Year: 2021

Music, psychology, fiction and cinema: the different faces of Laura Adriani

Posted on by Paola Jacobbi

Big eyes, intense gaze, a nervous physicality but with a touch of a dancer’s grace that makes her different from the classic stereotype on which most actresses of Italian scene are modeled, always slaves to a conventional idea of sensuality: this is Laura Adriani, Roman and yet looks a bit like some French girls, wearing something restless and tormented, terribly sexy.

Stella Mc Cartney white suit, Giuseppe Zanotti sandals, Crivelli jewels

She started when she was very young and she’s not 28 yet. She has starred in about ten films, often directed by quality directors such as Giuseppe Piccioni in Questi giorni and Silvio Soldini in Il colore nascosto delle cose. Above all, Laura has worked a lot in television, in small and medium roles in many TV dramas, a career without flashes but solid, more like a marathon runner than a sprinter, and this responds to her decisive, balanced personality.

Black Tuxedo Emporio Armani, Giuseppe Zanotti sandals, Crivelli jewels

We have just seen her in Cuori, Auditel champion series on Rai 1, we find her again in A casa tutti bene, reboot of Gabriele Muccino’s 2018 blockbuster film. The eight episodes, written and directed by the same director, are airing on Sky and streaming on NOW from yesterday December 20. The character played by Laura Adriani is Ginevra, second wife of Carlo (Francesco Scianna) eldest son of the Ristuccia family, a family of successful restaurateurs seen from the outside, highly dysfunctional family from the inside.

Yellow dress and pump Maison Valentino, Crivelli jewelry

A sticky girl, Ginevra.

“She is, poor girl. She’s younger than her husband and he’s still very attached to his first wife (played by Euridice Axen, editor’s note), a very self-confident woman, very centered. But, you will see, in the course of the series, Ginevra will evolve and will reveal herself to be much more interesting than she seems at first sight”.

Now she seems to me a victim of a terrible retrospective jealousy. Are you also jealous in life?

“Not very much. I’m generally tolerant of human weaknesses. Betrayals are part of life. And of love. You cheat if you love, so everything is much more complicated. There are no black and whites. I’ve betrayed and I’ve been betrayed. I think, sooner or later, it can happen to everyone.”

Yellow dress and pump Maison Valentino, Crivelli jewelry

I think Ginevra is so jealous of Carlo’s first wife partly because she was his mistress before he separated. She knows he is a potential cheater and is afraid of finding herself an “injured party.”

“I hadn’t thought about it, but I think you’re right. The truth is that this family is terribly conflicted and the moment she chose to stay with this man, she is in the middle of all their contradictions. But again, the further the series goes, the more surprising Geneva’s story arc will be.”

I’ll gladly wait, the series is a very successful family drama. But let’s go back to you. You’ve taken part in very popular, indeed national-popular series such as I Cesaroni. What memories do you have?

“I was young, still not very aware of many things. I had fun, I learned a lot, and if I think about it, it was an exciting and above all decisive period of my life”.

Stella Mc Cartney red dress, Giuseppe Zanotti sandals, Crivelli jewels

You graduated in Psychology. I gather that if you hadn’t been an actress, you would have been a psychologist.

“Yes, I think so. And anyway, as a second job, I already do it a little bit, in the sense that having studied these things turned out to be a really useful background in my job as an actress.”

Is the world of show business full of neurotics? Are sets psychodramas even offstage?

“A little bit, yes (laughs, ed.). And then having a background in psychology helps a lot to understand the characters, to study the dynamics with others, it is a really useful background”.

In the workplace, everyone has a role. For many years, you were the little one, the mascot. What was that like?

“I admit it wasn’t always easy. I felt a bit crushed, intimidated by the presence of the adult actors. Now it’s different, also because I get more relevant roles, for example I’m shooting a new series with Francesco Arca that will probably be called L’ultimo spettacolo and here I’m the female protagonist. For me, what counts is trying to establish an equal relationship with everyone. Once, on the set, we were crazed with heat, I asked for water, someone from the production team offered to fetch it for me, and I made it a point to say that they had to bring it to everyone, not just to me”.

Black dress with cuts and sandals Maison Valentino, Crivelli jewelry

It’s no longer a time for stardom.

“Not at all. This is a collective work, no one should feel left behind because they have fewer lines than someone else or because their name is not at the top of the title”.

You are also a singer, you participated in Ti lascio una canzone and you teach in the musical theatre school founded by your brother Daniele, who is a tenor.

“My brother is a real singer. I only studied singing; I don’t call myself a singer. The school is in Acilia, I led a course of acting, the students are young people and children, we put on many musicals, it is a beautiful experience and very enriching for those who teach.”

Missoni lamè pink jacket and trousers, Giuseppe Zanotti sandals, Crivelli jewels

Don’t you want to get into musicals?

“I’ve done it before, actually. I played a musical called Next to Normal a few years ago. I loved it so much because, within a seemingly light genre like the musical, it dealt with the subject of bipolar disorders. It was a brilliant and profound show that, not surprisingly, won the Pulitzer Prize in America.”

Would you still do a musical?

“The problem is that in Italy, the repertoire of musicals is very limited. They always do the same things, rarely take risks with innovative texts like Next to Normal. There would be many other super interesting ones to adapt for Italy, but here we prefer to do Grease for the millionth time. Nothing against Grease, but it’s not for me”.

Video director: Federico Cianferoni 

Music: Iskander

Art Director & Photographer: Davide Musto

Styling: Andreas Mercante

Styling assistant: Valentina Calicchio

Ph. Ass. Dario Tucci – Valentina Ciampaglia – Riccardo Albanese

Fashion Editor: Alfredo Fabrizio 

Ass. Fashion Editor: Federica Mele

Hair e make up: Laura Casato, Eleonora Mantovani @simonebellimakeup

Location: Coho Loft – Roma

The human machine and Arca’s mutant faith

Posted on by Zoran Trevisan

Body, mind and spirit: it is not easy to trace common themes in the artistic production and modus pensandi of Arca, the Venezuelan DJ, singer, fashion icon and producer. One should perhaps speak of guiding principles rather than common themes.

The role of the body is undoubtedly central. Body is all that we have at our birth; however, it is not only flesh and blood, but also body in its extensions. In the Vincentian Vitruvian man, the material perimeter of the human body coincided in the shapes of the circle (the divine) and the square (the earthly). For Arca, the divine and earthly coexist, but the geometry is extended, complicated. Arca’s figures explicitly refer to the Vitruvian man: in the Prada/Rakata video (whose images were later used as the covers of her latest albums), we see Arca in an almost laboratory-like set, with doubled limbs and heads, in poses that trace squares and circles, but also progressively more complicated shapes. This is where the mind comes into play, capable of making itself the bearer of a continuous increase in the body: alterations, extensions, duplications, eliminations. Such manifestations of the body are just as real if on flesh and blood as if in a music video, a cover or an art performance.

Arca tends towards a (re)solution in a series of Vichian courses and recursions, in which person and machine become one, split, and recombine. It is no coincidence that over the course of her latest project the concepts of “first death” and “last birth” appear several times, in a continuous cycle of rebirth and reinvention.  Arca is in this sense her own deus ex machina: and this is where the spirit comes into play. If in Greek tragedy the god brought resolution, while here faith is earthly, and is a faith in constant change, what Arca herself repeatedly calls a ‘mutant faith’. Mutant was the title of her 2015 album, while mutant faith appears explicitly for the first time as a concept in her creative output with the performance art residency Mutant;Faith, in New York for four nights in October 2019.

This belief is one of the red threads within Arca’s latest ambitious and maximalist project: a pentalogy of albums entitled Kick, from the prenatal kick, conceived as the first tangible sign of a human being’s life. KiCk i opened the kick cycle in mid-2020, followed closely at the end of 2021 by its iterations ii, iii, iiii and iiiii, released one per day over the course of a week between November and December 2021. 59 songs in total across five albums, initially conceived as a trilogy, later becoming a tetralogy, to which a surprise fifth element was added. These facts alone give an idea of how much of the artist’s production is in progress. The process is more important than the final goal, and it is the journey itself that gives meaning to exploration, to experimentation.

More is always more for Arca. Describing the project from a musical point of view is not easy, precisely because of its constant mutability, in which one can sense the longing for fixed points; these goals, however, are nothing more than new starting points for further extension and complication. The first kick is somewhat the most pop element (not coincidentally, also the one with the most guest artists, such as Björk, Rosalía, Sophie, Shygirl), but also the one that presents the vastness and eclecticism of styles present in the following four works. KICK ii starts with a series of reggaeton-like songs, which in the second part are dissected into a series of tracks with impalpable atmospheres, in which the rhythms and melodies tend to fade away. The third volume draws its inspiration from club music, especially techno.

The atmospheres from the first to the third volume tend towards an increasing agitation, which is then to some extent resolved in the last two chapters: in kick iiii Arca achieves a sort of synthesis of her meta-pop, in a collection of songs rich in melodies, full of poetic suggestions and manifestos of intent. Queer is a political song in which Arca exalts the strength and pain of her own queerness, in tears that are tears of fire, of a queer fire. Planningtorock, famous for another queer dancefloor anthem from 2013, Let’s Talk About Gender Baby, is the guest on the track. Shirley Manson of Garbage (who came to prominence in 1993 with a song called Queer; is this a coincidence?) recites the words of another manifesto, Alien Inside, a celebration of the otherness within each of us, as an opportunity for constant renewal. The fifth and last (?) kick, a surprise release without any announcement, is a coda, a sort of epilogue to the project. Of the five albums, it is the most stripped-down, in which Arca rediscovers the instruments and elements of classical music that marked her early works, such as Xen. Unlike her first efforts, however, the music here is less claustrophobic, airier, enriched by elements of ambient music, leaving the impression of an open ending.

Compared to the artistic beginnings of the Arca project, the new element seems to be that of greater openness, which is exuded in a pop (in the broadest sense of the term) afflatus at a musical level, the reflection of which is also perceptible at an aesthetic level. It is no coincidence that Arca has gone from being a niche phenomenon to extending her tentacles (metaphorical and mechanical) into the mainstream, recently also becoming a fashion star, featuring on covers for Vogue Mexico and advertising campaigns for Bottega Veneta, and attracting the attention of contemporary art icons such as Marina Abramović and Hans Ulrich Obrist.

With an increasingly deep and varied artistic output, it is difficult to predict what direction Arca’s career will take in the future. However, one thing can be said with almost total certainty: we are unlikely to see her fixed in one place for too long.

Italy shines in the 2021 World’s 50 Best Bars ranking

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

The awards ceremony of the World’s 50 Best Bars 2021 was held on the 7th of December in London. The 13th edition of the event, which it classifies and rewards the best cocktail bars in the world, voted by a jury made up of over 600 professionals including journalists, bartenders and leading figures in the food and beverage industry, was particularly significant, as it came at the end of a critical period for the world of catering and hospitality in general, including closures, limitations to international travels and a drastic decline in customers arrival. The Content Editor of The World’s 50 Best Bars, Mark Sansom, was therefore keen to underline the “resilience and sense of communion” shown by the locals, while Elisa Gregori, International Business Unit Director of Perrier – main sponsor of the event – placed the emphasis on the  fact that the sector “has shown incredible resilience and has learned to adapt to local restrictions”.

Italy has excellently defended its illustrious tradition in the field of signature drinks and mixology, placing itself after Singapore, China (the Asian city-state and the former celestial empire both six addresses on the list), USA, Australia , Mexico (four each) and Spain (first nation in Europe with four venues, including the third classified, the Paradise of Barcelona) thanks to its three cocktail bars, the same number as the United Kingdom, the true triumph of this’ year with the London Connaught Bar repeating the first place of 2020, also winning the title of best bar in the old continent, and the Tayēr + Elementary, also in London, in second position.

London Connaught Bar Team : Giorgio Bargiani, Ago Perrone, Maura Milia

Specifically, it is the Drink Kong of Rome (creature of the king of the Capitoline bartenders Patrick Pistolesi, with an atmosphere between 80s sci-fi and a refined nightclub, with lighting with neon tubes and the oriental appeal of the Japanese room), from the Milanese 1930 (speakeasy of the duo Flavio Angiolillo-Marco Russo, inspired in all respects by the clandestine haunts where, in the United States, people gathered to drink in the times of prohibitionism, the address is secret, hidden by an anonymous door, and to find it you have to rely only on the word of mouth of the “initiates”) and about Camparino, the historic sign of social and cultural gathering of Milan, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II; if the first one has dropped from 45th place in 2020 to the current 19th, the latter has gained five positions compared to the past year and is now 20th, while the 3rd one, new entry in the list, is on the 27th position.

Drink Kong, 1930, Camparino in Galleria

Actually, we also find a bit of Belpaese on the top of the podium, the Connaught team, the bar of the homonymous five-star luxury hotel in Mayfair, is led by Agostino Perrone, Giorgio Bargiani and Maura Milia, respectively Director of Mixology, Head Mixologist and Bar Manager, architects of a success that it has its flagship in the modern reinterpretation of the classic Martini cocktail, prepared by expert bartenders using a trolley that it moves from table to table. Ad hoc awards then it has assigned , among others, to the Attaboy of New York, winner of the Rémy Martin Legend of The List (a special prize that can be obtained only once, awarded to the venue that showed greater consistency in the “performances” in the ‘span of the 13 editions of the World’s 50 Best Bars), the President of Buenos Aires (Nikka Highest Climber), the Re di Sydney (Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award), the Cardiff Lab 22 (Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu) and the Hanky ​​Panky of Mexico City, whose debut in the ranking at 12th position earned him the Disaronno Highest New Entry.

Connaught Bar, Gin Martini
Tayer + Elementary, preparation of a cocktail
The Paradise in Barcelona, a drink

On the Road, the epic of music tours in the Pirelli Calendar 2022

Posted on by Marco Marini

After the stop due to the pandemic in 2020 (an event rather rare in the history of the publication, interrupted only in 1967, with the exception of the hiatus in the period between 1975 and 1983), the Pirelli Calendar comes back in dazzling form and relaunches itself, we might say. All this with specially designed packaging and a song, both by Bryan Adams, singer-songwriter with a brilliant cursus honorum in music – over 100 million records sold, three Oscar nominations, five at the Golden Globes, 15 (with one win) at the Grammys – who, since the 1990s, has embraced an equally successful photographic career, shooting covers and editorials for magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Vanity Fair, L’Officiel and Zoo.

On the Road, the title of The Cal 2022, also shares its name with the Canadian artist’s song, a preview of his new album So Happy It Hurts, due out next March. The calendar, which comes in a square vinyl LP-like package, features an ad hoc logo, celebrating the company’s 150th anniversary, alongside the elongated initial of the tyre multinational.

The underlying thread of this year’s edition is therefore the journey, presented in a tribute through images to the era, in many ways distant and unrepeatable, of great music tours, microcosms in their own right, with their own rituals, places and times. In such things the celebrities of the day took shelter out of the concert, between relaxing breaks in majestic suites (such as those of the Chateau Marmont, buen retiro of the rich and famous of Hollywood, location of glossy shots along with the Palace Theatre, also in L.A., and the Hotel Scalinatella in Capri), hairstyling and make-up sessions, moments of focusing backstage, huge luggage sets, limousine transfers and futuristic recording studios.

To interpret such a complex theme, suspended between loneliness and vitality, intimate atmospheres and references to rock stars iconography, the author brought together ten A-list names, among the most representative of international music from the Sixties onwards: St. Vincent is featured on the cover (as well as in the February photo, where she poses in the nude, faintly illuminated by the rays filtered by Venetian blinds). St. Vincent, a chameleon-like performer reluctant to any classification, figures here with a platinum bob, and, while sticking out her tongue at the observer, shows a Pirelli-marked pick. Next up is Kali Uchis, wrapped up in a nude illusion garment, with fishnet stockings and femme fatale lingerie showing; Cher, absorbed in who knows what thoughts in front of the dressing room’s full-wall mirrors; Iggy Pop, bare-chested (how else?) and covered in silver dust, ready for one of his legendary punk histrionic performances; Rita Ora, seductively posing in a bathtub in a metallic knit dress; the theatricality of rapper Bohan Phoenix, standing on a piano in cargo trousers, combat boots and silver opera gloves. The all-star cast is completed by Grimes, Jennifer Hudson, Normani and Saweetie.

Adams himself closes the roundup conceptually and in practice, being photographed in the December pages in a classic American car, putting an end to the on-the-road itinerary between music topoi and old-school stardom. It is a visual tour that deserves to be explored in depth by visiting www.pirellicalendar.com, where you can discover behind-the-scenes footage, unpublished texts and interviews with the protagonists of the 48th edition of The Cal.

THE EXCLUSIVE GIORGIO ARMANI X 10 CORSO COMO COLLECTION

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

Giorgio Armani presents an exclusive preview of the Giorgio Armani – 10 Corso Como collection. A synthesis of unique style, in iconic black and white, the unprecedented collaboration with 10 Corso Como has created a timeless collection, embodying the consistent and constantly renewed lexicon of Armani’s storytelling.

Blazers with accurately defined shapes, single or double-breasted, long coats and cabans, flowing trousers, soft pullovers accessorized with low lace-ups or pumps, and two bags, one large and enveloping, and La Prima in its classic version. The opposition between masculine and feminine is resolved in a light and impactful sign, and the choice of black and white conveys a graphic vision, highlighted by patterns of jacquard stripes. The materials are natural and precious: wool, silk, velvet, cashmere, and a sweatshirt that ironically plays with the stylised face of Giorgio Armani.

The collection, with dedicated packaging, is available from 18 November at 10 Corso Como in Milan and online, and then also in Giorgio Armani shops in Milan, New York Madison Avenue, Tokyo Ginza Tower and Shanghai.

Translation by Zoran Trevisan

5 HISTORIC KNITWEAR BRANDS TO (RE)DISCOVER

Posted on by Marco Marini

Spells autumn, reads knitwear: with temperatures dropping lower and lower, we need to get ready with pullovers, preferably in warm and cozy yarns, and above all wool. The options are basically endless, from evergreen shades such as navy blue, black and grey to eye-catching, frost-proof textures or remarkably fine, almost intangible. In any case, it’s best to play it safe choosing brands with decades of heritage with certain quality and blazonry, such as the following five.

Missoni

When you say knitwear, the mind immediately goes to of one of the most representative dynasties of Italian fashion, the Missoni family. For the fashion house founded almost seventy years ago by Ottavio and Rosita, work and life partners, knitwear has always been the at heart of a company with strong family connotations, the gateway to a success able to encompass decades, as well as changes in clothing habits and customs. Thanks to jumpers bursting with colours and flamboyance, Missoni-mania exploded in the 1970s, on both sides of the ocean: it was impossible to ignore the extravagant, multi-coloured, hypnotic patterns weaved across the garments produced by the designer-entrepreneurs’ workshop in Sumirago, in a joyful blend of shades, stitches and motifs that the Americans called “put-together”.

Crowned “best in the world” in 1971 by none other than the New York Times, knitwear earned the brand the Neiman Marcus Award in 1973 for “daring to explore new dimensions and colour relationships”, features that still distinguish the brand’s collections today; the Fall/Winter 2021 collection is no exception, in which Missoni’s expressive zeal bursts onto jumpers, turtleneck pullovers and cardigans with slouchy lapels through the familiar jumble of lines, intricate patterns and graphic textures, including mottling, enlarged chevrons, stripes creating optical games, and colours that fade from dark to light, or vice-versa.

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Ballantyne

Rising to fame in the 1950s thanks to “Diamond Intarsia”, a technique that made it possible to trace the typical elongated rhombuses on sweaters that made the Scottish brand’s fortune, Ballantyne celebrates its hundredth anniversary this year.

Admirers of the diamond pattern on its pullovers include royals, Hollywood stars and world-famous jetsetters (from Alain Delon to Jacqueline Kennedy, James Dean and Steve McQueen). Even Hermès and Chanel, impressed by the label’s ability to treat the finest fibres to perfection, entrusted them with their knitwear. In 1967, Her Majesty honoured Ballantyne’s signature knitwear with the Queen Award.

The company is now run by former artistic director Fabio Gatto, who, in order to bring it back to its golden age, has combined jumpers inlaid with the unmistakable argyle with a wide, varied range of weight and fineness, capable of satisfying lovers of ultralight under-jackets and of enveloping pullovers, as well as capsule collections from the Lab line, in which the production virtuosity of the house meets the fresh vision of young designers cherry-picked each time.

Alain Delon Ballantyne
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Drumohr

With roots firmly planted in Scotland, the land that originated this century-old brand (in business since 1770), Drumohr has been speaking Italian since 2006, ever since it was acquired by the Ciocca group.

The Brescian company has moved production from the United Kingdom to Italy, while paying the utmost attention to keeping intact the craftsmanship that, throughout the 20th century, had conquered actors, aristocrats and ultimate models of chicness, from the King of Norway to Prince Charles, from James Stewart to Gianni Agnelli; It was the latter, guardian deity of male elegance eternally imitated (with poor results, it goes without saying), who made Drumohr’s “razor blade” a must-have, renamed “biscottino”, a pattern consisting of small rectangles spread rhythmically on wool or cashmere.

Combining artisanal know-how and ceaseless research, the collections now include colour blocking, micro or macro inlays, embossing and precise reworkings of the pattern dear to the Avvocato, which do not disdain rather bold colour choices, matching, for instance, blue with pistachio, orange with burgundy, turquoise with burgundy.

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Malo

A history that is approaching the half-century mark; an entirely Italian manufacture, concentrated in the factories of Campi Bisenzio and Borgonovo Val Tidone; an idea of understated luxury, which lets the quality of garments with exquisite yarns and exquisite craftsmanship speak for itself. These are the pillars of Malo, a brand founded as a producer of cashmere knitwear in 1972, when Scottish dominance over the sector seemed untouchable. Despite that, it managed to establish itself thanks to the rich, vibrant palette of its pullovers constructed to perfection, bien sûr.

The company reached its peak between the 1990s and 2000s, then started a decline, interrupted in 2018 by a trio of entrepreneurs (Walter Maiocchi, Luigino Belloni and Bastian Mario Stangoni) who took over ownership, handing back an absolute central role to the craftsmanship of the offer, centred on cashmere from Mongolia, sometimes mixed with equally precious materials, from alpaca to silk and vicuña, nicknamed the “fleece of the gods”.

Deluxe fibres are, of course, at the heart of the F/W 2021 Boulevard collection, in which the nuances, architecture and charms of the great metropolitan boulevards are transposed onto extra-soft wools, in cool colours (above all the different shades of grey, the true passe-partout of the collection) or bright colours, inlaid with tiny geometric reliefs or slightly distorted braids, ribbed or compact, for garments with measured, clean volumes that the brand defines as “timeless and urban-chic”.

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Pringle of Scotland

When it comes to high-profile knitwear, thanks to its centuries-old traditions and incomparable wool varieties, Scotland is unrivalled, and this is even more true for a brand that refers to the country’s genius loci right from its name, Pringle of Scotland.

Founded in 1815 by Robert Pringle in the Scottish Borders, it is credited with at least two “patents” that were destined to have a profound effect on the fate of the wool industry: in the 1920s, it invented the argyle pattern, the iconic – it has to be said – lozenge pattern, promptly adopted by Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor, the unrepentant elegant and supreme arbiter of male good taste of the time, immediately imitated by the aspiring epigones of international aristocracy. Another feather in the label’s cap is the twin set, the combination of a crew-neck jumper and ton-sur-ton cardigan that has become a pillar of bon chic bon genre style. Basically an authentic national pride, it is not surprising that Queen Elizabeth, a distinguished customer of the knitwear factory, awarded it with the Royal Warrant in 1956, an honour certifying its status as official supplier to the House of Windsor.

Still made in the Hawick factory, Pringle of Scotland garments can be purchased from the comfort of home on the official e-shop, choosing from a fair range of relaxed fit models, from the ever-popular argyle jumpers to sweaters of vintage appeal, with the lion (a symbol retrieved from the archives) woven on the chest.

Pringle of Scotland Grace Kelly rid
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Translation by Zoran Trevisan

Timeless destinations

Posted on by Massimiliano Benetazzo

At Como Lake we explored the historic Grand Hotel Tremezzo, the modern and rigorous Sereno, the classicism of Villa Lario and then the refined design of Villa Peduzzi. On Garda Lake, classic meets exotic at Grand Hotel Fasano, while silence and simplicity are at home at Forestis on our Dolomites.

This section is a journey into established and well know destinations but with a different eye on lifestyle. A series of more alternative places that stand out for their hidden beauty.

Villa Peduzzi – Pigra (CO) 

A fine example of Art Nouveau architecture, perfectly integrated with modern buildings, the Villa enjoys one of the most beautiful views in Europe, standing on top of the Como Lake. Its panoramic view embraces the Lake, the valleys and the mountains. 

Grand Hotel Tremezzo – Tremezzina (CO) 

His story begins in 1910, in full Belle Epoque. An enchanting place, with a breathtaking view on the panorama of Bellagio, the Azaleas Riviera, and the beautiful rocky mountaintops of the Grigne.

Villa Lario – Pognana Lario (CO) 

This estate represents the perfect blend of classic Italian architecture and modern standards of luxury. The eighteen suites of the complex are spread out across four different buildings: the Palace, the White Villa, the Pavilion and the Garden Suite, surrounded by two acres of private green. 

Il Sereno – Torno (CO) 

The stylistic sobriety is mirrored in the silent lake surrounding the area: the harmonious shapes recall a sense of peace and elegant tranquility. Designed by Patricia Urquiola, it stands out for its stern and simple construction, the cornerstone of every creation of the Iberian archi-star.  

Grand Hotel Fasano & Villa Principe – Gardone Riviera (BS) 

Tradition and modernity are combined in harmony inside this peaceful oasis. A luxury hotel, ideal to indulge in the fascination of a historical mansion that incorporates the local atmosphere with exotic charms. 

Forestis Dolomites – Bressanone (BZ) 

A shelter kissed by the sun and deep in the silence of the Plancios woods, where one can rediscover the values of time, simplicity and nature, immersed in a place full of energy and extraordinary natural features. 

Reinvention is art: the multifunctional sales space Dover Street Market

Posted on by Alessia Caliendo

In the early days of the department store, Dover Street Market CEO Adrian Joffe, and husband of Rei Kawakubo, the mastermind behind Comme De Garçons, was wondering: “Can Dover Street Market leave Dover Street?” The answer was yes, and years later, it can be found in London, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Los Angeles, Beijing and the French capital.

In Paris, as part of the French government’s plan to renew the city, he decided to experiment with a new format named ‘3537’, a multifunctional platform named after the address of its headquarters in the city, at the Hôtel de Coulanges in 35-37 Rue des Francs Bourgeois. The project features entertainment activities that blend with shopping experiences, with the goal of hosting music concerts, exhibitions, ballets and film screenings.

Radical thinking has always been part of the duo’s working method.  

Suffice to say how, in 1999, they chose to open a store in the Chelsea neighbourhood in New York, at a time when few galleries were busy settling in the area. 

Rei Kawakubo founded Comme des Garçons in 1969, and in 1981, its first Parisian show broke all the canons of contemporary aesthetics in a whirlwind of chaos and creation. South African by birth, Adrian Joffe, is part of the brand’s evolution. While searching for a new location for the Comme des Garçons flagship store, Joffe came across Dover Street, former home to the Institute of Contemporary Art. Initially, the idea was to acquire just the ground floor, but “why not take the whole building and host a large creative community?”, just like how it happened in Kensington Market, the dearest place to Kawakubo’s London heart, where she first found herself in the 1960s. Kensington was a bazaar of unprecedented contaminations that had fueled London’s underground culture in the decades before. Named ‘The Best Shop in the World’, DSM was the turning point of their careers. Four names joined for the creation of exclusive products for the launch of the concept store: Hedi [Slimane], Raf [Simons], Alber [Elbaz] and Azzedine [Alaïa].  Other watersheds were the arrival of Phoebe Philo’s iconic Céline collection in 2009, Nicolas Ghesquière’s first collection for Louis Vuitton in 2014, as well as Alessandro Michele’s fresh visions for Gucci in 2015. And those were just a few of the stages that led to the leap that in 2021 has opened new horizons.

“We give people freedom, but with a fair share of rules,” Joffe has repeatedly stated. 

Supervision at each shop is manic. Rei takes care of the group’s image, its shared spaces and the Comme brands, delegating other responsibilities to Adrian. “If she was only approaching the things she likes, we would have nothing. Rei likes people that work hard and have something to say. That’s the only selection criterion”. It is a department store that places the role of the salesperson and its training philosophy at the centre of its universe. The company structure is horizontal, strategically enlightened and aimed at sustainable growth.

“And do you find this job fun?” “Fun is not really the right word.” Joffe replies.  “It’s exciting. It’s what I do. There’s satisfaction in working. There are a lot of problems – with designers and their egos, the dynamics with Rei. It’s a nightmare, really, but it’s what keeps us going. There’s no progress without fight. If it were easy, everyone would do it. It also means thinking about the future. There will be a day when she’s gone. We have to think about it… But that’s another matter.”

TOM OF FINLAND AND WE ARE SPASTOR REVEAL THEIR NEW SUSTAINABLE COLLABORATION

Posted on by Anselmo Prestini

The collaboration between Tom of Finland and We are Spastor offers a limited edition jacquard knit twin set consisting of a sweater with a 70s silhouette and a scarf with the iconic “biker head”.

The Finnish designer is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century for the exceptional uniqueness and artistry of his designs that not only redefine the masculinity of the human being, but also offer a clear vision of the position of homosexuals in modern society. The master designer has changed queer culture with his proud, subversive and joyful expression of sexuality.

Each garment is made of the softest Italian fabric, sourced from a Tuscan mill with a blend of kid mohair and hand carding finished, creating a true charcoal effect. Each garment is woven with care, produced in the surroundings of Barcelona, in a workshop run by a young entrepreneur, made in the smallest details and hand-labeled with the special woven label “Tom of Finland + We Are Spastor”, made of 100% recycled polyester. In fact, the collaboration supports local production, actively engaging in a policy of social responsibility.

Finally, 10% of every purchase will be donated to the Tom of Finland Foundation for the preservation of the artist’s archive and legacy.

Pietro Lucerni: my body, my planet

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

From fashion and advertising, the work of Pietro Lucerni moved to explore a more artistic side of nature and body, like in the fine-artwork “Naked Moon” series of black&white images with the famous international ballet star and First Dancer at La Scala Theatre, Virna Toppi as the protagonist. Exclusively for MANINTOWN the latest editorial “My Body, My Planet” where Lucerni wants to emphasize the relationship between man and the natural elements. And more particularly it celebrates that intimate and ancestral relationship between woman and nature. “Mother Earth who, like a woman, welcomes, generates, guards life and transforms it into an explosion of beauty that seduces and makes us evolve. We live in an era that has a deep need for beauty, not just aesthetics. Nature optimizes the evolution of species in a continuous relationship with the four elements: earth, air, water, and fire. Beauty is the engine of real cultural progress made of balance, respect, freedom, and love. These are the four elements that I would like to tell because they are the four elements that can guarantee a better future for our planet and for us who inhabit it.

“My Body, My Planet: my body is my planet.
Through my work, I would like to make a small contribution in spreading a positive message through beauty in a difficult period, which however can also represent rebirth and an extraordinary opportunity for a new awareness. Respect for our planet passes through respect for ourselves and others. And, today more than ever, I think that a cultural revolution of this magnitude is possible only through a female vision.
Beauty, and women, can save the world” declared Pietro Lucerni.

New cinema purgatory

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

Once upon a time, there was Italian cinema, that mix of art, commitment, technology, business: a melting pot of writers, intellectuals, enlightened financiers, directors who risked, workers of great ingenuity, who nourished with its works the universal imagination for almost a whole century: the twentieth century.

It is to Italian cinema that we owe the codification of the classic film form with Cabiria in 1914; it’s with Neorealism that the way of telling the reality that Gilles Deleuze called “cinematographic modernity” is born and continues inspiring directors from all over the world; in Italy that we can trace the only example of comedy – “all’ italiana” (Italian Style), precisely – where in the end we cry and die; it’s only in Italian films that such organic research is developed to think about the political character of reality and the images that represent it. It’s here, ultimately, that the reflection on the specific characteristics of a filmic and a national thought is found on their intertwining and their reciprocal influences, along that rippling ridge that defines a cultural system both in its relations with the outside and in its internal components, to the most coherent and continuous extent. And now? Threatened by global streaming platforms, little or nothing helped by the political system, it’s distributed little abroad except in the case of rare, big names that ensure a safe economic return – Nanni Moretti, Paolo Sorrentino, Matteo Garrone, Giuseppe Tornatore, Mario Martone, Paolo Virzì and very few others – which make us fear for its incisive capacity on contemporaneity as instead had happened for the authors’ generation of the last century (a Millennium has also passed).

