For the Love of Italy

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FOR THE LOVE OF ITALY

Rural Pleasures and Hotel Estates

by Marella Caracciolo

Photography:  Oberto Gili

The pleasures of farm life, as most of the people featured in this book can tell you, are found in the details of everyday living:  the smells, the tastes, the long walks in the woods; picking berries in summer, seeking mushrooms in winter; being aware of the sun and the moon at all  time of day and night.  Sitting in front of a crackling fire, sipping a glass of wine, and cooking chestnuts on the burning coals.  

—excerpt, For the Love of Italy, Rural  Pleasures and Hotel Estates

More images from Oberto Gili:

See more of Oberto Gili's work 
(including a tour of his own studio and home) 
in his book:

Home Sweet Home

Sumptuous and Bohemian Interiors

Gili's passion for the grand, bold and quirky granted him access to the inner sanctums of both high society and the bohemian demimonde.  The selection includes numerous homes of French and Italian nobility, lords of the European and American creative class, and the photographer's own remarkable Piedmont farmhouse. –excerpt from the publisher

The images that I am now realizing in the studio... sixty nature-fantasy plates of fruits, flowers, vegetables, and the female form, mixed with tropical insects and butterflies — is a book on natural history for kids and grown-ups, Mon jardin, monde enchant, by André Grangeon (1948) that my mother gave me when I was five years old.  I am using the gum bi-chromate printing method, a nineteenth-century technique for creating a painterly color image from a black-and-white negative.  It is a combination of two media, camera and brush, and the joint work of the eyes and the hands.  —Oberto Gili (excerpt from Home Sweet Home, Sumptuous and Bohemian Interiors)

images 1-5 For the Love of Italy;  6-10:  Oberto Gili website; 11: Home Sweet Home

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Serendipity, España Style

I was recently awarded the Stylish Blogger award by several of my peers and I am honored by their recognition. —Thank you Delores, Kathy, Mona, Lulu and Pam!–  As part of the protocol, you are asked to share a bit about yourself.  However, I decided that since I already have an entire page devoted to moi,  I would break the rules a bit and instead share a little about my lovely daughter, Alex.   Inspired by this recent photo of her and her boyfriend and seeing as how today is the day for all things amore,  it seems appropriate to share how their romance came to be:

Alex graduated from UCLA with a major in linguistics and a minor in anthropology.  She has loved the Italian culture from a young age  –teaching herself to speak Italian when she was just 10 years old– so it was quite a surprise to everyone when she elected instead to focus on Spanish linguistics in college.

Shortly after graduation, she learned about an opportunity to teach English in Spain for a year and decided it would be a fun and educational experience. After a tedious process involving a mountain of red-tape and numerous delays – so much so that she almost gave up on going– it was finally determined she would be living and teaching in the city of Jaén.

We hadn't heard of Jaén before, but soon learned that the province is located in the Andalusian region and is recognized as the World Capital of Olive Oil, -producing an astounding 20% of the world's total production  —more than the entire country of Greece!   —Who knew?

Anyway, shortly after Alex's arrival in Jaén, she hit it off with a friendly British guy named Ali, the only other native English-speaking teacher at her school. 

Meanwhile, Alessio, born and raised in Palermo (Sicily) and studying law, has come to Jaén to attend school via the Erasmus Study Programme.  (And by the way, —yes. We have three derivatives of the same name converging in one story here.)

As Alessio tells the story, he had already seen Alex and Ali about town (two tall blondes in a Latin city–  hard to miss) and assumed they were boyfriend and girlfriend.  So when Ali and Alex appeared at his door in answer to his ad for a roommate, he was both pleased to meet the blonde girl who had caught his eye, but disappointed that his assumption had been correct – obviously she was there helping her boyfriend find a place to live.

Despite this, Alessio did end up selecting Ali to be his roommate and, of course, once Ali moved in, it didn't take long before the real story came to light.  Alessio and Alex began dating soon after and the rest, as they say, is history.  That was 2008 and they have been together as much as possible since then with Alex flying over to Italy as often as she can manage it and Alessio visiting Los Angeles whenever he can break away from his ongoing studies and exams.

