world over, and the birthplace of some of the most famous sculptures that history has ever seen: Carrara, with its quarries, its artisan workshops and artists’ studios that also spill over into the nearby town of Pietrasanta. A tale dense with natural, scenic and artistic beauty. Happy reading”.
Giuseppe Attolini
Cesare Attolini brings its timeless elegance to the economic and financial capital of Italy, choosing historic Via Bagutta and one of its most symbolic cultural heritage listed buildings.
The nineteenth-century premises now housing the boutique are in Milan’s fashion district, at 14-16 Via Bagutta, the ‘birthplace’ in 1926 of Italy’s oldest literary prize: the “Premio Bagutta”.
Enormous effort was required to restore the interiors to their original layout and to coherently integrate the new parts that had been added over the years. The first and third rooms have in fact seen renovation of their exposed wooden ceilings, restoration of works by Bagutta-era artists and painters and conservation of the wall displaying the literary prizes. The huge decorated skylight has been rebuilt in the second room, while the last, formerly a garden used for private meetings, has been made even more exclusive than the others, perfect for welcoming guests with the utmost discretion and in maximum comfort.
Existing decorative elements have been restored to preserve the most glorious, authentic evidence of the past in this truly original retail outlet, such as the load-bearing granite columns and steps in Beola and Serizzo stone. The floors are in a Venetian Terrazzo Palladiana, a multi-colour marble chip with an elegantly patterned border, and the last room features an inlay in oak.
A commemorative plaque testifies to the great cultural significance these premises hold:
In this room, on the evening of 11 November 1926, the “Premio Bagutta”, the oldest literary prize in Italy, was established, taking its name from the Bagutta restaurant that was on these premises. Thanks to the convivial atmosphere, the composition of the jury, and consistency in the choice of the winning genres (poetry, narrative and essays), the nature of the prize and the love of beautiful literature have remained unaltered down through the years. Over time, the restaurant became a popular meeting place for artists, painters and literati; today, Cesare Attolini has taken over these premises and given them new life, leaving the plaque above as testimony to the illustrious names in Italian literature who have won the “Premio Bagutta”.
“We waited a long time before opening a boutique in Milan,” says Massimiliano Attolini, “because we didn’t want just any old address, but one of excellence, one that reflected our positioning capable of asserting important symbolic relevance. When the opportunity arose of buying the premises that for so many years hosted the Premio Bagutta, we did not hesitate for a moment. Because, in addition to the distinctive aesthetics of the first “Neapolitan-style” deconstructed jacket, conceived and created in 1932 by our grandfather Vincenzo and perfected over the years by our father Cesare, our values also include the ethics of knowledge and knowhow.”
“It has all been devised to communicate that timeless elegance that has always made us stand out. Each piece of furnishing is unique, produced by skilled Italian master craftsmen, just like every one of our garments. All our single-brand boutiques are characterised by a shared style approach, and yet each one is unique, designed to express our personality while adapting to its surroundings. In exactly the same way that each of our pieces of tailoring adapts to the physique of the individual client,” explains Giuseppe Attolini.
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“They raised pigs, chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks and silk worms. They milked cows, planted poplars, tied bundles of wood and grew watermelons, wheat, melica and vegetables. In the winter they cured pork using the age-old methods.Then they took contracts to clear the roads of snow, they started a ferry service across the Po to the Cremona side and even began making concrete blocks! And all this around here and on the farm where our father was born in 1916. So how could we let all that disappear? When we were finally able to buy the place in 1990, it was almost in ruins! The only really significant restoration work dates back to 1550; at the end of the 18th century Marie Louise, the Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla (as well as being the wife of Napoleon) garrisoned her frontier guards, the “Dragons”, here to protect the flourishing river traffic and lowered the towers by one storey. From 1850 the Corte was divided into small dwellings and used by peasants, fishermen, carters and craftsmen. No-one was interested in it any more, the Po changed its course and took it over: it ended up in the bed of the river, that flooded it every now and then! And now here we are! It seems like a dream, but it’s real: we’ve done it. The unique cellars where the Marquesses Pallavicino cured their pork are full of culatelli once again, the old cheese maturing room has resumed its old function, the ice house and the prison have emerged from the mud and the frescoes have been restored to their former splendour, the hearths burn poplar logs and on the first floor the warm and comfortable rooms are ready to receive discerning guests,” the Chef-Patron continues, his overwhelming passion clear.
“Almost twenty years have passed, but here we are surrounded by all the memories of our family and it was with this awareness that we worked on it, restoring it step by step the way that a mother would have cared for the development of her new-born baby: gently and with masses of attention, involving all the craftsmen of the area who are still masters of the old skills, using bricks from the same era, and wood from the poplars and oak trees of the same lands! Now there is a new challenge, no less difficult than the previous one! To make people aware of this place that is linked to its people, its products and its land and to bring it back to life.”