I love Italy the way so many people in the blogging world love Paris; but it is a slightly withered affection.
It is the type of fondness you feel for someone you used to fancy but you knew would only end up in heartbreak and endless attempts of breaking up trying to free yourself from the dysfunctional co-dependency before you finally regain your senses.
I toyed with the idea of moving there 10 years ago and spent a good chunk of a summer there to gain a feel of how things work if you wanted to do more than order pasta and get a suntan. I didn't get much more done than that and luckily I have never really considered it again.
Does this nearly 1000 year old fresco look familiar to you?
Well it should for Grand Design fanatics because this was the fresco that was the inspiration for one of my favourite heartwarming episodes ever. ( The link is in Russian but serious fans will know which one I mean!)
Italy is as some will refer to as France in a good mood.
I always refer to it as the useless friend who always screws things up and turns up late but they always get away with murder because they are so damn good looking and charming.
My excuse is that my command of the Italian language is very poor so misunderstandings are inevitable but there is a reason why despite the beautiful and blessed topography, gastronomy, and culture the emigration rates are one of the highest in the world.
Why is it that an unfinished wall in the bedroom I stayed in Gallipoli, Puglia is so charming and yet in my downstairs loo I lose the will to live?
How is this makeshift simple kitchen so much more desirable than any bespoke concoction that a Somerset carpenter comes up with?
Why are these religious iconography by the stove so charming and yet I am suspicious of superstitious brainwashing of any symbolism in London?
Why do I want to be a part time fisherwoman and contemplate a whole new existence in Italy?
Is it because the bait used in catching the fish is on par with the daily special at Nobu?
I always wonder how people ever get anything done with such beauty that surrounds them all - the - time?!
I could never get anything done.
I find my lapsed religion so fascinating in Italy but it might be all the Dolce Gabbana accroutrements.
The majolica tiles and ornaments that look like earrings but 30 times in scale.
And then I see the holy ghost.
Not that I am a mystic but this...
Excuse my French but I was literally like - Holy shit.
Freaked me out.
And you didn't even have to be there to really "get it".
But religion is very much alive in Puglia more than the northern parts of Italy.
The local priest was like a rock star and the locals all stopped him to grab a few words.
But the truth is that there is a lot that Italy is about that people don't think that might even associate with Italy but then again these types of buildings don't get instagrammed.
Truth is Puglia, a province of southern Italy has become rather poor or rather stayed that way.
Not everyone lives in deserted former palazzos.
Many places look like the sets on Game of thrones where princesses sulk and saunter about aimlessly waiting to get married.
I feel that no one can possibly have everything and indeed that applies to countries too.
Lecce has two ancient amphitheatres dating back to the Roman empire yet hardly any employment.
Italy is very much the descendant of wealthy forebears that are living on the remains of a former grand estate who is looking to sell their family silver next.
But then you forget about the Italian banking woes and the fact that the ATM's are only being refilled once every other day when you see still lifes like this.
This was a side street in Lecce right infant of a upholsterer.
As I said when I put this on my Instagram feed -
things like this seem to happen naturally whereas the rest of us mortals and professionals who work at magazines like World of Interiors seem to have meetings about it.
More vestiges of a grand past.
Lecce rhymes with the Italian word for 'luce' which means light.
I think it very apt.
This was just a place for guests to sit while having a pizza.
Were you into the Da Vinci code?
Well this is one of the signs left by the Crusaders on their way up or down to the Holy Land.
Lecce was one of their pitstops.
If I were an artist like this painter,
I could imagine setting up shop but if my aunt were a man she would be my uncle if you get my drift.
But you can't help but feel artistic and in touch with one's right brain when even windows entrance your senses.
No surprise to regular readers that this antique shop blew my mind in so many ways.
The owner was lovely and working on a piece he was preparing. It seems that a lot of northern Italian dealers come to this town to search for treasures unappreciated.
Lecce has a particular limestone that is very carvable and the city uses the material to its best characteristic.
Yes I know Florence and Rome are beautiful and they deserve every accolade but Lecce is a neglected beauty.
