On 29th January 2012, the Louis Vuitton Rome Etoile Maison opened its doors to the public, on the famous San Lorenzo in Lucina Square, in iconic Etoile cinema. This is the first time that Louis Vuitton has opened a Maison in one of Europe’s most important cultural cities. Below is a tour of the new Maison:
And here’s the Louis Vuitton Rome Etoile Maison Opening Event:
Louis Vuitton has reached back into Italy’s rich cinema history and meshed it with their forays into music videos and short films.
The luxury fashion brand has opened its new flagship store in Rome within Etoile, the city’s first cinema. The new location celebrates the history of Italian cinema. It includes a library and 19-seat screening room.
The Etoile was built in 1907. The Louis Vuitton Maison Etoile Rome store fills three floors in a Baroque-style interior and has a staircase that resembles a film strip.
A temporary shop for the famous coffee brand Illy was recently created in Milan, Italy, by designer Caterina Tiazzoldi. The unusual shop invites customers in an unconventional white cube, having a 45x45cm-squared base, where they can enjoy coffee, as well as other products developed by the brand, “exhibited” in an unconventional manner.
Illy shop in Milan was developed using no less than 200 small reconfigurable cubes, that allowed the designer to create the perfect space for each of the brand’s products. This cubes were also the basis for building the table, desk counter, storage systems, and even the recycling bins.
The color palette is simple: the cubes are all finished in white in order to contrast and emphasize on the products displayed. The only element that breaks the pattern is a list of colorful words, painted on one of the interior walls. The overall design creates a unique space, that plays with perceptions: “The system engenders from the walls and the ceiling, creating a disoriented expansion. The differentiated space dimensions appears to become one, transforming it into a game where user’s sight shifts from an object to another discovering the inside”- explained designer Caterina Tiazzoldi.
Photography by: Luca Campigotto and Federico Rizzo
Situated near the beach in Amalfi, Hotel Residence – Amalfi is close to Cathedral of Amalfi, Amalfi Beach, and Ancient Arsenals of the Amalfi Republic. Also nearby are Municipal Museum of Amalfi and Paper Mill Museum.
The hotel is situated right in the heart of Amalfi and rooms have either a sea view or overlook the road leading to “Piazza Duomo”. The hotel is 15 metres away from the beach and 50 metres from the Cathedral.
Due to its central location guests really get a feel for local life in this small seaside town. The hotel is furnished with antiques and offers all modern facilities in order to make your stay as perfect as possible. Breakfast is served on the terrace and you can relax here with an aperetif before dinner surrounded by colouful geraniums and bourgainville whilst watching the sun set.
A 35-year hunt for a lost masterpiece by Leonardo Da Vinci now reaching its hi-tech climax in Florence is facing a backlash from more than 100 art historians on both sides of the Atlantic who have signed a petition seeking to stop the work that could uncover it.
The row centres on a wall in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio bearing a 16th century fresco which, according to researcher Maurizio Seracini, conceals another wall on which Da Vinci started painting The Battle of Anghiari, a monumental battle scene considered by some his finest work.
Seracini, who works at the University of California, San Diego, and is featured in Dan Brown’s mystery The Da Vinci Code, inserted tiny cameras through drilled holes in the main wall a week ago and found a 2cm cavity. Traces of an organic pigment were located on the back wall, convincing some that the Da Vinci masterpiece exists. With full results expected in the new year, Florence’s mayor, Matteo Renzi claimed: “We are finally there – after five centuries we are able finally to resolve this mystery.”
But 150 art historians from museums including the New York Met and the National Gallery in London have signed a petition to stop the work, angry at the holes being drilled in the wall which bears its own fresco, Giorgio Vasari’s The Battle of Marciano in Val di Chiana, painted in 1563.
“Seracini just doesn’t know his art history,” said Tomaso Montanari, the Italian art history professor who started the petition. Backing the experts, the Italian heritage group Italia Nostra has complained to Florence magistrates, who have opened an investigation.
“This is a wasted expense when we need every penny for restoring the art we have,” said Italia Nostra president Alessandra Mottola Molfino. “Instead of restoring the Vasari fresco we are drilling holes in it.”
Da Vinci started work in 1504 on his battle scene using an experimental oil paint technique that failed miserably, dripping before it dried and prompting him to abandon the work.
Scenes he completed were however widely copied, including by Rubens, whose drawing of one scene hangs in the Louvre.
After 1555 the room was renovated and Da Vinci’s half-finished painting was lost.
Seracini’s suspicions that Vasari was loth to destroy Da Vinci’s work, preferring to brick it up and add his own fresco, were stoked when he found Vasari had painted a soldier in his fresco holding a flag on which was written: “He who seeks, finds.”
Using a radar he revealed the cavity behind the fresco.
But Montanari is not convinced. “Vasari knew how to remove works by other people while keeping them intact. What sense would there have been sealing up the Da Vinci unless you get into childish Dan Brown logic?”
Montanari launched the petition last week after Cecilia Frosinone, an expert from a Florence art restoration institute working with Seracini, resigned on “ethical” grounds after permission was given by Italy’s culture minister to drill seven holes in the Vasari fresco.
“We don’t have external controls on the work any more and that is what we want restored,” he said.
On Monday Seracini fought back, describing the petition as a bid “by the excluded to block extraordinary research”, adding: “This demagogic attack risks Italy being derided around the world.”
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The Paris based PPR, with the luxury portfolio of Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Boucheron, has added a new brand to their impressive collection. PPR has signed an agreement to acquire Brioni, one of the world’s most famous men’s tailoring houses and the symbol of classical and timeless Italian elegance. The transaction should be finalized at the beginning of 2012.
