GOOD LIVING
A Love Letter to Italy A Love Letter to Italy
Rediscovery.
Rediscover others, and yourself; rediscover love, and the passion for simple and well-made things; rediscover the pleasure of good company, and of sharing the u niqueness of places rich in memory, intelligence, wisdom, hu manity. Rediscover Italy, the great beauty.
A series of experiences which Belmond creates for its guests, to herald a new Italian Renaissance — a reemergence that’s felicitous, hopeful, full of sensations both new and familiar, together with the people and stories behind them.
The singular beauty of an enchanted place. Nature reborn and blooming as never before, grateful for the brief reprieve man has afforded it. Find it in a ride across the Venetian lagoon, and the verdant gardens of Sant’Erasmo island; on the wilder side of Etna, a volcano replete with hidden gastronomic gems and wines that speak authentically of terroir. Find it here, in the enchanting waters of Portofino or the Amalfi Coast below Ravello — and during magical nights tracking stars and planets across velvet-black Tuscan skies. The hu man element of tangible things. Things crafted by hand, with integrity and pride. Authentic expertise— values and traditions that have been carefully preserved and handed down by cou ntless skilled Maestri. On the Amalfi Coast, the artisanal ceramic traditions of Vietri and the singular, exquisite pleasure of colatu ra— the savory delicacy known as ‘liquid gold’. The boat-builders of Sicily, and the gondola-makers of Venice; and, in the hills of Liguria, the olive farmers whose artisanal oil is the finest expression of man’s affinity for the land. Savoir-faire that marries experience, methodology, skill and, most important of all, respect for quality.
Love— our most u nique and irreplaceable connection. The ‘higher’ love of romantic and medieval traditions; the love of shared emotions, of memories and smiles, of singing and dancing and moonlit serenades.
A notebook full of journeys and experiences to rediscover together, in a new season of life. 1. THE SLOW LAGOON
2. ECOFARM LA PORTOFINESE
3. TUSCANY, EYES UP IN THE SKY
4. ROMANCE IN FLORENCE
5. THE AMALFI COAST FISHERMEN
6. SICILY AT ITS MOST AUTHENTIC 1. VENICE
4. FLORENCE
3.CASOLE D’ELSA
2. PORTOFINO
5.RAVELLO
6.TAORMINA 1. THE SLOW LAGOON
There are so many ways to explore the lagoon: on foot, in a speedboat or gondola— but who’d have thought cycling would be such a lovely one? A magical labyrinth of tiny lanes, diminutive bridges, the subtle beauty of the balance between sea, low-lying land, glittering water.
So much to discover and u ncover in the hidden network of islands, the half-submerged barene glittering in the su n. The excitement of a simple fishing village, of an impromptu picnic at the water’s edge, of in haling the serenity carried along on the soft air. Undulating grasses and shim mering water create an unforgettable spectacle, set to a sou ndtrack of birdsong and whispering wind.
On Lio Piccolo, I sip chilled lemonade in the shade, while the village’s lone church bell rings out its melody. A sleek speedboat takes me to Sant’Erasmo — the cornucopia of Venice, were vegetable plots and vineyards flourish, and where Signora Mara’s delicious organic honey, with its vibrant tang of saltmarsh flowers, is the most delicious I’ve ever tasted.
I won’t soon forget the golden cast of that day, before a su nset speedboat ride back to the Cipriani— glass of crisp local wine in hand, cicchetti to savour, and that other Venice’s mysteries u nlocked, its beauty u ncovered, just for me.
2. ECOFARM LA PORTOFINESE
Portofino shines. It shines with the elegance of the style set, its yachts and its glittering jewels and its delight in the bella figura. Beyond, though, is a different Portofino— one where hands lovingly turn the earth as they have for five generations, where the flavours of land and sea are expressed in all their authentic deliciousness. The Splendido sends me there, with Mino— into the hills above the town, to his family’s fattoria, set amid silver-green olive trees.
Together we pick the ripest tomatoes, the greenest basil, the best zucchini flowers and more from his hillside gardens.
And then in the calm of the fattoria’s kitchen we chop and stir together, as his mother and grandmother a nd g re at- grandmother did before him. Under the pergola, high above the sea and im mersed in nature, I savour his Liguria.
3. TUSCANY, EYES UP IN THE SKY
The starry sky above me. Those were the words Kant chose to greet that breath of eternity conceded to all of us. Fabrizio tells me the names of galaxies and constellations; the Milky Way is a white teardrop in the black of the night. Orion, with its gleaming stars, seems to hang right over us from the depths of the u niverse.
The starry sky above Castello di Casole in Tuscany was designated one of the most beautiful in Italy by Astronomitaly, the astronomic tourism network. The clarity of perception, the sparkling clean air, the company of people I want close to me, the precise narration of my personal ‘star master’: I feel part of something bigger than myself, and at peace with everything.