Have a lovely weekend x
To love Italy is to be infused with the entire culture and lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteI'm completely infused and would not change it for the world.
You can have France...Italy rules in my heart !!!
Brilliant post !!!!!
We will have to share Italy between the two of us then Marsha!
DeleteWow, gorgeous photos! Thanks for sharing these, it was like being there!
ReplyDeleteThanks Louise - hope you are enjoying Sweden and have an extra fika for me!
DeleteOh, utterly enchanting and a place I'd dearly love to visit the next time I'm in Italy. The furthest south I've been is Florence and Pisa. Your photographs look so much like places in Greece and Cyprus I visited during my youth. Makes me want to fly there right now.
ReplyDeleteThe "Holy Ghost" would have freaked me out too, yikes!
I think the reason it look so much like Greece is because it was the oldest Greek colony and did you know the dialect in southern Puglia - the Salento - they spoke ancient greek!!! So I met a few people who studied ancient greek and it was so easy for them. It is crazy to think it stayed alive for thousands and was still alive in Puglia but dead in Greece!
DeleteThis is a wonderful post. I can only imagine how Italy draws you back again and again. Especially coming from England - I think Italy has been trying to convince Londoners for time immemorial to come on down. And yet. As you say. We cannot live on patina alone.
ReplyDeleteItaly is so fabulous and yet people leave and London isn't great and yet we all live here? There is no logic.
DeleteGreat photos in this roundup. I think Italy is beautiful but I agree with your assessment. I think it's like an extremely good-looking man--I would never really trust him! A close friend of mine is from Sicily and I constantly ask her why she left Italy to come live in Brooklyn. We have a good laugh about that. I'm sure she will move back some day and I can't wait to go visit her! xx
ReplyDeleteSicily is more drastically beautiful and has its own unique dysfunction! but I must love Sicily so much and now I only really bother with the South bc the Italian essence is stronger there xx
DeleteSo much beauty to behold but as you point out, so many contradictions.
ReplyDeleteYour comments hit the mark, including in particular "lost the will to live" & "no country has it all".
Den xx
Scotland always says rightly that if the sun shone there the whole world would move there! I always say I wish Melbourne was located where even Beirut was so I could go on thh weekends- absolutely ridiculous suppositions! LOL xx
DeleteFirstly, I have to say that Ku Klux Klan figure in the church is freaky in every sense. It would scare the kids, surely?? Nightmares about attending church...so funny that the Priest is like a rock star in the town.
ReplyDeleteI think Italy is a bit like Greece with the ancient artefacts and evidence of good living from a very long time ago now fallen on harder times. That is the charm. The patina. If it was all shiny and tarted up, I think the appeal would not be so high in a lot of ways perhaps?
Did not know that about the Crusaders stopping there, but now I do I think I'll put it on the to travel list. As an aside my husband's great-grandfather was obsessed with Italy at the turn of last Century. He spent literally years there (well, travel was slow and they didn't seem to have a problem leaving their kids behind for 3 years at a stretch unlike these days where a weekend away strikes guilt into most parents), and then renovated his house to turn it into an Italian Villa in Australia on his return. Not a drop of actual Italian blood in the family, but clearly he strongly identified with it.
The KKK oddly got its cloaks from the Muslims who lent the covering to teh Catholics. The priests were kings I tell you - I bet it was even more so in teh middle ages. Things like that are such a culture shock. What is the allure of patina? Yes if the columns were tarted up then I can name some Melbourne suburbs with spanking new columns out the front of houses ;P Puglia was a huge pit stop due to location and there are quite a few buildings and so much specific history relating to this. Otranto where the 1000 year old tiles are is only 40 miles to Albania so they had traders since time immemorial. The Victorians were so different to the culture now - I can't even imagine - peopel might even call social services now!! Gallipoli the little islet I spent a week on was the OPEC of the 15th century bc they made olive oil lamps. I am biased but skip the rest - book Puglia and Sicily. Umbria and Perugia while nice just pale in comparison - sorry to any Umbrians and Perugians!