Ludovico Tersigni | Total look Gucci – Photography Manuel Scrima – Styling Giorgia Canderini

The point is that complaining does not make sense, or even basking in nostalgia for smoky rooms where the light’s beam made fantastic or hyperreal stories live on the screen, according to the usual narration of “it was better before” while the Nuovo Cinema Paradiso has also aged. Punctually, every five

years or so, some critics recover the idea that Italian cinema is experiencing a nouvelle vague: there is talk of a particular Italian and international visibility of the new authors’ generations, of shares’ recovery of receipts of Italian cinema compared to the foreign one, of sudden notoriety of the local stars, etc. The last of these flare-ups of enthusiasm occurred in 2013 with the success of Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty and the appearance of new films by Ozpetek, Bellocchio, and Muccino. Unfortunately, just as punctually, in a season Italian cinema returns to be little visible and unattractive, with an increasingly wide gap between small half-clandestine authorial productions, on the one hand, large distribution circuits on the other.

However it’s interesting, talking to very young actors with a solid professional preparation such as Jozef Gjura, who arrived in Piedmont at the age of six – now he’s 26 and is one of the protagonists of the trilogy “On the most beautiful”, Even more beautiful and More and more beautiful ,the first directed by Alice Filippi, the second and third directed by Claudio Norza –«having grown up with the Italian cinema of the three decades Fifty-Seventy years is a duty, as well as a privilege, to be not actors, but artists who must enter their truth in the part that is assigned to them.

If I hadn’t looked for Antonio’s first films, fallen in love with Gian Maria Volonté, loved Mario Monicelli and many other directors then considered pure entertainment, I probably wouldn’t have taken this path». The myth of Italian cinema resists as a great training ground for unforgettable actors and visionary authors, actors, and directors, now all deceased, while the contribution of values – aesthetic, ethical, narrative – of contemporary Italian cinema is struggling to become significant, though it can also count on new names both for the screenplays and for the direction: I think of the twins Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo, Alice Rohrwacher, Giorgio Diritti, Alessandro Aronadio, Michelangelo Frammartino, Valeria Golino, Sergio Rubini, or Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, actors who have passed on the other side of the camera. It’s they who, in recent years, are somehow redesigning the cartography of national but not local cinematography, able

to support even plots that are not only and simple references to local issues but have a breath and an international creative quality.

The problem is that, as noted by the writer and essayist Gianfranco Marrone on Doppiozero, profoundly changing cinema as the dominant production machine of the media imagination, the theories that try to explain reasons and mechanisms, qualitative paths, and operating systems have also changed. Once there were the big and the small screen whose dimensions distinguished two different media – cinema and television – with different languages, audiences, and contents. Today, everything is intertwined, with extraordinary design and ideational refinements, and every new platform that lends itself to conveying moving images, videos, and audiovisuals must reinvent itself almost from scratch a poetic and an aesthetic, not to mention the forms of narration and figuration. The condition is such that the advent of digital has upset the cards, so that the computer’s funnel constantly redistributes not only what was once the system of fine arts, but also media themselves, led to hybridize euphorically with each other.

But then, does this decadence last or not?

But it isn’t only this, even we no longer have the brave and billionaire producers who bet on “dangerous” directors like Pasolini or Ferreri, but also the matrix that characterizes the history of Italian cinema that has seen four production, linguistic, and consumer models at work: realism, apology, the consumer product, and the “artistic” product. In the perimeter defined by the four poles, two types of movements are played: a vital overlap and contamination between the four models of cinema; an equally vital reworking of models taken from the outside. First, it’s necessary to recall the basic coordinates of the current Italian film system. Starting from the Seventies, the consumption of cinema enters crisis in favor of the television medium; from this crisis, the cinema comes out at the end of the Eighties with a completely renewed scenario: the small local cinemas have now been replaced by multiplexes; the system of first, second and third visions has been replaced by a system in which the success of a film is played out all in the first days of programming.

Jozef Gjura | Shirt Alessandro Gherardi – Knit dress Simon Cracker – Pants MRZ // Total look Angelos Frentzos // Photography Davide Musto – Styling Rosa Maria Coniglio

This opens a gap between produced Italian films and successful Italian films (or simply seen and visible in normal circuits). The production system confirms its fragmented nature: for films production, the help from the State or from the two television giants, Rai and Mediaset, becomes indispensable.

However, it would be wrong to argue that the new scenario implies a break with tradition or a “refoundation” of Italian cinema. On the contrary: precisely this condition of constant uncertainty and vulnerability, stimulates Italian cinema to seek its own identity and specific visibility; hence a firm intention to recover and manage the symbolic resources of one’s past, resources precisely represented by that matrix of characters outlined in the two previous paragraphs.

The result is a cinema that is both modern and ‘ancient’, aware of its late modernity and rooted in its past. The continuous rebirths of Italian cinema confirm that cinema represents one of the main institutions for the construction and reconstruction of our identity.

Perhaps through new languages, stratification of readings, ways of overlapping that reject genres: after all, how much more bitter is there in some films of Italian comedy and even in cinepanettoni and how much, instead, of a fairytale in denunciation films such as “Favolacce dei gemelli D’Innocenzo’’ or “Lazzaro felice” by Rohrwacher?

Text by Antonio Mancinelli

Highlights From Venice Film Festival

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

A special portfolio from the 78th annual Venice International Film Festival was captured by Riccardo Ghilardi. A selection of the most recognized and popular actors, actresses, film directors, and new up&coming talents during the days of the last Venice Film Festival. Riccardo Ghilardi is a photographer specialized in celebrities’ portraits and with a strong passion for reportage and social environment projects. His works have been featured in many exhibitions at MAXXI – Museo delle Arti del XXI secolo and Cinecittà.

His last exhibition “Prove di libertà”, about the lockdown of Italian cinema was held at the last Venice Film Festival.

Cover: Milena Smit – Film Madre Paralesas of Pedro Almodovar


Actress Penelòpe Cruz and Pedro Almodovar– Madre Paralelas

Filippo Scotti–
Film “ È stata la mano di Dio” by Paolo Sorrentino, official selection contest, outfit Prada

Actress Isabelle Huppert-
Film “Les Promesses” nomination section Horizons award for best female interpretation, make up/hair Massimo Serini

Actress Federica Torchetti –
Film “ Mondocane” and “ La Scuola Cattolica”

Actress/Director Maggie Gyllenhaal – Film “ The Lost Daughter” in competition official selection, directorial debut

Actress Ludovica Nasti
– Film “Mondocane” by Alessandro Celli, International Critics’ Week, Venice 78

Director Gabriele Mainetti – Film “Freaks Out”, selezione ufficiale concorso Venezia 78

Actress Elena Radonicich – Film “Una Relazione” by Stefano Sardo, Authors’ Days , Venice 78

Actor Salvatore Esposito – Presents his first novel “The Shaman” (Mondadori)

Actor Darko Peric’ – “Helsinki” : Filming Italy Award Venice 78

Actor Ed Skrein
– Film “Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon” by Ana Lily Amirpour, official selection competition Venice 78

Actress Daniela Scattolin | In Venice for Vanity Stage by Campari

From the left: Guido Quaglione, Alessandro Cantalini, Francesco Cavallo, Andrea Lintozzi, Giulio Pranno and Giulio Fochetti. Film “La Scuola Cattolica” by Stefano Mordini.

Actor Andrea Carpenzano Film “Lovely Boy” by Francesco Lettieri, Authors’ Days Venice 78. Outfit Gucci

Actress Alma Noce
Film “ La Ragazza ha volato” by Wilma Labate, official selection contest Venice 78

Director Jonas Carpignano
Film “A Chiara”, International Critics’ Week, Venice 78

Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo

Actor Giulio Pranno
Film “ La Scuola Cattolica” by Stefano Mordini

Actor Eduardo Scarpetta Film “Qui rido io”by Mario Martone

Actor Vincent Lacoste
Film “ Illusion Perdue” by Xavier Giannoli, official selection competition Venice 78

Actress Marta Nieto Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo – Film “ Tres” by Juanjo Gimenez, Authors’ Days, Venice Days 78

Actress Ruth Wilson – Film True Things by Harry Wootliff, official selection contest

Actress Anamaria Vartolomei – Film “ L’Evenement” by Audrey Diwan, film winner of the Golden Lion Venice 78

The stars of the first Manintown Next Generation Awards

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

MANINTOWN NEXT GENERATION AWARDS

A project conceived by Federico Poletti and Davide Musto

#VENEZIA78 marked the first brick in the great work done by MANINTOWN MAGAZINE over the years with the aim of supporting and promoting cinema and its new talents. Italy has been such a rich and free country in the expression of audiovisuals like never before. Starting from an intuition of Federico Poletti, director of the magazine MANINTOWN, who has been able to combine the two cinema and fashion in such a way that they can draw from each other in a virtuous way in the common sign of communicating the new phenomena in creativity. Assisted by Fabrizio Imas (journalist) and Davide Musto (photographer and talent scout for the new generation), the Manintown Next Generation Awards” took place at the Venice Biennale in the beautiful setting of the Campari terrace on the Lido. The two winners in the cinema section of this first edition were Ludovica Francesconi and Giancarlo Commare. Elisa Maino, an Italian web talent who is also coming out with a new book, was awarded as a web phenomenon.

  • Jenny De Nucci
  • Madior Fall
  • Giancarlo Commare

Ph Camillo Carobi

Federico Poletti, founder & Editor in chief of MANINTOWN: “Between the web and paper, we have always reported everything that is innovative, and over time we have given voice to numerous performers, who we have seen grow thanks to new platforms such as Netflix and social media. I am particularly happy with this first edition of the Next Generation Awards, which bet on Giancarlo Commare and Ludovica Francesconi, who had their first red carpet with us in Venice and are out with many new productions. Now the appointment with cinema will continue with the Rome Film Festival where we will present the special dedicated to the award and the new collector’s paper issue”.

Ryan Prevedel

  • Elisa Maino
  • Giancarlo Commare
  • Ludovica Francesconi

Davide Musto, photographer & head of scouting at MANINTOWN: “I have the good fortune to follow with a keen eye the evolution of new talents and socio-cultural changes that the world of cinema and its young actors give us on a daily basis. I am constantly searching for and discovering new faces, which I accompany with fashion stories. The choice of the two finalists came naturally. I have been following Commare since he appeared in the Skam series and since then I have always wanted to capture his face with my camera. Over the years, Giancarlo Commare has been able to portray different roles with that fine truth that belongs only to great actors, and he has been able to modernise the ability to be a person as well as a character. I also had the honour of having already worked with Ludovica Francesconi and from the very first shot her gaze penetrated so deeply into my lens that it was natural to think about the future of this young actress, which I believe will be marked by great performances”.

Fabrizio Imas, Entertainment Editor of MANINTOWN, concludes: “Sometimes betting on a talent can be very complex, as a project may go well or very well and then the opportunities may be missed. As fate would have it, the two winners were two actors whose destinies have just artistically crossed. In fact, from 16 September we will see them in the cinema together in the film “Ancora più bello”, the eagerly awaited sequel to “Sul più bello”.

Special thanks for Hair&makeup of the talents Kemon

Production and coordination @Alessia Caliendo

Hair @kemonofficial @kemoncrew

Make up @ArmaniBeauty #ArmaniBeautyStars

Photos Camillo Carobi @itm.srl

Sergio Fiorentino, an artist who translates the charm of “his” Noto into unique paintings and artworks

Posted on by Federico Poletti

For the 48-year-old artist Sergio Fiorentino, from Catania but now transplanted to Noto, the city of Syracuse represented a fundamental turning point, a watershed in his work and existential path: having fallen in love with the cradle of Baroque, unique for its lights, colors, inspirations and sensations, he moved there permanently, using a space in the refectory of an 18th century convent as his studio. He has therefore resumed painting, a passion put aside after his studies at the Academy of Design and Visual Communication Abadir to devote himself to the sale (and restoration) of design objects, pouring into the paintings a vision that could be defined as classically contemporary, defined by portraits, faces and figures rendered in quick and decisive brushstrokes in shades of blue, red, brown and white, then manipulated through scratches, abrasions and buffering that give an evanescent air to the whole, accentuating the feeling of silent immobility, suspension that characterizes the canvas.

Fiorentino’s artworks, exhibited in the permanent collections of several museums (including the MacS and the Fondazione La Verde La Malfa in his hometown), have been included in numerous trade fairs and exhibitions hosted by various museum institutions, from the Musei Civici to the Eremitani in Padua, to the Roman gallery RvB Arts, from the Fondazione Mazzullo in Taormina to the American Palm Beach Art Fair.We met him in his house-studio in Noto, right in the center of the town that has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 2002, full of finished works or works in progress, manifestations of an all-round creative flair that also finds application in furniture and objects that escape classification. 

When and how did you start painting?

“After studying restoration and, later, painting at the Abadir Academy in Catania, my passion turned into work, with the opening of a small gallery in town where I sold – and restored, too – design objects of the twentieth century, from futurism to the ’60s. Ten years ago, when I came to Noto by chance, I fell in love with it, finding myself changing my life from one day to the next; I closed the store, which was doing very well, and I started painting again. The first exhibition came with Vincenzo Medica, despite the fact that years have passed, it still seems like a dream, it’s a great fortune to be able to turn what you love into work, into life tout court”

From Catania to Noto, people continue to reach you and your atelier has become a local place to be…

“In fact, a lot of people have passed through my studio, and the place, inside the former refectory of an eighteenth-century convent, is wonderful. Although they are separated only by an hour’s drive, Catania and Noto in my opinion could not be more different: the first is all black, lava, dominated by an active volcano, pervaded by a great energy, a whole other world compared to the second, completely white, suspended, metaphysical.”

Has the atmosphere of Noto, with the light, the sky, the unique colors, influenced your work?

“Certainly, it’s here that I resumed painting, such a context can only be present, starting with the blue, which in my idea is a sort of amniotic liquid in which the figures begin to form; my painting is visually linked to the sky of Noto, the complexion of the faces recalls instead the plaster, the stones, the walls of the buildings, with all the cracks and signs of time, not to mention the suspended energy that is felt, especially in winter.”

What techniques do you use to intervene on the paintings?

“I usually make faces or bodies in blue (a shade that is present in all my works, even when it’s not immediately visible), then I paint the complexion in oil and, when the color is still fresh, I scratch it, almost to the point of flaking it, so as to bring out the background, as happens in the series of portraits with plants where, after the first draft, I intervened by removing the material and making the leaves come out.”

Or in the series of bodies…

“Exactly, I did the same in the paintings about the divers, figures in blue that are suspended, immobile, without a point of departure or arrival, as if they were crystallized forever in the dimension of the painting.”

What else are you currently working on?

“To a series of furnishings in materials typical of the Sicilian decorative arts of the eighteenth century, in particular of the Trapanese, which boasts an extraordinary tradition with workers who, even at that time, used silver, brass, coral or lapislazzulo. For example, I’m working on a piece of furniture with garfish, a link to the Dreamers’ paintings with fish: these are limited editions, nine unique pieces, each one different from the other. Then there are two pieces of furniture with very thin wires running through a brass plate, filled with lapis lazuli powder in shades of blue or red coral powder.

Among the works in progress there is also a creation in embossed copper, born from a chance encounter with a very good craftsman whom I saw in action, an exponent of the third generation of a family of puppeteers; together we made this kind of sculpture, a totem with two modules. In the past, instead, I have made ceramics inspired by my recurring themes, such as that of the divers”.

Who are the artists and designers you are inspired by?

“There are many, from Ico Parisi and Gio Ponti to a painter like Antonio Donghi (a leading exponent of magical realism, ed.), the latter excites me for his ability to portray figures of everyday life as if they were “embalmed”, frozen in time; It reminds me of the Sicilian tradition of the bambinelli or papier-mâché statues, it’s as if he put them inside a glass bell, stopping them forever, in some ways I also try to fix an instant, as in diving, which we are used to seeing as a moving image and in my paintings become, instead, a fraction of a second eternally suspended.

I love what is ancient, I like to create works that have a current language and at the same time linked to the past, this is also true for the paintings, in which the faces are of real people, who for various reasons have a meaning for me, inserting them in the canvas, however, I try to extract them from the space-time dimension, in fact there are never references to places or times, in some cases even to gender, so that some subjects could be male or female, as if they came from another planet.”

How would you describe your style?

“When I paint I strive to be as essential as possible, both in terms of imagery and color rendering: I basically use four colors, white for light, a brown shade for shadows, and two opposite hues, red (which in my vision is the soul, the spirit) and blue, which represents flesh, the matter.”

Discover more about the artist  SergioFiorentino 

https://sergiofiorentino.it/About

Ph. Davide Musto

Next Generation Awards: Manintown’s award to support new talents

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

VENICE, Friday 11 September, MAINTOWN presents the first edition of the NEXT GENERATION AWARDS, a new project that underlines the magazine’s further commitment to scouting new talent in the world of cinema and creativity. The link with cinema and the performing arts has become stronger and stronger over the last year to the point of becoming a real editorial focus of MANINTOWN, intended as a platform to discover the most promising names in cinema, music and communication field (including photographers, directors and digital artists).

Hence the need to give greater substance to this passion with the NEXT GENERATION AWARDS initiative, which finds its ideal and natural setting in Venice during the International Film Festival.

Federico Poletti, founder & Editor in chief of MANINTOWN, comments: “Since its inception in 2013, the magazine’s vocation has been oriented towards researching all that is innovative and reporting on emerging phenomena in fashion and the arts, from cinema to music, from art to design. Over time we have given voice to numerous performers, who we have seen grow up, also thanks to new platforms such as Netflix and social networks. Therefore, in addition to the two awards for new faces in cinema, it seemed interesting to me to give space to a phenomenon that comes from the web as well”.

The award winning of this first edition of the NEXT GENERATION AWARDS are:

– Best actor revelation: GIANCARLO COMMARE

– Best actress revelation: LUDOVICA FRANCESCONI

– Web talent of the Year: ELISA MAINO

Giancarlo Commare (born in 1991) has made his mark in series such as Netflix’s “Skam Italia“, and in the recent “Maschile Singolare“, a homosexual-themed film with a realistic narrative that has made a difference in filmmaking. A face that is growing with quality productions between cinema and theatre. We are going to see him shortly in cinemas from 16 September with “Ancora più bello” alongside Ludovica Francesconi. Therefore, we want to recognise his talent with the MANINTOWN New Generation Awards. Giancarlo Commare himself comments: “I like surprises, and the communication of this award was a surprise from every point of view. We all go through times that are a little down, and especially in those moments, good news helps and is more appreciated. We should always be surprised by life and be grateful for everything we are given.

Ludovica Francesconi (born in 1999), very young, with a face that you can’t help but fall in love with for its freshness and spontaneity. Also she is back from the great success of “Sul più bello” that we have seen on Amazon Prime Video, and now we will see her always at the side of Giancarlo in: “Ancora Più Bello”. She has always wanted to be an actress since she was a child when she could smell the popcorn. We are sure that her path will be full of awards and we want to be the first to award her with the MANINTOWN New Generation Awards as Best Revelation Actress.

Elisa Maino, born in 2003, with over 5 million followers on Tik Tok and almost 3 million on Instagram, is one of the most successful Italian web talents of her generation at an international level. Since opening her YouTube channel in 2014, Elisa has never stopped talking about herself and her passions on social media, becoming the inspirational muse of a generation. Passionate about writing, she has published two novels with Rizzoli: the first, “OPS”, has sold more than 100 thousand copies throughout Italy. The second, “OPS2 – Non ti scordar di me”, is a publishing success. Her third novel, “Con amore”, is due out on 20 September 2021.

Davide Musto, photographer & head of scouting at MANINTOWN: “I have the good fortune of following with a keen eye the evolution of new talents and socio-cultural changes that the world of cinema and its young actors give us every day. I am constantly searching for new faces and discovering them, which I accompany with fashion stories.  The choice of the two finalists came naturally. I have been following Commare since he appeared in the Skam series and from that moment on I have always wanted to capture his face with my camera. Over the years, Giancarlo Commare has been able to portray different roles with that fine truth that belongs only to great actors, and he has been able to modernise the ability to be a person as well as a character. I also had the honour of having already worked with Ludovica Francesconi and from the very first shot her gaze penetrated so deeply into my lens that it was natural to think about the future of this young actress, which I believe will be marked by great performances”.

The award ceremony will take place on Friday, September 10, from 6:30 p.m. in the Campari Lounge | Terrazza Biennale and the winners will be the subject of a special report in the next issue of MANINTOWN to be published during the Rome Film Festival. In order to reaffirm the link with young creatives, MANINTOWN has chosen to have the NEXT GENERATIONS AWARD made by the Italian-Colombian artist Rosana Auqué, who created 3 works for the 3 winners to bear witness to the magic of the Venetian landscape and the art of cinema. Rosana herself says: “I wanted to convey the enchanting atmosphere of Venice, its infinite beauty and its great history. The magic of the landscape that mixes the sky with the city’s most characteristic element, the water, creating inexhaustible shades loved by so many artists. It is no coincidence that a King of France said “If I were not King of France, I would choose to be a citizen of Venice.”

The professional team of Kemon, visionary international leader in the world of hairstyling, will take care of the image of the two winners Giancarlo Commare and Ludovica Francesconi and the special guests of the event, as well as a series of talents that will be revealed in the next issue of MANINTOWN.

“Cinema has changed with the pandemic, but not in all ways for the worse, as the success of digital platforms such as Netflix or Amazon Prime has shown. Today we have the awareness that we obviously need to get people back into cinemas and back to safety, but we also have a flood of extra productions that can give work to actors, actresses and workers. Italian cinema was at a standstill for a moment, and it seemed that it could not evolve, but now we have a new generation of amazing and skilled actors. This is precisely why at MANINTOWN we wanted to give young talents a lot of space right from the start, especially looking at the publishing industry, which perhaps continued to talk about young talents through the same people, who were no longer so young. The cinema must be a safe home for experimentation, and only those who have the freshness and talent with a touch of irony will be able to carry the flag of Italian cinema around the world, just as Italy has always done. We must work so that those who deserve it can emerge, have fun and entertain audiences at home, because, let’s always remember it, cinema is entertainment,” concludes Fabrizio Imas, Entertainment Editor of MANINTOWN.

WHERE AND WHEN

Campari Lounge | Terrazza Biennale – Venezia Lido (in front of the Palazzo del Casinò) Friday 10 September, from 6.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.

To register for the event: [email protected]

Faces: in conversation with Natasha Slater

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

We met Natasha Slater, pr and entrepreneur from London who has been living in Milan for years and is considered a reference point in the creative environment of the city. In addition to working as a consultant for famous fashion brands, she is also the owner and founder of her public relations agency “Natasha Slater Studio” since 2009. Among her latest projects is her new Dinner Conversations, the members club to help men and women networking and building economic independence, but also a new lifestyle club based in Milan to create relationships and exchange opportunities among members, as well as to propose activities and experiences with an international and multi-cultural feel.

With the vacations approaching, we find out another of her passions, surfing, and in our conversation, she tells us how she approached this discipline, leaving us some advice on where to practice and how to start. Ready to go?

How did your passion for surfing start? 

My journey with surfing started 3 years ago, and it wasn’t what I had imagined, as much as I had fantasized about riding big waves, on exotic beaches with cute surfer boys, my first experience was just the opposite! I could barely get my board into the water and once inside, knee-high, I was fighting with the ocean to hold it, getting hit by wave after wave, in short, my hopes of becoming a cool surfer were low. I didn’t give up though! 3 years later, here I am, surfing, loving it more every day. Surfing is more than a sport, it’s a lifestyle, a state of mind, a religion, riding waves is a breathless experience. It makes you feel alive, it connects you with nature and asks you to be in the present moment, in the flow of life, out there on the lineup you are alone with everyone, looking at the waves, learning to read the ocean, in a state of meditation, you forget your daily problems and become one with yourself. Surfing has taught me so much about what it really means to let go, once you’re in the ocean, nothing else matters except being there.

What are the best places to practice it?

My favorite places are Baleal in Portugal, Santa Teresa in Costa Rica and Bali in Indonesia. The beauty of surfing is being able to travel and discover new places both to visit and to surf.

Where are you going to spend your vacation? Are you going to take your board with you?

I’m planning to go to Baleal in Portugal to practice a bit and relax by the ocean. I would have loved to organize a retreat for Dinner Conversations members, as I did with 18 people last October, but unfortunately due to the situation we are experiencing I had to postpone this surf & yoga retreat with the certainty of being able to organize it as soon as possible! 

What are your plans for the next season?

I’m working on a new calendar of unique events and experiences starting in September for members of my Dinner Conversations club. The dcClub – open to successful men and women – aims to establish real relationships between people and is distinguished by the innovative concept of involving its members in various lifestyle areas. The concept reflects the idea of a club without a physical location that creates important connections through itinerant experiences: we organize pop-up events for dinners, mixology/wine tasting evenings, private visits to art galleries, yoga retreats, workouts, and wellness appointments.

Krug presents the Grand Cuvée 169 èmè Èdition champagne

Posted on by Marco Marini

“Champagne helps the wonder,” said the writer George Sand. Even Krug must think so. Krug is one of the main maisons in the world of sparkling wine. To celebrate its last edition – the 169th one – of Grand Cuvée, it developed a series of immersive musical experiences online to enjoy in front of a glass of wine of the new Èdition. This synesthetic experience merges wine tasting, sounds, voices, and audios 8D. It is curated by the Belgian songwriter and producer Ozark Henry and the VOCES8, an international choral singing group. 

The project is a musical interpretation of the Grand Cuvèe, the best symbol of the brand set up in 1843. The wine production, carried out by the Chef de Caves Julie Cavil, has similarities with the work of an orchestra director who has to connect different instruments. Every year, Cavil and the tasting committee start a creative process by tasting hundreds of wines to evaluate the melodies, and then they proceed with the composition, in which each of them is essential for the final result. 

In this case, the starting point was the harvest in 2013. It was an exceptional year that gave the wines chromatic elegance and fullness, further accentuated in the blend with dozens of reserve wines from different vineyards and années (the oldest is one of 2000). The result is a champagne with soft and refined tones, lively effervescence, characterized by floral, fruit and citrus notes, with touches of gingerbread. It is suited to a wide variety of matchings, from simple food such as aged Parmesan to gourmet dishes, from fish (oysters or grilled prawns) to desserts (carrot cakes, cheesecakes, tarte tatin). 

The Grand Cuvée 169 represents the last chapter of a century-year-old process started by the founder Joseph Krug, an idealist and unconventional winemaker who aspired to obtain, year after year, the best champagne, regardless of climate change. His dream is now honored by the first chapter of a series of immersive experiences.

Among the estimators of the new entry in Krug’s maison, there is the chef Ciccio Sultano of Duomo di Ragusa, two Michelin stars kept from 2006, and a brand ambassador. He praises the maison because it is an expression of simplicity (which, according to him, is a synonym of uniqueness). He matches the KGC 169 èmè Èdition with four basic dishes: caponata, olives with onions, tomatoes and basil, sauce of anchovy and crunchy bread. Together with the wine, they create “a moment of lightness and carefreeness that we all need”. What better way to toast the post-pandemic restart? 

Chef in Town- a food and beverage column curated by

Intl Editor Francesca Romana Riggio

Unconventional hospitality in the sign of artistic valorization – Miramare Hotel Museum

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

Miramare Hotel Museum in Cagliari is an innovative concept that captures the heart of all guests who stay at least once in their life. 

The small and extravagant hotel de Charme is located on the noble floor of Palazzo Marini Devoto, a majestic building built between 1870 and the end of the 19th century in the main street in Cagliari. The 24 rooms are actually ateliers where several artists created their works, getting in touch with the hotel, its builders, and guests. 

“Art as an investment for the future” are the words of the visionary host Giuliano Guida Bardi, already well-known by the public for his activism in the revolutionary hotel industry. 

It was Miramare Hotel that designed and created the Playable in art, a formula that allows artists around the world to stay in Cagliari and discover its culture and passion and pay the hotel bill with their artworks: a return to barter and patronage that enhance the humanity of artists and hosts, which is often depressed by the money value of their passions. This process led to designing an Arcimboldian and multiform hotel: a melting-pot of styles and cultures, chronicles and stories that give it a unique charm.

The staff of young and enthusiastic collaborators, who animate the reception, the bar, the kitchen, and the dining rooms, is the icing on the cake. They are all very young and cheerful and help provide a pleasant stay. They organize tours by tuk-tuk around the Marina and Castello alleys in the historic center, amazing boat trips in Golfo degli Angeli , or rides on the Piper PA28 to admire the pearls of South Sardinia from above. A unique experience, in front of the tourist port in the suggestive neighborhood of LapPola (or Martina), a kind of souk with an extraordinary gastronomic offer, from starred restaurant to taverns with charm. 

Miramare Hotel Museum

Via Roma, 59, 09124 Cagliari

Website 

Instagram page

Travel with Manintown curated by Francesca Riggio

Horoscope for June 2021: Stars & Styles

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

Curated by Francesca Romana Riggio

Text by Astro Coach Massimo Giannone

Illustrations by Maria Lombardi

ARIES

“Passion is everything. I desire the smallest things so madly, as well as the biggest ones. I have no peace” – Gabriele D’Annunzio

In a song by Domenico Modugno “Nel blu dipinto di blu”, the singer wants to convey energies and lightness through colors and notes. All dreams disappear at dawn and lead to look at the stars and fly. In a part of the song, he describes his enthusiasm like this: “I flew happily higher than the sun and even more, while the world was slowly disappearing over there, a sweet song was playing only for me…”. This song was probably written by the singer with Franco Migliacci on one of the saddest days of his life. That indicates that from a drastic event and pain, authentic marvel can rise. 

Dear Aries friends, when situations around us tend to afflict us or prevent us from looking at the future, we need to be overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and desire to do. It is in the difficult phases that we can implement our winning ideas and great projects. 

Love: by removing negative thoughts and believe that you can improve your condition. It is necessary to find a way to discuss and have dialogues being willing and avoiding closing yourself off. 

Career: Saturn in Aquarius will give you a sort of wisdom dictated by experiences of sacrifices that you have made over the last few years. Ongoing changes require high focus and desire of stimuli. An amazing path is taking place.

Your Path is: ENTHUSIASM

In Greek culture, the word enthusiasm expressed physical or mental excitement. You were pervaded by a deity that made you crazy somehow. Platon distinguished the enthusiasm associating it to divinities: Apollo led to prophetic delirium, Dionysus led to mystic delirium, the Muses led to poetic delirium, and Afrodite to love delirium. A sort of disconnection from reality, the divinity led the individual to a non-rational dimension where the reason does not act and superior energy took over. Actually, through a flow of energies, what is incomprehensible can turn into reality. 

TAURUS

“Understanding human beings is intelligence, understanding oneself is wisdom” – Lao Tse.

A sentence in Matthew’s Gospel impressed me: “Those who want to save their life will lose it, those who will lose their life for my sake will find it again”. This leads to me a reflection: one can rise from its ashes only through sacrifices and pain. This is the path needed to purify the soul and lead it to a gradual evolution until it reaches an immense light made of beauty and purity. 

Even Dante Alighieri, in his works, tells us about a similar journey: the human being must know the hell to reach heaven. Only through the knowledge of evil, he/she can reach goodness. Jung, a famous psychologist, states that it is not enough to know many books to become a psychologist, but it is necessary to observe with your own eyes the dynamics around us, from the most hideous to the most beautiful ones. I remember my father’s quote: “The path will give you the right experience.”

Dear Taurus friends, with wisdom and depth of soul, you will be able to change yourself drastically. It will be a difficult path. Through the pain, the experiences will lead you to personal growth and empathy towards others. Only those who have crossed such routes can understand and donate with their essence. 

 Love: you will experience a phase of self-criticism and search in your soul for the reasons why things happen in your daily sentimental life. You will be sympathetic towards those who love you, even if they are in the wrong. Like a wise old man, you will listen to them and with a smile, you will demonstrate your closeness. 

Career: with Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces, you will be able to have the right vision to act and understand your colleagues’ needs. You will adopt a far-sighted vision and you will support people in need. 

Your Path is: EMPATHY

With empathy, the ability to pick up the deepest values, and the right attitude towards yourself and others, you will balance your daily tensions. Through a deep reflection, you will reach a state of mind that enables you to connect with other people recognizing their emotions and accepting their points of view. In this way, you will understand the meaning of everything.

GEMINI

“Each man confuses the limits of his sight with the limits of the world” – Arthur Schopenhauer. 

In a poem by Gerald Parks, an American poet and writer, he wishes to overcome the obstacles, and he writes: “People are provincial: their province is the world[…] and the sea and the sky are the only borders.”People often adjust to their environment and establish borders conventionally. However, they should change their point of view. 

Dear Gemini friends, an important phase has started. Astral energies, the node in the sign, and Mercury, the supporter of your communication, will stimulate your mind and lead you to the essence of things. A new vision, a path of purification, a light that will make you grow, dream and build destinations rich in harmonies.

Love: you will have a deep vision of the behavioral dynamics around you. You will try to get rid of tensions and attitudes of addiction to the people you love. Through such awareness, you will make steady and constructive your relationship. 

Career: You will set limits and with assertiveness, you will manage your professional relationships and won’t allow your colleagues or bosses to take over. You will somehow impose your rights. With kindness, you will make other people respect you. “Each man confuses the limits of his sight with the limits of the world”, claimed Arthur Schopenhauer, a German philosopher. 

Your Path is: ESTABLISHING PRECISE BOUNDARIES

During this phase, you need to get rid of what you don’t need. Don’t allow others to bring their burdens into your soul. To do so, you need to set limits that don’t have to be overcome by others’ needs. 

