05 December 2011
I have been going through my photographs of 2011 and came upon a few memorable moments. This year was my first blogging year. Having to come up with news for my readers actually made me do things which I have been wanting to do for years.
February in Paris
The happy bidders and the happy me (in the middle)
I have always thought that running a company should give me the possibility to go beyond the stage of simply “making a living”. This year for the first time I had the opportunity to donate a weeks holiday in one of our villas (Villa Maramai near Montepulciano). The charity auction organised by the American women’s group in Paris was for the benefit of Envol, an association which sets up holidays with medical assistance for very sick children in a castle near Paris.
10 November 2011
When I first came to Florence at age 18, my then boyfriend taught at a language school for foreigners on one of the city’s most beautiful squares, the Piazza Santo Spririto. The Palazzo in which his school was located stood on the corner of the square. It was an imposing renaissance building with an elegant loggia on the top floor.
Hotel Palazzo Guadagni, my favourite hotel in Florence. Spot the lovely loggia on the top floor.
12 May 2011
This is the second part of Kate’s investigation into where to have a light bite when you are spending a day in Florence. You can read the first part of the article here.
The Verrazzano wine bar belongs to the Chianti Classico Wine producing estate Castello di Verrazzano near Greve in Chianti
11 May 2011
Near Florence’s train station in Via della Scala, a long and imposing wall runs for at least a hundred meters. There is a gate, but it is completely closed and the wall is too high to be able to steal a peak at what lies beyond. Having lived in Florence for many years, I know that behind the wall is the Giardino Corsini, one of the most beautiful private gardens all’Italiano in the city.
The Garden of Palazzo Corsini is opended to the public once a year in mid may for this interesting show of traditional Italian craftmanship
09 May 2011
Why not meet Chris Goodhart and let him guide you skillfully through a tasting of Potentino’s four fine wines? Piropo; Balaxus; Lyncurio . . . . named after precious stones, they conjure up haunting beauty. Sacromonte is a tribute to Monte Amiata, the Etruscans’ Mount Olympus, whose fertile volcanic soil nurtures the vines which produce these prize-winning wines.
The wine tastings at Castello di Potentino are held under the loggio in the courtyard
21 April 2011
Walking through Florence’s city center, I find it almost physically painful when I see tourists being served up heaping helpings of pasta at a tavola calda (a buffet-style cafeteria-like place) or getting gigantic portions of unnaturally colored gelato which was made months ago somewhere far far away.
How NOT to eat in Florence
15 March 2011
Children playing outside at the Chateau de Boulains Summer Camp (L'Envol)
Paris, France – On February 12, 2011 the American Women’s Group in Paris (AWG) held its traditional annual gala. Each year the non-profit organization holds an auction as part of its gala in order to raise money for good causes. In years past they have donated to a number of charitable organizations including L’Envol, a non-profit organization that hosts European children with chronic illnesses at a free summer camp.
12 February 2011
“All that I can do is to foster within myself something that is not merely fear, resentment or bewilderment. Perhaps it might be useful to try to clear my mind by setting down, as truthfully and simply as I can, the tiny facet of the world’s events which I myself, in the months ahead, shall encounter at first hand.”
Antonio and Iris Origo at La Foce with their second daughter Donata
03 January 2011
The Gioli family at their Villa near Pisa
Last month I was passing through Florence, and as it had been ages since I’d been to the Pitti Palace, I decided to take a stroll through the museum’s Modern Art Gallery. The word “modern” may be a bit deceiving, as the works shown there date mostly from the 1700s through the turn of the 1900s, but that’s Italy for you! As I took in the many beautiful works, I came across a lovely group of paintings with bucolic images of the country, and the landscape struck me as being somehow familiar. What a lovely surprise to discover upon reading the paintings’ labels that they were all the work of Francesco Gioli, one of the antecedents and former owners of Villa Gioli near Pisa. Of course I already knew about the Villa’s history and the famous Gioli brothers, but seeing the works there at the museum brought the reality of the Villa’s historical importance home to me, while also bringing that history alive before my eyes.
Corzano e Paterno
Italy Tutto
Lospicchio
Memorie di Angelina
Truffle Pig