DeleteYou always write so beautifully and in such a thought provoking manner! I have never visited Italy but sensed some of what you describe (both the good and the bad) in conversation with people who have migrated here from there. I have a feeling I would have great difficulty adapting to Italian life even if I were only there for a short holiday... such a beautiful place though.
ReplyDeleteSSG xxx
italy does take getting used to and only after spending time there do you realize why people might consider leaving such a place! xx
DeleteHave always loved Italy - we've visited so many times over the years and even studied Italian in Florence. So fabulous, its natural beauty. Places like Lake Como and the mountains, even more picturesque when snowcapped and reflected in the gorgeous blues of the lake, the gardens along the shores, the villas and villages; Tuscany and rolling hills with their olive trees, vineyards and forests, gorgeous clusters of cypresses along the ridges, old villas and rustic farms, crumbling hill towns; the Amalfi Coast - terrifying roads along the spectacular coast, islands like jewels or inland to enchanting villages like Ravello; Sicily a dream place (so beautiful and so varied, its countryside, coastline, architecture, villages, islands, volcanoes) - or a sinister nightmare, if you think about the Mafia and their tentacles everywhere. The cities - so rich in history, culture and the arts, fashion and style - Milan, Florence, Venice, Rome, Naples, Palermo etc.
ReplyDeleteBut would never want to live there - the Mafia so pervasive and secret, the culture of tax evasion and avoidance of responsibility, the culture where appearance, the bella figura, is what counts rather than reality. The class system and the Italian Mamma. - The English daughter of an old friend was semi-engaged to a young guy she adored. He invited her home to his dragon mother's castello in Puglia to meet her. Mamma didn't approve. She opened my friend's daughter's suitcase before she'd even unpacked and examined everything she'd brought. Without permission. Then told her she had nothing suitable to wear. This was a well educated beautiful well mannered girl who spoke Italian fluently (she'd studied fine arts at university in Rome) and who'd been educated at Princess Anne's former school in England. But mamma (a widow) made her disapproval of the match clear at every opportunity. Her family were friends of the former Italian royal family. Mamma put this lovely girl down constantly. Finally the girl gave up - she couldn't fight mamma. So, attractive and charming as many Italian men can be, mamma may be a disincentive to marriage.
So interesting to see Lecce - looks wonderful - sounds as though you had a marvellous holiday! Best wishes, Pammie
yes Florence is where modern Italian is actually the local dialect of so most tend to learn in Florence although they have a certain accent. Florence is the city I first visited in Italy and for that I will always have a soft spot for it. I have just finished GOmorrah which is about the mafia in Naples and even though it seems like a show the truth is far more outrageous. Drug dealing and prostitution are now 7% of Italian GDP - things are so dire they have to put in numbers to prop figures out - who knows just how far reach the tentacles are? Yes the anglo saxon culture won't really be esteemed to a Southern Italian - totally different value and culture. Mama will always always win!
DeleteHave you read Peter Robb's "Midnight in Sicily" (2007) - a brilliant book about Sicily - especially remarkable in analysing the origins and operations of the Mafia there and in Naples, but also about food, the countryside, history etc. After reading I felt such admiration for the immensely brave and honourable judges, in fact great heroes - Falcone and Borsellino - who took such a strong stand in Mafia investigations and trials - and were both assassinated.
DeleteAs we were being driven into Palermo from the airport the taxi stopped in traffic along the highway. It was getting dark but as I looked around I saw just outside the window the memorial marking the spot where Giovanni Falcone, his wife, bodyguard and driver were all killed when the Mafia exploded a bomb under the highway. Our taxi was stopped on what would have been the exact spot. It was one of those moments when you feel an emotional jolt and connection to horrific events from the past.
Yes, the Florentine locals do have a certain accent - but the teachers at the school (Istituto Michelangelo) were really expert and I don't think they had a strong local accent. Sadly have forgotten so much. Used to be able to maintain conversations in Italian - now I struggle, dimentico tutti, perche mio marito et io, non siamo giovane.