CANCER 

“The most powerful factors of distraction are emotions: everything that arouses strong feelings catches our attention” – Davide Goleman

Daniel Goleman, an American psychologist, stated: “Be careful and you will be happy”. Carefulness leads the individual to find solutions and the keys to success. Focusing, we train our minds like athletes do when they challenge their potentialities going beyond the limits to achieve their goals. Focusing on goals helps find solutions and makes our life easier. Listening to our senses and our creativity, our abilities will increase, letting go of negative thoughts that limit our potentialities. With gratefulness, values, and virtue, individuals will find a way to solve and raise their spirit to personal growth. 

Dear Cancer friends, with Venus and Mars in the sign, you will have the chance to make significant changes in your life. Intense energies, taste for beauty, and right emotions will lead you to long-desired dreams. It will be necessary to have a clear vision of what you want and focus on your goal.

Love: by removing usual schemes and useless attitudes and forgiving past events, you will be able to identify the repetitive aspects of your relationship. Meditation is a good path. 

Career: Mars will give you energies. Make the best use of this phase. Through high concentration and a far-sighted vision, you will develop paths of great professional satisfaction. A new successful stage is starting. 

Your Path is: FOCUS 

Staying focus on your goals helps you understand the dynamics to follow in every aspect of your life. Not only does an unclear vision waste our time but it also makes us live situations that could be avoided. It is important to have clear ideas ut don’t get distracted by immediate needs. Through calm and focusing on your goal, you will head in the right direction and achieve the best results. 

LEO 

“When you wake up in the morning, remember that being alive is a privilege: breathing, thinking, loving” – Marco Aurelio.

Through a positive mind, it is possible to turn negative events into opportunities. According to Louise Hay, all our thoughts create reality. So, we need to reschedule our thoughts to have a more harmonic manifestation of reality closer to what we desire and in line with the energies around us. Have you ever heard about the law of attraction? We emanate thousands of thoughts during the day, and the negative ones often take over. It is necessary to believe firmly in what we desire to change the dynamics of what is wrong in our existence. In this way, cosmic energies will help us fulfill our dreams. 

Dear Leo friends, Saturn in Aquarius will put you in front of choices. Willpower will be necessary to achieve your goals. 

Love:  your partner needs a clear vision of what you desire. You have to satisfy the desires of those who love you to evolve your relationship. You will experience emotional growth. 

Career: you will be able to make your thoughts change course. You will be altruistic and understand others’ limits. Be essential and your autonomy will grow.

Your Path is: IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF YOUR THOUGHTS

 Feeling nervous about the problems to face won’t help you find the right solutions. A positive and proactive attitude is necessary to improve your life’s quality, firmly believing that there is a solution to everything. It is essential to observe everything from an optimistic point of view, trying to remove negative thoughts. 

VIRGO

“I consider those who overcome their desires braver than those who conquer their enemies because the hardest victory is the one against yourself” – Aristotle.

Observing things with the eyes of the soul puts us in contact with the world of energies that lead human beings to a reawakening, peace, serenity, and above all, a clear vision of the self.

In Greek culture, Dionysus is a divinity, the son of Zeus, Bacco for the Romans, connected with the plants’ lifeblood. This divinity is also connected to flourishing, abundance, vineyards, and wine. It is told that he fell for a young human boy. After a vision of the boy’s death, he decided to protect him from his mortal condition. But, for every human being, death comes. His vision became the truth: Dionysus found the boy’s corpse in a field. He started crying and leaned on his stick. From his tears, a plant grew, it started twisting around the plant, and fruit with the shape of his tears grew, the grape, symbol of hope and prosperity. This legend teaches us that from pain, a possibility can emerge. 

Dear Virgo friends, Neptune opposing your sign indicates a difficult path that will lead you to growth and a new dimension of life. Taking painful routes, you will reach your destinations and the fruits of what you desire. 

Love: through understanding and higher awareness, you will be able to give the right advice to those who love you. Instead of judgment, you will be sympathetic.

Career: you will be tired, you will have to manage people and complex situations. However, you will have the right boost to help and convey values to people you collaborate with. 

Your Path is: ELEVATION  

It is time to make a deeper evolution. Physical and material understanding is not enough. You need to go back to the essence of everything. In this way, you will have the chance to overcome your negative aspects and fulfill your reality properly and harmoniously. You will have new lifeblood to face every field of your existence in a new way, deeper, without fears, but with great understanding and awareness.

LIBRA 

“Those who teach their children respect for the environment and love for animals are building a better future” – Rinaldo Sidoli. 

In a song by Michael Jackson, “Earth song”, the singer explains that we have to understand the injuries we have caused to the Earth, listen to the screams in pain and do something to respect the environment, the seas we are destroying. It is necessary to understand that the Earth gives us its fruits, but we have to preserve and respect it. We have to turn our mistakes into quality. 

Dear Libra friends, you have to respect yourselves and understand that if you hurt yourself, you hurt the environment around you. The mind tricks you, intelligence and kindness will help you. 

Love: you can be live happily, removing negative thoughts that afflict you. Try to transform them through new awareness. Do not create a reality based on self-punishment. By changing energies, your daily life will bloom again. 

Career: with Saturn in Aquarius, excessive reasoning might prevent you from picking up the best fruits of this phase. Anticipating too much to avoid dangers might actually make you live pessimistically and it might block your professional initiatives. Face your daily life positively and try not to put off too much.

Your Path is: PRESERVING

It is often to find signs that say: “Do not pick up flowers, leave this place clean” If we create a harmonious relationship with our surroundings and respect the environment, we create harmony and feel in tune with universal energies. 

SCORPIO 

“It is the repetition of statements that leads the other to believe. And when belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen” – Muhammad Ali. 

According to Aristotle, persuasion is the art of leading people to take actions they usually would not take. In this way, society leads us to an idea, an opinion, a purchase. Those who are thirsty for knowledge, resist more to persuasive stimuli. 

Dear Scorpio friends, Uranus in Taurus will push you to make some changes. Be sweet and quiet when imposing your will, try to give as many explanations as possible. 

Love: strategies will not bring many results, but if you adopt an empathic attitude towards your partners, you can persuade them. Repete them that you need their support.

Career: you have to express your intentions clearly with your colleagues to persuade them, using a persuasive and sweet tone of voice. With Pluto in Capricorn, you will be able to handle any difficulty and turn the tables in your favor. 

Your Path is: PERSUADING

You need to lead others to reflect if they do not want to take part in unknown initiatives. Through convincing and sincere communication, you will be able to conquer sympathies. 

SAGITTARIUS 

“A heart that searches, feels that something was missing; a heart that lost, knows what it was deprived of ” – Goethe.

Concerning research, Plato states: “Those who love philosophy live pursuing their occupations, but always staying true to the philosophy that makes them intelligent”. A journey to seek the truth in our daily life to reach a destination that, like Aristotle said, has to be the greater good, not only for ourselves but also for the community. 

Dear Sagittarius friends, With Mercury and Gemini, your words will have much weight. It will be necessary to dose them with intelligence and search for the right ways to follow, being transparent with the other. In this way, you will avoid criticism and tensions.

Love:  the need to find new balances in your relationship will encourage you. You will be able to open yourself clearly and gently to those who love you. You will foster harmony, enhancing understanding and sharing. 

Career: your need for growth will be satisfied by the hunger for knowledge and your innate curiosity about following dangerous paths, but they will lead you to success. Reward other people’s ideas as well. 

Your Path is: SEARCHING 

It is in curiosity and research that people follow paths to find explanations and answers. We have discovered and understood the world since we were children. Don’t stop being curious, even though obstacles distract you, because life is a constant discovery. The impossible can become possible. 

CAPRICORN

“Everyone is looking for someone to blame,”- Tom Waits. 

Assign to everyone what he/she deserves wisely means recognizing the merit. Socrates was one of the first martyrs because of his ethics and morality. He was sentenced to death owing to his belief, but he conveyed many teachings that are still modern today for their depth. His works are unique. Nowadays, those who create content, a song, or whatever, are protected by law, through copyright, a necessary regulation due to the new technologies, the Internet, and social media. It clarifies someone’s property and is a form of respect for those who produce, create, write something. 

Dear Capricorn friends, Venus in opposition might increase your ego and lead you to boast too much about things that do not belong to you. A form of sadness and melancholy might lead you to make mistakes. To avoid it, the path is sincerity and clarity by giving everything the right value. 

Love: excessive confidence in yourself might lead you to unfair attitudes towards your partner. Always wonder yourself before acting: is it right? In this way, you will be aware of the fairness of your actions and you will be honest with yourself and others. 

Career: you have to understand what the priorities are and identify your limits. If you cannot fulfill a project, accept your limits. Give the right value to what you have to do. Maybe delegate your tasks to other people. 

Your Path is: ASSIGNING

Each person is unique. By respecting the individuals and the community we create a harmony that gives an interpretative vision of who created something. In short, recognize your problems and do not blame others. 

AQUARIUS 

“Purity and simplicity are the two wings with which the human being rises over earthly things” – Tommaso da Kempis.

Catharsis is a Greek word that describes the action of getting rid of conflicts and suffering through the re-elaboration of experienced traumas, like purification. Only through an understanding of the reasons why we suffer. A journey to our past can untie the knots and we can free ourselves from burdens that prevent us from being serene. Even contact with nature can help in this terms, being surrounded by the beauty of nature. If it is not possible, it is recommended to have plants in the environment where you live, they help focus, alleviate stress, and purify the air. 

Dear Aquarius friends, Saturn in the sign, will lead you to responsibility and practicality. You will need something new, a spiritual rebirth. You will be very careful about your choices and select people with who you share your daily life. 

Love: you will need to rebuild relationships. Some cycles ended, but the path is slow. The stars are on your side. If you are single, you will experience a phase rich in bright spots. Couples will find harmony.

Career: you will know what to do, but there will be challenges to face. You will be able to handle any situation with your innate sensitivity and grace. There will be pleasant news for the young people of the sign.

Your Path is: PURIFYING 

A path of mental cleansing is necessary. You accumulated heavy energies and thoughts, you faced situations without any help: that has not made your path easy. You should try techniques of breathing or meditation to enjoy positive energies. 

PISCES

“Intuition is the voice of angels and it should not be ignored. Listen to your intuitions, pay attention to your instinct, inspirations, ideas” – Neale Donald Walsh. 

According to Plato, intuition was the immediate knowledge and it allows to reach supreme truths. In a song by John Lennon, “Intuition”, the singer describes how it is possible to travel through intuition. The lyrics say: “Intuition takes me there/ Intuition takes me everywhere/ Well, my instincts are fine/ I had to learn to use them in order to survive”.It is an innate sense in human beings through which it is possible to predict and prevent events.

Dear Pisces friends, with Jupiter and Neptune in the sign, your skills will increase thanks to the stars. Jupiter, the planet of luck and success, will bring serenity and satisfaction, and Neptune will lead you to change your reality through imagination and creativity. 

Love: you will overcome your anxieties through instinct and curiosity that will protect you by anticipating events. Some doubts might delay this process, but you will set out for an amazing period of inspiration. 

Career: a sort of geniality will inspire you, you will intuit how to relate with your colleagues, you will influence professional events. However, emotions will prevail over rationality. This is a great phase for investments.

Your Path is: INTUITION 

Understanding in advance how to move is a priority of this phase. A unique instinct will accompany you. Use the first instinct, without thinking too much, otherwise, you will risk making mistakes. 

Skin 689: essential beauty for the contemporary gentleman

Posted on by Lorenzo Sabatini

Manintown meets Max von Troschke, Managing Partner of skin689 (skincare luxury products made in Switzerland).

Max von Troschke is an entrepreneur in the luxury beauty and skincare routine’s field. A maximum expert to achieve eternal youth. When it comes to resolve problems for having a toned skin, he’s the voice to listen to. Man in Town met him and asked him some QS about the perfect and essential beauty routine for men.

Skin and beauty. What are the latest trends for radiant skin for a man?

Consumers are demanding in regard to performance – and knowledgeable in regard to ingredients. Among other things we see a continued trend towards performance with proven efficacy and active ingredients from medical research.


As a beauty expert, what does your product range offer to your clients in order to improve how they look? in other words, your brand philosophy.

We are all about firm skin and defined contours for the body. With innovative ingredients and proven efficacy.


Do’s and don’ts for men in the field of beauty treatment. Help our readers not to get lost in the welter of products on the market and recommend an effective essential routine.

As often less is more. Most treatments are only effective when done regularly. So when you cannot add it to your routine don’t even start. And look for proven efficacy.


Tell us about your new 2021 products.

We just launch a new crème for tummy and hips – with dual power against fat cells.

How was skin689 born? I guess constant training is necessary. What fascinates you about this world day after day? 

We started off with a revolutionary active ingredient. This was discovered in medical research. In clinical studies we proved its effects on elasticity (collagen fibres) and fat cells – and brought it to cosmetics. At skin689 we are thrilled to bring true innovation to the market. 

Your brand’s next goals. 

We remain focused on the body, with cosmeceutical products that really work. For that, we keep researching and scouting for new ingredients to further boost the efficacy of our products.

A window overlooking Rome, the Eternal City

Posted on by Francesco Vavallo

Imagine waking up in the morning, opening the windows, and glimpsing the majesty of Rome, the Eternal City that is ready to welcome you.

A few minutes from Terme di Diocleziano and Villa Borghese, Marcella Royal Hotel welcomes you in an oasis of peace in the beating heart of the city. The elegance and warmth of the hall combine with modern rooms, from the most luxurious to the classic one, without neglecting the care for the guests. 

The crown jewel, recently renovated, is without a doubt “Terrazza Flavia” from where it is possible to admire the breathtaking view from the city of Rome to Castelli Romani, From St. Peter’s Dome to Monte Mario and beyond. What better way to start your day tasting an Italian and American breakfast with a breathtaking view? 

The Roof Garden “Flavia” welcomes you also for an aperitif, a dinner accompanied by music, or even a business meeting (that must go well with such a view!)

This authentic jewel of the capital owes its beauty and name to Marcella Angelini, a hotel owner for over 50 years who represents the archetype of our country’s hotel culture: meticulous attention to cleanliness and the guest in the spotlight. 

Style, elegance, attention to detail, choice of prestigious materials and luxury finishes have always belonged to Mrs. Marcella.

Travel with Manintown curated by Francesca Riggio

Tahar Rahim: a major talent of French cinema

Posted on by Fabrizio Imas

COVER IMAGE: COPYRIGHT ARNO LAM/CHARLETTE STUDIO

PRESS AGENT: AGENCE CONTACT PARIS

Tahar Rahim is a French actor of Algerian origin. He is living a golden moment in his artistic career. He was recently nominated by the international press for a Golden Globe for his role in “The Mauritian”, a true story taken from the book “Guantanámo Diary”. He played in the movie with Jodie Foster. So he told us the emotion of being on set with an Oscar & Golden Globe winner. The film will be soon released also in Italy. On Netflix, he is at the top with “The Serpent”, a miniseries that talks about the daring adventures of Charles Sobhraj, a serial killer who operated in the ’70s in the golden triangle of drugs and crossroads of hippies.

His transformation to put himself in the shoes of the character is amazing and outstanding. 

How do you feel about being nominated for the Golden Globe as the best actor for “The Mauritian”, a movie with Jodie Foster?

Well, I am over the moon, it is incredible. If you are an actor of my generation and you grew up with her movies, it is almost a dream. I have vivid memories from when I went to the cinema to watch “Contact” or “The silence of the lambs”. She is a legend. I don’t deny that I was almost scared the first time I was in front of her. However, Jodie can make you feel so at ease and relaxed that you almost forget who she is. 

“The Mauritian” has not come out in Italy yet. Why do you suggest watching this movie? 

It is a very important story that needs to be told because it talks about freedom, harsh laws, and humanity. It is the story of a man imprisoned in Guantanámo Bay for 14 long years without even a charge against him. Mohamedou Ould Slah had been through a living hell in jail. When he got out of prison, he wanted to forgive everyone: that means achieving a level of forgiveness that goes beyond any imagination, a real demonstration of a pure and beautiful soul. 

How did you learn English? It is impeccable and without a French accent. 

The truth? I had to work very hard. I have always loved English since I was a child, but when they offered me the role of Ali Soufan in “The Looming Tower”, I knew I had to interpret an American citizen, so I knew I should make no mistakes, even small ones that would not convince the producers or the public. 

So, I practiced with a coach for four hours a day for three months. When I started shooting in New York, I requested a coach on set to be always 100% sure. Even now I have two lessons per week. 

Oliver Stone dedicated a post on Instagram to you and he pointed the finger at the Academy Awards for mentioning not even a category of your movie for the Oscars, meaning that probably it would not have been good publicity for the USA. 

Honestly, when I was told it, I could not believe that Mr. Stone had done a post about me and the movie. Of course, we can’t say that American cinema is not able to criticize its society, this is Oliver Stone’s vision. I am just finding out how things go in the USA. 

Did you already know the story of “The Serpent” before playing the lead role of the Netflix miniseries? It was not very well-known in Italy, probably because it is French. 

I knew it but not because it is French, none of my friends remembered it. But since I have two elder brothers, I found the book about the story of Charles Sobhraj in the bedroom and I was fascinated by the synopsis. I was 16 years old and I already wanted to be an actor. But at that time, I could not understand the real horror behind that man, yet I imagined playing that role. When I discovered that Benicio Del Toro was about to start the film shooting in 2001, I was disappointed, but then they did not do it anymore. Exactly 20 years later, I got an email from my agent saying that I would play the role of a serial killer and then I realized it was him. Life is incredible. It’s almost as if fate gave me this role. 

Do you think when cinemas reopen in France, people will buy tickets like before or will stay true to the streaming? 

There will be a good season since we are getting closer to summer and probably people want to stay outside, but if I can say it, we humans tend to forget things. When this is over, we will just want to go back to normal life, like going to the cinema. 

Curated by Francesca Romana Riggio

Chef in Town: The recipe of the original American cheesecake

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

The New York cheesecake is one of the most loved cold desserts. It is made with a base of butter biscuits and a filling of cream with fresh cheese. It can be decorated and embellished with different ingredients such as berries – for the classic version – but also chocolate, caramel, grain, coconut flour, and much more. 

How to make the original American cheesecake: the recipe 

Ingredients: 

  • 300g of Digestive biscuits
  • 150g of melted butter
  • 500g of cream cheese 
  • 100g of sugar
  • one egg
  • 150g of low-fat yogurt without sugar
  • 150g of fresh cream 
  • one spoon of lemon juice
  • vanilla extract

For the frosting: 

  • 180g of fresh berries
  • 3 spoons of sugar

Making the American cheesecake

Firstly, you have to make the base of the cheesecake. All you need are Digestive biscuits and melted butter. Optionally, you can even use shortbread biscuits. The procedure to follow is very simple: after crumbling the biscuits, mix them with melted butter in a bowl. The mixture obtained must be soft and compact. Once it reaches the right consistency, you can proceed and spread it over a springform tin, covering both the bottom and the edge. 

How to make the cream 

To make the sour cream, pour fresh cream, yogurt, and well-filtered lemon juice into another bowl and mix everything. 

In another container, mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer. Then, add one egg and mix again. When the mixture gets creamy, add 170g of sour cream (keep aside the rest). After mixing the two creams, spread them with a paddle over the base of crumbled biscuits. 

How to cook the cake

Place the cake in a static and preheated oven at 165 degrees and cook it for one hour. Once you take it out of the oven, pour 3 spoons of leftover sour cream on the surface and put the cake in the fridge. After about 3 hours, do that procedure again and pour the rest of the sour cream on the cooled layer. At this point, the cake needs to cool for 10 hours in the fridge. 

How to decorate 

If you want to follow the traditional recipe to the letter, decorate the cake with berries frosting. To make it, you have to put berries with sugar on the fire and heat them for about 5 minutes. Then, blend them and sift the frosting to separate the seeds from the mixture. When the frosting gets cold in the fridge, you can spread it on the surface of the cheesecake and decorate it with fresh wild berries and strawberries. 

However, the decoration is the most creative part, so you can go wild with your favorite tastes and personalize your cheesecake. 

How to keep it

Keep the American cheesecake in the fridge for 3-5 days, but you can also freeze it. In this case, avoid putting the frosting and decorate the cake only when you serve it: in this way, you will keep its freshness. 

Chef in Town- a food and beverage column curated by

Intl Editor Francesca Romana Riggio

Springtime in New York – a sign of rebirth

Posted on by Francesca Romana Riggio

Crowded restaurants and parks, bars and coffee shops full of people, musicians playing outside, in the streets. If it weren’t for the masks, which are still mandatory to wear even outdoors, walking around Soho on any weekend of April, it would be difficult to believe we still are in the middle of a pandemic. 

 In New York, a fresh wind has been blowing for the past few weeks. Thanks to the impressive vaccination plan, around 40% of New Yorkers have already received at least one dose of vaccine. 

The restaurants are full of people, while they serve mainly outside like the new formula adopted in Europe: a novelty introduced last spring as an experiment, then extended to the whole winter, despite the frigid temperatures that characterize the Big Apple during cold months. It was eventually confirmed indefinitely by NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio. 

Today NYC restaurant owners, who resisted the months of the lockdown, are ready to take their revenge. They can offset the reduction of the internal capacity with large external structures that have nothing to envy to the typical ones in the main European squares, for lunch and dinner “en plen air”. 

And so, in this New York spring 2021, one of the most affected sectors during the pandemic is now becoming the most evident and concrete sign of restart post-Covid. 

Even the real estate business hints that a turning point seems to be close. As confirmed by Andrea Pedicini, a real estate broker who has been living in New York for over eleven years: “In the first quarter of the year, in Manhattan 3,700 new sale contracts were signed, this has been the highest number since 2007, growing by 58% compared to the same quarter in 2020.” The combined effect of three factors has been impactful, “Prices are on average 10-15% lower, interest rates are low, there is a spread optimism that derives from a concrete and efficient vaccination plan”, he explained. 

Data related to the rental market are also positive, with an increase of 90% of new leases registered in March compared to the same month in 2020: a growth consistent with what already happened back in early 2021 between January and February. “It is the most evident sign that people are coming back to the city, attracted by convenient rents, with prices falling by 15-20% compared to before the pandemic”. 

These data challenge the thesis of the detractors of New York, who claimed that the emptying of the city recorded during the lockdown would be definitive. Moreover, at the moment only 10% of the employees who used to crowd the city from Monday to Friday have gone back to the office, and international tourists are absent because of the closing of borders still in force. 

In this context, despite the temporary impossibility to move there, even Italian investors’ interest in Manhattan and its surroundings is growing. “Since last summer, our compatriots’ interest in the real estate business in New York has increased significantly, as often happens in these circumstances”, said Pedicini, whose clients are mainly from Italy and are entrepreneurs, managers, but also actors and professional athletes. 

“Some people are just waiting for the borders to reopen and, in the meantime, they request to be kept updated about market trends. Others have invested remotely from Italy without even seeing face-to-face the acquired property.”

And so, within sight of the total reopening expected on July 1st, New York seems to be ready to welcome tourists with open arms, considering also the impressive budget approved by the New York Tourist Board, which has assigned the record amount of 30 million dollars for the “NYC Reawaken” campaign whose slogan is “Wish You Were Here in New York City”. 

Photo Credits: Federica Carlet

Chef in Town: how to make the true Italian bruschetta

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

Bruschetta is a typical Italian food to serve as an aperitif or a “meal-on-a-plate”, made with different condiments. Even though it is simple and everyone can make it, there are rules to follow even in its preparation. It is a simple but delicious dish that can adapt to any taste and need.

To make the true Italian bruschetta worthy of a starred chef, follow these three basic rules and then unleash your imagination and creativity. 

1 Choose the right bread

The choice of bread for bruschetta is not to underestimate. It is better not to use sandwich bread or pre-packed sliced bread made of different types of flour. Pita bread, panini made with milk, “rosette” and “michette” are also not suitable for bruschetta. A loaf of bread with a compact and spongy crumb and a fragrant crust, like the homemade one, is perfect for your bruschetta. 

2 The perfect toasting

Bruschetta bread is usually toasted on the grill, but you can also toast it in the oven or in a non-stick pan. The secret lies in the thickness of the bread slices. They don’t have to be too thin to prevent the crumb from falling because of the condiment above. Heat the bread for about 2 minutes on each side so that the crust gets golden brown. 

3 The seasoning 

The cook’s creativity comes here into play. With only a little olive oil, salt, and garlic, you can taste delicious bruschettas, but the seasonings can find endless combinations. They vary from traditional bruschettas with cherry tomatoes and basil to bruschettas with olive pate, mushrooms, artichokes. If you love spicy cold cuts, a very tasty alternative is the Calabrese ‘nduja, whose consistency fits perfectly with toasted bread. However, you can even move from the local tradition and season your bruschetta with hummus or baba ganoush for an unusual but winning mix of flavors.

The advice is to eat warm bruschettas. A good option is to prepare the condiments earlier so that your guests can choose how to enrich their slices. Success is guaranteed! 

Chef in Town- a food and beverage column curated by

Intl Editor Francesca Romana Riggio

Horoscope for May 2021: Stars & Styles

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

Welcome to Stars and Styles, our monthly horoscope appointment, with the guidance of Astro-coach Massimo Giannone, renowned astrologer. Gifted with exceptional sensitivity, he reads with a methodical eye and interprets with the gift of intuition. Giannone has literally conquered the heart of Italy, starting from Milan, the capital of fashion and publishing, with his fixed appointments on Il Sole 24 Ore and Gioia.

His method has also conquered the high-end fashion industry, which has led him to be the protagonist of fashion events and promotional tours throughout Italy for brands such as Maliparmi and Prairie. His approach, far from generic, enters the psychological and soul aspect of the personalities linked to the zodiacal sign, with a perceptive interpretative key that is aimed at providing advice for rebirth, rebuilding.

“Experiences are teachings, if you learn to grasp their directives, your life can change completely” says Massimo Giannone.

Curated by Francesca Romana Riggio

Text by Astro Coach Massimo Giannone

Illustrations by Maria Lombardi

Aries – During childhood, curiosity gives children a chance to joy and be surprised in front of any new opportunity in their daily life. They are free from social restrictions and fears that prevent people from facing new situations. To overcome events that afflict us, we should look at reality with children’s eyes, which turn a problem into an opportunity through their purity of soul. 

Dear Aries, your emotional state is not fulfilling. Many external events and your state of mind not willing to share might increase stress. Be proactive and try not to fill your mind with negative thoughts. 

Love: some family situations make your soul nervous and they might lead you to arguments or misunderstanding with your partner. The time has come to overcome this feeling and win over tensions through lightness. 

Career: you need more stability and the current situation is not giving you balances but a pessimistic view that could affect your fixed professional results. Try to communicate without getting angry. 

“True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it the presence of justice”, claimed Martin Luther King. 

Your Path: constantly living under mental pressure prevents us from helping each other and finding the necessary ways to rebalance our daily life. We should behave freely and without the logic that forces us to face things immediately: we should wait for better times. Rigour increases tensions. We have to imagine evolving in other situations, thus crossing the threshold of a new becoming, more harmonious and proper for us. 

Taurus – Romanticism was an artistic and cultural movement in the 18th century, but it is also an emotional, passionate, and dreamy state of mind that can arouse emotions and create unforgettable atmospheres through gestures and self-manifestation. Observing reality with such a feeling turns every situation into an emotional vibration. 

Dear Taurus, with Mercury, Venus, and Uranus in the sign, you will convey emotions and strong feelings through your sweet and sensitive words in every aspect of your daily life. Focusing on giving and understanding, you will attract positive energies that will make you happy.

Love: your words to the people you love will vibrate with emotional and intense vibrations that will arouse strong feelings in your partner. You will create a dreamy and romantic environment full of passions and moments to share. Your desires will be satisfied and you will receive valuable attention. 

Career: with Jupiter in Pisces from mid-month, your need for something new will be satisfied by glad and unexpected news. You will overcome obstacles thanks to your instinct, letting you jump at any opportunity. 

“To say the word Romanticism is to say modern art – that is, intimacy, spirituality, color, aspiration towards the infinite, expressed by every means available to the arts”, claimed Charles Baudelaire, a French poet. 

Your Path: You have to look at your daily life without any filter and live it as if it were a fairy tale that teaches that everything can be turned into an occasion to challenge yourselves. With a romantic and dreamy attitude, you can turn everything into a new wonderful reality. 

Gemini – Many Greek gods’ personalities can be used as metaphors to explain how we can face situations in our daily life. An interpretation to overcome rooted convictions and improve ourselves, thus beginning a new path that can give us new tools and goals. 

Dear Gemini, with Mercury and Venus in the sign, you will have the right way to communicate and convey your emotions, ideas, and the beauty in you through the comprehension of others’ needs. 

Love: the dialogue will be your trump card. You will be able to convey lightness and the right emotions to your beloved ones, you will face misunderstandings with your partner with closeness and a strong sense of protection. Young people and single ones will experience maturity in the soul and will have the enthusiasm and desire to act. 

Career: it is time to look at the future with more trust and responsibility. Nothing has to be casual, your objectives have to be clear. Evaluate everything before giving consent, dedicating yourselves to your necessities, and giving more value to your time. Neptune in Pisces might distract you. Avoid vices and any excess. 

“If understanding is impossible, knowing is necessary”, claimed Primo Levi, a writer. 

Your Path: we try every day to understand the daily experiences that improve us. The universe is loving and it gives us the right way through experiences. Don’t persist in going your way and accept that everything has its solving time. 

Cancer – When dealing with a challenge, finding the right energetic strength means understanding and adapting to universal laws. 

The lyrics of the song “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay are inspired by a famous painting by Frida, a Mexican paintress, appreciated for her optimism. The song talks about kings, knights, and missionaries, it has many religious references and a tendency to give an optimistic vision of life, even when facing cruel events.

Dear Cancer, with Mars in the sign, you will have great energies to face your daily life, but you will need a balance and you will have to overcome those feelings that might not make you take opportunities when they come. 

Love: a depth of soul, a tendency to intense passions, and the right way to relate to those you love will make this phase great. Try to give them trust and transparency and reassure them. 

Career: you will be able to manage any obstacle with determination and there will be a lot of them. The stars suggest joining rigor and emotions. 

Your Path: energy is responsible for animating the material. To do any task, it is necessary to dose the energies, make them in tune with what we want to do. Avoid excesses and wastes. Our reality is energy and it is the basic element of everything in the universe. Dosing it means using it in the right way. 

Leo – Some mythological figures indicate a path in front of risks. Cyclops, for example, had reduced vision because they had only one eye in the middle of the forehead. They suggest that risk cannot be calculated: you cannot know how it will happen, but only the damage that it might cause. For example, we do know the disruptive power of catastrophic natural events such as earthquakes, but we do not know how and when they occur. The only way is the prevention to cushion the potential problem. So, it is no point feeling bad before the events, it is necessary to deepen your knowledge and try to do your best to avoid being caught unprepared. 

Dear Leo, there will be many difficulties and problems to face. Opposing Jupiter and Saturn are indicators of challenges, but with the right vision and good prevention, you will find a way to soften the obstacles and find good solutions. Don’t be anxious and nervous, concentration and an optimistic spirit will help you. 

Love:  it will be necessary to tolerate some annoying attitudes of your partner. Instead of reacting impulsively, try to explain your hard moments and your need for harmony and serenity to handle this phase. 

Career: you don’t have to make the mistake of overlooking difficult situations, but you need a long-term vision, avoiding causing further tensions and disappointments in your professional field. 

“The best ideas do not come from the reason, but a lucid, visionary madness”, claimed Erasmo of Rotterdam, a Dutch theologist and philosopher. 

Your Path: The right vision in every aspect of our daily life makes us open towards others and leads us to clear and friendly dialogue and the right way to face obstacles and difficulties. Finding the right vision also means solving everything that afflicts us, the path to our peace. 

Virgo – St Augustine teaches that patience is when we tolerate every evil and through which we can reach benevolent paths for us and the environment around us. Those who are not patient have energy that prevents them from improving and they often suffer. Being patient leads the soul to a more light future, understanding the temporary nature of events and that time will reorder things. 

Dear Virgo, fear and impatience might lead you to make mistakes that are hard to solve. Peace and calm are the most appropriate ways. Tolerating and waiting will lead you to serene in front of future situations. 

Love: opposing Venus, Neptune and the Sun will lead you to a dark spirit. You will struggle to understand your partner and you will be afraid of making mistakes that you won’t be able to solve. You need to trust your partner and avoid problems and concerns. 

Career: there will be a lot of occasions to take. Don’t let emotions take over you, take control and try to distinguish and separate your mind from your heart. Confirmations will come and you will find a way to work at your best. Breath deeply and wait for the right moments. 

“Don’t do good to others if you don’t have the strength to handle ungratefulness”, claimed Confucius, a Chinese philosopher. 

Your Path: patience is one of the greatest virtues. It makes us act at the best moments. It gives people the maturity to face any aspect of life. Moreover, caution reduces risk factors. In this way, you can overcome anxieties and disappointments caused by what you do not know, thus reinforcing willingness. 

