Castello di Ama

Castello di Ama is one of the most famous wine producers here in Italy. Famous around the world for its luxury wine and its acidity. However, the trip was not focused on the wine, but more on the their private collection of contemporary art by those artists who made a connection between themselves and the beautiful estate.

Castello di Ama is no longer a castle as the name suggests, but it was. You would still identify the outlines of the previous construction from some angles. Owners, a couple, of the place decided to link their winery with art, and as they are great lovers of art themselves, they started inviting various artists over to the estate to enjoy the wine and the scenery. And if the artist feel some emotions during their stays and made a personal connection with the place, they will agree to commissioned pieces in the areas and spaces that the owners would suggest for their works to be situated. Another reason is that one outlook of the estate, over some random hills on the side, was actually a very much used reference point for many renaissance paintings.
I had forgotten to take my camera with me that day so unfortunately I will have to ask for the photos of the place, so once I have them I will post them here asap. However, it is a pity that they might not stand for my perspective of the tour.
First we went into the cellar and saw from afar glows of light reflecting of glass objects attached to the celling in a group. They look almost like wine glasses. But as we got close, they were representations of human organs organized in a very tidy manner. Hearts, gall bladders, stomachs.... This may sound gruesome at first, but it has a very touching story. The artist was a traditional painter from China, who lived in Paris for a very long time. He development a disease at the age of 25 that made sure that he could never be certain how long he was allowed to live. He created the painting in 2000 at the age of 50 something, and died soon after. This piece was not showcased until 2005, before which the owners of Castello di Ama wished to honor the mourning of his family.
There was the wall full of mirrors with square sections cut out to allow access to the extending view of the estate on the other side. The reflections of the garden and yourself compared with the view of endless greens made a strong contrast and unstablizes your point of view. It was mesmerizing. And here we encountered Rex, the "fa niente" dog (the do nothing dog :)) It was obvious that he was of old age, but a very friendly old dog he is.

Then we have the pond by a female spanish artist in which the water empties and fills every 40 mins, constantly, without stop. Movement of the water has to be observed with care to realize which process it is in at that moment. Representation of the womanly process of perceiving.  The bottom of this square shallow pond was carved as layers and layers of leaves. This is one of the two pieces done by female artists here in the estate.

When we entered the lounging area for wine tasting, we found the room covered here and there with sentences, words and picture in black ink. They hid hilarious jokes and depictions of ideas, some drawings even utilized the fact of shadows casted by the lighting. Even the bathroom there could not escape this comedy.
Outside, on the grass space we saw many miniature walls. The mostly easily recognized were the Berlin wall, the Great wall of the China. The others became clear one after the other. The walls that separated nation of nation, race from race.... The title of the piece of work was: I don't want to see my neighbors.
Soon we were led into another cellar, at the entrance there was another. A tree trunk slit out a piece along the length, places by mirrors on both sides. It is meant as the reflections of us being, our inner and our outer, contracts and differences. Once inside, there was the lightest sound of water flowing was audible. Looking through a gridded hole in the ground, things became clear. There was a small fountain below with the statue in pink marble depicting a very very young girl's body kneeling, with no arms and a lotus flower as a head. At the top of the lotus, where the water flows out, it is almost like a male sex organ, expressing the combination of male and female. This piece was done by another female artist at the age of 99, she never visited the estate because of her age but she made a connection with the place through videos shown to her. The creation process was then assisted by her personal assistant.

In yet another cellar, the back wall was decorated with neon lights, the word REVOLUTION in reverse. And if you could manage to imagine it yourself, you will see that yet again four letters reversed created the word LOVE. Then it becomes quite self-explanatory:  to revolutionize, there has to be love to start off, revolution is about love for something and wanting better.

Lastly, we entered a small chapel with a huge red glowing dot in the middle of the ground. We were told not to step close and were asked to touch the dot with our hands.... It gave us all a fright when we felt nothing, yet our visions provided such confident clues that the place was solid. It was actually a half-globe below the ground giving of the light. This is done by an Indian artist, giving suggestions to the third eye and the dot of beauty that Indian women apply to their foreheads. It also suggested blood and sacrifice suitable for the environment of the chapel. By the way, outside, we met "Ninja"cat, it's another story.

Il Salviatino Hotel

This is only today as I open up blogs such as the Sartorialist, Jak & Jil, Style Rookie etc. again that I realized how further and further away I seemed to have gone from fashion, the subject I loved and adored for so many years, and worked for and towards. I still do, but have hardly any time for it... This isn't just some lame excuse, but I guess for now, the luxury industry in all its glamor and various division will be my constant companion. I miss fashion, I really do.

Il Salviatino Hotel, as I mentioned before, is in a category of its own. It has no "stars" because it is above it all. On the way to find this place, I asked for directions and was mislead up a different little hill that situated the Salviatino Hostel.... That's another story. Let's continue with the amazing, real, luxury, Salviatino Hotel.

Once arrived at the gate, the porter called for us to wait for our ride up the hill, a Mercedes 10 seater maybe. Even the porter was a view to look at, grey and silver hair flowing to the shoulders. Beautiful posture and extremely charming. As we climb up wind up, view of the hotel came in, first the gardens and then the terrace, and then the grand building itself. The "ambassadors" served coffee, tea, croissants, tiny macaroons, as you wish whichever, and we were set to enjoy the beautiful sunshine. 