Just this evening "The Great Beauty" was on the box again. I LOVE this movie! It's beauty, originality, honesty, compassion for human frailties, satire, exploration of life, elegiac quality - and a gentle melancholy broken up with moments of quirky humour. It constantly surprises. Now after having seen it maybe five or six times, I look forward to so many different scenes/dialogues. Brilliant editing and use of cutting techniques - and the music, wonderful, mysterious and haunting. Love the actor who plays Gep Gambardella - and the extraordinary range of characters, including the Mother Teresa figure, who inhabit this movie. Pammie xx
Yes I read that and for a time read so many books about Italy when I thought I would like to move there. Even though some say it is a myth - the figures show that they are an influence everywhere. When my friends and I were in Siciliy, the local mayor and about 6 other businessmen had a meeting in the pool getting in the way of our game of water polo. Of course the reason for meetings in water is so that no one can use a wire effectively.
DeleteI watched the movie too and it shows a certain tribe in Rome very well. Just as "I am love" shows a similar yet northern tribe equivalent. If you haven't already you should watch it! x
Yes, have also read many books about Italy. The thought of living there briefly crossed my mind too - but much as I love it - I couldn't live there. (Also not practical from Oz - much easier from the US or UK to live part of the time in Italy and part elsewhere. Those who do similar, maybe France not Italy, from here usually give up after about five years - unless they're originally from that country.) Even Frances Mayes, that great enthusiast for Tuscany, had a scary experience down the track when she received a very sinister warning after complaining about the decibels from some kind of club that started up near her home outside Cortona.
DeleteYes, have seen "I am love" - Tilda Swinton was brilliant. It kind of had resonances of Evelyn Waugh's "Handful of Dust" - though very different location and culture etc. Also saw more recently "A Bigger Splash" (three stars - not brilliant or worth repeat viewings but still good for one) with Tilda as a David Bowie-esque singer, on an island off Sicily I think. More about the international jet set from the entertainment world than Italy - though visually magnificent settings and beautiful cinematography - and touched on recent conditions with the boat arrivals of refugees. As usual she played the role so well. Her sunglasses were fab, specially made for the movie perhaps. Couldn't find them any where in Paris. Off to see Ab Fab movie today.
PS have a good story about the Mafia from my Italian hairdresser (who comes originally from Sicily) - and what people there do to avoid the ever-present Mafia attention and demands for the pizzo, I think it's called. There are shops in Palermo that have little stickers on the window saying they are pizzo-free. Bought a great hat from one. Pammie
Enjoy Ab Fab, I might see it next week too Pammie!!!!
DeletePammie. N. You girls need to start up a tour with yourselves as guides. I could listen to you waxing lyrical and philosophizing for weeks. Love your work xx
DeleteI've only been to Naples (and Capri) in Italy and came away underwhelmed and so have never gone back. However this fall we'll spend a good bit of time there as we have 2 weeks split between Vienna, Venice, and Rome. Can't wait!! :)
ReplyDeleteI have only been to Naples in passing on the way to Capri and from the Amalfi but people say that it is amazing but you need a proper local guide otherwise I had the worst taxi ride ever plus after having watched Gomorrah I am scared! You are going to fall in love with Rome and Vienna. Venice splits and I can't wait to hear what you think about it all!
DeleteHello CSW, Incredible that there are places like that with so many treasures to seemingly throw away. Of course, in America, cities with few such treasures seem especially eager to get rid of them immediately, a sad situation for visitors a thousand or so years in the future.
ReplyDelete--Jim
IN Italy I still can not get used to seeing some Roman ruins and they aren't even marked! As if it is just another ruin more than 2000 years old and they are so blasé about it. I have been to cities where a ten story building with a view is considered a landmark! ( It was in Utah...) I do wonder what will stand the test of time in even a hundred years the way our immediate generations up and down have become with disposability and it might be the same stuff we go to fly and see now Jim!