Libra – In Greek mythology, the myth of Aracne is popular. Aracne was a young lady who had the art of weaving. She competed against the goddess Atena, known as a great weaver, to weave the best fabric. Aracne won the competition and the goddess herself had to admit the beauty of Aracne’s fabric. However, she got angry about losing and punished the young lady: she had to hang on a tree forever and could not weave with her hands anymore, but with her mouth. She turned her into a spider. Aracne was condemned because she was better at weaving than the goddess Atena. Anger and lack of sensitivity blind people. Despite your major position in something, there is no need to be presumptuous, just be grateful for your talents.  

Dear Libra, benevolent Mercury will lead you to deep dialogue and high intellectual stimuli. You will have the chance to attract the desired opportunities, but great humility is necessary.

Love: with sweet and comprehensive words, you will encourage your partner and the people you love, you will lead them to serenity and the solution for their fragilities. In this way, you will improve the couple’s intimacy and your family relationships. 

Career: at work, you need to be sensitive to your professional partners and colleagues. Avoid tensions and arguments. By expressing your necessities clearly and gently you will create relationships based on fairness and transparency. 

“Sensitivity is the most elegant and precious dress intelligence could wear”, claimed Osho, a spiritual mentor. 

Your Path:  Being sensitive to those we love leads us to control our instincts and a different way of reacting, because, through understanding, the ability to judge is higher and closer to others. Don’t be indifferent but sympathetic so that you will be appreciated for this behavior. 

Scorpio – Perceiving without rationalizing is a heart’s quality. It allows people to pick up early the events, waking up from an illusory reality. In a song by The Sun, “The opportunities I missed”, the lyrics invite us to understand that it is always possible to choose, the essence of everything is LOVE, with which we face every aspect of our life. An invitation to believe in our strengths and understand that negative events can turn into an opportunity for personal growth. 

Dear Scorpio, Mercury in Taurus in the first days of the month and Uranus in the sign suggest acting with a depth of heart in every field of your daily life. A word uttered with your heart cheers up others’ souls and will make you avoid deterrent impulses. 

Love: to keep serenity in your couple, the stars suggest listening to your emotions but also being careful not to let them take over. Prevent instincts from taking control with complicity and kindness.

Career: Jupiter will stimulate your creativity. Thanks to a far-sighted vision, you will enjoy stability and a deep critical sense. In this way, you will avoid pitfalls. Moreover, if you add your heart to your initiatives you will get respect and gratifications. 

“The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides”, claimed Audrey Hepburn, a British actress. 

Your Path: expressing ourselves through our heart and not our mind leads us to a wonderful path, making us realize if a person or a situation is right for us. Our heart knows already the future helping us take the right way. 

Sagittarius –  In a song by Fabrizio de Andrè “Fragile friend”, the songwriter describes the defeat of those who chose the role of judge, moralist, and libertarian. A part of the song says:” I could cross liters and liters of coral to reach a place called Bye-bye”. A reflection of the artist, dictated by his pain of not understanding his limits. 

Dear Sagittarius, with opposing Mercury and Venus, your words and feelings will experience a sort of fragility because of great sensitivity and achieved maturity.

Love: dialogues will be a bit lively and confrontation will not be easy. Others will not understand you easily and you will receive criticisms or unfair attitudes. Be kind and maybe postpone the dialogue when the phase is more harmonious. 

Career: you might receive annoying news that will make you anxious. You should listen and be accomodating. Young people of the sign will have to accept criticism. 

“The strongest love is the love that can demonstrate its fragility”, claimed Paulo Coelho. 

Your Path: go beyond your limits, overcome your necessities to be closer to the people we care about. It is a great act of love that purifies your soul and gives valid tools to build harmonies. 

Capricorn – There are different ways to approach demons inside of us. They have a powerful impact on us, so it is necessary to recognize them to face them in the best possible way. Each of us experiences emotions differently from others. A positive and intense way is to overcome fears and guilt. Then it is necessary to remove negative emotions gradually, trying to overcome waves of anger. 

Dear Capricorn, with opposing Mars, you will have an energy drain, a sort of dissatisfaction that might cause negative emotions and extreme attitudes towards those who love you. You have to change your way of acting to avoid situations of instability. 

Love: sadness and misunderstandings are too painful for you, you will feel misunderstood and ignored. You might no longer handle the environment around you. The solution to these situations is self-control. 

Career: at work, you will be a bit tired and demotivated because situations struggle to take off and also because you thought you would achieve some rewards earlier. Rather than grieving, try to make the best use of your chances and time, maybe by investing in training. 

“First of all, the emotion! Only after understanding”, claimed Paul Gauguin, a French painter. 

Your Path: to overcome your emotions and avoid making mistakes, you need to stop a moment to reflect and find control of the situation through techniques such as meditation. You have to consider what is useful and positive for you, learning to recognize events before they happen. 

Aquarius – In Greek mythology, the myth of Apollo and Daphne is well known. Daphne was Gea and Peneo’s daughter, she was a nymph who decided to give up on love. Apollo fell in love with her, but she asked for help from her father to escape from the temptation of love and she turned into a laurel tree: a transformation to overcome human limits and ascend to win pain. 

Dear Aquarius, with Jupiter until mid-month and Saturn in the sign, you will overcome your fragility through a process of sublimation. It is necessary to evolve from caterpillar to butterfly, even though it will imply some sacrifices. 

Love: some news will come, but you will not get things easily. You need to overcome anxieties and accept Saturn’s teachings. Through coherence and strong will, you will be able to manage your fragility. 

Career: you need to have a lot of grit. You have to win apprehension with a lucid vision and determination. Avoid being influenced by others’ limits and try to move on confidently. Your ability to reason will help you. 

“Pain has some limits, but apprehension doesn’t, because we grieve for what we know has happened, but we fear everything that can happen”, claimed Plinius the Elder, a philosopher. 

Your Path:  when we feel troubled, we need to put aside painful thoughts and turn our minds to positive memories. It is necessary to avoid unclear situations, otherwise, concerns and fears increase. Being calm and peaceful helps find serenity. You will grow to achieve maturity that will lead you to clear skies by overcoming your barriers. 

Pisces – A song by Achille Lauro, “Rolls Royce”, talks about an unquiet life, where it is difficult to be carefree. It talks about people dealing with excesses, drugs, overcoming human limits, people who did not manage to handle their success and have chosen a path of no return to a lack of respect towards themselves. Fragility and fear lead human beings to self-destruction or self-punishment. 

Dear Pisces, Neptune is the planet that in astrology represents dreams and fantasy, but it also indicates vices and extremes such as drugs and addictions. In your sign, it can indicate a brilliant vision out of traditional canons. However, you do not have to go beyond the extremes, it is necessary to have control. Love and respect yourselves and others.

Love: excessive sentimentality can lead to dissatisfaction if you do not have that love returned. Rather than hurting yourself with negative thoughts, play with your imagination and avoid imposing your will. 

Career: intuition will be high during this phase. You will be able to reason and have a great future vision. Stay away from prejudice and if events are too repetitive, avoid excesses of judgment. 

“If all the year were playing holidays, to sport would be as tedious as to work”, claimed William Shakespear. 

Your Path: self-doubt and fear of risks can lead to excesses. A middle course is preferred. Create harmonious connections with self-respect and respect for others. 

Freddy Carter – the mysterious Kaz Brekker in Shadow and Bone

Posted on by Rosamaria Coniglio

Photographer: Joseph Sinclair

Stylist: Ella Gaskell

Groomer: Nadia Altinbas

If you are charmed by the fantasy genre, where a long series of events intertwines with the adventures of protagonists with a complex personality in unreal places, you cannot miss “Shadow and Bone“, a TV series adapted from the first novel of the fantasy duology Six of Crows, set in the world of Grisha, written by the American authoress Leigh Bardugo.  The novel is narrated in the first person by the protagonist, Alina Starkov, a teen orphan who grew up in Ravka, a fantasy world inspired by Tsarist Russia in the 1800s, with breathtaking costumes and special effects. 

On the occasion of its release on Netflix, Mondadori republished the novel with a new graphic and the title “Shadow and Bone” on 3rd November 2020. 

Freddy Carter, a film director, is also an extraordinary actor who plays the role of Kaz Brekker, a mysterious criminal, in Shadow and Bone. As you can perceive from his work as a director, with his short film “No. 89“, even in the guise of an actor, he can combine a subtle and sharp irony with tragic situations, with an unexpected rhythm that makes you feel dizzy. He stages stories and relationships among characters in the most innovative way possible. 

Coat: Richard James

Mr. Brekker is a cold and detached individual with a mysterious charm who hides a past that turns out to be eye-opening and will reveal his temperament. His eyes unveil an unsolved pain mixed with a thirst for revenge. He is a clever criminal prodigy who does not trust even his closest friends. The eight episodes reserve many surprises about the characters and their evolution. 

Freddy was born in 1993, he spent his formative years at the Oxford School of Drama. His first theater experiences were followed by the first performance on the big screen in the movie Wonder Woman, where he played the role of a soldier. However, he got the fame he deserved when he played the character of Peter, called Pin, in Free Rein. 

We know you wrote and produced the short film “No. 89” with Caroline Ford and your brother Tom Austen. Would you talk about it? 

“I think that “No. 89” is one of the works that I am most proud of. Seeing a project developing from the initial idea, through the production, to its conclusion has been very fulfilling. It has been a pleasure working with Caroline and Tom: they are both talented actors who made my job much easier. I have been affected by the “movie direction virus” because now I am working on my second short film “Broken Gargoyles” which will be shot in the next few weeks.”

Suit: Stella McCartney
Shirt: Agnes B

In which series have you felt most at ease? Besides interpreting the cold Mr. Brekker, we have also seen you play the role of Pin Hawthorne in Free Rein. 

“I have been so lucky to work on a wide range of TV programs with different tones, themes, and targets. I enjoyed working on Free Rein. It is rare to play the same character for three years – eventually, I felt like I knew who Pin really was. But I admit that Kaz Brekker has been my favorite role so far. He is so complex and there is always something more under the surface: it is a real challenge.” 

By the way, do you like riding a horse? Which are your hobbies off the set? 

“I love riding a horse, I miss it so much and hope to go back to it soon. Besides acting, my greatest passion is photography. I started taking pictures of my colleagues on the set of Free Rein. It was born as a distraction to kill time and then I fell in love with it. It is a way to remember all the emotional adventures that I am lucky to experience.”

Coat: Richard James

Shadow and Bone is a hymn to friendship and the importance of an alley to achieve goals. Which role does the presence of a partner play in your life? Do you want to tell us about a specific experience? 

“This is so true. The topic of the family is very important in the books and it is also evident in the TV show. I think I had a similar experience with the cast of “Shadow and Bone” in Budapest. We all arrived in that new city alone, nobody knew each other, but we soon got closer and created a small family.”

Do you have any projects? Either as a director or as an actor. 

“I am very excited to start filming a new miniseries called “Masters of the Air” for Apple TV. I will work with the same team of “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific”, this is a dream coming true for me because I loved that series. As a director, we are getting ready to shoot “Broken Gargoyles” in London within a few weeks!”

What does it mean today to be a film director? Does he/she have a responsibility in the choice of the topics? 

“I think it is fundamental to put some elements of hope in the stories we tell. The pandemic and the various lockdowns have shown how necessary entertainment and the arts are for people’s well-being. So, as long as artists do not lose hope, everything will be fine.”

Curated by Francesca Romana Riggio

Royal Hotel Sanremo, the excellence on the Riviera dei Fiori

Posted on by Miriam De Nicolò

In the movie “The Lady of the Lake” by Franco Rossellini and Luigi Bazzoni, there are love and scandals, disappearances, and mysterious appearances. In “Grand Budapest Hotel” by the visionary Wes Anderson, we can see the same guests from the decadent European aristocracy through flashbacks. “Lost in translation” is the story of an encounter in empty and silent rooms at night. We are talking about hotels, places of passage, business relationships, or what writers call “inspiration” with frescoed halls and panoramic views from their golden rooms. 

One of the most dreamlike hotels in Italy is the Royal Hotel Sanremo, the exclusive luxury five-star hotel of the Città dei Fiori. The Royal Hotel is definitely the crown jewel in the colorful city of Sanremo. It is surrounded by the palms of the subtropical park of 16,000 square meters and it overlooks the Mediterranean Sea in a unique position, close to the sandy beaches and the city center with the renowned Casino and luxurious boutiques. 

The hotel was inaugurated in 1872 to become home to the European Belle Epoque and high aristocracy. It is still today a destination of excellence on the Riviera dei Fiori. Frescoed halls evoke scenes of light conversations among ladies surrounded by a magical atmosphere. The big marble columns and portraits of men with pocket watch create a reading environment during breakfast that offers sweet and savory versions with delicious omelets freshly cooked by the chef. 

As we all know, Italy is famous for the food quality. The Royal Hotel has a big dining room where it serves the local excellences. Its name is “Fiori di Murano” for the precious chandeliers made of glass flowers. The view is over the park and the sea, every window is framed by white curtains that let the light pass and by golden draped valances. 

During summer nights, The Royal Hotel offers “Il Giardino” for romantic candlelight dinners on the terrace and “Il Corallina” with a pool bar by the swimming pool for informal lunches from June to October. 

The Royal Hotel is a member of the prestigious organization of luxury accommodation “The Leading Hotels of the World”. It has 127 rooms, including 14 exclusive suites, such as the Sissi Suite, where the Empress of Austria resided, with a large terrace with a hot tub from which you can enjoy a wonderful view, sunbeds, and a gazebo to sunbathe in total privacy. It has a marble bathroom with the courtesy set signed Royal and a royal-style living room where you can drink champagne and eat fresh fruit. 

For days by the swimming pool, Giò Ponti thought about a huge scenographic bath with a jagged shape that might recall the sea. Signed by the great architect, the swimming pool contains seawater at 27°C. 

The Royal Wellness proposes exclusive treatments; there are a large hot tub, experience showers, a steam bath, and a relax area with a tea corner. The fitness room is for those who want to keep in shape even on holiday. Tennis matches, minigolf, and a small shop will make you feel at home and will delight your days. 

The Royal Hotel Sanremo has maintained the charm of the most elite building of the Riviera dei Fiori for years. It’s no coincidence that the Rotary Club Sanremo was born in this place in 1931 thanks to Mario Bertolini. It is the ideal destination for those who look for the ancient meaning of elegance and accommodation and love comfort combined with refinement. 

Travel with Manintown curated by Francesca Riggio

Attractive destinations for your spring break

Posted on by Jessica Fabiano

It is already late spring and the desire to escape is getting urgent. The season is perfect for a short break: temperatures are rising, the sun is shining, prices are cheap. Do you prefer an exotic destination? Do you want to get away but not too far? Or do you prefer to visit a city? If you haven’t decided yet, here are some destinations for you: 

Egypt

It offers a variety of activities related to the sea, the sun, and a beautiful coral reef. It is ideal to book in one of the luxurious resorts in Sharm El Sheikh or Hurghada to enjoy the shades of the ocean, tasting a cocktail by the swimming pool while sunbathing. Do you want to go on a trip that combines adventure and history? Well, you have the chance to visit the wonderful city of Alessandria or El Cairo. 

London

Spring is definitely the best season to visit the beautiful UK capital that brings together nightlife, shopping, and culture, all in the same city. In this period, temperatures are high and the weather is less rainy than usual. What else? 

Turkey

An ideal place for a holiday with your partner, but also with your family or friends. The amazing city of Istanbul has all the ingredients for a perfect holiday depending on your travel companions: you can choose different attractions, museums, restaurants, and much more. And if you want to go to the seaside, Turkey also gives this possibility: it is enough to move to cities such as Antalya, Bodrum, and Kemer. 

Malaysia

If you choose this destination, a backpack and free spirit cannot miss. Malaysia is a place dedicated to adventure. Visit the fascinating city of Kaula Lumpur and then make a stop in Shah Alam. Between one excursion and another, take your time to meditate, purifying your mind and spirit, admiring landscapes of unspoiled nature. 

Tunisia

It is one of the most popular destinations for families but also for couples looking for a romantic location. Here you can find mild and sun-drenched beaches and large expanses of sand where to enjoy the warm spring weather. You can visit Hammamet and go to the suggestive beach of Mahida. Then you can make a stop in Sousse for a city break steeped in history and admire the natural beauty that this wonderful African setting offers. Do you prefer a more touristy location to enjoy the nightlife? Well, you can’t miss the well-known city of Djerba. 

Travel with Manintown curated by Francesca Riggio

Chef in Town: the best restaurants in Porto Ercole- Costa d’Argento

Posted on by Lorenzo Sabatini

Porto Ercole is a state of mind. Here everything is possible: while drinking a cappuccino at 11 am in a bar at the harbor, you might see the film director Paolo Sorrentino with his son going to the pier and ready to get on a boat. Even the most famous digital businesswoman, Chiara Ferragni, comes to have lunch with her sisters in one of the most globally quoted fine dining gourmet restaurants, which will be mentioned in this article dedicated to the best restaurants in the maritime village Monte Argentario in Tuscany. Well, even though we are not in the splendors of the ’60s, the jet-set still loves this exclusive place. To tell the truth, a record number of visitors has been recorded in summer 2020. Come here to believe it. But above all, to enjoy breathtaking views and delicious seafood dishes. 

Il Pellicano

A deep passion for Mediterranean cuisine is Michelino Gioia‘s secret. He makes traditional Italian recipes unique, turning them into contemporary creations through innovative techniques. Thus, it is not just a riot of flavors, but its specialty lies in the chromatic combinations of the dish presentation. 

There are two key points for the creation of each recipe: giving the proper value to the products’ naturalness and reinforcing the connection with the territory. The abundance of Tuscan raw materials from sea and land takes shape in divine dishes to taste in the moonlight. At  Il Pellicano restaurant (which is in the homonymous hotel run by Marie Louise Sciò, one of the most famous in the world), chef Michelino Gioia offers a traditional Italian cuisine that at times blends cleverly with international flavors.

All the chef’s favorite raw materials such as pigeons, oysters, red mullets, lobster, and shrimps are part of the menu, created with passion and love. At the end of every dinner, a cart with artisanal chocolate is offered to all guests. Amongst the seasonal specialties, the chef proposes lobster, “pappa al pomodoro”, ricotta and lovage, Anguilla di Orbetello (the town close to Porto Ercole, famous for this kind of fish), duck and parmigiana.

Alicina Hosteria 

A special place where to taste the sea at zero km. 

Ivan Silvestri is the chef patron of Alicina Hosteria, a little veranda right in the center of the Tuscan village, close to the harbor. Even Chiara Ferragni and her sisters chose to eat in this small and cozy restaurant. Silvestri’s devotion led him to be mentioned in the Gambero Rosso, L’ Espresso, and Michelin guides. Alicina’s winery has more than 300 labels, “because the customer needs to be at the top” – claimed the owner – including Bellavista and Corion Charlemagne. The menu varies throughout the year following the philosophy of ” the sea at zero km”. All raw materials are bought at the fishmongers along Porto Ercole seafront. Therefore, the menu changes according to the season. 

Silvestri is working on the products’ seasonality and a new dessert menu. Amongst his must-have, he mentions the “snowball” topped with vodka foam or the coconut, mango and lime cake. Amongst the main courses, there is “fusilli cacio e pepe” with bottarga, a dish that he presented on the occasion of Festa a Vico, organized by chef Gennarino Esposito. The dish was appreciated by the national food critic. Amongst the news of summer 2021, Silvestro mentions the delivery and takeaway.

Il Ristorantino 

A melting pot of cultures and love for the land. 

Il Ristorantino, a pearl of Costa d’Argento, is located in the town center in front of San Paolo della Croce Church. It is a spin-off of the Nobili Santi restaurant. The owners Paola Sclano and Bilel Mabrouk have refined their culinary expertise following Moreno Santi’s footsteps, one of the most beloved chefs in the area. In 2019, they decided to open Il Ristorantino, an eclectic and elegant gourmet restaurant. 

Paola Sclano is from Porto Ercole, Bibel Mabrouk is from Tunisy, but adoptive Italian. From this cultural culinary mix, a varied menu comes out, but it always stays true to the Maremman tradition: a menu made of tradition, revisitation and originality. 

The cuisine, simple but refined, is based on fresh seafood. But they also offer an excellent choice of meat dishes that satisfy any palate, from the starters to the main courses. The desserts are the restaurant’s flagship: the “cornucopia” filled with mascarpone and with crunchy waffle and berries or melted chocolate; the “croccantino”, a parfait with a crunchy hazelnut base and melted chocolate. The signature dish is “tagliolini with clams, shrimps and zucchini”, made with fresh egg pasta and a sauce with garlic, oil, parsley, clams, zucchini slices, and shrimps. 

Chef in Town- a food and beverage column curated by

Intl Editor Francesca Romana Riggio

Henry Lloyd-Huges, a British genius for a new Sherlock Holmes

Posted on by Rosamaria Coniglio

Interview: Rosamaria Coniglio

Photographer  Joseph Sinclair

Stylist         Manny Lago

Grooming    Shamirah Sairally

British charm and savoir-faire, highly talented not only in front of the camera but also on the cricket pitch, where he has been spending most of his free time for over 10 years. He has played so many different roles that we do not know exactly which character suits him most. And probably, he has not decided yet, too. When talking about his talent, he prefers not to focus too much on himself. Is this elegant modesty that makes him so special? 

Diesel coat, Religion crew neck sweater

Our country has already appreciated his role of Alfred Lyttelton in the Netflix series “The English game”, set in the time when football was at its beginnings. Between power games and low blows, the first professional football players start succeeding, but not without controversy, arose more by class interests than moral issues. We suggest not missing out on the chance to see him in the shoes of a wealthy businessman who places his self-interests above an apparent strong friendship and a morality that is useful for the conservation of power and social status. However, the real news is his role of Sherlock Holmes in the new Netflix series “The Irregulars”, where you will discover an irreverent and brilliant version, described by Tom Bidwell, very different from what you have watched so far about the most famous detective in the world.

A dystopic version of London, where certainties and values are replaced by horrible crimes and supernatural events, hits a nerve of a society like ours, completely distorted by the pandemic, which has affected every field and has forced us to live a new reality. 

Troubled teenagers are protagonists and victims at the same time, they are manipulated to solve the crimes for Dr. Watson and his mysterious business partner. You have to wait for some episodes to find out what has happened to Sherlock Holmes in the last few years. And this is where the greatness of this character is hidden. He reveals what we have never known about him: his before and after. 

We discover the young, brilliant and ambitious Sherlock, led by the energic impulse of youth and high self-esteem that will be his fortune but also his greatest weakness. What about his maturity? What about the man, emptied by his ego and consumed by guilt, who saw his strengths falling apart? You will find out. And you will also discover all the aspects of a new Sherlock that Henry Lloyd-Hughes will convey through his extraordinary performance. 

Religion sweater

An unexpected psychological perspective is revealed in small doses. Traces of personal elements linked to his character make an act immortal or a romantic gesture extreme through suspense. 

We asked him how difficult it is to show two different sides of such a complex personality: the methodical, witty, and self-confident side and the other one, destroyed by pain and deprived of any motivations. His answer left out his performance, he praised, instead, the great merits of the costume designer and the makeup artist. He is a real gentleman. “We really wanted to push both versions as far as possible and tell the story of someone absent for 15 years. Through the body and the look, with the Oscar-winner Lucy Sibbick and Edward K. Gibbon’s costumes, it has been an emotional experiment to see how far we could push ourselves, making sure that the character would seem the original one”. 

I think his charm lies in the depth with which he can connect with his characters. He confirmed that the aspect of Sherlock that most attracted him was “His vulnerability and his perforated and broken ego.”

The exchange between Henry and his characters is intimate and deep. His great introspective ability can give us a unique version of the detective; from what he tells us, every character goes into his universe in a special way. “It always depends on where the character meets you in your life. You meet a certain character at a certain age and you bring everything you have experienced with that role in your life. At the moment, I’m thinking with affection about my time spent with the character of Sherlock, and something very personal arises. But I’m sure that when I play another character, I will love him in the same way or even more.” 

Diesel coat

Do you want to tell us about some funny moments during the shooting? 

“Yes! We burnt some of the original costumes to create the oldest Sherlock’s clothes. During the shooting, the burnt wool stunk so much that all the other actors started complaining. Moreover, every time I put my hands in the pocket, clouds of soot rose, and I left prints of dirty hands everywhere!”

In the “English Game,” you play the role of one of the best football players of that time. But we know that you have a great passion for cricket and a brand with a two-generation story inspired by this sport: N.E. Blake & Co.

“Sure. It is a great honor for me to continue the family tradition. “Paddy” Padwick was my great-grandfather and an extremely gifted athlete. He turned his passion into a business with “N.E. Blake & Co.” I relaunched it, trying to bring back a classic sporty look focused mainly on cricket. Sometimes it is hard to run a business as well as acting, but honestly, I’m so keen on the classic sporty style that I can’t help it.”

How important were sports in your life?

“Very much. I have been playing in a cricket club for 10 years, the Bloody Lads Cricket Club. Because of Corona Virus, unfortunately, the season was shortened last year. We look forward to getting black to play regularly.” 

 Considering that we don’t want to miss them, what are your future plans on the big screen?

“We are all waiting to know the future of The Irregulars, so this might be my next adventure!”

Have you ever wanted to play a particular role? Someone who reflects your personality or someone so different from you that you feel attracted by him? 

“I would like to do a musical or something very eccentric like the movies of Wes Anderson. I have loved Grand Budapest Hotel so much that I feel perfectly fit in his surreal world, followed by James Bond, of course. 

Henry Lloyd-Hughes in the shoes of Sherlock Holmes in “The Irregulars”
Henry Lloyd-Hughes in the shoes of Sherlock Holmes in “The Irregulars”

Curated by Francesca Romana Riggio

5 charming hotels where we can’t wait to check-in

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

Our wishlists have got longer over these months, from Italian destinations to exotic paradises. The choice of the hotel will play a fundamental role in the organization of the perfect post-pandemic escape. 

These are the proposals of the 5 new Marriott International Hotels, where to spend at least one day. From retreats of charm in Italy and Europe to Oriental resorts from the Arabian Nights: destinations that will surprise you! 

Grand Universe Lucca, Autograph Collection

Located in the heart of Tuscany, on the foothills of the Alps and built inside a 16th-century palace, Grand Universe Lucca, Autograph Collection overlooks the two most iconic squares of the city: Piazza del Giglio and Piazza Napoleone. Thanks to its central position, the boutique hotel with 55 rooms, inaugurated last November, represents a perfect starting point to discover the splendid Tuscan city, also known as “the city of one hundred and one churches”. Within walking distance of the hotel, there are masterpieces of medieval and Renaissance architecture, including the Church of Santi Giovanni and Reparata and the historical Teatro del Giglio.

Music, one of the pillars of the hotel’s philosophy, is reflected in the name of every room, from the “Sala Piccolo” to the “Suite Puccini”, dedicated to the homonymous composer who was born in Lucca and was a regular visitor to the property. Tuscany’s land and cultural heritage are recalled in red, green and yellow silk and velvet fabrics that celebrate the renowned silk production in the city, and they are matched with modern wooden floors and golden details. 

The peculiarity of the building is the precious souvenir created purposely for every guest who, visiting the Symphony Lounge, can choose to listen to a personalized musical prelude composed by the pianist and inspired by his/her personality and taste.

W Ibiza

W Ibiza dominates the scene on the boho-chic seafront of Santa Eulalia, combining the multiple nuances of Isla Blanca’s two souls: the contemporary and the rural one. The hotel, inaugurated in July 2020, is the perfect place to immerse yourself in the brand’s mood: here you can breathe a holiday atmosphere made of relax, Mediterranean sounds and scents, chill music, and bright colors. The interior design reflects the hotel’s character: curated by the study of Baranowitz and Kroneberg from the Netherlands, the furniture in eclectic style reflects the contemporary travelers’ tastes, they recall the colors of the island and embody local materials. The 162 rooms and suites and all the environments have been designed so that the light is ever-present and an integral part of the building, from the sunrise to the sunset. The Chiringuito Blue is a restaurant on the beach where the Israeli chef Haim Cohen proposes his best Mediterranean dishes. A visit to the beautiful AWAY Spa is a must for a relaxing holiday. 

Thanks to the W insider, an expert on the island and surroundings, it will be fantastic to organize activities around Isla Blanca or trips to discover the city with its art galleries and boutiques. Moreover, thanks to whatever/whenever® program, which allows you to ask any questions at any time, travelers can see all their desires satisfied, from a piece of cake at night in their room to a sailboat ride. 

The St. Regis Cairo 

St. Regis Cairo, on the banks of the Nile, is the new landmark of the city thanks to its architecture. It was inaugurated in January 2021 and it is located at the northeastern end of the Corniche, in the heart of the lively Egyptian metropolis. The hotel offers easy access to the beautiful monuments of the city, which is rich in history. The suggestive architecture, designed by the famous architect Michael Graves, is characterized by geometric lines, whereas dark wood and elaborated textures combine with intricate embroidery, jeweled woodwork, bronze and wooden sculptures embellished with gold, mother-of-pearl inlays, and majestic crystal chandeliers that create a modern Egyptian aesthetic. It is a symbol of modern Egyptian glamour. The guests are surrounded by a refined design and can enjoy high-quality service, excellent culinary proposals, and a selection of bars and lounges. The building, with 39 floors, has 286 rooms, which are sumptuously furnished, three Royal Suites with a panoramic view on the Nile, and 80 luxury apartments for a unique experience in the Egyptian capital. 

Here, guests can pamper themselves surrounded by the opulence of the marvelous rooms inspired by the ancient Egyptian heritage. The polite and personalized service culminates with the signature St. Regis Butler service, to anticipate any customer’s need and satisfy their preferences thanks to exclusive attention for the entire stay. 

Al Wathba, a Luxury Collection Resort, Abu Dhabi

The building, which last August 2020 marked the debut of the Luxury Collection in the capital of the Emirates, is located in the heart of Abu Dhabi. Inspired by local architecture and the rich history of the country, the resort has 103 rooms and villas decorated with traditional Arabian patterns, the mashrabiya (ventilation elements, typical of Arabian architecture), and accessories in typical bedouin style. Sober interiors and neutral tones are in harmony with the landscape surrounding this extraordinary retreat in the desert. In this far-off paradise, you can also enjoy some culinary pleasures: from the Lebanese menu proposed by the restaurant Bait Al Hanine to the elegant rooftop bar Al Mesayan, guests will not be spoiled for choice. The hotel offers many activities such as trips to the desert, encounters with local tribes to discover the medicinal uses of local plants, and tours to discover the beautiful natural landscape, for example, the sabkhas – large expanses of salt – and ponds with flamingos. 

This intimate and elegant shelter allows guests to enjoy the beauty of nature in peace. The Spa is the distinctive sign of the experience in this hotel, where guests can find their interior balances and go on a journey to individual wellness. The gastronomic proposals are interesting with restaurants that offer a majestic view of the desert dunes. 

Matild Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Budapest

 Built during the Belle Époque in 1902, the Matild Palace was erected under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Maria Clotilde of Sassonia-Coburgo and it boasts the premises to become the social hub of the capital.

The iconic palace, UNESCO World Heritage Site, is preparing to host a new hotel of the Luxury Collection, whose opening is expected in the second quarter of 2021. The design, curated by the English study MKV Design, combines the historical heritage and the liveliness of the modern city, which is constantly evolving. Located in the heart of the city and close to the Danube, the hotel is a spectacular starting point to discover the magic of Budapest or to simply taste the atmosphere staying inside the hotel, thanks to its restaurants and bars, such as the terrace with garden The Duchess, which hosts a liquor library, and the Matild Cafe and Cabaret, which brings you virtually to the beginning of 1900. Finally, the heart of the hotel: a luxury Spa inspired by the Hungarian thermal baths and decorated with marble elements and design furniture. 

The building combines a modern and sophisticated design and sumptuous elements of the Belle Époque. It is easy to travel with your imagination to that period thanks to the history of the building, conceived by Her Highness to welcome in the city those who enter from the Elisabeth Bridge. 

Travel with Manintown curated by Francesca Riggio

Lockdown Voices – a project to give voice to people

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

The pandemic has changed our life completely. We had to get used to staying at home all day, going out as little as possible, only for emergencies. Children and students have to follow lessons from their bedrooms. People, who used to take the train every day to go to work, now have to work from home in their living room: this is a new reality that we couldn’t even imagine. 

The lockdown has affected everyone’s life and has led to serious consequences, not only in economic terms but also in people’s health and psychology. 

During the UK’s first lockdown, University of East Anglia researchers launched a project to track the nation’s health through the lockdown. Their goal was to understand how it would impact people’s physical and mental health. 

They asked the participants to keep daily records on their lifestyle behavior such as diet, sleep, smoking, physical activity, drinking. The results revealed that people were eating less fruit and veg, getting less physical exercise, and drinking more alcohol.  

Then, many participants were interviewed about their lockdown experiences, giving life to Lockdown Voices, an oral histories project that tells people’s stories through recordings from their interviews. Listening to those recordings, everyone can identify and feel the same emotions because we all have experienced the same situation, for better or worse: Julie “lost all sense of purpose”; retired Geoff took up new hobbies; for Lauren, a university student, life “slowed down”; mum Gemma had to “fight a battle” each day working from home and taking care of her children. 

