July 02, 2013

Italian Summer with Dolce & Gabbana

July 02, 2013/ - Susan -

I came across the spring and summer campaigns of Dolce&Gabbana - and I love it! I am not a fashionista, not really. But I love the locations in Sicily, the beach and the fisher boats, the Italian family theme, and of course beautiful Italian actress Monica Bellucci. It makes me want to go to the South of Italy and to the beach, now!

Stefano Gabbana, very casual, talking to Monica Bellucci during the shoot

la mamma, il bimbo, la nonna, il mare... molto bello

Sicilian tradition: celebrating the lemon harvest with la nonna... (just joking)

too much of a snap shot - but I like the retro print of the beach towels!

got it, men wear stripes, if at all

looks like they stopped at a parking lot in Pizzo Marina :-)

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Want more of Italian family? Here are some typical family photos shot in Portofino, Liguria in October 2011 for the Dolce & Gabbana spring/summer campaign 2012. Also starring actress Monica Bellucci:

"dai?!" - ancora? basta photos!

"pizza mandolino ..." that's what my husband thinks foreigners think of Italians...

most Italian women dress sexy, true

yelling Italian mama, another cliché

For the following last two photos I am ot so sure if they were shot in Portofino.

At least the staging suggests Sicilian life:
more black dresses, black lace, white lace curtains and table clothes, heat, tambourine ... :

Credits:

Creative Directors: Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana Dolce & Gabbana

Photographer: Giampaolo Sgura

August 14, 2008

Daytrip to SCILLA

August 14, 2008/ - Susan -

Our Fiat was leading us up and down the mountains on curvy and narrow streets, on the old national road towards Scilla. This small pittoresque town is located on the Straits of Messina, just before Reggio Calabria, the toe tip of the Italian boot.

After Nicotera, above Palmi, on Monte Sant'Elia we made our first breath taking pitstop. From 600 meters above sea level you have 180 degree sea view with the Calabrian coast line underneath and Sicilly in the South. You can't tell where the sea ends and the sky starts. It feels like flying.

A few kilometers further South we finally reached Scilla.
To find a parking spot at an Italian sea side village in the middle of August is like winning the lottery. Especially because our Italian family has grown to a party of nine in two Fiats.

Having lost and found sight of half of the group and having solved the different priorities, like visiting the old town, having lunch or finding a beach, we visited the town by strolling down one small aley at the Marina to finally jump into the refreshing sea at a small beach near a small church.

It happened that we met a local gentile signore who not only gave us the same hint for the restaurant we got from another amico, but he also gave my son a collection of shells.

The recommended restaurant 'Glauco' was only 50 meters from our little beach and made us all happy. When we climed up the stairs to the restaurant, I was overwhelmed by the terrace 'sul mare' and its beautiful view of Scilla on the left and the coast on the right.

I immediately had to think of the movie 'The big Blue' where Enzo (Jean Reno) had to eat Mama's pasta on a similar terrace.

To top my impression, Dino, the owner of the restaurant, gave my son a few more shells.

I ordered spaghetti Glauco - they come with a sun dried tomato sauce and pine seeds - and had some white wine and was happy for the rest of the day. (photo left: linguine cozze e vongole)

(Maybe I should also mention, that the restaurant was all ours, as it was around 2.30 pm when we arrived from the beach.)

Back home, I realized that I had lost something to Scilla...
The red pants of my son, he jumped in the sea with, that are still drying on a fisherboat.

*******
RISTORANTE GLAUCO
via Annunziata 95, Chianalea
89058 Scilla (Reggio Calabria)
Tel./Fax +390965 754026

open from February to end of November

Antipasto Misto Mare 8,00 Euro
Spaghetti alla Glauco 12,00 Euro
Linguine Cozze e Vongole 12,00

February 04, 2008

Bella Italia

February 04, 2008/ - Susan -

Bella Italia, we are coming. Tomorrow I am packing, after tomorrow we are flying. It will be a long long trip for a short visit. We are going from Beijing via Frankfurt to Rome and from Rome to Lamezia. Can you believe that there is no Alitalia direct flight from the capital of China to the capital of Bella Italia? (Alitalia flies to Shanghai).

Anyway, in the following days we are getting closer to a decision for the color of the house. In the picture above (I have never seen the house from that perspective, nice! Thank you Angelo!), the two color probes on the right seems almost the same. I think we are going to decide on a lighter yellow (not a lighter pink), maybe...

Until I am posting something from Italy, you can enjoy the following pictures of beautiful houses in Bella Italia and follow the links to find more palazzi and ville. These gorgeous properties are for rent! Imagine you and your friends and family during summer time on the terrace of one of these dream homes. Salute!, Cheers!