Needless to say, Alex has happily re-immersed herself in the Italian language and culture she has always loved.  She has been graciously embraced by Alessio's wonderful family and we think the world of Alessio —we could not ask for a more generous, considerate and caring soul to be in Alex's life.

So many things fell into place for the Southern Italian boy to meet the Southern California girl...forces of destiny at play it would seem.  I mean really, who'd have guessed that majoring in Spanish and living in Spain was leading Alex right back to her beloved Italia?! 

. . .

Image by Andrea Cusumano: 
Alex and Alessio walking through Ortigia (Italy) January 2011 

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To link to the awards page and visit the blogs of the lovely people who have recognized linen & lavender, click AWARDS

To learn more about Jaén, here is a video that includes some beautiful footage of the region:.  "Un bosque único en el mundo"  (Note:  Hang in there -or fast forward-  about a minute and a half in, a longer segment begins with Spanish guitar music in the background and an interesting segment showing an olive tree harvest.)

MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS:

L'Auberge Espagnole (The Spanish Apartment)

One of Alex's favorite films, it was born from the cultural phenomenon surrounding the Erasmus Study Progamme and the experiences of  young European students living on their own for the first time.     

Sequel to L'Auberge Espagnole:

Russian Dolls

And finally, a well-known poem I never tire of:

 i carry your heart with me by E. E. Cummings

...with a special dedication and best wishes to Alex and Alessio —and anybody else who is far away from the one they love this Saint Valentine's Day.    xoxo ~

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

. . . . .

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see Alex's Picks  in the emporium

Missing my home away from home...

...Italia on my mind today.

                                                       

                                

image via:  Marie Claire Maison

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Another inspiring image...

...Torrecchia 

Garden Designer:  Stuart Barfoot

Image:  Maison Francaise - Photographer:  Alexandre Bailhache

Stuart is a man after my own heart to be sure.  I love his design aesthetic.  Romantic and rambling, it is one awe-inspiring vignette after another.  Really breath-taking.  Skillfully hidden is the planning and dedication it takes to achieve a garden such as this...orchestrating the seemingly effortless balance between architecture and nature, order and chaos.  

Bravo, Maestro Barfoot.  Bravo! 

P.S.  When can I come for a visit?

linen & lavender

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You might also like:  Dream a little dream...

Design Daily - Tuscany Interiors

Tuscany Interiors

linen & lavender

           Other books you might enjoy:

Italian Country Living 

..

(us) ~ (uk) ~ (ca) ~ (fr) ~ (de) ~ (it) ~ (es)

Italian Rustic 

(us) ~ (uk) ~ (ca) ~ (fr) ~ (de) ~ (it) ~ (es)

Restoring a Home in Italy 

(us) ~ (uk) ~ (ca) ~ (fr) ~ (de) ~ (it) ~ (es)

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The Simple Life

Tuscany Interiors

Podere La Casina - This farmhouse is the traditional refuge in summer and winter of the family that purchased the property many years ago.  Lovers of the simple life, they take refuge in this rustic hideaway with its splendid views of the surrounding countryside, where the sun climbs and descends in the silent splendor of a natural environment.  Around them grow the olive trees and vines that yield the olive and wine they share with the many friends they have made in the area.  Part of the estate has been left as woodland, which helps to keep the climate cool in the summer and mild in winter...  -excerpt from page 104, Tuscany Interiors

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A journey into harmony.

Photographer:  Gianni Berengo Gardin

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Design Daily - Ville and Casali

A cozy guest bedroom tucked away above the living room.

Designed by:  Massimo Prestini

Brescia, Italy

VILLE and CASALI

Magazine

Love the layers of texture in this home.  

The old walls, leather chaise, creamy soft pillows and rugs. 

linen & lavender

see our new site:
www.linenlavenderlife.com