Here you can hear their full stories:  https://stories.uea.ac.uk/lockdown-voices/.

However, these are not just their stories. These are everyone’s stories. Every person has felt this way at least once during this difficult time since the pandemic and the lockdown have inevitably influenced people’s mental and physical state.

Brasserie in Paris: 3 famous and historical Parisian bistros

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

Paris is a charming city that deserves to be visited at least once in life. Everyone is entranced by the romantic and retro atmosphere of this city and by its beautiful districts such as Montmartre. If you go on a trip to the French capital, you cannot miss out to sit in a traditional Parisian brasserie. 

Here are three historical and famous Brasserie where to taste local dishes and experience the Parisian atmosphere:

Au Pied de Cochon  

Near the old Parisian market Les Halles, we can find Au Pied de Cochon, which holds the record of having never closed since the Liberation Day after the war. This brasserie was originally opened for those who worked at the market, that’s why it is still open 24 hours a day. It is the ideal place to eat a good meal late at night. Even at night, you will find tourists and celebrities keeping its atmosphere warm and cozy at any time. 

Brasserie Flo

This place is in a hidden courtyard that in the past hosted the stables of the adjoining palace. It is the perfect place for a romantic dinner. Known as the actress Sarah Bernhardt’s favorite restaurant, Brasserie Flo was initially called Chez Hans. It kept that name until, shortly before the First World War, it was plundered by the crowd of Parisians who were protesting against the Germans. Then, Monsieur Floderer furnished the place in Liberty style and gave it the splendor and finery of a real Parisian tavern. The menù is never the same, it changes every day and offers one of the 500 dishes that Flo proposes every year in rotation. The most popular dishes are the tartare steak, oysters in champagne sauce, and salty pork with lentils. 

Bofinger

It seems this is the oldest brasserie in Paris. True or not, the atmosphere of this place evokes the Belle Époque, with its wonderful glass vault. While tasting excellent seafood, you will enjoy interludes with waiters bumping into each other and making the dishes fall, or with femme fatale who seem to be right out of the Opéra Bastille. These funny scenes will make you feel like you were in a Disney cartoon set in the Ville Lumiere. 

Travel with Manintown curated by Francesca Riggio

Chef in Town: International food – traveling through flavors

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

We live in a globalized world where goods and people move freely on the whole Earth’s surface and make countries’ economies and cultures travel.

In a country like Italy that cares about food and is naturally exposed to cultural influences from different parts of the world, it is natural that the most compelling aspect about other cultures is their food and cuisine. We have to admit that some traditional dishes of various countries have stood out globally owing to factors such as the great representation of their nations and the high quality that they embody. 

It is no coincidence that Italians – especially young people interested in broadening their cultural horizons – have gradually turned to cuisines from the rest of the world. Trying their hand at cooking some specialties has become a fashion, particularly for dinners with friends. Moreover, the distribution network has boosted this wave of culinary adventures: given this growing interest in foreign countries, supermarkets have been equipped with specific products to cook international food. 

But which are the cultures that we love most? Let’s see two of them. 

JAPAN 

It was pretty obvious that Japan would be the first to be mentioned. Nowadays, Japanese cuisine is the most widespread in the world. The extraordinary variety of dishes, the incredible quality of products – mainly fishery products owing to the waters surrounding the country, rich in marvelous species of shellfish, and innumerable species of fish- have made Japanese cuisine the most appreciated worldwide (even more than the Italian one). Over time, restaurants that offer the best food of this tradition have been opened, where sushi reigns supreme. 

As a matter of fact, in Europe and the USA, people don’t often distinguish sushi from sashimi. The first one consists of rice balls with raw fish, avocado, and other variable ingredients. On the contrary, sashimi is the typical raw fish slice to eat without other condiments (except the soy sauce and, for the bravest, wasabi, a typical Japanese plant whose chopped root tastes extremely spicy). 

Besides the well-known sushi and sashimi, Japanese cuisine offers a series of soups such as Ramen, and many meat cuts, also appreciated by our supermarkets. 

INDIA 

The Indian tradition took more time than the Japanese one to establish itself in our market, probably because of widespread skepticism about the quality and hygiene of those parts of the world. However, a series of restaurants have led the way to this cuisine for a few years, making us realize that it is actually very good. 

What reigns in Indian culinary culture are spices, which give a unique touch to every dish. The most popular is curry, used in many ways but made famous by the typical curry chicken with Basmati rice. These exotic flavors and scents inevitably make your mind travel to those typical Indian landscapes and magical atmosphere emphasized by the beauty and peculiarity of the Mughal architecture, thus making Indian cuisine fascinating and increasingly widespread. 

Chef in Town- a food and beverage column curated by

Intl Editor Francesca Romana Riggio

CDLP: male underwear made in Sweden

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

Created in 2016 by ​​Christian Larson and Andreas Palm, CDLP is a Swedish male underwear brand. Its story begins after several trips of the founders, where the two designers discover how similar their taste in underwear was. Hence the idea of ​​creating a new solution for men’s underwear, a combination of sustainable fabrics and sewing techniques used for tailored trousers.

Today, the collection entirely represents men everyday life: from underwear to t-shirts but also leisure and sports opportunities such as swimwear, homewear and finally sports underwear. Breathability, comfort and silk-like softness distinguish underwear, such as lyocell, a future-oriented fiber that is naturally breathable and moisture wicking, as well as being wrinkle-resistant, durable and quick-drying.

In addition to lyocell, future-oriented materials in underwear can be found in bamboo socks, in tops with a blend of pima cotton and lyocell, performance clothing in rPET and swimwear in Econyl. Also suppliers are small-scale European, to breathe new life into obsolete products that mass production inevitably produces. Partners are carefully selected based on mutual values ​​to foster long-term and sustainable collaboration.

The seven most vibrant resorts in Central America

Posted on by Anselmo Prestini

The current pandemic forces us to travel only with our imagination, but nothing forbids us to fly overseas with our thoughts and start planning our next trips. 

Costa Rica, Santa Barbara. November 30, 2016. The atrium in the main building of the Hotel Finca Rosa Blanca. © Teake Zuidema

Among the must-see destinations, Central America and the Dominican Republic are the ideal places to find the right spirit and rekindle the desire to travel. Colorful, rare, and breathtaking landscapes reflect the energy, the culture, and the local tradition: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Dominican Republic. 

We have selected some of the most quaint hotels where to stay at least once in life: 

Los Almendros de San Lorenzo – El Salvador

In Suchito, you can find an elegant boutique hotel in the historic center of the colonial city, which comes from an ancient house of great cultural value. Behind the amazing mural, designed by the Salvadoran great master Luiz Lazo, a piece of Eden is hidden. Patios full of plants, fountains, and aisles with wood columns are the real protagonists. 

W Panamà – Panamà

Inspired by art, fashion, culture, and local gastronomy, the hotel embodies the spirit of the country with a unique style and design that pay homage to the region’s history and present. The building is located close to Calle Uruguay, a prestigious location in the financial district of the Panamanian capital. An outdoor swimming pool cannot miss, ready to catapult the guests into a relaxing atmosphere. 

Finca Rosa Blanca – Costa Rica

Once there was only mud, today there is a luxury paradise. Amongst exceptional coffee and 7,000 trees, this hotel is located on land that tells us local cultures and traditions. If you love art in all its forms, Finca Rosa Blanca is the place for you: you will be welcomed between extravagant sculptures and colorful murals; with its distinctly Costa Rican spirit, it will offer you a natural and ecological paradise. 

Hamanasi Resort – Belize

Located between the Maya Mountains and the turquoise Caribbean Sea, it is an intimate boutique hotel that offers the possibility to discover the biggest Maya sites immersed in the rainforest. The more adventurous can go as far as the unspoiled coral reef. Ecotourism is the basic philosophy of this resort, which works every day to preserve that piece of paradise for future generations with attention to the environment and the animals. 

Eden Roc at Cap Cana – Dominican Republice

Elegant suites by the sea and wonderful villas surrounded by nature for guests’ complete privacy: Relais & Châteaux Eden Roc at Cap is a unique and exclusive resort located in the beautiful setting of Cap Cana beach, a scenery of lively architecture and rooms with bright and vibrant colors. 

Jade Seahorse – Honduras 

It is the perfect place to relax, enjoy nature, share emotions, and appreciate monumental creations. Here “green attitude” is the real protagonist: recycled materials, such as pieces of pottery, glass, disks, and bottles, decorate this oasis giving shape to mosaics, walls, tables, and floors. You can book exclusive bungalows built by the best craftsmen and taste dishes of local organic products.

Tribal Hotel – Nicaragua

Located in the heart of the colonial city, the luxury hotel has the perfect position to fully experience the charm of history, culture, and the local restaurants. The guests are welcomed in an elegant lobby and enter a tropical oasis with a swimming pool made of bizarre tiles, which recall the pavements in Copacabana. The roofed terrace surrounding the patio offers a modern common area, while the dining room is decorated with handmade pieces designed by the owners and produced by local craftsmen from the countryside. 

Travel with Manintown curated by Francesca Riggio

Francesco Vullo – archetype and contraposition

Posted on by Rosamaria Coniglio

Photographer: Federico Ghiani @ghianinson

We met with Francesco Vullo, a young artist with extraordinary critical sensitivity and original analytical skills on the aspects and contradictions of a society dominated by the power of social media, by an immense aesthetic cult, and dualism between fragility and strength, without falling into clichè. 

He comes from Palermo, emblematic of diverse and profound culture, deep-rooted in those who breathed those centuries of history but well integrated with the contemporary language of a generation that has established new communication codes, like the Millenials. 

Inside his office, a post-atomic shelter in the heart of Milan, he tells us the elements at the basis of his research, which is currently focusing on sculpture and installation. Ordinary objects, stolen from their original context, take on a symbolic value, conveying multiple meanings according to a new collocation or to the viewer to recall different feelings and emotional states. 

His extraordinary technical ability is instrumental in showing dynamics such as the emotional sphere of the human being and his/her relationship with the surrounding natural environment. This is a direct consequence of the relationship with his homeland, Sicily, which becomes food for thought, highlighting a visceral bond as strong as complex.

The series Environmental Alteration belongs to this current. Here the artist can give a sensation of natural softness to rocks, apparently in disharmony with the true nature of the object, representing them as they were bearings squeezed by cable ties on a steel beam. They are the cuticchi, the typical rocks blunted by the sea, which he collects from the Sicilian coasts. Their natural shape, obtained through sea erosion over the decades, is in net contrast with the rapidity with which human intervention can modify the environment disruptively and irreversibly. 

After The Night rotates around the figure of artisans, which is in deep crisis nowadays, and the value of passed-down traditions. These are realities that we are not used to anymore, owing to the emergence of large distribution and mass production. A broken circular saw, found by chance in a locksmith’s workshop, is restored with the traditional Japanese technique of Kintsugi, symbolically associated with rebirth. The cracks on the sawblade are repaired and embellished with Urushi lacquer and 24-carat gold through a long and meticulous process. Behind the saw blade, the two names of the previous owners are engraved, a detail that tells us the story and the object’s journey over the years. It is a metaphor for the passage between generations, a heritage of knowledge and traditions. 

  • After the Night, 2020
    Stainless-steel circular saw, traditional Kintsugi, 24-carat gold
    Ø 30 cm
    Unique piece

Ourself is a travertine marble column, a symbol of balance, stability, and security, and it is in contrast with the tape for packing with the inscription FRAGILE. The reels of duct-tape commonly used to identify fragile objects become essential elements to balance the structure and support the marble weight. In this way, two elements coexisting in human nature, strength and fragility, become part of the same object. These two factors become integrated and complement each other. 

  • Ourself, 2020
    Travertine Marble, reels of duct-tape for packing “Fragile”
    17 x 17 x 104 cm

Overthinking is a trap used for the hunting of wild animals. It symbolizes a shared psychological state in this time of identity crisis. It has the shape of a speech bubble as a reference to overthinking. The alteration of an existing model gives a new identity to the object while still maintaining its primary meaning with its sharp tips. It is the perfect representation of a mental state: a constant and continuous stream of thoughts that traps the mind and puts it in a state of confusion. 

  • Overthinking, 2020
    Iron, steel
    50 x 47 x 5 cm
    Editions 3 + 1 AP

According to Francesco Vullo, each material has its reason for being, like the details never left to chance. Each element has something to tell, while the aesthetic shape contributes to defining its content and adds value: beauty. 

In his Hourglass, which represents the ineluctability of time, the lower bell is trapped in a concrete block. The sand going down represents the past, transferred into a defined physical space. A time that you cannot change, in contrast with that object that you can actually flip and reset. You cannot change your past; you have to accept it. 

Saul Adamczewski: a (reluctant) genius

Posted on by Andrea Amici

Translated and adapted by Valentina Ajello

Ph credits: Lou Smith

“Where is Saul?” This slogan has become famous among the most loyal fans of “Fat White Family” and of Saul himself.

In fact, where is Saul? But, above all, who is he really?

Surely this article won’t reveal, once and for all, the complex and many-sided personality of a character for whom paradox and desecration are a way of “not being”. I don’t think anyone will ever be able to reveal it. Maybe not even himself.

But the real news is that not only I was able to find him, but also to interview him. Therefore, perhaps, he does exist. 

“He will never give you an interview. He wouldn’t even give it to “Pitchfork” (the very powerful and influential American webzine), let alone you, who no-one knows.” This is what, in essence, many people have told me before I succeeded, regardless of everybody and everything, in contacting him. 

Saul founded, still under age, an indie/punk band called “The Metros”, quite successful among critics and audience, but they split in 2009.

In 2011 an earthquake shook the sleepy musical scene of the time: Saul founded together with brothers  Lias and Nathan Saoudi, “Fat White Family”, who later in 2013 made their debut with an album that turned the tables: “Champagne Holocaust”. 

From then on  Fat White Family has started an incessant nihilist operation of desecration/destruction of the politically correct “transgressive respectability”, which is still spreading in the British underground musical scene and beyond.

And Saul himself has immediately stood out as the most uncompromising, mysterious, iconoclastic, destructive (and self-destructive) element of the band. 

In the meantime Saul has started to be less present during gigs and has been replaced by other musicians.

The same happens when the band is interviewed: at some point he stopped giving interviews, leaving it to Lias (the lead singer).

In 2018 he surprised everyone by creating a band with a sound completely different from “FWF”.

In my opinion the choice of the name is genius: “Insicure Man”.  The album probably reflects, at least partly, Saul’s most fragile poetical and delicate side. And poetical and fragile are the pieces in the album by the same name,  which are, more or less, ethereal and dreamy ballads with grotesque, surreal, provocative and  harrowing lyrics.

Now Saul has his first solo record ready. A wonderful gem I was so lucky to get a sneak peek of and that, I really wish, will soon be released. It is an album with, sometimes, a ghostly sound and, sometimes, of almost disarming sweetness and bluntness. A true masterpiece.

About the interview that everyone thought impossible, not only Saul has agreed, but he has turned out to be a surprisingly kind and humble human being.

After having received and read the answers to my questions, I can surely say what I have always thought about him: we have a true genius.

What shall we do with him? Do we deserve him? But, first and foremost, does he really want to be one? Probably not.

But being genius is a (marvellous) damnation that, I am sure, will haunt him until he keeps playing music.

I beg you: love him. 

And if apparently he seems to despise you, remember what Oscar Wilde said “Each man kills the thing he loves.”

1)What’s the sense of life? But, above all, does living really have a meaning?

I guess I believe you can attach meaning to life. But it’s all an act… in reality we are born, we grow up and then we die and it’s all for nothing!

2) ‘Patheticism’ should be the title of your first solo album. Can you tell us why you have chosen it and can you explain who, in your opinion, is a pathetic person or what type of situation can be pathetic?

It’s not the title of my album. It’s actually a manifesto written by a few people including myself and Lias as well as our friend Lev Parker from “Morbid Books” and the writer Rob Doyle. We are pathetic people I suppose. The idea is to make a virtue out of the weaknesses we have. It really came from us spending our formative years hanging out with all kinds of freaks, losers and deranged psychos and seeing that even in these dark corners there was light to be found. It’s also an anti Woke Art manifesto. We hope to release it this year. 

3) In 2019 I was at the “Insicure Men” live show at the Lexington, London. At the end of the gig, you shocked the audience by saying that you would have never played live again. Then I stumbled into you in the crowd at the end of the gig and asked you whether it was true. You gave me a sardonic grin and remained vague. Therefore can we expect a new album by Insecure Man in the future or do you consider it a closed chapter?

Yes we are recording a new album this spring. Hopefully it will be out by the end of the year.. As for gigs I’m sure if there’s any offers we will take them. 

4) In 2006, when you were still very young, with a few schoolmates, you founded “The Metros”, which you broke up in 2009. In 2013 the extraordinary debut album “Champagne Holocaust” by “Fat White Family” was released. Personally it changed my life. What happened in the years previous to the release of this masterpiece? Can you tell us how you met the other members of the band and how the iconoclastic and irreverent ideas underlying all your work came up?

I don’t like to analyse it too much. I guess the ideas came from our degenerate young minds. There was much more of a sense of hope back then and we really didn’t care if people liked us or our music. It wasn’t until we had accepted our total failure as artists and people that we managed to turn “Fat White Family” into anything vaguely resembling success. The years before the band were mostly spent in the job centre and the pub. Not sure if this answers the question but it’ll have to do. 

5) You seem to have a detached attitude towards the music you compose and play. But I know that during rehearsals you are very precise with the arrangements of the albums and the quality of the live performances. Is it true?

I feel detached because I don’t think we have ever done anything that good. The next thing is what interests me. I’ve tried in my own way to keep us from turning into a shit house indie rock band and to be honest I’d say that I have failed.  

6) There is great anticipation for Fat White Family’s next album. Those who have listened to the demos say it is sensational. Can you tell us something more on what we should expect and on when the album is due to be released?

 I’m not involved with that project at the moment. They might be making a record I really don’t know. 

7) About “Patheticism”, can you tell us how it differs from your previous works? Who are the musicians involved? When is it due to be released?

God willing it will be out this year. I’ve had some trouble with the label and things have been postponed a few times. The record itself is far more personal than anything I’ve done before. Songs of misery and regret. The main people involved in the album were Lias and Alex White as well as the producer, my old friend Raf Rundell. 

8) Besides doing politics in a provocative manner, a bit like in the punk era, but also in your totally personal and recognizable way, often during your gigs and not only, you hail Satan thanking your audience between songs. Is this, too, something purely provocative and irreverent or is there more to it?

Are politics and religion subjects that occupy an important role in your universe or is it just a nihilist and iconoclastic attitude? 

Politics and religion occupy an important role in my universe but all that hailing of Satan really came from Lev Parker. He supported Insecure Men on tour reading poetry and spread his demonic seeds. By the end of the tour every other sentence that came out of my mouth was “Hail Satan”. I’m easily influenced I guess. 

https://morbidbooks.net/feed/2019-11-19-king-baby-syndrome/

9) I’ve often flown from Italy to London to see “Fat White Family” and “Insecure Men” live, but also your solo shows or those with Alex White on the sax. Your audience adore you, but I’ve also heard, that they fear you. Rumour has it that you are a difficult character and also a bit antisocial. Having had the pleasure to talk to you a few times I was delighted to discover that you are kind, down to earth and also very humble. Is there a bias in how you are seen and perceived by those who follow you artistically but don’t know you personally? 

It’s hard for me to have any clear idea of how I’m perceived by people I don’t know. I’m not too interested either… perhaps people confuse my shyness with arrogance. The less I think about things like this the better. 

10) You are an excellent draughtsman/illustrator. Have you ever thought of publishing your works?

 I have not considered it. But if someone is willing to publish them I’d be happy to. 

11) About literature: observing you and listening to you, names such as Luis-Ferdinand Céline, Emil Cioran, De Sade, Arthur Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Jean Genet, Guy Debord come to my mind. Are there among these any writers you admire?

Or could you tell us which books have influenced your personal and artistic life and how? 

Yeah I think it’s fair to say that a few of those writers have had a big influence on us as a band and on Lias’ lyrics in particular.. especially Emil Cioran, Luis-Ferdinand Céline and Jean Genet. I’m constantly being influenced by the books I read and everything else… just today I read a passage in a book called “Low life” by Jeffrey Bernard that made me get up and do a little dance in honour of alcoholics all over the world. But for me the best music we have made has been anti intellectual and anti art… 

12) What are you listening to now and which are the artists and bands that have most influenced you?

The three bands that had the biggest influence on us at the beginning were “The Fall”, “The Make up” and “Country Teasers”… Our sound was really a composite of those 3 things… with a touch of the “Manson Family” thrown in for good measure… These days I’m listening to lots of different things. Mostly instrumental music and much slower stuff. Too many to list here. 

13) “Where’s Saul?” has become a catchphrase invented by our common genius friend Lou Smith. Then it has become a T-shirt and a print designed by you. In fact often you’re not there: you give very few interviews, and sometimes you are not in the line-up of Fat White Family gigs, you are very seldom on social media. Personally, leaving aside the reasons that make you “not be there”, I find it fascinating especially in a period like this, imbued with selfishness and the pathetic quest for 24h visibility. Can you tell us more about your not being there for the media?

It’s just easier for me to do what I do without other people’s voices in my head constantly. I do use social media but I rarely post anything and have no interest in expressing my opinions through it… It seems like a mine field really. I’m better off keeping my head down and trying to make music. 

14) What song would you use to torture someone?

Breaking into Aldi by “Fat White Family” or something by “Pregoblin”. 

15) Which is the most hilarious feature of pop culture?

Mental health awareness.

16) Who is your least favourite member of Fat White Family past or present?

It used to be Dan Lyons our first drummer but he’s changed his ways. Now days I’d have to say Lias. Since he made loads of money doing car adverts he’s become a real diva. 

17) What do your family think of your music?

They tolerate it lovingly. 

18) I’m going to finish on a pathetic note. Perhaps you’ll appreciate. We don’t know each other, but I feel we have many things in common. I love you as if you were my best friend and I love your uniqueness. Moreover, thanks to your music, my life has taken an unforeseen and imaginative path. Thank you for the interview. I will cherish this experience as one of the most meaningful in my life. Do you think I have been pathetic enough?

You have. I love you too comrade! Fight the good fight. Hail Satan.

Chef in Town: Ronco Calino Franciacorta, an oasis for wine lovers.

Posted on by Miriam De Nicolò

“If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed will go to the mountain”. That’s how we have reinvented ourselves because of Covid, and that’s what Milano Wine Affair did to introduce one of its customers, Ronco Calino Franciacorta. Located between Milan and Verona, it has been a land for winemaking for a long time. It is an oasis of peace where wine is produced with the method of secondary fermentation in the bottle. 

The Ronco Calino winery, surrounded by ten hectares of organic vineyard, produces an accurate selection of Franciacorta: the iconic Brut, the textured Satèn, the particular Rosè Radijan, the classic Millesimato, and the Nature. Among the rarities, we can find mighty wines, aged for over ten years on the lees, including Sinfonia n.13, Centoventi, Càlinos. These are all bottles to celebrate important events, enclosed in precious caskets. 

Milano Wine Affair leads us, remotely, to discover Ronco Calino’s secrets, taking us to the cellar where wine is aged in wood barrels that give additional peculiarities to the grapes (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir).

It is a full-fledged visit, surrounded by a verdant hilly landscape, which we hope to see first-hand soon. Today the experience entertains us with quizzes and a live wine tasting of Ronco Calino Franciacorta Satèn, the pride of the winery. 

You can immediately notice its pale yellow color with greenish hues and its fine and elegant effervescence. You can smell floral aromas of white flowers, orange blossoms, and jasmine. At first taste, you perceive notes of fresh and young fruit, unripe pear and apple. At the second taste, the aftertaste becomes creamy, of butter, brioche, bread crust. However, this creaminess does not come from sugars because Ronco Calino Franciacorta is not a sweet wine, but a Brut. The creaminess results from a perfect balance between hard and soft parts; it is the proportion between acidity and sapidity and sweet notes. 

Ronco Calino Franciacorta Satèn is the perfect sparkling wine because it goes well with everything; it is easy to match, pleasant for all palates, and with a particular touch given by the aging in French oak barrels. Well then, enjoy your wine tasting! 

Chef in Town- a food and beverage column curated by

Intl Editor Francesca Romana Riggio

Chef in Town: Monna Caterina Wine Resort, the perfect place for unique relaxing moments.

Posted on by Vincenzo Parisi

Located in a medieval village, Monna Caterina Wine Resort is a place in which to immerse yourself completely and where it is possible to enjoy the beauty of nature, art, and good food. This ancient cottage, close to Vinci, offers a unique view, thanks to its position on the hill that allows you to admire a breathtaking landscape. In the fifteenth century, it was the home of Leonardo da Vinci’s mother, Caterina, and it was surrounded by a landscape of vineyards and olive groves: that same breathtaking scenery which we can see in the background of the famous “Gioconda”. The resort is in Vinci, in the heart of Tuscany, between Florence and Pisa, between the Montalbano hills and the Arno river. 

The rooms have furnishings between design and country style: on the one hand, characteristic features of the rural building, on the other hand, the integration of more contemporary “Leonardesque” furniture, with floating beds, colored and transparent elements, glass windows lighting up spaces, and attention to detail. 

But there’s more: the old resort produces its range of wines on-site in the Monna Caterina winery. The red wine has fruit notes of cherry and violets with a balsamic aftertaste; the white one has a lively taste with citrus notes. For wine lovers, the resort is perfect for walks to discover the flavors of the vineyards. Moreover, there is a tour to discover the olive groves: Monna Caterina also produces its olive oil 100% Made in Italy. 

It is a journey through Italian beauty in a magical place full of history, art, and culture, where it is possible to enjoy a unique experience discovering flavors and scents. 

Chef in Town- a food and beverage column curated by

Intl Editor Francesca Romana Riggio

We will travel again: 5 destinations to rediscover

Posted on by Anselmo Prestini

Which are the five words that will characterize our next trips? Safety, quiet, light-heartedness, adventure, and sustainability. We have been deprived of the possibility to take a flight for a year now. We have forgotten that feeling when you check-in, run at the airport, and land on the other side of the world. Since, at the moment, we can only fly with our imagination, let’s rediscover (at least virtually) 5 destinations, very different from each other, to reach as soon as it is possible. 

Related to the topic of light-heartedness, in fifth place, we find Dubai, where leisure and fun are on the agenda. Hot-air balloon flights, horse rides, quad in the desert, breathtaking sunsets, paragliding: these are some activities you can do in the Emirates. The Hot Air Balloons paint the sky with emotions: it will be possible to fly over the desert at 400 meters high to enjoy a view as never seen before, including the Burj Khalifa, famous worldwide for its majesty. 

Credits: @anselmoprestini_

Fourth place goes to Turkey, with an unusual destination: Erzurum. For winter sports lovers, it will be possible to ski at 3000 meters high, on the Palandoken mountains. Ice climbing, horse riding, and visiting the ancient castles of the town: all activities that you will do in complete safety. 

Credits: @newmediasoup

For the more adventurous, Tulum is a must: travels to Mexico are the ideal way to combine history and the beauty of nature with the charm of discovering. Among lands, which ancient civilizations such as the Maya enriched with relics, and unusual sea landscapes, Tulum allows you to visit ruins preserved for a long time on the coast and explore the wonderful underwater caves. The more romantic can enjoy the suggestive dawn on the beach. 

Credits: @julija_makani

South Tyrol wins second place. It is a scene of peace and serenity, characterized by a land of contrasts that blend, giving rise to a unique atmosphere to live in complete freedom in its fascinating open spaces. The Dolomites‘ peaks are the background of lawns, and the country life unites with modernity, where Alpine traditions and Mediterranean features live in perfect harmony. 

Credits: @fsseychelles

The gold medal goes to Seychelles, the eco-sustainable paradise. Natural reserves, botanic gardens, rare and protected flora and fauna, coral plantations, dolphins, sea turtles and whale sharks: these islands are a model of balance between preserved biodiversity and sustainable tourism.  In the heart of the Indian Ocean, a Code of Ethics has been drawn up to respect the environment, urging the tourists to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide using local buses and bicycles for tours, to support eco-friendly accommodations, and to protect the marine ecosystem avoiding touching and collecting corals and seashells. 

Travel with Manintown curated by Francesca Riggio

“ETHICS MEET AESTHETICS” Gilberto Calzolari’s high-end sustainability meets Volvo’s full electric.

Posted on by Rosamaria Coniglio

Gilberto Calzolari is a conscious visionary. We already loved him on the occasion of his deserved recognition at the Green Carpet Fashion Award 2018, when the model and influencer Federica Del Sale wore one of his dresses made of jute from Brazil, which had been found on the Navigli in Milan. After having carried kilos of coffee and being used as a barrier to prevent the flood of the canals, that jute became a recycled material covered with Swarovski crystals without lead, and it was given a new life. Since this achievement, the career of this designer, who made the rehabilitation of materials and the preservation of the planet into a real mission, has spread like wildfire. 

It was an idea and an effort that allowed him to the top of an eco-friendly production system, something that few people have been able to do. In his work, the style does not lose out; rather, it echoes surprising results in research. His sustainable denim and the EVO nylon (taken from castor oil seeds) are allies of an aesthetic revolution, made of embroideries and precious couture details, obtained from recycled bottles or plastic collected from the sea. 

Looking ahead, a few days ago, he also created a show for Volvo, presented at an event featuring upcycling elements from the world of automotive. 

At Volvo Studio Milano, the venue for the launch of the new Volvo C40 Recharge, a full electric, the combination of fashion and motors is consolidated on a universe of shared values, aimed at creating a sophisticated and sustainable design. The futuristic look of the collection reflects the use of technologically advanced materials and elements such as airbags destined to be thrown away to create the tunic dress and the pencil skirt. Real safety belts turned into cutting-edge accessories for the waist, the embroidered polyester Seaqual top obtained from the recycling of plastic collected from the sea, the asymmetric dress with geometrical patterns made of polyester Newlife™ 100% made in Italy, the ivory skirt with plissè panels made of cupro Bemberg™ certified GRS and the jacket made of Eco-Kosmos cotton canvas with accelerated biodegradation. 

Gilberto Calzolari constantly refers to the old classical values: “Ethics and aesthetics have always been at the center of my philosophy: with my creations, I want to prove that creativity and luxury can – and have to go hand in hand with respect for our planet. For this reason, the partnership with Volvo seems the right frame to celebrate a contemporary, value-based, and aesthetic world, which resumes the most important teachings from the classical world: “kalos kai agathos”, the union between good and beautiful. 

“Today Sustainability is a necessity and a business opportunity, not a check box on a bucket list. And it shows that following an ethical approach does not mean limiting your own ability of aesthetic expression, instead, it frees up creativity and enhances innovation, both for shapes and materials” claimed the President of Volvo Car Italia, Michele Crisci. 

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Discovering Florence through the senses: 5 things to see.

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

The Tuscan capital, the cradle of culture, history, and art, is the emblem of the perfect Italian city to go on a pleasant trip. The pleasure itself is the common thread of these five beautiful experiences taken into consideration. Florence is a place where the harmony between man and landscape finds its maximum expression, but it is also a lively and pleasurable city. Finding tours that allow discovering the city through the five senses is a great way to perceive its most authentic nature. 

Ponte Vecchio on the Arno river

5 things to do and see in Florence

Let’s see what to visit in Florence, taking into account tours of appreciated sites such as destinationflorence.com, an official website addressed to tourists, but also residents, about everything you can do in Florence to live an original experience in the Tuscan city. 

  1. Florence to see: walking tour
  2. Sensuality in Florence, a city to love
  3. The cradle of handcraft, explore Florence with touch
  4. Florence to taste: a triumph of flavors
  5. The harmony of nature: the fragrant gardens in Florence

Florence to see: walking tour

When visiting Florence, the most stimulated sense is the sight because you are immersed in the beauty wherever you look. The cheapest options, but no less interesting to discover Florence, are the walking tours that lead to the various pearls of Renaissance Florence. Rather than venturing alone, relying on certified tour guides explaining in your language enables you to concentrate exclusively on the city’s most fascinating places. The guides will tell all the most interesting anecdotes related to the well-known monuments from a local perspective. 

Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore

Sensuality in Florence, a city to love

One of the most particular tours in Florence is the one that makes you discover a forbidden city. The former brothels in Florence tell stories about licit and illicit love, romantic attachments, but also fatal betrayals. An expert guide will lead you to the lesser-known side of Florence, starting from the Colonna dell’Abbondanza (Column of Abundance) in Piazza della Repubblica. This tour develops abstractly through the various love affairs of one of the most romantic cities in the world and allows you to learn some curiosities about the “Florentine Madonne”. As benefits tours like these, the conclusion leads to the discovery of a sensual cocktail, born in Florence, which still pays tribute to its inventor, Count Camillo Negroni. 