François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO of PPR, told us: “Brioni boasts top quality craftsmanship and is synonymous with Italian masculine elegance. It is the reference in ready-to-wear and bespoke menswear and I am delighted that it is joining our magnificent portfolio of luxury brands. We have great ambitions for this fashion house. We will give it access to our expertise and know-how, so that it can write a new page in its history while continuing to preserve its identity.”
Francesco Pesci, CEO of Brioni, added “Joining PPR group is a great opportunity for Brioni as we will benefit from the group’s power. It is the ideal partner to lead our company towards a new stage in its development while enabling it to preserve its unique know-how and remain faithful to its values of timeless elegance and refinement.”
Founded in 1945 by Nazareno Fonticoli and Gaetano Saviani, innovation is a core part of Brioni’s identity: it was the first fashion house to organize a fashion show for men and to introduce a touch of color into men’s wardrobes. Its range covers all categories of men’s attire as well as fragrances, accessories and leather goods. Brioni offers in custom-wear based on a tradition of “made in Italy” craftsmanship that is carefully preserved in its sartorial workshops, the largest of which is located in Penne in the Abruzzo region of Italy.
The St Regis Florence has been treated to a ten-month restoration which has seen significant interior changes to the 18th century palace, ranked among Florence, Italy’s most significant buildings.
Formally known as the Grand Hotel, the hotel now boasts 81 rooms and 19 suites, decorated by local artisans and including antique furniture such as hand-carved gold leaf frames and crystal chandeliers.
The hotel’s most celebrated room is the Bottega Veneta suite, designed by Bottega Veneta creative director Tomas Maier in a style of ‘quiet luxury’, and furnished with a mix of pieces from the Bottega Veneta home collection. The palette of the one-of-a-kind suite is serene and sophisticated, featuring muted neutrals that create a calm, cool effect. The suite is utterly unique, furnished with an inspired mix of pieces from the Bottega Veneta furniture collection, with characteristic beauty, intelligence and attention to detail. Objects drawn from the Bottega Veneta home collection add elegance and versatility to the suite.
In collaboration with the Michelin-starred restaurant Enoteca Pinchiorri, the hotel also includes a new restaurant called Etichetta Pinchiorri, although the glassed art ceilings that date from the 19th century are still in place.
An outdoor library terrace, a vaulted cellar and a Florentine marble spa complete the refurbishment, which was officially unveiled last week.
Originally designed in 1432 by Filippo Brunelleschi, the architect of the Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore, the Grand Hotel was the first luxury hotel in Florence and is considered to be one of the most significant buildings in the city for its artistic and historical value.
Capri astonishes its visitors due to its amazing landscapes and various entertainment resources. With beaches randomly scattered around the island and a rich history, this is a place of beauty and relaxation. Hotel Punta Tragara was developed by legendary architect Le Corbusier and has a mesmerizing stronghold appearance.
Hotel Punta Tragara in Capri is a unique building with a daring design, which perfectly blends in its landscape. Moreover, it has a privileged location at the end of the road leading to the famous panoramic viewpoint of Punta Tragara. This means that guests can enjoy unobstructed views of the famous Faraglioni rocks and the sea from the comfort of their own rooms and terraces.
The Neapolitan watercolors and sculptures were combined with contemporary art elements in order to create unforgettable decors. Each room has its own well defined personality and a unique interior design.
There are two units that provide food and drinks within Hotel Punta Tragara in Capri: Monzù Restaurant and La Pergola Pool Bar. This way, this five star hotel meets the needs of the customers through refined menus and exquisite dining locations. Genuine Mediterranean dishes and refreshing cocktails are being served for the culinary delight of the tourists worldwide.
Capri astonishes its visitors due to its amazing landscapes and various entertainment resources. With beaches randomly scattered around the island and a rich history, this is a place of beauty and relaxation. Hotel Punta Tragara was developed by legendary architect Le Corbusier and has a mesmerizing stronghold appearance.
Hotel Punta Tragara in Capri is a unique building with a daring design, which perfectly blends in its landscape. Moreover, it has a privileged location at the end of the road leading to the famous panoramic viewpoint of Punta Tragara. This means that guests can enjoy unobstructed views of the famous Faraglioni rocks and the sea from the comfort of their own rooms and terraces.
The Neapolitan watercolors and sculptures were combined with contemporary art elements in order to create unforgettable decors. Each room has its own well defined personality and a unique interior design.
There are two units that provide food and drinks within Hotel Punta Tragara in Capri: Monzù Restaurant and La Pergola Pool Bar. This way, this five star hotel meets the needs of the customers through refined menus and exquisite dining locations. Genuine Mediterranean dishes and refreshing cocktails are being served for the culinary delight of the tourists worldwide.
A collection of dresses and other wardrobe treasures worn by Hollywood icon Audrey Hepburn — along with the scooter she immortalised in her breakout role in “Roman Holiday” — goes on display Wednesday in Rome.
The Vespa scooter on which Hepburn explored the Eternal City with co-star Gregory Peck — the role that shot the petite and stylish British actress to international stardom — is foremost among the items featured in the “Audrey in Rome” exhibition at the Ara Pacis museum.
Alongside the green Vespa, the display features Hepburn’s oversized sunglasses, scarves and dresses.
There are also some 150 photographs of Hepburn in Rome, many of them catching her going about her private life after she settled in the city following her marriage to Italian neuro-psychiatrist Andrea Dotti, with whom she had a son, Luca, in 1970.
One shows Hepburn buying flowers; another walking her Yorkshire terrier.
Part of the proceeds from the show will go to the UN Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), for which Hepburn served as a goodwill ambassador before dying of cancer in 1993 aged 63.