DeleteJust catching up on your comments - We seem to have the opposite problem here in Oz. Here they are so quick to heritage list potential 'treasures' that they'll slap one on a 30-40 year old building. Our New Parliament House, completed in the 80's has one, as well as office towers completed in the 70's. We seem to be in a rush to protect Architecture in a country with very little built history.
DeleteI am not sure if it is a modern affliction but they are having huge issues with that here too. They listed Trellick Towers in Ladbroke Grove - it is that brutalist council block if you remember and of course I am not sure if it is because many Sloanes have moved in that they want to mark it with some sort of prestige? But with listing comes responsibility. An ordinary window is not allowed and putting in central heating requires months and months of planning so it seems like a poisoned chalice to be honest. In Asia, some places refuse the "honour" of being a Unesco world heritage sight for similar reasons. It seemed like a great idea but then it seems to impede advancement in other ways. We are having a huge uproar in the area bc there is going to be another skyscraper by Renzo but it is a split issue bc some are saying they don't want anything new and yet people are blaming others for being pathologically attached to the past. It's quite the reoccurring problem here!
DeleteYes, I find the debate in the UK fascinating - that book on the Terrys I read last year was interesting with Prince Charles firmly in their camp, and of course he's been a very unfashionable advocate for traditional architectural styles. And they have most of the Architectural elite off side in the UK. I remember those towers in Ladbroke Grove... Honestly there is such an elitist viewpoint in Architecture where it's all about sculpture and modernity and you have to be educated to understand the theory behind it all. Completely forget how the building actually relates to humans on their scale... anyway. Sorry, completely off topic, but I do find it so interesting that buildings so new are listed like this.
DeleteNo topics segue on H as we all know :)! I am a boring centrist so I like a balance of these things in terms of types and examples of old and new. Of course there are layers of cultural subtext bc one of the main gripes for instance about Trellick being listed was that in fact the lifts rarely worked and as it was the brutalist school of the UK age - the utilities were on the parallel annex tower connected by a bridge which made things harder and very expensive to fix. It is an eyesore that one gets used to but now that most of the occupants are Sloanes who bought into the area people were outraged that only now it is listed whereas there are plenty of other brutalist buildings around London that aren't listed and are being pulled down so then these lateral issues complicated everything. Prince Wales has valid points but just by default or virtue of being a future monarch - people can't help but be biased either way on what he says over here.I love Zaha but do those waves and odd roofs really maximise sq foot in London? I do love Georgian architecture above all else but their lack of including a proper bathroom in their floorplans doesn't really work for our modern need/want for ensuites so it all gets muddied when it is aesthetic vs utility.
DeleteFunny how Ab Fab movie has caught up with one of latest London building trends of excavating deeper basements for pools etc! Have you seen it yet? Pammie again
DeleteITALIA!
ReplyDeleteYOU KNOW I LEFT MY HEART THERE............I being the AMERICAN didNOT want to come back to the STATES.After three years of soaking it ALL UP I was SMITTEN and TOTALLY in LOVE!The rest of THE WORLD has A LOT to learn from ITALY...............LOve your FAMILY and YOUR FOOD.
I love and adore Italy but truth be told if it were to actually living - I would choose LA!!!
DeleteI'm glad to see Italy get some blog press over France. Gorgeous. There is a concerning lack of pasta in this post though. Can we see more of what's in the antique store? Glad you had such a lovely trip!
ReplyDeletePasta all went to my stomach - I had so much even for my standards but I had to take a break for a bit when I got back. They don't use much garlic in Puglia so after awhile I was kinda going crazy. Yes I shall share a few more pics there at the end of the month - there were some "bargains" but still pricey.
DeleteSome lovely Kodak moments Naomi and I was curious to understand what the possible lows could be, but I understand. On another notes it is interesting that things that bother you or you refuse to accept at home is quite insignificant when you're abroad and I don't know why - maybe you'll be content with your unfinished decor in the loo now xx
ReplyDeleteIt is funny bc the builder came to plaster over the bit in the loo today in fact but I gotta say I am so over it and I don't really even see it now! xx
DeleteBrought back so many memories of trips to Italy - autostrada toll takers not having change so they gave you your choice of chiclets (chewing gun) or little candies; no negotiated coffee/bathroom breaks for museum workers, so they'd go on strike CIOPPERO! for an hour or two in sympathy with abused workers in various other parts of the world and not let people into the museum or garden - and beauty, beauty, beauty everywhere.