Negroni cocktail

The cradle of handcraft, explore Florence with touch

The handcraft represents one of the excellence of the Tuscan capital, especially in sectors related to the production of accessories and jewelry. The tour ” explore Oltrarno” is the best option to discover an amazing area of Florence where it is possible to walk around craft shops and artistic masterpieces. With the tour offered by Destination Florence, one of the most valuable operators in the city, you can put yourself in the artisans’ shoes. Starting from the beautiful Piazza de’ Pitti, you can visit some still up and running laboratories where expert artisans produce gold and silver jewels and engravings. Then the tour reaches another site of interest, often underestimated by usual tourist itineraries, the marvelous Piazza Santo Spirito where you can find boutiques and studies of art. Seeing first-hand the artisan skills has never been so simple and fun. 

Florence to taste: a triumph of flavors

A cooking course in Florence is one of the most popular experiences. Led by a chef, you will discover the Tuscan gastronomic heritage, choosing only the best ingredients to cook traditional dishes. The course will take place in a cozy place where you can feel at ease and, before starting it, you can taste some food. You will learn how to cook delicious traditional dishes, such as bruschetta, handmade pasta, sauces, and dessert so that you can have dinner and know the ingredients of the meal. Everything, of course, will be accompanied by a good glass of Tuscan wine. 

Bruschetta

The harmony of nature: the fragrant gardens in Florence. 

As shown by the Officina Santa Maria Novella and the tradition of Florentine perfumers, the city gardens are a natural research laboratory. Those who have a refined olfactory sense can smell the scents from which they get the best perfumes. Six gardens in Florence, hidden behind majestic palaces, are green and botanic places waiting to be explored. The best known, including Bardini, Boboli, and the Garden of Roses, happen places where art, architecture, and nature harmoniously. Destination Florence’s tour gives the chance to use a luxury Mercedes minivan and, with an expert guide, let yourself be pampered by these natural lookouts in the city center. 

Besides being a stunning art city, Florence can be explored through a different lens, more immediate and sensual. All these tours are the perfect starting points for all those who want to be led by smell, touch, sight, and taste to discover Florence. 

Travel with Manintown curated by Francesca Riggio

Milan Fashion Week – a recap on a journey through space and time

Posted on by Rosamaria Coniglio

What the following fashion shows have in common is an abstract journey through space and time, between past and future, and between reality and utopia. With futuristic garments and classical-style scenography, you are transported into a parallel universe.

 Missoni depicts the new generations, ambitious and a bit rebel, as seen in their free time, involved in their passions, full of dreams and plans for the future. They move with ease and elegance among suits and multicolor knit and lamè coats that accompany their movements, reflecting the cornerstones of the Maison in a fresher and more optimistic version. Like the wool or cashmere kaftan, a symbol of the versatility of the collection that adjusts to different looks. Chromatic variations, in the brand’s DNA, embrace shades of terracotta, cognac, pink, but also turquoise and orange, up to the elegant white and grey combination. They travel through time under the notes of Mad World, a cover by the Tears For Fears, representative of a succession of generations with the version by Gary Jules first and those by other artists, who have interpreted it, giving it new and endless lives. 

The world is a digital, utopian, and switchable reality where space takes shape according to its relation. In this atmosphere of intellectual freedom, Iceberg celebrates its heritage by wrapping garments. The main color, white, realized on large volumes, takes us back to an appealing aesthetic, like a lunar landscape. 

Then we are transported into an ideal environment, delimited by arches, stairs, and structural elements, leading us into the domestic walls that in this new daily life resemble the workplace, but more silent and less hectic. Grey and black scales, evoking a metropolitan style, appear on tricot dresses; more marked silhouettes and more feminine lines integrated into a new guise, more agile and functional. This is ICEBERG Knitwear Utopia.

“I thought about a complete wardrobe with garments that adapt to every moment of the day, from morning to night—clothes designed for a contemporary detail-oriented woman, immersed in a different and less chaotic reality. The usual pop colors of ICEBERG are softened in favor of an essential palette to escape from reality and dive into a parallel universe, knitted on the skin,”- explains the creative director James Long.

 

The new Salvatore Ferragamo‘s fashion is projected into the future, led by its Creative Director Paul Andrew’s inspiration. References are taken from ’90s science fiction movies, among jumpsuit and padded trousers, metal mesh, and cuts of space uniform. The goal is to relaunch, with an energetic and positive spirit, the future of a world that belongs to everyone by natural law, without distinction of color or social class. Renewed footwear, the starting point of Maison’s story, embraces a new look with the space biker boot for a whole new mission and aesthetic vision. “As Salvatore Ferragamo said about his shoes, this collection is dedicated to all those who have to walk, united in their determination to reimagine and rebuild a new responsible future, positive and joyful,” says Andrew. 

Salvatore Ferragamo FW21-22
Salvatore Ferragamo FW21-22

Salvatore Ferragamo FW21-22

Salvatore Ferragamo FW21-22

Fendi‘s fashion show with Kim Jones‘ first Prêt-à-porter collection, Artistic Director of Fendi’s Couture and Ready-to-Wear woman Collections, talks about a change, as well. It is about a future that would not exist without the foundation of its past. Fendi’s man and woman cross the catwalk scattered with classical columns that resisted time, like remains of an ancient, unearthed city. References that emphasize and value Karl Lagerfeld’s inheritance, in his monogram, Karligraphy. The architectonic heel of FENDI First shoes, born from an archive drawing, and the patterns of his Couture Collection are echoed in marbled silk clothes, flowered rosette, or delicate organza embroidery on jacquard shirts. 

Even the bags steal the scene, thanks to the new creation of Silvia Venturini for Fendi: FENDI. First, a clutch declined in thousands of varieties, sizes, and materials: leather, shearling, and exotic leathers—new silhouettes for the FENDI Way tote and the FENDI Touch shoulder bag. 

Great attention to the craftsmen of Made in Italy, emphasized in FENDI hand-in-hand project, which involves artisans from the 20 Italian regions to reimagine the Baguette icon.

The collection MANIFESTO dedicated to the FW21-22 of MSGM is a rewind of the tape. A Rewind to understand and regain possession of ourselves and our roots because we cannot plan a successful future without being fully aware of our past. The forced lockdown led us to long pauses to reflect, among flash-back and a deep analysis of ourselves. 

The Manifesto par excellence marks the beginning of something new that affects the whole cultural universe of a historical period. In the seat of Teatro Manzoni in Milan, the film-event was shot by Francesco Coppola, one of the young up-and-coming filmmakers in Italy, under the notes of a song written and interpreted by Gea Politi, editor of Flash Art, in collaboration with Club Domani.

Shiny fabrics, latex, recycled vinyl, and ecological furs tell us about the nightlife in Milan because Manifesto is addressed to a multi-cultural pole open to the future and a tireless and optimistic Milan, the driving force of the economy. 

Adaptation by Intl Editor Francesca Romana Riggio

Milan Fashion Week – a new statement of freedom

Posted on by Rosamaria Coniglio

Woman Fashion Week 2021 starts with an unmissable tribute to Beppe Modenese, who left us on 21st November 2020, through the work of Beniamino Barrese, who relocates him immersed in a world very dear to him, with the same severity and concreteness with which his voice resounds: fashion. 

 A hectic Milan, accompanied by the usual traffic noise in the background, marks the working hours. Behind his words, the supreme value of fashion as the driving force of the economy and the birth of new professions, which have contributed to creating the Italian identity, is ineluctably rooted in his System. 

Beppe Modenese

In what direction is the fashion we’ll see in the shop windows next fall going? What are the designers inspired by for their idea of style evolution in a pandemic universe that is still difficult to get used to? Moved by new necessities, essential for the preservation of the planet and humanity divided by useless and destructive acts of intolerance, the new collections are also a statement of responsibility, addressed to the new generations who want to be part of a new world regulated by a circular system and free from prejudice.

The common thread of these designer’s fashion shows is a statement of freedom: the freedom to express yourself through what you wear and through your body, the freedom from any social conventions, the freedom to show your true self and who you want to be.

Giorgio Armani’s fashion show is an excursus among the iconic garments of menswear in the last decades, updated in a comfort key to be worn casually by a man who is aware of what he desires and of his body. The knit jackets and the deconstructed coats fall softly on the shoulders, highlighting the natural male shape. Mandarin collars, the signature style of King Giorgio’s elegance, characterize shirts and velvet jackets and fine textures. 

New details are depicted by geometrical patchworks on wool or velvet jackets and t-shirts that highlight the silhouette. Free overlaps of elements characterized by floral prints and embroidery, inspired by far-off places, on classic trousers and velvet loafers, break the stylistic boundaries and offer the best to represent the choice of a garment: the freedom to express yourself. 

Giorgio Armani FW21-22
Giorgio Armani FW21-22
Giorgio Armani FW21-22

Prada‘s fashion show is also a statement of freedom. With its authority, it addresses the concept of the simultaneous existence of masculinity and femininity in man and woman. This freedom from any conventions, wished by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simon, finds expression in the tight jacquard knit “long johns”. If on the one hand, they cover the skin completely, on the other they make it free in all its possible movements, as if it was naked and uncovered, so that the action, the activity, and the intentional act take over. 

The classical shapes change in favor of comfort, with flexible fabrics and unconventional cuts. Evening dresses become comfy suits, and tailored coats are covered with bright colors or sequins, turning their original purpose into the exact opposite. Materials intended for a garment or a preconceived use change destination in the name of freedom from any canons. 

Even the scenography, the same one used for the men’s fashion show, created by Rem Koolhaas and AMO, destabilizes with its “faux fur” and marble accents to represent this exaggerated contrast best way to express one’s idea of freedom. 

It is important to remember that these materials will be donated to Meta, a circular economy project based in Milan, which provides sustainable solutions for the disposal of waste produced by temporary events. 

Prada FW21-22

Prada FW21-22

Fluid materials for the elegant sensuality of N°21, where the lace is the protagonist in its fluid version and is part of weight contrasts, ranging from wool maxi coats to versatile oversize mohair shirts, worn rebelliously by man and woman for the need of communicating through the body, as a result of the forced digitalization caused by the pandemic. 

Precious details, such as Swarovski crystals, follow a pave pattern on impalpable silk tops and accessories or, in a genderless key, they are lined up on check jackets to showcase necks and both the male and female body. Like the egg-shaped speckled wool coats similar for man and woman. Alessandro Dell’Acqua‘s inspiration comes from a polaroid of Carlo Mollino: “It made me think of an aesthetic shape that the great Italian architect also transferred into the positions and attitudes of the women he photographed in environments that he built through his eclectic vision. I wanted to transfer the same eccentric erotism into my collection, typically Italian, that can put together modesty and desire to show off. This gave rise to a very “clean” declination of the middle-class eccentric side, made of lace bras, accidental transparencies, and a desire for carnality and nudity. But their casual exposure makes them naive. 

It is a collection that is not built upon “double entendre” to interpret, but upon direct words that allow men and women to represent themselves as they want to be.”

The new challenge of Alessandro dell’Acqua for Elena Mirò connects brands with principles of femininity and seduction, so dear to the designer who uses the sensoriality of the silk, of the seductive macramè and the wrapping knitwear that together with large outwear follow the body movements naturally. These are materials that can interpret a woman connected with nature and the dynamism of metropolitan life. “I thought about designing desirable clothes without being too influenced by the rules related to sizes,” explains Alessandro dell’Acqua ” Basically, I focused on transforming the fabrics technologically to increase their comfort, even when they are heavy like the tweed, and I have removed any easy solutions that could give the impression of wrapping women in the shape of a sack. I accepted this challenge because I am sure it is possible to work on this topic without falling into the curvy fashion clichè.”

Ermanno Scervino‘s fashion show at Palazzo Serbelloni includes his strengths contributing to the designer’s success. Creator of femininity, he relaunches waist and silhouette on the runway through couture leather and sensuality of the lace to develop an evolved collection with landmarks that are an integral part of Ermanno Scervino’s cultural heritage. Like the leather’s couture working process reaching its highest level on lace and inlays, the wise use of macramè for very feminine dresses. Femininity maintained in research materials such as the innovative use of neoprene declined in a great classic such as the pleated skirt.

Ermanno Scervino FW21-22
Ermanno Scervino FW21-22

Adaptation by Intl Editor Francesca Romana Riggio

3 Destinations for a weekend in South Tyrol

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

The Dolomites are the mountains that everyone in the world admires. They offer breathtaking skylines and atmospheres in every season. Over the years, they become increasingly a trendy destination that should not be missing from our summer plans. In South Tyrol, the famous names and the new Alpine hotels have every comfort. They are close to the ski lifts for an immediate start to the day of exploration, or far away from it all to hear only the silence of the trees: they have sensational spas and pools with forest views, and finally they certainly feature gourmet or starred restaurants. Here are three addresses for a weekend dedicated to nature and Bien Vivre.

Hotel Tyrol

Selva di Valgardena, a refined summer and winter resort, is famous for being part of the <<Sellaronda ski area>>, in the largest Dolomites.

The uniqueness of this “house” (the typical and most suitable term to define the place) lies in making guests feel at “home,” in a familiar place with an alpine mood where there are touches of contemporaneity, such as the refined gourmet cuisine and the latest generation spa, followed by the staff always ready to pamper.

After all, tradition is a timeless strength, according to the owners Bibiana Dirler, and Maurizio Micheli, who have managed to keep it alive, enriching and improving it with contemporary comforts. There is a spa made with typical materials of the territory. At the gourmet restaurant Suinsom (a typical South Tyrolean stube), which is also open to the public, you can enjoy traditional dishes reinterpreted in a modern way by chef Alessandro Martellini in a romantic yet convivial atmosphere.

Hotel Lamm

The Hotel Lamm in Castelrotto has returned to its former glory after a careful restyling that has managed to combine the charm of tradition, slightly revised, with a modern and elegant design. It locates on the slopes of the Alpe di Siusi, in the center of a medieval village. The restaurant Zum Lampl is the temple of chef Marc Oberhofer, who every day offers traditional South Tyrolean specialties reinterpreted and created using only local, seasonal, high-quality ingredients from South Tyrol. The adjoining bar, on the other hand, is the focal point for guests and locals alike. With its large windows looking out onto Castelrotto’s main square, it is a vantage point for observing village life. The spa on the top floor of the hotel is spectacular: a spacious and elegant wellness area.

Alpina Dolomites Health Lodge & Spa

Buildings made of wood, stone, and glass, perfectly integrated into the environment, combine attractive design and eco vocation of the Alpina Dolomites Health Lodge & Spa, a 5-star hotel of the Leading Hotels of the World chain, whose structure is all-around sustainable. The Lodge locates in Compatsch (1860 m), at the western end of the plateau. It is near the mountain station of the gondola from Siusi to Alpe di Siusi. If, in addition to hiking, you are looking for wellness, this is the right choice, thanks to the holistic Alpina SPA, the hotel’s flagship, which was awarded at the Spa Traveller Awards as Best Spa Hotel / Resort and for the best Detox Program.

Cover: Hotel Tyrol

Travel with Manintown curated by Francesca Riggio

Text by: Massimiliano Benetazzo

Chef in Town: 5 Italian terroirs among wines, seas, lakes

Posted on by Andrea Betteto

There are places, whose lands, well delimited by the rules of nature, pushed by their background, give life to products of which wine, today more than ever, is the absolute protagonist: terroir.

This term, whose meaning is getting richer and richer, does not directly refer to the climatic connotations insisting on certain parts of the territory or the type of land where the vineyard is located. It involves, rather, the human aspect meant as history, culture, and tradition.

Here is a fascinating and agile guide that touches our peninsula in every cardinal point, suggested by Andrea Frizzarin, well-known Food and Beverage Manager, an expert in territory and eco gastronomy.

LIGURIA

This breathtaking strip of land enclosed between the Apennines and the sea, dotted by mountains and hills, offers a great variety of flavors while keeping traditions in wine. When talking about Liguria, it is necessary to pay attention to Rosato ‘Mea Rosa’ of Lunae winery. It is a rose wine produced with Vermentino Nero grapes, a grape that is almost forgotten and is vinified as rose wine.

The color is the result of the cold maceration for about four hours. The city of Luni, the last strip of land before Tuscany, is still wrapped by its history. In ancient times has been important for different cultures. They find expression, in our days, through the presence of native varieties typically territorial.

TRENTINO ALTO ADIGE – LAKE LEVICO

Lake Levico is for those who love spending time in a pleasant and mysterious atmosphere at the same time, a turquoise pearl located in Trentino Alto Adige. It is enough to hear the region’s name to have the products’ guarantee. The sparkling wine TrentoDoc is the pride of these areas. Only Trentino grapes are used, and they are pampered through a harvest by hand followed by the winery’s process, handed down from generation to generation. The wine worthy of note for its particular aging is Cantina Romanese’s Lagorai TrentoDoc Riserva. Every single bottle is aged for almost two years in the depths of Lake Levico. Here it acquires a very particular aroma.

UMBRIA – LAKE CORBARA

From a lake to another, we meet a place that requires a careful observer to immerse ourselves in a location that seems to have no time, such as the magnificent Umbria. In recent decades has had a considerable development that has led it to be a true oasis of cultural interests and not only. The protagonist of this evolution was also the Lake of Corbara. The River Tiber’s waters are thrown, softened by a series of environmental transformations: a beautiful ecosystem, with protected areas such as the Tiber River Park. The daughter of this land is the Barberini winery and its vines that dominate the Lake. Here the harvest has a slow rhythm. It is said that here wine is an uncompromising identity. The symbolic wine, for its name and history, is the Orvieto Classico Superiore Luigi e Giovanna 2012. It has an intense golden color with strong fruity scents.

PUGLIA – BETWEEN BARI AND TARANTO

Every place in this region is a real paradise. Puglia is among the most desired of our beautiful country. Valle d’Itria, between Bari, Brindisi, and Taranto, is a focal point where it is possible to see the various clothes in this region can wear. Right here, wine lovers meet La Verdeca, a grape variety that owes its name to the greenish color of its berries; its wines offer an olfactory range from flowers to citrus fruits and exotic fruits such as pineapple. Among the most renowned ones, there is Curtirussi Verdeca of Mocavero winery, great exporters of this wine jewel having a fresh and light taste.

CALABRIA – IONIC COAST

“L’amuri è come l’acqua: in calata va, in chianata no”: love is like water: it goes downhill but not uphill. We often use proverbs to give an idea of the popular culture of a land. That explains humanity and historical traditions. Calabria and wine are an assured match, especially if we consider the excellence of one of the most important grapes of the region: Gaglioppo, an autochthonous black berried grape mainly spread in the coastal areas, it is the most common variety in Calabria, and we find it in all red wines, the most significant of which is Cirò red. The Calabrian climate and the peculiarity of the arid soil represent the necessary conditions for this wine. It has an early maturation and high resistance.

The love for this land gave birth to Cantina Ceraudo, which welcomes those who cross the threshold of Contrada Dattilo with the inscription <<Happy is the one who makes others happy>>. It is a sentence that goes beyond the passion for wine and binds everyone to reflect on something that is not only drunk but lived.

Chef in Town- a food and beverage column curated by

Intl Editor Francesca Romana Riggio

Horoscope for March 2021: Stars & Styles

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

Welcome to Stars and Styles, our NEW monthly horoscope appointment, with the guidance of Astro-coach Massimo Giannone, renowned astrologer. Gifted with exceptional sensitivity, he reads with a methodical eye and interprets with the gift of intuition. Giannone has literally conquered the heart of Italy, starting from Milan, the capital of fashion and publishing, with his fixed appointments on Il Sole 24 Ore and Gioia.

His method has also conquered the high-end fashion industry, which has led him to be the protagonist of fashion events and promotional tours throughout Italy for brands such as Maliparmi and Prairie. His approach, far from generic, enters the psychological and soul aspect of the personalities linked to the zodiacal sign, with a perceptive interpretative key that is aimed at providing advice for rebirth, rebuilding.

“Experiences are teachings, if you learn to grasp their directives, your life can change completely” says Massimo Giannone.

Curated by Francesca Romana Riggio

Text by Astro Coach Massimo Giannone

Illustrations by Maria Lombardi

Aries – Everything in our existence seems to come from Chaos. In ancient Greek mythology, it is said that in the beginning was only Chaos, a powerful and malevolent divinity that generated Fate. Erebus was the dark and the Parcae determined the destiny of men from the disorder of these deities. Then, more positive figures were created such as Venus, the goddess of love, Gea, and many others who restored the order. 

Dear Aries friends, to sort out your daily life, you need a path of sharing and union with others, you cannot always do everything yourself. It is necessary to join others to better find solutions, as they say: “unity is strength.”

Love: with the moon in the sign on the 14th of March, you will be able to take the right initiatives and, your spirit, close to the needs of your partner, will help you remedy some situations that do not work in your relationship. Young people will have to avoid isolating themselves to steal someone’s heart, preferring affinity to irony. 

Career: to increase revenue, it will be necessary to create a team. If not possible, try to relate to your loved ones and ask them for advice. Go through with what you start and keep you updated with your job, maybe by attending a specialization course or reading articles about your field.” It is necessary to unite, not to stand together, but to do something together” claimed Goethe, a German writer and playwright.

Your Path: Collaborating with others to pursue an idea, a project, and to achieve a goal helps overcome obstacles. An exchange of opinions with other people allows you to broaden your mind; a sane confrontation simplifies your own path. This is a way to implement your resources through the viewpoint of several people who analyze together the situation by monitoring positive and negative feedback dictated by past experience, thus satisfying not only the personal interest but also the collective one.

Taurus – Dissatisfaction is a useful emotion for people to report something wrong in their paths. It is a warning that suggests changing direction so that you can improve aspects of your daily life.

In the song by Fiorella Mannoia “Fighter”, a part of the melody says:” It’s a rule to be applied in the whole universe/Those who do not fight for something have already lost/ And even though fear makes you tremble/ I have never given up fighting.”This song talks about the positive and negative events that happen to all of us over time; we fight every day to make sense of our life that flows through joy and sorrow while time is rushing by. It is an invitation to look at the future with wisdom and without illusion, and especially an invitation to fight.

Dear Taurus friends, Jupiter and Saturn will bring you some dissatisfaction, not to punish you but to give you new opportunities.

Love: it will be necessary to mitigate your vision and look for new stimuli in your relationship. Try to surprise your partner with an unusual attitude or with a simple smile. This will lead to new situations of harmony and understanding in your relationship. 

Career: don’t let pessimistic thoughts bring you down if work is not going as you’d like. Instead, look for new incentives, try to set your limits, and react by questioning yourself and asking for help from someone who has a clearer view.” Those who are not satisfied with what they have would not be satisfied even if they had what they desire,” said Socrates, a Greek philosopher. 

Your Path: you need to avoid dissatisfaction becoming permanent in your soul, otherwise you will have difficulty in finding new stimuli. If you look into the causes of your disappointment, you can create reactive and benevolent energies, you can eliminate frustration and realize that every obstacle is a means to change and improve yourself. Avoid extreme self-criticism and look at the future that always gives new and positive expectations.

Gemini – A genuine authenticity leads the human being to the truth, in a path where there is no misunderstanding. The truth cannot be the non-truth. 

Oscar Wilde claimed:” Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” However, it is not always easy to be ourselves; in a certain way, our societies impose on us a role that does not allow us to reveal ourselves, so wearing a mask is more convenient.

We should behave as children do: they express their feelings with authentic spontaneity, naivety and curiosity. Authentic individuals let go of negative people, they express what they think clearly and they don’t care if others disagree. They overcome anxiety through their self-confidence and stay true to what they think. 

Dear Gemini friends, your path is not easy, but this is necessary to solve some problems. With the help of Saturn, you will have to let go of what it’s not good for you to become more genuine. 

Love: you will give more space to your partner’s needs, with an attitude based on trust and respect for others’ necessities, discerning good and evil in everything with great authenticity.

Career: a great liveliness, together with your friendly and communicative nature, will help you overcome obstacles, establishing clear boundaries between what you desire and what you can actually achieve. Rewards and earnings are coming. “You will learn at your expense that in life’s long journey you will meet many masks and few true faces,” said Luigi Pirandello, an Italian playwright and writer.

Your Path: a frank attitude leads to paths of evolution, which others might not fully understand, but it will be necessary to obtain a deeper spirit and get rid of what you won’t need anymore, as well. You will replace your old identity with a new one that relies on truth and profundity. Frivolity and negligence will become part of your past. 

Cancer – Being rational means having a logical approach and behaving in a balanced manner to reach specific goals. 

In his studies on cognitive psychology, Herbert Alexander Simon, economist and psychologist, deals with the so-called “Olympic rationality” describing it as if it was made of two contracts, one of which is completed and the other one is not. He uses an image to illustrate the effects: one hand grabbing an object firmly and the other one trembling. If you are determined and have a clear vision, you will grab the object with confidence and determination. 

Dear Cancer friends, this is the path to follow this month. With a great sense of reasoning, it will be necessary to pursue your set goals with determination, being aware of your own means. 

Love: resentment might be a deterrent and spoil the serenity of your evenings. Non-benevolent Pluto does not bring out the best of you. A non-contradictory attitude, together with self-esteem might be the right key to giving balance to your relationship. Be clear and show your interest to those you love. 

Career: You need to be more cooperative and avoid closing yourself off to others’ opinions and views. Try to be generous and unselfish towards your partners and colleagues. You have excellent opportunities to make a profitable investment. “A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it is not open,” claimed Albert Einstein, a German physicist. 

Your Path: If you are determined and have a clear vision, you will grab the object with confidence and determination. Never lose your temper when you do not accept things. Instead, act rationally, maybe not immediately, but with clarity of purpose and determination at the right moment.

Leo – According to Tommaso D’Aquino, it is allowed to tolerate religious diversity because faith is the work of the Divine Grace and, consequently, it’s not up to man to judge. 

Voltaire, a French philosopher and historian, in his treatise on tolerance, describes his vision about freedom of religion, which must be based on respect for others’ ideas and opinions in order to build a civil society.

This is still a current issue. Nowadays, in many parts of the world, “the different one” is being persecuted instead of being integrated into society as an opportunity for dialogue. 

Dear Leo friends, during this difficult phase, owing to Saturn’s opposition and Uranus challenging your tolerance, you will need to revise your attitude. Be leaders, but also humble and, above all, tolerant. 

Love: you will have the chance to restore your relationship with a romantic and selfless attitude. In this way, you will overcome recent misunderstandings, you will find happiness and intimacy with your partner. 

Career: At work, someone or something will get on your nerves. Be tolerant and discuss without judgment, accepting different opinions. In this way, you will be appreciated and obstacles will turn into new beneficial opportunities for you, too. “The golden rule of conduct is mutual toleration, seeing that we will never all think alike and we shall see Truth in fragment and from different angles of vision,” claimed Mahatma Gandhi, an Indian politician, philosopher and lawyer. 

Your Path: It is possible to create a balanced and harmonious environment through respectful behavior towards others’ ideas, even though they are not in tune with yours. Respect and tolerance towards what is different lead to dialogues that can improve our society. 

Virgo – Everyone often faces unclear situations. Emotions can be a strong deterrent to your behavior; doubts and perplexities push you to react impulsively when instead you should meditate wisely and let time give you a chance to get back to certainty and clarity. 

In a song by Carmen Consoli, “A plastic love”, she talks about the renunciation of an inconsistent love. A part of the melody says:” I wanted to be stronger than all your doubts, but I can’t settle for it if all you can give me is a plastic love“. Let’s not settle, let’s overcome our uncertainties even though they might lead to a loss. 

Dear Virgo friends, this phase will be characterized by great fragility and a sense of helplessness that could make you react unproperly. 

Love: excessive stress can lead you to isolate yourself from your partner. This might be useful, but only if it is without anger and silence. Instead, explain your needs. Be patient and sympathetic. 

Career: you need to lighten the load. It is okay to have your own responsibilities, but you need to give yourself time and focus on your needs. Thanks to your tenacity, you will achieve excellent results.” The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent full of doubt“, said Bertrand Russel, a philosopher. 

Your Path: Everyone often faces unclear situations. Emotions can be a strong deterrent to your behavior; doubts and concerns push you to react impulsively when instead you should meditate wisely and let time give you a chance to get back to certainty and clarity. I think that true love is the solution to many afflictions. Donating gives comfort to the soul even more than receiving. 

Libra – Myth and philosophy tend to explain what surrounds us through observation and reasoning. While the first one sticks to a description, an association with a deity, philosophy tries to go deeply into the truth and understand it through critical analysis.

In a song by Louis Armstrong “What a Wonderful World”, the singer observes the beauty that surrounds us, reflects on the meaning of life and the diversity of humankind and tries to give hope to the future. In a part of the song he describes the world like this: ” I see skies so blue and clouds so white. The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night. And I think to myself: what a wonderful world.” These beautiful lyrics convey the beauty of everything and give a little hope at this time of great social difficulties. 

Dear Libra friends, with favorable Jupiter and Mercury, your phase turns out to be full of opportunities. However, you have to think carefully about the best way to go. 

Love: This moment turns out to be very positive to clear away the cobwebs and the bad mental intentions of your recent past. Through a lightness of mind and attention to the needs of those who love you, you can reach peaks of harmony and stability.

Career:  youwill be able to dose clearly between personal and business needs. A careful vision of what you really need will definitely lead to rewards and earnings. Perhaps review your work several times so every detail will be successful. “Learning without reflection is a waste. Reflection without learning is dangerous“, said Confucius, a Chinese philosopher. 

Your Path: being conscious leads to a high level of maturity in dealing with any daily occurrence. Pondering and reflecting helps you have the right view by adopting the best behavior. Like a wave propagating through different means, reflecting helps you change direction towards more appropriate destinations. A soul lights up through the understanding of the dynamics that surround us. 

Scorpio – Who among us does not have vices? It is easy to look at those of others and judge. Sometimes a simple word can hurt the other person. It is always necessary to weigh your words before you speak to avoid harming yourself and others, understanding that words are powerful, for better or worse. Understanding what we do educates us to respect, not to want to do to others what we do not want to be done to us. This is a pearl of fundamental wisdom because it lays the foundations for a better world. 

In the myth, Mercury, the messenger of gods, was willing to lie in order to get anything. But it is also said that he separated two snakes that were fighting, making peace between them. There is a double aspect of the same myth, sometimes the wise prevailed, other times the scoundrel like it is in each of us: a struggle between a positive polarity and a negative one. Only through the right word that is said to the soul, you choose the best way.

Dear Scorpio friends, saying the right word to your soul will be the way to follow. This time turns out to be favorable, but you need to control everything you do and analyze it carefully before making any decision. 

Love: with favorable Pluto and Neptune, you can enjoy pleasant news, but you need to put an end to your past that still afflicts you, because you think you did not deserve such a treatment. Live for today and tomorrow and forget any rivalry that might make you miss the opportunity to experience something new. 

Career: at work, with a clear vision of your task management, you will be able to share and give advice to people around you with the right word at the right time. This will lead you to receive support from your colleagues. This is a great time to make investments. “We are the masters of our silence, we are slaves of our words” claimed Sigmund Freud.

Your Path: Who among us does not have vices? It is easy to look at those of others and judge them. Sometimes a simple word can hurt the other person. It is always necessary to weigh your words before you speak to avoid harming yourself and others, understanding that words are powerful, for better or worse. Understanding what we do educates us to respect, not to want to do to others what we do not want to be done to us. This is a pearl of fundamental wisdom because it lays the foundations for a better world.

Sagittarius – The young Hemingway describes Milan as the romantic city par excellence. As a matter of fact, when he was still unknown, he had joined the army, but having had eyesight problems, he was recruited as a driver of the Red Cross. On one occasion, he was injured and had to recover at the hospital, where he fell in love with a nurse. He had such feelings for her that when he wrote to his parents to tell them about Milan, he also talked about Agnes, his great love, which remained only platonic.

Every feeling remains engraved in our soul and, even though we do not experience it, it leads us to a dream state that leaves important marks in our life’s story. 

Dear Sagittarius friends, despite Mars’ opposition, you will be highly prone to romanticism, an emotional force that will make you feel alive. You will have to capture the intensity of these moments, without wondering what happens next.

Love: You will escape conventional limits to experience something rousing out of the traditional standards of living. Aside from overwhelming passions, you will also find some obstacles. 

Career: At work, having this romantic side will help you look at things from a different angle. You can also turn difficulties into challenges to overcome. With such feelings, everything becomes possible. It is a state of grace that makes every chance achievable. How wonderful to live with romantic feelings! The reason is contrasted with an emotion that stimulates new professional paths. Be strategic but also passionate and romantic. 

“Romanticism is what touches sensitivity and invites her to emotion,” said Atsuro Tayama, a Japanese designer. 

Your path: a sentimental world, where the soul is dreamy, arouses an enchanted reality in people. You observe the details and the beauty of nature; you look forward to reliving your encounters that have evoked this state of mind. Live every single moment without wondering why. 

Capricorn – In mathematics, a surface is a geometric shape that has only two dimensions, without thickness, it can be limited or unlimited. In law, those who own a piece of land also own what is on it unless they make concessions creating two estates. In life, it is important to go beyond the surface: you have the chance to face problems and, through a good analysis, you see the pros and cons of everything. 

Dear Capricorn friends, it’s time to go beyond the surface. You already have a profound spirit; your seed symbolizes a seed in the ice, an apparent death that is full of life. You will find a way to overcome fears and perplexities through a clear dialogue. 

Love: Uranus stimulates your inner self; passions will be more intense if you open the door of your heart. Your originality will help you, but you need to make an effort and accept others’ limits.