Fabrizio invites me to have a look through the telescope; suddenly the stars are no longer tiny cold points— they seem to warm us up harmoniously with each other. Their light is witness to our time, down here, I’d like to see a shooting star, and make a wish. But then perhaps I’d have wished for a night exactly like this one. I sip the delicious tea they have brought to us as part of our experience, before heading back to a deep night’s sleep— feeling closer to the night skies than I ever have.
4. ROMANCE IN FLORENCE
It’s no coincidence that Florence inspired one of the most admired and enduring love stories in literature: the im mutable bond between Dante and his Beatrice; a refined, chaste love which transported them— literally— to Paradise.
I saw Florence from up here, with you: the evening lights, the stars, the candles burning bright between us.
Here, in this discreet corner of the Villa San Michele, amid the scents of grass and flowers and mild night air, how lovely it was to discover you again, to talk to you, to win and be won over with gazes, smiles, words.
A romantic din ner we won’t ever forget. Because, on the notebook we find on our table, we’ll record the promises and memories that together make our u nion.
anto gentile e tanto onesta pare
la donna mia quand’ella altrui saluta, T ch’ogne lingua deven, tremando muta, e li occhi no l’ardiscon di guardare.
lla si va, sentendosi laudare,
benignamente d’umiltà vestuta; E e par che sia una cosa venuta da cielo in terra a miracol mostrare.
ostrasi sì piacente a chi la mira,
che dà per li occhi una dolcezza al core, M che ’ntender no la può chi no la prova;
par che de la sua labbia si mova
un spirito soave pien d’amore, E che va dicendo a l’anima: sospira.
Dante Alighieri Platonic loves, clandestine loves, tormented loves, passionate loves. Tomorrow another point will be added to it: the place where our love was affirmed. Where the words we haven’t (yet) said to each other are the prologue and the conclusion of a magical evening.
An evening created by us.
5. THE AMALFI COAST FISHERMEN
Oh, my beautiful Amalfi Coast. Your villages are a necklace of prized jewels, one more colourful and precious than the next, stru ng in an irresistible chain along the vivid blue Tyrrhenian.
But there’s one of you that is somehow more authentic than the rest: Cetara.
Far to the south, below the gilded cathedral of Amalfi, your fishing boats and quiet streets speak of a life still lived authentically. Sailing south from Ravello on the Caruso’s boat, I disembark in your tiny port, and feel at home.
There, Giulio greets me with a radiant smile. Together we walk to his workshop; his hands move in a blur of generations-old expertise, filleting and chopping and sautéing and sim mering to make his colatura, the prized golden-brown liquid that has made Cetara famous the world over.
That evening, on the terrace at the Caruso, Chef Mim mo serves me his own spaghetti alla colatu ra.
As the sky fades to violet where it meets the deep indigo of the sea, I close my eyes to savour the first mouthful: it is rich, piquant with the pure heavenly saltiness of the Mediterranean— the most divine distillation of a place.
6. SICILY AT ITS MOST AUTHENTIC
Today I rediscovered the meaning of nature, of beauty, of simplicity. Of authentic people. I saw the best of Sicily. I im mersed in the warmth of tradition, the authenticity of craftsmanship, of singular flavours expressed to their highest, finest degree.
I left Villa Sant’Andrea and had a dream journey, on a boat of the kind they used to make here once upon a time, in Aci Trezza— boats Giovan ni Verga himself wrote about.
My captain was Giovan ni Rodolico, a fourth- generation master builder.
He shapes his boats impeccably, relying not on software but instead on the in nate passion of those who know their craft deeply and intuitively. He showed me his tools, and explained the challenges and rewards of his work.
From Aci Trezza I head for Catania, to admire the vau nted, patrician streets of its historic center, and its aristocratic palazzi— like that of Rosalba Cutore, who hosts me for a stu n ning lu nch: elegant traditional dishes, in a fantasy setting. But Sicily has another wonder in store for me: the sylvan, majestic beauty of Etna, the volcano that dominates the horizon here.
Walking its slopes, I admire the native flora scenting the air; I sample its flavours of pistacchio, prickly pear, delicious olive oils and wines. Amid vineyards overlooking the sea, in rich volcanic soil, grow grapes of marvelous quality; the som melier shows us how to appreciate their every nuance.
That evening I encou nter those same flavours in a candlelit supper that’s stellar in all senses, on the Grand Hotel Timeo’s terrace, one of the most romantic in Italy. Overlooking Etna and the Bay of Naxos, with the radiant silence of Taormina’s Teatro Greco just above me.
Roberto Toro— newly vested with a Michelin star— leads us on a journey of expertise, flavour, and refinement. Beauty all rou nd, bou nty on the plate. Cin cin. It’s easy to send and keep postcards from Italy, the most enchanting place in the world. But it’s much more noble, and u nique, to seek another way of living Italy — with singular, captivating, u nforgettable experiences. Ones to keep in your mind and heart, carried with you for all the years to come.
This is the true beauty of an escape here — discovering the Italy that Italians themselves create, live, and love.
Leave the postcards behind. Join us in a dream instead— the dream that is authentic Italian living.