ReplyDeleteMy Italian isn't fancy, picked it up in Noo Yawk from waiters and friends' immigrant grandmas, and after being treated like a serf on the run when I tried to buy a scarf in Gucci/Florence, I developed this rule: for good service, north of Rome, speak French. BTW still have the scarf and it's gorgeous, silk crepe, mille fleurs on black background.
Think Ferragamo must train its employees better. About six years ago when buying a scarf in the Florence store (agree, Italian designer scarves really are lovely - often a little bit more flamboyant than French, except for Lacroix) they were so kind and even asked whether I'd like to see the store museum. It was really interesting - their historic collection over the years. Including shoes made of unusual materials during WWII when they didn't have access to normal supplies. Also showed the lasts and pictures of shoes they'd made for luminaries like Sophia Loren, Marilyn Monroe etc.
DeleteBut I do know what you mean - once in Sorrento (after having attended Italian classes in Florence so I was able to speak a reasonable amount of Italian at the time) the assistant in a small costume jewellery store looked so sour and bored and followed me around looking grim and disapproving. So I turned to her and said "qui e morto?" (at least that's what I think I said - have forgotten so much grammar/vocab) - who died? She looked startled and then burst out laughing and from then on was really very nice. It was usually the dolly bird girls who were so sniffy - usually the older women were pleasant and helpful. Pammie
That is a very good tip WFF! You gotta laugh about Italian tales as long as you aren't stuck there!!
DeleteWFF - your quip would have been very refreshing especially in southern Italy where social codes are a little more strict that in Australia! :)
Not sure how much French the Northern Italian shopgirls speak? Discovered how lots of Italians will say they speak English when really they have only a few words. Suspect it might be similar with speaking French as well.
DeleteSome French sales staff on the other hand really do have an amazing command of languages. Was in Galeries Layette one day waiting for the guy on the perfume counter to finish with the previous customer. He was speaking to her in German. Then he switched to English for me - and Italian for another customer at the counter. Impressed I said to him "I suppose you speak Mandarin as well?" "Just a little was the reply!"
Have such respect for those who can do this. Very few in Oz. Though I worked with several of the few who could. One guy who spoke fluent Mandarin went to the PM's office to interpret for him when a Chinese bigwig was in town. A couple of days later he went back. The PM looked at him and said, aghast, "There's been a terrible mistake. Today I'm meeting with the Japanese." My colleague replied, "Of course, I'm here to interpret Japanese for this meeting." Pammie
I love Italy. My fondest memories are being screamed at in a gas station line for at least five minutes. I have no idea why. Perhaps I was in the trucking fill line? Then, another time, I was given an abundance of free food at Gritti Palace. Again, why? I never have an idea and alternate between saying thank you and sorry. Therein lies the charm. Plus, eye candy abounds. And yes, that holy ghost is extremely unsettling. xo
ReplyDeleteThat is hilarious! I have had situations like that too but it seems that excessive flirting nor outbursts are to be taken seriously in Italy! :) xx
DeleteYou have such energy for travelling, Naomi, but you always look like you're having such a relaxed time. I like to follow where you've been. I'm currently looking for a destination in Italy for a few days away with my daughter - we went to Venice last year, but I'm now definitely going to check out further south this time.
ReplyDeleteI do love to travel Sue but I have to admit that I am getting a little tired from the planning and the anticipation and then the either jet lag or getting used to being at home again that I am starting to feel displaced most of the time. I say go to Sicily - it gets overlooked but it has so much to offer and there are plenty of places that fly direct from the UK!
DeleteWow, what a fabulous post! You made me laugh and long to return to Italy in equal measure. I've never been to the mainland south and now it's on my must see list. We have had some wonderful times in Italy, the country and the people are seductive.
ReplyDelete