Career: at work, you will be talented and quick to take the opportunities given to you. Instead of making too many commitments, you should undertake tasks you enjoy so that every challenge will spur your creative flair.  “When I got to this place, the land was shapeless and empty; the darkness covered the seabed, the spirit of God rose to the surface,” said Khalil Gibran, a Lebanese philosopher.

Your Path: Going deep is a journey that many people fear. However, it is an attitude that helps you deal with life differently, beyond your scars. It connects you with others and gives you the chance to understand them and yourself because the path that provides the answers is in the dialogue with others and not in a self-closure. Trusting others opens a new dimension where perceptions are better and allow you to find new harmonies. 

Aquarius – In the song “Heroes” David Bowie describes how everyone can be a hero, even just for one day. “I will be king/ And you will be queen/ Though nothing will drive them away/ We can beat them, just for one day/ We can be heroes, just for one day.” A story of an impossible love during the Berlin Wall’s existence, two lovers separated by the wall challenging two conflicting powers and risking their lives for love.

Dear Aquarius friends, with Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn in the sign, you will have the right motivation to follow new paths in your life. The cycles that conclude are not always easy and they seem to have no end but thanks to your determination, bravery and the right motivation you will set out to a renewal, which will lead you to overcome the loneliness of your soul. 

Love: many people of the sign have ended an important relationship or have experienced tensions that are not easy to deal with. At last, the stars will be favorable to the birth of a new love or to the overcoming of misunderstandings between the couple. Even your friendships will be renewed with great and new people you will meet.

Career: with unfavorable Uranus during this phase, avoid being impulsive. You can put an end to your dissatisfactions through a new motivation, which will lead you to make the most of your resources. “We do not know a truth without knowing its cause,” claimed Aristotle, a Greek philosopher. 

Your Path: many factors push people towards goals in different spheres of everyday life. However, if you do not have the right motivation you risk taking the wrong path. Obstacles, pain and stress often take your motivation away and you will feel apathetic, unable to act on yourself. What to do? First and foremost, you need to avoid pleasing others and analyze in depth what makes you feel good. Try to do what you like with high control of yourself, thus overcoming fears that do not allow you to believe in your success. 

Pisces – Anxieties and worries change our behavior, they lead us to restlessness and prevent us from being objective. 

Alda Merini, an Italian poetess, said:” I am very unquiet when I am tied to space“, this is the suffering caused by a reality with boundaries and limits that can not be crossed. 

The challenges in life are never easy to face. For each of us, our own problem is the biggest to solve, we no longer sleep peacefully, we are upset about it, and bad thoughts often invade and fill us with negative energies. 

Dear Pisces friends, with Mercury and Saturn in the sign, you will have enough energies to deal with an anxious state of mind caused by your tendency to take too many responsibilities, even not yours. 

Love: Uranus will help you unblock the situation of instability with your partner or your differences of opinion. Don’t feel overwhelmed and try to make the qualitative leap you need, maybe by giving each other your own responsibilities. This is a happy phase for the young people of the sign: exciting meetings are coming. 

Career: at work, you will have to go beyond your usual attitude. Avoid accumulating tensions and say what you think but with great understanding. New professional experiences are coming, don’t hold back. “Restlessness and impatience are two diseases and both of them shorten life“, said Mahatma Gandhi, an Indian philosopher. 

Your Path: First, you need to understand precisely what is bad for you and find a new inner attitude. There is a remedy for everything. You can achieve peace also with the help of breathing techniques, meditation, yoga. But if you are highly stressed you need to ask for help, without hesitation. 

Chef in Town: Foss Marai, the leading winery in the production of sparkling wine and its strength

Posted on by Miriam De Nicolò

They call it <<heroic viticulture>> and Carlo Biasotto, founder of Foss Marai winery, tells it like this:

“We were children, and our parents used to order us to go and pick the grapes: that was the time to cry because we knew how hard and dangerous the work was.”

Land with a 45-degree slope, no terracing, the need to intervene by hand, limiting the use of machinery that would risk tipping over: this is why the work of winegrowers in Valdobbiadene is called <<heroic>>. The landscape is so suggestive, with hills that weave infinite shades of color, from clover green to fern green, as hard as it is for man to tame it.

It is in the Conegliano-Valdobbiadene area, today a Unesco World Heritage Site, that Foss Marai wines are born. Thanks to the respect of the “disciplinary regulations of the wines of controlled and guaranteed origin Conegliano Valdobbiadene – Prosecco” aimed at the full protection of prosecco, a wine symbol of Made in Italy quality, without forcing the plants and the cultivation system.

The Biasotto family is formed by Carlo, Adriana, and their children Andrea, Cristiana, and Umberto. They continue the tradition of respect for the territory: the company’s DNA, founded in 1986.

It is an agricultural model where the secret is know-how, craftsmanship, precision, and care with which complex selective and productive processes are managed. These processes are often long because they are based on manual labor and therefore expensive: any compromise would ruin the outcome’s quality.

In the use of autochthonous and indigenous yeasts of prosecco, especially the DOCG territory lies their strong point.

An accurate selection is done by the external state of grapes, called <<pruina>>. It is a wax that covers the berries. There is a multitude of types, and thanks to the collaboration with the University of Piacenza, a selection of yeasts suitable for alcoholic fermentation has been made: both for base wines, the result of the primary transformation from must to wine, and for fermentation in autoclaves. These yeasts guarantee the uniqueness, typicality, and variety of the grape, and the original aroma is maintained, which would be lost if commercial yeasts were used, giving prevalence to fermentation aromas rather than varietal ones.

Mother yeasts are kept in small chemical vials. Every three/four months the brown part must be renewed, and a small portion of yeast (the white part) is taken, then re-inoculated in a new vial; at a temperature of 35/37 degrees Celsius, growth waited for a week until the yeast colony is in good health. Then the vial is placed in the refrigerator for storage and monitored.

The meticulousness of the process is necessary to make sure there are no bacteria because it is predominant to maintain freshness and vivacity. The pride of Foss Marai, in this step, are the innovative technological tools used: from machines with an infrared laser to “enzymatic” implements for the examination of alcohol and sugar.

While other producers use commercial yeasts, mostly selected by multinationals, often from the Netherlands, Foss Marai has been selecting and working with its yeasts for 20 years, producing 20,000 bottles per day, for a total of about 2 million per year. The result is a particular and unique timbre. In years that are not particularly favorable, it is possible, thanks to the 30 indigenous yeasts, to give the same results as in happier vintages, with the same aromas and scents, reducing to a minimum the gap between one harvest and the next.

Many reflections arise knowing the history of this family, which has put the love for its territory before everything else, which has made life itself become <<work>>. Jean Giono, a French writer, born into a family of Piedmontese origin, would sum up the thought in a sentence, taken from his essay <<Letter to the peasants on poverty and peace>>, written in 1938:

“One cannot know what the work of the peasant is: whether it is plowing, sowing, mowing, or whether it is at the same time eating and drinking fresh food, having children and breathing freely, for all these things are intimately united, and when he does one thing he completes the other. It is all work, and nothing is work in the social sense of the word. It is his life.”

Chef in Town- a food and beverage column curated by

Intl Editor Francesca Romana Riggio

Chef in Town: Simone Rugiati and his factory

Posted on by Anselmo Prestini

Chef, TV host and influencer, Simone Rugiati managed to win us over immediately with his recipes. Lively, charismatic, and enterprising, the chef has created a creative Factory House, Food Loft Milano. We met him to discover the project up close.

How did your passion for food come about?

I have always been a big fan of cooking, ever since I was a child.

When I was young, my parents worked mornings and afternoons, with the consequence that they didn’t have the time to cook for me. My neighbor Gigliola, along with my grandmothers, took care of lunches, and I was always home with them. I remember that we would cook and play, and the fun activities would end by eating the dish we had prepared. I loved this magic of making, transforming, and eating.

I was very messy, curious, and lively, never sitting still, tasting, cooking, preparing, and eating. I was happy to see the main character, my grandmother, at the table. Without her, Sundays didn’t work: her cooking kept the whole family together (I still remember her saying: “buy the good stuff, that comes good”).

When I finished middle school, I enrolled in culinary school for hotel management.

How were you able to turn cooking into work?

After school, I started working around trying to stay in different places for a short time to gain more experience in the shortest time possible. However, I realized that being inside a restaurant was not enough for me: I wanted to invent, but above all, I missed being in contact with the raw material. When you work in a restaurant, you have to adapt: I needed to give space to my creativity. I started reading cookbooks, but even those seemed banal. Later, I went to work in Parma in a publishing house that produced culinary magazines. This editorial group has allowed me to observe starred restaurants and test the cuisine of great chefs.

In the meantime, I started taking pictures and got used to the cameras. At first, I was afraid of being on television because I thought I wasn’t up to it. Then I realized how important the world of communication and media was in my field.

My television career began with “Il Piatto forte” on Canale 5, hosted by Iva Zanicchi. That was followed by <<La Prova del Cuoco>>, with Antonella Clerici, not to forget the twelve years at <<Gambero Rosso>>.  Finally, I moved to <<La 7>> and <<Food Network>>.

Tell us about your project Food Loft Milano.

Food Loft Milano (https://www.foodloft.it/foodloft-milano) is an initiative of mine, a creative laboratory of excellence that makes consultations, catering, events, and productions.

I did not want to open a classic restaurant but a laboratory. This business allows me to provide all-around services that go beyond single dish preparation. In fact, with the studio, we can distribute real content, take photos and produce videos. I am happy with the context I have created: through a trusted videomaker, I have equipped myself with lights, lenses, and everything necessary to produce formats not only for the web but also for companies and television productions.

Our mission is to create an audio-video package for bands. Food loft was born seven years ago when I decided to stop always going around to create content: it was time to have a unique space all my own, with a single professional kitchen, versatile for any situation. That is an easily brandable base of operations, suitable for creating and catering service and all the various productions mentioned above. 

Any plans for the future?

We’re trying to work with increasingly sustainable companies that embrace the principles of the green attitude. These years more than ever have shown how fundamental it’s the environment, even in the kitchen. I continue to specialize in content production: the ultimate goal is to interface directly with clients, providing them with a complete package. Finally, I can’t deny that I would like to spend more time in Kenya, which has become my second home.

Chef in Town- a food and beverage column curated by

Intl Editor Francesca Romana Riggio

Chef in Town: MGC, the new lightest Mumm cuvée in the world

Posted on by Miriam De Nicolò

Essentiality: this is the aesthetic signature of the MGC cuvée, an acronym for Mumm Grand Cordon.

This is the value that marks our contemporary life.

Maison Mumm reconfirms its role as a pioneer and innovator with MGC, the new cuvée created from a sustainable perspective of 835 grams for a 1 liter of bubbles, the lightest champagne bottle in the world. Ross Lovegrove, an acclaimed and visionary Welsh designer, realizes MGC Mumm in recycled glass, therefore a hand to eco-sustainability. An avant-garde design makes it stylish, essential and expressive, which gives back to the artistic gesture its functional aspiration. No label: logo and gold emblem are directly hot printed on the glass. The unmistakable engraved Cordon Rouge identifies it: it is a red scratch, which instills grit and power telling the strength of pinot noir, Maison’s characteristic grape.

The bottle’s elegance can be noticed thanks to its elongated and slender neck: an aesthetic choice that adapts to the need for accompanying aroma. Finally, the careful passion for quality has determined the use of cork: Mitik Diam, which, among other things, avoids the annoying inconvenience of <>.

A curiosity. Maison Mumm believes so strongly in the urgency of an eco-sustainable perspective and the need to strive for the essential that it invented a new remuage program, adapted to the new MGC cuvée, in both form and content.

Ross Lovegrove

Ross Lovegrove is an artist and industrial designer. His style and designs are instantly recognizable, a mix of technology, material science, and organic intelligence. His work represents the new aesthetic of the 21st century.

Born in 1958 in Cardiff (Wales), Ross Lovegrove graduated with honors in Industrial Design from Manchester Polytechnic in 1980, and in 1983 received his Master of Design from the Royal College of Art in London.

Lovegrove has participated in some projects that have become true icons such as the Walkman for Sony and the Computers for Apple. He has worked on numerous projects for British Airways, Kartell, Cappellini, Hernes; Moroso, Artemide, Driade, Renault, Issey Miyake, Vitra, Tag Heuer, Herman Miller, Japan Airlines, and Toyo Ito Architects in Japan.

His work has been published in numerous magazines and exhibited in prestigious museums worldwide, such as the MOMA and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Axis Centre in Japan, the Pompidou Centre in Paris, and the Design Museum in London.

MGC Mumm Grand Cordon

Pinot Noir, Maison’s signature grape, defines the personality of Mumm Grand Cordon. Representing 45% of the assemblage, it is the engine that offers power and structure in contrast to the freshness and elegance of the Chardonnay (30%). The softness and fruity notes of Pinot Meunier (25%), and reserve wines from five different vintages (up to 30%) are added to the whole, as a guarantee of consistency of style. 30 months of aging.

Refined bubbles of a brilliant straw yellow testify to the elegance and dynamics of the champagne.

Mumm Grand Cordon reveals aromas of yellow tropical fruits, including pineapple, vanilla, and caramel. The taste is round with a precise freshness which testifies the complexity of the wine. The finish is persistent but never sharp.

Chef in Town- a food and beverage column curated by

Intl Editor Francesca Romana Riggio

Manintown Talents: Meet Brandon Jay McLaren

Posted on by Francesca Romana Riggio

Meet Brandon Jay McLaren of Netflix series FIREFLY LANE in a quick conversation with MANINTOWN.

Ph: Felipe Sanclemente

Firefly Lane is the new top of the chart Netflix series inspired by the New York Times bestselling books by author Kristin Hannah. It is a story about love, loss, and the magic of friendship. In the Netflix series, you play Travis. Tell us about him. If you had to introduce him to our audience, how would you describe him? 

Travis is a fellow PTA parent and friend of Kate’s daughter’s best friend. He’s a widow with a big heart and an equally big attraction to Kate. That being said, he’s sweet and respectful and thinks the world of Kate. Now that Kate is going through a divorce, he can finally acknowledge his feelings for her and see where they lead.

Brandon, tell us about what inspired you to be an actor. Which one, if you could choose, is your favorite character played so far?

I was inspired to be an actor because it gave me an outlet to express things that I didn’t feel I had permission to do in my real life. 

 DALE JAKES from the show GRACELAND is my favorite character I’ve played so far. I had so much fun on the show. I loved my co-stars, and the creator/showrunner Jeff Eastin created such a compelling character in JAKES. Jeff also gave me a lot of room to make him my own.

 Is there someone in cinema/tv that you look up to and who has somehow influenced and inspired you in your acting career?

I have a lot of admiration for Jordan Peele, and I was lucky enough to work on his project “THE TWILIGHT ZONE.” I am inspired by what he has created as a filmmaker and as a creator/producer. 

Ph: Felipe Sanclemente

 Passions, apart from acting, tell us what drives your interest?

I am currently working hard on the development side of things. I want to give people who may otherwise have been looked over the opportunity to tell their stories and shine. 

 Your favorite inspirational quote?

My favorite inspirational quote is, “Time waits for no man, although I control the slow hand.”

 To me, it means that although a lot of things in our lives are out of my hands, the few things I can control I can focus on and maybe change the trajectory of my life.

 Food and Travel: favorite cuisine/ dish and first destination post-pandemic, unrelated to work travel.

I don’t have a favorite cuisine. It depends very much on what mood I’m in. The first place I’m going post-pandemic is Grenada, and I will be eating the national dish OIL DOWN, extra pigtail. My father is from Grenada, while my mother is from Trinidad. Both places have always been important to me. I’ve been going there since I was a young child, and it’s still the first place I go after I’ve filmed something or when I have a chunk of time off. For me, it’s a place to visit family, recalibrate, and ground myself. I also am involved with a charity there called REACH WITHIN. The mission is to improve the future outcomes of vulnerable children in Grenada with wellness programs. I ran my first marathon in Grenada to help raise money for Reach Within, and in 2019 I ran the NYC marathon for Reach Within as well. You can get more info about the cause at www.reachwithin.org or on Instagram @reach.within

Fashion: what do you think of it, what is fashion for you, and which style represents you best.

For me, fashion is comfort. Jeans, a pair of Jordan 4’s, a tee and a leather jacket and I’m good.

Future Projects for Brandon. What is ahead for you, any new project you can mention?

I am currently shooting the reboot of TURNER AND HOOCH on Disney +. It will be released sometime in 2021.

C.L.A.S.S. the Manifesto for Responsible Fashion

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

It is an annual competition that rewards a creative visionary who combines design, responsible innovation, and communication. It is the Call to Action launched to find the C.L.A.S.S. ICON 2021 by Giusy Bettoni of C.L.A.S.S. in the Smart Voices panel <<C.L.A.S.S. ICON: Award and Manifesto for a responsible fashion>> directed by the green journalist Diana de Marsanich.

On February 10, the event featured fashion designer Gilberto Calzolari, the beneficiary of the international award for visionary creatives in the fashion world C.L.A.S.S. ICON Award 2020, and Federico Poletti, Marketing and Communication Director of WHITE SHOW.

The Smart Voice presented the C.L.A.S.S. Manifesto for Responsible Fashion, the 2021 edition of the C.L.A.S.S. ICON competition and the Sustainability Formula.

The international award is for visionary creatives in the fashion world who can convey the values of sustainability. “We created C.L.A.S.S. ICON rewards visionary designers who create their collections by combining design, innovation responsibility and who can authentically and effectively communicate to consumers the values behind their garments. It’s time to align story making and storytelling, otherwise, it’s just greenwashing,” says Giusy Bettoni.

From February 15 to April 15, it will be possible to apply by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. We ask for a description and objectives of the brand, the values of sustainability adopted and the strategy, the designer’s profile, a photo-video story of the last collection, any previous awards won (all info on the site www.classecohub.org).

During the panel, designer Gilberto Calzolari, the first C.L.A.S.S. ICON Award winner shared his vision for responsible fashion and current projects. “My brand is a laboratory of experimentation. I create fashion to open conversations and change the way people behave and think. My creativity, from the choice of fabrics and processes to the image I decide to communicate, are the weapons at my disposal.  From the very first moment, I was really excited to team up with C.L.A.S.S. to share a stimulating common path, with a view to becoming part of a network in continuous growth and mutual support. I have always conceived my collections as a call to action for a better future and now more than ever, my mission as C.L.A.S.S. ICON is to make people understand that sustainability can and should go hand in hand with beauty and elegance. The adage “kalòs kai agathòs” is one of the classical teachings that should never be forgotten: aesthetics in my opinion is inseparable from ethics. That’s why I don’t just target professionals in the sector, but also the end consumer, fashion enthusiasts, and beyond,” says Gilberto.

Giusy Bettoni concludes: “A Manifesto for fashion with the lowest possible impact on the planet and on the health of people and animals thanks to responsible innovation, perfectly suited to the challenges of contemporary lifestyle. That’s why I created the Sustainability Formula, which exists only when we combine design, responsible innovation and are able to track and measure the impact of products and processes and communicate their values in an appropriate way. In a word, when there is knowledge“.

Chef in Town: “Belvedere Vodka,” the luxury vodka for tastings and star recipes.

Posted on by Miriam De Nicolò

Two Cocktails recipes to do at home perfect for Valentine’s Day

The most elegant angel of the cinema used to sip it with boredom, touching it with long satin gloves: yes, we are talking about Audrey Hepburn of <<Breakfast at Tiffany’s>> and the cocktail is the <<White Angel>> a mixture of vodka and gin in equal parts. You need a personality to drink it without hesitation, and the weird Holly had plenty of it to spare!

In <<The Blues Brothers>> during the concert at the Palace Hotel, surrounded by police, the boys perform, and the sheriff, played by John Candy, enjoys the show by ordering an <<Orange Whip>>, a mix of dry vodka, amber rum, orange juice, and cream. A show for the palate!

The <<Blonde Atomic>> played by Charlize Theron has launched the <<Lorraine vodka>> an anarchic drink in which add to the cup vodka and ice to taste! For true rebels!

And in the funniest season of the series of all time, <<Peaky Blinders>> a sparkling countess named Petrovna upsets the balance. She enters forcefully in the life of the protagonist, Thomas Shelby, involving him in parties to the sound of vodka and women of dubious morality.

In short, vodka wants to be heard in the cinema in addition to bars, changing tastes and preferences of lovers of fine drinks. But if until now the collective imagination has always remembered vodka as a distillate useful for mixing other ingredients, there is someone who changes its fate: Belvedere Vodka! The first brand in the world to introduce the concept of “terroir” in the world of vodka! It is a concept that fits well with the history of champagne but is new in the vodka distillate.

Belvedere Vodka has the appellative of <<Polska Vodka>>, similar to the DOC extended to wines. They use rye cultivated exclusively in Poland and spring water owned by Belvedere Vodka. They don’t use added sugars and additives.

What makes Belvedere Vodka, not a distillate like any other, odorless and tasteless, is the rye that gives a natural aroma to the liquid. It gives it an aftertaste of white pepper and vanilla, thanks to which it can be also be used as a tasting alcoholic beverage.

Lastly, the package is an elegant transparent bottle that allows seeing the distillate and the three-dimensional effect of the design: the Royal Palace from which it takes its name. Belvedere Vodka is defined as the luxury vodka to be sipped alone or to make your drinks precious.

1 – Miriam’s Cosmopolitan

It is Carrie Bradshaw’s favorite cocktail. In Sex and the City, she orders it at every party. 

The original recipe includes cranberry juice, the American cranberry, a classic vodka’s base, and lime juice.

Miriam’s Cosmopolitan revisited: 

Belvedere Vodka Pure 50ml 

Orange Liqueur 20ml 

Pink Grapefruit Juice 

Ice

Utensils:

1 Shaker (or jar) 

1 Jigger (or cup)

1 Citrus Squeezer (or hand squeezer)

1 Cutting board 

1 Knife 

1 Strainer

One spoon 

1 Potato peeler

Serving glass: Martini Cup

Procedure:

After arranging the station with all the ingredients, it is time to prepare the pink grapefruit juice: cut the grapefruit in half and, with a citrus squeezer, obtain the juice. 

Pour the ingredients into the shaker: first the fresh pink grapefruit juice, then the orange liqueur, and finally Belvedere Vodka. Now fill the shaker with ice, close it and shake vigorously. Pour the liquid into a martini glass previously cooled with a passage in the freezer and proceed with a double filtration (strainer of the shaker + strainer). As decoration, we can make a peel of pink grapefruit with a potato peeler and knife. 

Belvedere Vodka, made from rye, makes the drink with even more character.

2 – Belvedere Vodka Sour flavored with Basil

In the world of mixing, “sour” alludes to the use of a sweet part (sugar syrup) and an acid part (citrus). 

Curiosity: whisky made this type of drink famous, with the drink whisky sour. Today, any alcoholic base mixed with lime juice and sugar syrup is considered a <<Sour>>.

Here is the Vodka Sour version with Belvedere Vodka. 

Original Recipe: Vodka, lime juice, and sugar syrup.

Basil revisited: 

Belvedere Vodka 50ml 

Lime juice 15ml 

Homemade basil syrup

Fresh Basil

Ice

Utensils:

1 Shaker (or jar) 

1 Jigger (or cup)

1 Citrus squeezer

1 Cutting board 

1 Knife 

1 Colander 

1 Spoon 

Serving glass: Low Tumbler

Procedure:

After setting up the station with all the ingredients, prepare the fresh lime juice. Cut the lime in half, squeeze it and pour the liquid into the shaker together with the basil syrup and Belvedere Vodka. 

Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously for at least 10 seconds, then pour the liquid into a low tumbler, making a double filtration with a filter. Fill the glass with ice and garnish with a basil leaf.

Basil Syrup Preparation: 

1KG Sugar

500ml Water 

10/15 basil leaves

Procedure:

In a pot, bring the water to heat. As soon as the water begins to heat, pour in the sugar. Stir continuously to prevent the sugar from sticking to the pan. Bring to a boil. Let it boil for at least 2-3 minutes and turn off the heat. With the heat off, place the basil leaves in the pot and stir well to release all the flavors. Then remove the basil leaves once the syrup has cooled. 

Enjoy!

Chef in Town- a food and beverage column curated by

Intl Editor Francesca Romana Riggio

Chef in Town: Healthy Color

Posted on by Rosamaria Coniglio

Whoever said that fast food is only junk has not yet discovered the revolutionary vision food of Healthy Color: the latest work of the multiplatinum singer Sfera Ebbasta, the footballer Andrea Petagna and the designer Marcelo Burlon.

Italy’s first Fast Healthy Food has been inaugurated in the heart of the capital, precisely in Via Leone IV 64 between the historic Rione Prati and the Vatican Walls. It has also conquered Milan in Via Della Moscova through a concentration of wellness and positive vibes.

The restaurant features bright colors, and the menu offers a wide selection of salmon, tuna, chicken curry, and fassona burgers. We can talk about delicious dishes and at the same time strictly healthy including wraps, salads, tartare and poke, to close with delicious pancakes and ice cream “0″ calories.

With an eye always turned to green and sustainability, the healthy fast food has launched an original line of eco-friendly disposable packaging and Healthy Water that is Healthy Color water packaged in fully recyclable Tetrapak with a high content of vegetable matter.

<<In a continually evolving society, it is never easy and obvious to feed correctly. Healthy Color is born from the desire to propose a valid alternative in the corner food scenario through a proposal that is as balanced and healthy as possible>> declare Sfera Ebbasta, Andrea Petagna, and Marcelo Burlon.

<<Taking care of oneself, of one’s own body, and loving one another are acts of fundamental importance in our daily actions, which also depend on our daily food choices as food is not a secondary element but a source of life and energy>>.

Healthy Color in Rome features pop walls created by street artists Motorefisico and the contemporary eye of architect Antonio Zonfrillo. The venue is open to the public in the afternoon, offers free wi-fi service and specialty drinks, including turmeric, beet, or spirulina colored cappuccinos, herbal teas, and centrifuges.

Chef in Town- a food and beverage column curated by

Intl Editor Francesca Romana Riggio

Chef in Town: Lemon Protein Cake recipe.

Posted on by Anselmo Prestini

When talking about keeping in shape, the fork plays a key role. Especially today, in a partial on and off lockdown condition that requires us to stay at home, letting ourselves go in the kitchen is a strong temptation. However, you can indulge in a few whims thanks to a slight revisitation of the recipes more caloric.

It is essential to know the percentage of protein that meals contain. On the other hand, a high protein diet would be harmful to our organism. Food sources of protein come from animal origin’s food (meat, fish, eggs, milk, and dairy products), legumes, nuts, oilseeds, and cereals. Also, proteins with carbohydrates and fats constitute a macronutrient that is a category of substances whose intake must be regular and measured.

Cooking also means being creative and able to change (and in some cases distort) traditional recipes that apparently would seem rich in fat and sugar. The tricks to turn our favorite dish into a light snack are many: sometimes use gluten-free flour and add fresh fruit instead of maple syrup or replace the beef sauce with chicken sauce or classic béchamel sauce with Greek yogurt.

Lemon Protein Cake is a simple recipe made with healthy and natural ingredients; this cake is also perfect as a “hunger-breaker” to keep under control that sudden desire for food that we have, for example, while we enjoy a movie on the sofa.

Lemon Protein Cake

Quantity: 4 persons

Time: 40 minutes

Difficulty: medium/easy

Recommended meal: snack/dessert

Ingredients: 200g of oatmeal, 400g of egg white, 1 squeezed lemon, 100g of hazelnuts, 100g of lemon zest, 2-3 tablespoons of soy, 70g (1 scoop) of protein yogurt taste, 30g of fructose.

Preparation:

Combine half of the oat flakes in a bowl and then blend them to obtain a fine flour.

Squeeze a lemon and grate it (keep the peel). Chop the hazelnuts with a blender until they are crisp, not too thin pieces with a dusty texture. In a bowl, pour the oatmeal and flakes, lemon juice, fructose, lemon zest, proteins and mix all with the egg whites and hazelnuts. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180° C. Once you have a homogeneous mixture, pour it all in a cylindrical container (to give it the shape of a small cake), bake, and cook at 180° C for 30 minutes. Remove the cake and add the lemon peel and chopped hazelnuts to decorate.

10 Stylish Staples That Are Eminently Covetable (And Seasonally Reasonable)

Posted on by Chidozie Obasi

February has officially kicked-off and the spring moods—lockdown permitting—are high. Tier 3 folk, rejoice! Don’t let lockdown hamper your cheer; fashion can still be in order. Whether you’re racing for Zooms in full-force or gathering for a (socially distant) dinner, fuss-free wardrobe staples are your tickets to keep you in good spirits.

There’s plenty on the high-street for the taking, including comfortable options of chuck-on gear that are bound to turn heads among your colleagues and peers—ditto. Dress for a meeting with maximum ease in a striped number from Marni, or look to Umbro for a classic nod on tailoring.

Stay comfy, stay safe! Shop Man In Town’s edit of covetable wardrobe staples, below.

Marni

Striped crew-neck jumper, £650, available at farfetch.com

Umbro

Classico high-neck jumper in black and bio lime, £40, available at umbro.co.uk

Sebago

Grizzly mid tumbled shoe in brown, £200, available at sebago.co.uk

Palladium

Pallashock OG in marshmallow, £80, available at palladiumboots.co.uk

Isabel Marant

Logo-jacquard crew-neck jumper, £335, available at farfetch.com

Bode

Boxing felt shirt jacket, £1,099, available at farfetch.com

Neil Barrett

Panelled crew neck jumper, £310, available at farfetch.com

Acne Studios

Knitted wool cardigan, £270, available at farfetch.com

Roberto Collina

Classic cotton polo shirt, £184, available at farfetch.com

Sacai

Chevron pattern jumper, £1525, available at farfetch.com

“Hey Elon here, can you hear me?” – on Clubhouse with Elon Musk

Posted on by Francesca Romana Riggio

What you may have missed from the Uber talked event on Clubhouse, takeaways and fun facts with a plot twist:

A “snowy” usual pandemic Sunday (at least in NYC) suddenly turns into the hottest digital event, with Elon Musk joining a chatroom hosted on the trendsetting latest app on the net, Clubhouse, for 2 hours of entertaining, informative, and revealing banter with a grand finale.

With a max capacity of attendees at 5200 reached within seconds at 12.57 a.m., earlier than the start of the event, and later expanded to about 7k, we at Manintown thought of extending a few takeaways to our readers. The alarm clock set at 1 am, I was one of the lucky ones to join in and listen to Elon Musk’s conversation with the moderators, and it was all worth the effort. Topics of discussion as many as his many endeavors, including the final banter and quite the “entertaining ” unexpected plot twist.

With his profile pic set to one of his famous meme, “The short shorts,” a joke on Tesla stocks from the previous summer, Elon enters the room, setting a friendly tone ahead, claiming he is just trying to look “sexy.” For those who wonder, his sense of humor is, by far, one of my favorite discoveries during this event.

“Hey Elon here, can you hear me?”, Clubhouse is an audio app. The greeting made this geeky girl in love with anything space-related giggle with the thought of the unforgettable song by David Bowie. I found myself wondering if Elon was indeed calling us from Mars, already trying to get connected to the circa 5000 humans in the audience waiting for a signal from him to planet Earth. In all secret, it would not surprise me. This man has embarked on all the futuristic endeavors that we were hoping for in the Age of Aquarius. (yes, we are right in it).

Let’s explore what you may have missed in a summary of 6 fun facts: (and a plot twist)

Mars and the “holy grail of rocketry“

  Elon spoke extensively of the mission of developing an alternative planet living on Mars, and his efforts to push forward this colossal project with Space-X. His insight on the future is that it will not be a luxury stay, not at least for the longest of time. When asked if his kids would ask him to go to Mars, he responded, “none of them so far wants to go.”

According to Musk, Space-X will possibly get the first people to Mars in probably five and half years.

“The Earth and Mars synch up every 26 months (approx. 1.5 years)” there are slots of time “when we can do Interplanetary transfers.” According to Musk, the rockets need to be fully and rapidly reusable, or in his own words, what is “the holy grail of rocketry,” and achieve what is now possible with regular aircraft, where the cost of air flight would be majorly covering the cost of fuel. That and local propellant production are, summarizing it, fundamental things that need to happen between now and then. The settlements will also be quite the austere environment for the first at least 3 or 4. Lots of work will have to be done. In brief, as expected, infrastructure to make it a livable place will require a long time. We are looking at about another 5 and a half years before that can be started.

Memes

Elon loves memes. He communicates through them; he dedicates some time off his busy schedule to producing or getting memes from what he called “meme dealers”. How funny is that? How cool is that? And it works. Elon’s memes talk to his audience, primarily on Twitter, where he was a pioneer with 10k followers at the time of his sign up. “People say I went crazy on Twitter, the fact is I started crazy on Twitter,” laughing along with his own funny jokes.

To Start ups and new entrepreneurs – a word of advice from Elon

There is something Elon said that I would not easily or soon forget about being a startup entrepreneur. It is something that entirely resonates with me as co-founder of a young creative agency, and that may also be the answer needed to dissolve a million questions we hear from new company owners all the time. It was:

“If you need encouraging words, don’t do a startup,” the drive to do a thing as Elon has done, founding and guiding multiple ventures, comes entirely from a compulsion to do it, he states. It compared it to a sort of mad demon in the skull.

