Bella Italia - Beautiful Italy

Looking at old pictures taken during the many family vacations, memories flood back of days filled with beauty, culture and leisure. Some things have changed, yet for me many remain the same. The list of things that make up ‘my’ Italy is long, here are some indispensable highlights:

The language
Then and now the beauty of the Italian language is impressive - the inflection, the natural Bel Canto melody of conversations overheard on the street (or on the radio, which was ubiquitous when I was a child). 

The sounds
Each country, each city has distinctive sounds. The mix of clicking espresso cups and saucers coming from cafes, the sound of scooters, of heels on side walks, the sound of cypresses in the wind.

The smells
As with sound, each location has its own scents. That special blended scent of espresso be it in the airport or in the city, even in small villages is so Italian to me, and has remained unchanged.

The tastes
As a child, I was practically in disbelief of the idea of ice cream in the evening after dark. Gelato in a cone – my favorite: Limone –  whilst strolling on the streets of Florence, Venice, Rome, Naples, or even smaller towns like the town ‘Limone’ on Lake Garda, those were tastes that have inscribed themselves into my memory and are easily accessed when I am there.

The colors
Maybe it's the angle of the sun. I am not sure, what makes the colors of it all, the water, the sky, the fashions, the flags in the wind and the sculptures so vivid, but they are different, as proven on the many souvenirs I have brought back from Italy over the years. Already as a child I felt, that some of the luster of that little shell necklace or straw hat stayed South of the Alps on our trips back North. Good reason for another visit!

I hope I might have captured some of these memories in my latest release Venezia e Napoli.