“Seeing is believing”, he tells us of when he used to sleep on the factory floor (which he still does in times of crisis). People would see him there, and there would be no excuse, and hopefully, they would see also that “if he could take that level of pain, then they would do the same.” No doubt we are talking about a “leading by example” kind of leader here.

The vaccine distribution- “I am not an anti-vaxxer”

Elon is quite passionate about the topic. He suggests that it would work better to expedite the process with less limiting procedures on prioritized categories, entailing opening the vaccine distribution to a first-come, first-serve basis at CVS, Walgreens, like the flu vaccines. Also, we will have more vaccines that we may need by the end of the year, and we will have an excess of them. The good news is more vaccines are on the way. Good news seems to be quite on the way too.

Neuralink is hiring

A shout out was also given from Musk to professionals in AI and those who have worked on phones, robots to join Neuralink, the brain implant company he started in 2017. He then retweeted it, after leaving the conversation also on his account @elonmusk. The company seems to have made quite the progress in its research, and it aims in the first stages to be a way to assist people with brain and spine injuries.

Stocks and Crypto- Bitcoin is a good thing.

Before his intervention, the joke on the net was that most of the audience’s followers would be having Clubhouse on the phone and be on the laptop staring at their portfolios. Elon is known for being a Bitcoin supporter. As expected, he reconfirmed it in the chat, also admitting, “I am late to the party, but I am a supporter of Bitcoin,” probably due to the coin being more and more soon accepted by traditional finance players. With Musk’s track record of success in all he puts his mind to, it seems that Bitcoin may be something certainly crypto to keep an eye on. 

gold-colored Bitcoin

Dogecoin also made its appearance. The fun coin of the crypto bunch, Elon explains that was meant as a joke to make fun of cryptocurrencies, but he adds on, “But faith loves irony, and the most entertaining outcoming is often most likely,” he also jokes. Dogecoin has experienced a bullish, quite unexpected wave in the past week, and it seems quite certain that despite its comical origin, it has made itself known amongst the crypto community.

Plot Twist- “Spill the beans man- The people demand an answer”

I have to say this CEO-to-CEO was, without a doubt, quite the plot twist and the highlight and the perfect end to the event. As heard in the news, the trading app Robinhood limiting trade activities to its customers of some stocks in the past few days. Gamestop and AMC, Elon asked a couple of direct questions to Vladimir Tenev, whom he introduced as “Vlad the stock impaler,” CEO of Robinhood. Elon’s is a no-frills, straight to the point, no going in circle attitude and communication style. With straight-shooter, truth seeker Elon calling on stage the CEO of Robinhood, a series of direct and to-the-point questions seemed inevitable in retrospect. Questions on behalf of the people, and investors, like what exactly happened last week? “the people want to know.”

 It was quite the show. It seems that Elon on Clubhouse is here to stay, and we look forward to hearing more from him.

Horoscope for February 2021: Stars & Styles

Posted on by Redazione MANINTOWN

Welcome to Stars and Styles, our NEW monthly horoscope appointment, with the guidance of Astro-coach Massimo Giannone, renowned astrologer. Gifted with exceptional sensitivity, he reads with a methodical eye and interprets with the gift of intuition. Giannone has literally conquered the heart of Italy, starting from Milan, the capital of fashion and publishing, with his fixed appointments on Il Sole 24 Ore and Gioia.

His method has also conquered the high-end fashion industry, which has led him to be the protagonist of fashion events and promotional tours throughout Italy for brands such as Maliparmi and Prairie. His approach, far from generic, enters the psychological and soul aspect of the personalities linked to the zodiacal sign, with a perceptive interpretative key that is aimed at providing advice for rebirth, rebuilding.

“Experiences are teachings, if you learn to grasp their directives, your life can change completely” says Massimo Giannone.

Curated by Francesca Romana Riggio

Text by Astro Coach Massimo Giannone

Illustrations by Maria Lombardi

Aries – “Personality is like a charioteer with two headstrong horses, each wanting to go in different directions.”, Martin Luther King.

Consistency and personality will be the motto for this month as you share your plans balancing in every area of daily life.

In The Great Gatsby, directed by Baz Luhrmann, tells the story of an aspiring writer named Nick, who is in a psychiatric hospital to treat alcohol addiction. During a visit, Nick recounts with difficulty his arrival in New York and a man who fascinated him with his qualities, but he struggles to express himself. The doctor advises him to write this story with characters of dubious morality that somehow give him lessons. Here he meets Gatsby.

Gatsby is a business tycoon who holds beautiful parties at his estate every weekend, and Nick is invited to one of these parties the two become friends and live many gimmicks together. The film ends with Gatsby’s death and realizes that he is his only true friend and that he was the only one who knew his truths. Nick stands in the deserted house and thinks about his predisposition to Hope, rowing his thoughts toward a present that no longer leads to the past.

Dear Aries friends, a great lesson has been learned by you, and that is: we are today and tomorrow and not yesterday.

Love:  you will have a new style in expressing your feelings, with more depth, and with beneficial Saturn, you will reach unexpected goals and high balances in your relationship.

Career: excellent organizational skills and good vision will make this phase exceptional, both in earnings and in relationships with others.

Your Path: a profound transformation is taking place in your soul and personality. You will refine your ability to perceive. You will control your instincts and know how to act sparingly and powerfully. However, do not look back and rejoice in the future. If you cannot express yourself, write what you think.

Taurus – “Passions are not virtues, but natural impetuses: they are not acquired by free acts but precede human speech. They do not perfect the soul, but perturb the heart and alter the semblance”, Salvator Rosa.

“Impetus” is a bursting force, an uncontainable determination that affects people in front of it. In contrast, there is “caution”: the control to better manage this force aroused by Mars and Uranus.

Angela Hewitt, one of the most famous pianists, begins every performance with an extraordinary impetus, virtuosity, and high control of her instrument. She suggests to the audience enthusiasm, a great desire to wait for the silence to manifest with the applause the joy and the passion transmitted. A journey through the notes emanated with a mastery that creates a fantastic dimension, unique, indescribable.

Harmonies that lead to freedom, to not thinking in immersing oneself in vibrations that, despite the rigor and coldness of the execution, leave room only for astonishment and wonder.

Everything, even impetus and, rigor can, if managed well, create perfect harmonies. The secret is to dose and not be won by extremes, by passion.

Dear Taurus friends, with Mars and Uranus in the sign receiving antagonistic energies from Venus and Mercury, the control to be adopted will be on the verbal and emanation of your feelings.

Love: some aspects are emerging, and they do not work in your relationship. This does not mean that it will be necessary to make impulsive and drastic decisions. You can overcome crises if you control your emotions and manage your nervousness.

Career:  in work, Uranus gives you creative skills that will allow you to win colleagues’ trust and implement solutions to obstacles with grit and determination.

Your path: every experience comes in our lives to teach us something. An obstacle can turn into an opportunity if you choose the best reaction. The most appropriate path for you is the reliability that your sign represents: but also the wait, give time to those who love you to get in tune with you.

Gemini – “In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.”, Bertrand Russell.

In a song by a famous Italian group formed in 2002, Modà, “If you could not die,” part of the melody talks about certainties. “If you could keep more promises. And in return, have the certainty, the roses will bloom without thorns. If you could not die…”

It’s a beautiful meditation of a vision of a different world, an imagination of a world where we give more sense of beauty to what surrounds us. Nothing is for granted, not even the sun’s warmth, and in this understanding have in return the certainties, which we often lack in our existence.

In an imaginary world where we understand everything that surrounds us, we can create a new vision. A world with a new idea allows us to realize what was wrong and what was not letting us enjoy the beauties that are already a reality but that our needs had obscured through our limitations.

Dear Gemini, with benevolent Jupiter from May, you are moving towards new visions, new perspectives, solid points, and certainties that will be part of your daily life.

Love: with the node in the sign for the whole year, you will emanate great depth in the relationship, you will observe every aspect of your relationship, and you will know how to act decisively towards those who love you, evolving the ties in a more intense level.

Career: you will have an evolutionary path: the futile will be opposed to the essence, the necessary things, no impulses, and a lot of consistency, affirmation, and professional solidity will be the natural consequence of this growth.

Your path: you gain high growth, through understanding past mistakes, you move toward an era of certainty and solidity. However, the goals achieved are also the results of our history. Nothing is lost, not even the negative experiences, because it is through their understanding that we advance towards more beautiful, more pure shores.

Cancer – “The gifts, believe me, captivate both men and Gods,” Ovid.

Buddha taught that generosity is a practice that not only benefited others but gave joy to the souls who practiced it. Through this path, you can offer material goods, teachings, help in difficulties and advise a pathway suitable for others. It is a discipline that allows you with reasonableness to understand what is acceptable and not. It also lets you comprehend patience and concentration because, through this discipline, a positive force-feeds and grows within us. 

It is a journey for the soul, through which you will understand that vibrations make us and, if we are not in the right frequencies, we transmit things that then cause discomfort, tension, unhappiness. 

Dear Cancer friends, astral aspects give positive indications. Still, they need some help: it is necessary to seek the right harmonies and to understand that improving ourselves will improve the world around us. 

Love: you will be able to unite in one body with your loved one. Transmit the right values and eliminate bad habits. These are the causes that have made for a long time your history fluctuating and without solidity.

Career: gifts that you never thought you had will emerge, a renewal with the help of Neptune in Pisces, which will stimulate your creativity. Efforts will be necessary, never lose heart and continue in the struggles. Practices will not be lacking.

Your path: giving to oneself is one of the most complex experiences because the thought of not deserving afflicts many souls. Deep awareness is needed to reach the dimension of gratification, then everything that seemed impossible becomes a reality because we create events and give them a volume. 

Leo – “We have not journeyed across the centuries, across the oceans, across the mountains, across the prairies, because we are made of sugar candy.”, Winston Churchill

The work of the shepherd is one of the most ancient in the world.

In ancient tales and paintings, they are a symbol of serenity and peace.

Even in mythology, we speak of them as loved by gods for their strength and beauty; one of these Aci, a Sicilian shepherd, even made a nymph refuse the love of a Cyclops. Neptune admiring the young man, turned him into a mountain that flowed a stream to rejoin his beloved water nymph.

In reality, however, this profession is very hard, filled with many privations, difficulties, and much commitment to face the daily hostilities.

Dear Leo friends, there are many hostilities to face with Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus in opposition. But with commitment and willpower, you will be able to get the better of obstacles.

Love: there will be no lack of solidity in the couple. You will have to help those who love you with tolerance: however, eros will be high. Try to be hostile or to manifest dissent. It would only feed the tensions.

Career: alas, a lot of pitfalls. Colleagues and unexpected situations can put a strain on your serenity. With commitment and dedication, especially without being pervaded by fears, you will find a way to overcome everything.

Your path: through one’s determination, it is possible to reach unbelievable achievements by holding firmly to one’s principles and attitude: each individual can overcome himself and get to unimaginable goals. Everything is possible with commitment, like a good shepherd who observes nature’s cycles and harmonizes with it.

Virgo – Love should dare everything when it has everything to fear. Bernard-Joseph Saurin.

A song by Malika Ayane opens with: “You can go where you want, against the tide or never risk following footprints if you lack air.” 

And ends with: “There’s no laughing however I go The veracious friendliness how hard is it to think about it never dare is to ask you how are you.”

We can build a whole life out of habit, and it eventually manages to take possession of us. It is necessary to give depth to the things we live; otherwise, life itself loses meaning.

Daring and endangering are a content of our life that gives depth, in love but also our every moment, daring to go beyond the void or non-action, makes us friendly and maybe ask “how are you?

Dear Virgo friends, with Neptune in opposition, a sort of spiritual goodness could pervade you. A lack of creative vision and an emptiness built up with habits should be fought with daring, avoiding useless escapes.

Love: it will be necessary to understand how to relate to the loved one: avoiding putting them in difficulty with an attitude lacking understanding. It would be better to comfort them with kindness and support. 

Career: your perseverance will reward you, pay attention to oversights, and maybe check your work several times. It would help if you also prepared the ground for the following months: the stars recommend further training.

Your path: overcoming one’s fears leads to unexpected victories, overcoming events, and situations that are not easy to resolve. Finding the strength to dare gives opportunities, new paths that lead to overcoming risks, a stubbornness that often has a constructive ending.

Libra – “Take life lightly, for lightness is not superficial, but gliding above things, not having weights on your heart.”, Italo Calvino.

Grasping what happens with lightness and a positive spirit helps us to go beyond that veil that is always present before us, the uncertain and unknown future.

Through great determination, every expedient can be faced with depth. This way, we also understand what superficiality is, and we can be more careful without leaving anything out.

We struggle between the superfluous and what is truly useful for us. We can drive away negative thoughts to build a reality devoid of judgment and aware of our infinite possibilities.

Dear Libra friends, after so many unpleasant events, the stars will be benevolent with you. Tension and worries will ease with favorable Saturn and Jupiter, but you will have to give your inner self lightness and choose paths free of judgment and unnecessary ballast.

Love: many of the signs will live a phase of intense emotions. The clouds experienced will be driven away by unanimous bursting and joy, through which you will involve your affections. There is great news for singles around mid-month.

Career: you will have a profound vision of what to do and manage with a good dose of ingenuity the tasks that will be entrusted to you. Even in relationships, you will be able to advise colleagues and acquaintances who will appreciate your help.

Your path: carry in the soul the difficulties with a positive attitude gives the opportunity to acquire a more harmonious vision of events, observe them from a different plane, and find a light that leads towards the solution. Seize opportunities.

Scorpio – “Your confidence in the people, and your doubt about them, are closely related to your self-confidence and your self-doubt.”, Kahlil Gibran.

The writer Sibilla Aleramo, in her book “Una donna” (A woman), tells how difficult it is for women of her time to assert themselves in a male chauvinist world. An awareness of how the traditions, the roots, prevent the equality of rights, the traditionalist man wants his partner dedicated to taking care of household chores, children of the kitchen, thus depriving her of alternatives, of her realization in the social contest, to follow their passions.

An autobiographical book where she decides to leave her husband and her son to follow her path and fight the relationship’s constraints. 

Ideals of affirmation and dignity give her the strength to fight traditions through awareness: an initiative that brings suffering and the freedom to manage her inclinations.

Dear Scorpio friends, settling down to situations will not help: it’s all very well to accept, but you must also have the strength to emerge from the doldrums in which you live. The accumulation is never positive. From time to time, it is necessary to assert your needs, perhaps gradually and not as an impetus, to avoid the risk of being extreme.

Love: you have accepted something that was not right in the relationship for a long time: many of the signs have come to limits that were no longer able to withstand, up to the point of breaking or cold and detachment. In this new path, the energies are favorable: you must not give way to the others’ bad habits to take over in your daily life.

Career: Uranus in Taurus is not favorable. Many difficulties to face but innovating you will overcome any problem.

Your path: the inability to react to events gives a kind of fatigue, a desire not to act, an apathetic attitude because tired of living the same dynamics. It is necessary to change course, find new stimuli, revive the inner strength to drive away from the pessimism that could pervade you. There is a solution to everything. Just trigger the right mechanisms. Start from power and will, which you do not lack, Scorpio.

Sagittarius – “The future is a door, the past is the key.”, Victor Hugo.

In the Zibaldone, a manuscript of thoughts and philological questions, a sort of diary of his ideas written for fifteen years, Leopardi tells of his reflections far back in time. Studies he had previously made and then modified and corrected in the following time even many years later, with a new lucidity, new experiences.

“Reason is the enemy of every greatness: Reason is the enemy of nature: nature is excellent, Reason is small”…(Zibaldone).

In short, a man will be great if illusions can not win him. In nature, there are no contradictions; everything is natural, and so should be the great man.

Dear friends of Sagittarius, it is useless to rehash past stories. It is necessary to turn your gaze to the future, drawing inspiration from past teachings and winning the soul’s contradictions through the experience gained.

Love: with the Favors of Venus, you will give liveliness and warmth to your relationship. Your needs will be reciprocated by those who love you, and the chemistry will be high, syntony, and omens of a unique path, with some boredom in the family. 

Career: ideas will lead you to achieve rewarding goals, talent is not lacking, and you will conquer partners and colleagues with enthusiasm and vision as a leader; tendency to new professions in contact with nature.

Your path: past events are in some way the history of our lives: they must cease to exist in our daily lives and must be taken as teaching. We are today and tomorrow.

To implement our needs, we need to shed our old clothes and sew new ones, suitable for the situations experienced at the time, perhaps using the same clothes and making them liveable in the present day.

Capricorn

“One never reaches home, but wherever friendly paths intersect the whole world looks like home for a time.”, Hermann Hesse.

Songs often talk about feelings and emotions, give us a thrill and the notes, and make us reflect in front of care of kindness. 

Among these, one has particularly struck me, as I think it has struck many hearts, That’s What Friends Are For, a song revisited by Dionne Warwick, the famous soul singer, and other famous singers for a very important humanitarian cause, the fight against AIDS. The song won two Grammys, and the proceeds were entirely donated to research on this unknown disease. An act of love that touched my soul, the union for a shared feeling, gives rise to an immense strength.

Dear friends of Capricorn, a high ability will flow in your Ego and help you express your depth and enlighten you, rediscovering new and valid feelings.

Love: your insecurities will be alleviated, you will discuss and find the past’s determination, no longer chase what you do not need but give value to what is required. Joy and happiness of the couple are also coming for singles.

Career: great originality and an excellent practical sense seasoned with common sense will bring you to the realization of dreams long pursued. Fortunes and unexpected earnings will make this phase even more magical.

Your path: courtesy and kindness are very intense emotional tools. They trigger pleasant vibrations towards those around us. A magical dimension is created, in harmony with every element around us, and like a cheerful dance, it infuses joy.

Being amiable conquers, gives comfort and security, leads to serene shores of our existence, discharges non-beneficial energies, and gives hope. Every action is not done for oneself but others, with generosity, help find new paths for those who do not have the vision.

Acquarius – “The good opinion others have of us is never as good as the one we have of ourselves.”, Roberto Gervaso.

Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, said that we must use Reason and not trust the senses that deceive with a false view of reality.

In his poem “Parmenides,” he tells of the physical world’s multiplicities that are illusory.

The poem describes his encounter with the goddess of Justice when she shows him the way of opinion that leads to appearance and verification that leads to wisdom. None of us ultimately, if not a deity, an enlightened being, possesses the truth. Evaluations, given the many possibilities, turn out to be questionable.

Dear friends of Aquarius, with Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn in your sign, you will have the opportunity to live an unforgettable month, but beware of your judgments. The tendency to isolate yourself from those who do not have a vision similar to yours, the experience of diversity, is an excellent opportunity for comparison and not negative energy.

Love: the complications recede, but you will need to fill an emptiness that has taken over in you. You will have an excellent vision of the situation. It is necessary, however, to allow others to explain their motivations. It is a beautiful phase for those who are looking for a new relationship.

Career: you will know how to manage the tasks entrusted to you with harmony, but you will have to do well and avoid imposing your will. Same luck bestowed to those looking for new occupations, with excellent chances.

Your path: opinions are the subjective interpretation of a fact. In the absence of absolute certainty, they can be true or false or even absurd, and they often have to do with beliefs rooted in us.

It is important to have opinions, but it is also necessary to carefully evaluate the situations in which you express an opinion. Even if you are in good faith, you should never act with impulse because it clouds the truth

Pisces – “The great revolutions in human history can be identified in the discovery of fire and that of the wheel. The next one will be when he learns to use logic.” Antonino Zichichi

Palamedes, a Greek mythology character, is remembered for his extraordinary intelligence and his inventions: the concept of the year, seasons, months, and even military tactics. 

His inspiration led him to extraordinary events, where intelligence had the upper hand over cunning, a struggle between two thoughts, the traditionalist one and the creative and inventive one.

Dear friends of Pisces, with Neptune in the sign and Uranus in benevolent Taurus, you will be able to show your creativity. With resourcefulness and depth, you will face the daily dynamics thanks to an eye towards the future accompanied by a great desire to change course through the intelligence that distinguishes you.

Love: this phase turns out to be harmonious, joyful, and full of satisfaction, the only drawback being some tension with family members. Evolution in your relationship takes place more and more and will lead you to unthinkable emotions.

Career: at work, you will need to deepen relationships, the situation is not understandable, which could disturb your organization. Just do things gradually, and everything will be fine.

Avoid excessive spending, and avoid taking away security.

Your path: inventiveness is the ability to configure situations and solutions with ease and a sense of opportunity.

An ingenious stunt can lead people to something that does not exist and can result in various areas of everyday life. Reflect, after a while, act.

Barbera’s Biella handmade shoes

Posted on by Francesca Romana Riggio

“All our lives, we have heard our father called Maestro, and that has always made us proud of him, now that they call us Maestro, we know that it is our father who is very proud of us.”

Barbera Sandro & Figli is an artisan company rooted in a long tradition of working with leather to create fine, entirely handmade footwear. For over 50 years, our family has been producing shoes according to our area’s ancient shoemaking traditions.

Founded in 1968 in Biella, thanks to our parents’ will, Sandro and Luciana, Barbera Sandro & Figli has its headquarters in the city.

Just on the occasion of our 50th year of activity, the company obtained the recognition of “Eccellenza Artigiana Piemonte”; an award followed by “Eccellenze Italiane” and “Artigiano del Cuore.” Together with the collaboration with leading companies in the fashion industry, three awards have filled us with pride and satisfaction for our work.

Barbera shoes are unique and completely customizable models because they are created one at a time and proudly Made in Italy.

The desire is to offer a refined, long-lasting accessory to meet each customer’s style and comfort needs. The collections range from the most youthful, modern, and exclusive models to the classic and timeless ones (both for men and women).

Each shoe is produced with the utmost care, aimed at searching for the best materials (strictly Made in Italy), design and development of exclusive processes and colors, such as hand-dyed, stone waxed, and garment-dyed.

Let’s review the history of the company with Andrea Barbera.

Tell us about your journey and how your company was born.

Barbera Sandro e Figli is an artisan workshop producing quality footwear for over 50 years, strictly by hand and selecting 100% Made in Italy materials. The company was started in 1968 by our parents Sandro and Luciana, and over the years we brothers, Stefano and Andrea, took over.

For both of us to continue the family business was a natural path. It was born by learning the trade secrets from our father and, above all, being “infected” by his passion.

The aim is to create unique products with our own hands, capable of enclosing all the beauty and quality of Italian handmade products.

How do you carry on the tradition while keeping up with the times?

For us, making shoes by hand means creating elegant footwear and researching innovative processes and materials to ensure maximum comfort to our customers even when they buy a leather shoe. After long years of studies, we have reached this goal, experience in the field, and the continuous updating on the market news. Besides, we wanted to give a green footprint to many of our collections, selecting eco-friendly materials, such as Merino wool for our iconic Wooly, or ecological rubber for the soles.

We also focused a lot on the digital sphere, making ourselves known and keeping a channel of communication open with our customers near and far. We have opened our social media with Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube and created a website with e-commerce, to be always reachable and tell a bit of us to those who follow us.

What are the iconic pieces that characterize the brand?

Our Wooly unisex sneaker is one of the most appreciated creations. It was created in collaboration with the designers of Reda Active.

It is a New Zealand Merino wool shoe, a tribute to our land known for its fine fabrics. Thanks to this material’s properties, it can be worn all year round (wool provides exceptional thermal comfort) and can be combined with a casual style, but also with a broken dress.

To celebrate our 50 years of activity, instead, we have created our Barberini, Belgian loafers with an exclusive design, made of calfskin, suede, and fabrics and with Flex processing, which combines maximum comfort with an elegant and ultra-trendy style. Last but not least, the Multicolor shoes that have made us known all over the world. This is a line of men’s brogues entirely handmade and dyed. One of their strengths lies in the extensive possibilities of customization, as the customer can choose the color of every single part of the shoe.

Which craft techniques are part of your heritage and still used today?

As already mentioned, we make extensive use of the Black Flex technique, one of our exclusive processes, which increases the shoe softness, giving it a particular aesthetic, but above all, considerable flexibility. Another traditional method that we still use for some models is hand dyeing, which gives the shoes unique shades of color.

Finally, there is the “stonewashed” process: as the name suggests, with this technique, shoes are “washed” with stones to give them a vintage effect, soften the leather and create a unique texture, with a gritty and very current style.

Plans for the future and what strategies are you developing to overcome this moment.

In this period, we are focusing a lot on the digital part: we continue to invest in online communication, but also to implement new services to meet the needs of our customers, such as the Virtual Shop.

The latter consists in the possibility of scheduling a video call on WhatsApp to virtually enter our laboratory and get advice on the sizes and style of our models. Beyond the fact that the relationship with people is one of the aspects we love most about our work, today more than ever, we believe that the human connection, even if at a distance, makes the difference for our customers and us.

Karim Rashid: welcome to Utopia, the future of design.

Posted on by Francesca Romana Riggio

“If it’s style, it is a thing of the past.”– Karim Rashid

Let’s start with your training. Is there a figure who was like a mentor to you?

Early in my career, Ettore Sottsass taught me that there are many beautiful design objects, but you have to ask what they do for us? In the sense of human, inspiring objects, Memphis was a revelation. Many imposing design objects need to stand by themselves to impress. I always ask myself, what is left, if you take the design away? If it’s style, it is a thing of the past.

Also, Sottsass taught me not to be too much of an artist to be a great designer. I keep his vases, and a few Memphis works around to remind me of this. An artist is not a designer, and a designer is not an artist. What counts in the end is to help the world become a better place from aesthetics to human behavior, from the ecology to the economy. Hence design is a creative act, a social act, a political act, and an economic act.

Bladensburg Condo in Washington D.C.- 2019

During our conversations, you have mentioned you were also a student of Maestro Gaetano Pesce; what is that you learned and remember from Pesce as a teacher. Is there something of that time and of his teachings that still influence your work? And what is the best memory you have of this experience? 

I studied under Gaetano Pesce near Naples in 1983. Gaetano gave us an unusual assignment to design a drinking glass with a head or a person’s face. It was an unusual assignment. He reminded me of my father a lot because my father was quite figurative that way, and a sculpture and an artist, just like Gaetano. I learned from him the notion of Variance. Back in the 60s and 70s, he did many experiments where he would take a plywood box and inject polyurethane foam but not allow the box to fill up with foam fully. Every time he would open up the box, it would be a different chair. It was is non-serialized production. And I took his ideas of non-serialized production to a company called Nambe in Santa Fe back in the 90s. I used a CNC machine and created a software that the CNC machine would cut out of alloy vases. But because of the algorithm, it would cut a different form every time. This process was non-serialization through mass production, but obviously, I was doing it digitally. Whereas when Gaetano was doing the experiments, it was a hands-on way of creating non-serializations. He also did a beautiful table for Cassina where the workers poured the colored resin in the mold, and the colors world mix, so each table came out differently. That peculiarity was the most crucial aspect of his design philosophy.

Minimal and futuristic shapes are often the leitmotif of your creations. 

Heartbeat- Nienkamper- 2019

How would you define your style?

I don’t have a style. I focus on new social behaviors, new paradigms, new technologies, new materials, and embracing and mirroring the age we live in. To design using contemporary criteria, in turn, shapes the future. If I style, I only imitate the past.

Completely new shapes, volumes that develop within different volumes, shapes that overlap, you have given your best in fashion too. Among your collaborations with various brands, if you had to choose an experience that touched you particularly, which one would you prefer to tell us about?

I was greatly inspired when working on the HUGO BOSS Boat. Here was an opportunity to speak about speed, exclusivity, energy, power, and courage through the sailboat’s visual aesthetics. I intended to make a graphic statement by embracing new technologies and materials. I worked with Solar panels, techno paints, and techno printing technologies to shape a photogenic, memorable sailboat. Meeting Alex Thompson and touring the boat showed me the great passion needed for these races and projects. Meeting with HUGO Boss and the ATR team members, having a constant back and forth dialogue was essential in shaping the final design. Meeting with Stewart Hosford, showing me the carbon fiber samples helped steer us in the right direction for what we should base our design around. Using carbon as the direct inspiration for the livery as this boat is made of carbon fiber is the first of its kind.

Every round of designs required analysis from a performance perspective. It led to many iterations and revisions but ultimately helped us narrow down the best possible design functionally and aesthetically, marrying the Hugo Boss brand & ATR with my aesthetics. I have worn Hugo clothes and cologne for many years and always appreciated the simplicity but innovation of materials and perfection of quality. I understand the desire for innovative materials and the need to embrace new technologies in all they do. Hugo does not follow the flippant recycling of trends. I see myself with these same attributes- precision, elegance, minimal, yet humanized. 

Let’s talk about the future. What is innovation for you? Both in the field of fashion and design.

Innovation only comes when one focuses on contemporary issues and works with recent social changes, needs, and desires. Innovation and design are inseparable, as technology and design are also inseparable. Fashion should talk about how we live and not repeat antiquated derivative styles of the past. We live in a data-driven digital age, and like our digital tools, our physical world should have the same seamlessness, ease, immateriality, functionality, and smartness.

Karimotel- Concept Building Design

Why the choice of often bold colors? What is their meaning to you?

As a 5-year-old child, I loved neon colors and colors that were alive. Until today I find these colors (as accents) can change our mood, create more positivity, make us feel more alive. Color can alter our behaviors and elevate our mental well-being. Of course, color needs to be used in a very sensitive way, and then it can be a beautiful phenomenon, be it an entire building, an interior space, a product, a piece of furniture, a piece of clothing.

You are a reference point for design enthusiasts, a key figure for the new generations, especially for the transversal way you manage to develop your projects. What message would you like to give to them?

I would tell design enthusiasts and consumers to sincerely question what they’re purchasing, creating, and bringing into their homes. We must remember the obvious HUMAN issues in a product. Are consumers flippantly purchasing useless kitsch at the checkout? Are they assessing a product for criteria like Emotion, ease of use, technological advances, product methods, humor, meaning, and a positive, energetic, and proud spirit? 

Bounce- Concept Building Design

Can you tell us about your relationship with music?

I listen to a very broad range of music. Music affords me to concentrate, be inspired, dream, imagine, and become completely engrossed in what I am working on. It is an essential part of my process. I mostly listen to electronic or jazz – without lyrics since it takes me into my lyrical state of mind, and I also write my own lyrics while I am drawing.

This pandemic has forced us all to stop and reflect deeply. What do you imagine in the future of design?

Even in this hyper-consumptive world, in the future, we will own nothing – this is nature- we lease cars, we rent houses, and soon we will learn to lease or rent everything, experience it for a short while, and go on to the next. We will create a forever dynamic, ever-vast changing human condition, where everything will be cyclic, sustainable, biodegradable, customizable, personalizable, and seamless. This is Utopia, this is freedom, and this is nirvana. All the goods in the world will only exist if they give us a new or necessary experience. We will dematerialize.

Pebble Sink- Relax Design- Multicolor 2019

Eclectic characters like you are also great visionaries. Do you dream of something revolutionary?

In the next year, I plan on building my dream house! I’ve designed so many spaces for others, but this will be my own Utopia. For so long, I was inspired by Pierre Cardin’s Bubble House (Palais Bulles) in addition to his fashion and product design. The space is so soft, curved, organic, and conceptual. Like this, my dream home will engage technology, visuals, textures, lots of colors, and meet all the intrinsic needs of living a simpler, less cluttered, but more sensual envelopment. 

SWITCH, Dubai- 2020

Finally, the concept of sustainability seems to have entered concretely within the most varied areas of production. Could you give us your idea of “quality of life”?

Recycling is in a cyclic paradigm now in the United States and many other countries. Conserving resources means using less raw materials and energy throughout a product’s entire life — from its development and manufacture to its use, reuse, recycling, and disposal. I am interested in biodegradable materials. I am trying to use bioplastics; the Garbo can is made of corn, and the Snap chair by Feek is made of 100% recycled polystyrene and is 97% air. A while ago, I designed packaging for a fast-food restaurant using starch and potatoes that are injection molded and have the exact appearance of plastic. These innovations are finally becoming part of the consumer zeitgeist.

Karim Rashid is one of the most groundbreaking, vibrant, and prolific designers of his generation. Over 4000 designs in production, over 300 awards, and working in over 40 countries attest to Karim’s legend of design. Each of his designs carries a unique color signature and fluidity that is inspiring and unforgettable.

His award-winning designs include luxury goods for Christofle, Veuve Clicquot, and Alessi, democratic products for Umbra, Bobble, and 3M, furniture for Bonaldo and Vondom, lighting for Artemide and Fontana Arte, high tech products for Asus and Samsung, surface design for Marburg and Abet Laminati, brand identity for Citibank and Sony Ericsson and packaging for Method, Paris Baguette, Kenzo and Hugo Boss.

Karim’s work is featured in 20 permanent collections and he exhibits art in galleries worldwide. Karim is a perennial winner of the Red Dot award, Chicago Athenaeum Good Design award, I. D. Magazine Annual Design Review, IDSA Industrial Design Excellence award.

Illustrated portrait by Maria Angela Lombardi

Photo courtesy of Karim Rashid Studio in NY

www.karimrashid.com

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