The villa was built in the 14th century, used as a school for some time. The Salviatino Hotel opened 2 years ago for renovations and has been accommodating guests only for 1 month till now. For example in this suite below you could see the fresco from the 16th century, well preserved. It is right next to the villa library and costs 4000 euros per night, but for this new opening, they are offering special promotional prices at 500 euros. Well worth the money if you could manage to get yourself into Florence now and book immediately. The offer lasts till end of May, and from then on, it has been quite fully booked also. Though the villa is of age, the hotel incorporated technology into its use, having a multifunction screen set behind the closet mirror of every room, used for internet, watching tv, videos, listening to music, etc.

This here is looking up from the first floor at the half-transparent living room floor of the grand dome suite on the fourth. In the next photo is the floor we are talking about here. That living room is just too BEAUTIFUL.

Here is their temporary fitness center, after which you could enjoy a great shower and maybe a traditional thai massage performed by professional "imported" straight from thailand.

Taking the ride downhill with a golf car. Even this became an enjoyment.

The session with the General Manager of the hotel was really very enjoyable, it was more about observing how attentive his is, and understanding that this man is what makes the hotel tick, the one behind its great customers services and magic. After the session, as we requested for the presentation, we were given each a 4GB usb stick with the presentation transfered inside beforehand and an offer of free massage a few weeks later. There will be two more sessions at the Salviatino, and I hope to bring more information afterwards. Of course, they are excuses for me to enjoy what I am doing here in Florence.

Ferragamo and Monnalisa

First to start of with a couple of my little curiosities.

Such a beautiful sunset over Florence.

Now to business.
It was a real pleasure meeting with the division merchandising manager of leather goods at Ferragamo, the following day was visit to their four hotels were also quite interesting, though I can't say I'm too impressed by them. The talk gave an insight into the works of merchandising at Ferragamo, where it's more about how to build a collection. First we got a quick quiz on Ferragamo, wanna try? See how much you know about it. :)
1) Where was Salvatore Ferragamo born?
a. Bonito
b. Firenze
c. San Gimignano
2) At what age did Salvatore create his first pair of shoes?
a. 19
b. 14
c. 9
3) In which country did Salvatore's success begin?
a. US
b. Italy
c. Japan
4) Which was Salvatore Ferragamo's nickname?
a. Shoemaker of the stars
b. Shoemaker of dreams
c. The genius of shoes
5) With which shoe did Salvatore win the Oscar of Fashion in 1947?
a. Vara
b. Audrey
c. The invisible sandal
6) How many steps does it take to craft a pair of Ferragamo shoes?
a. Over 100
b. Over 180
c. Over 200
7) Which innovative materials did Salvatore Ferragamo use in crafting his shoes after WWI?
a. Fishing line
b. Cork
c. Rafia
8) The Salvatore Ferragamo company last year celebrated its?
a. 50th anniversary
b. 80th anniversary
c. 100th anniversary
[find answers at the end of this entry]

The only reason I said that the hotels are not that impressive is not because of their lack of good services or lack of grandeur feel, but their unbalanced value/cost ratio, of course this is only personal opinion. If you look at the the photos and compare them with the next entry that I am about to write on Il Salviatino Hotel, you will see the great difference, but then then, they are on a totally different level. The Salviatino could not be judged, or compared, to mere mortals....
The 4 hotels are basically back to back on the city side of the Arno river in Florence, with different names: Suites, Hotel, Gallery. But in general, the rooms are small and might be claustrophobic for some people. I didn't like much of the decorations and interior design, though their breakfast rooms are quite comfortable. I can't recall well enough what sequence we went along but you will get the idea. For one of their junior suites, it costs 1000 euros per night, the grand suite costing 1200 to 1600 depending on season.

Lounge area of the Galleria and the entry of one of the 4 hotels.

Interesting elevator more like a living room :)

I love this next picture btw.....!

Curios tables in "Lounge Brown" (no, it is not the real name for this room)

Compared to "Lounge White" (no, it is not the real name for this room)

Great view from the grand suite.

Breakfast room.

Decorations with bottles of different olive oils from different region, except they are not real (and you are not supposed to know....)

Monnalisa - How many have heard about this brand? Well, it is really well known in the luxury children's wear  industry, and Suri Cruise being one of their testimonials, you can't get much more luxury than that. They specialize in girl's wear but have been for a while venturing into boy's wear, with a new hitchhiker line coming out soon. The owner was a energetic man in this late 50's? 60's? I couldn't guess, with him jumping around the room while talking, you could have said him to be 20 without the white hair. He does business and his wife is the head of the creative department. If you have seen Monnalisa clothes, you will see that their are very mature, considering that their target is children, but then again, the consumers are usually moms and grandmothers, dads too now on a rise.
One the day of the visit, they were enormously generous as to offer an apertivo, buffet lunch with awesome desserts to end at the owner son's little villa (kind of, I never got what it was really).

Then it was a tour in the factory, where the 3 stations of fabric processing is guided through. The most amazing would be the protocol machine for inspecting, stretching, ironing, and stabilizing the fabric. It is their first step. Then it is the inspection of  color consistency, where one slice of fabric is to be cut off and sewn strangely together on different sides. For trousers, the requirement isn't too high, but for more complicated pieces of clothing such as jackets, the color consistency has to be very strict. If not, the whole scroll of fabric would have to be sent back to the supplier and recorded on credit. The third step consists of a lady personally going through the whole scroll and identifying the exact position of defects and how serious. I imagine I might lose my eyesight if I were put on this job all day long....

[Answers: a.b.a.a.c.c.abc.b]

S.M. Novella Pharmacy and Frescobaldi Wines

S.M. Novella Pharmacy is named as a pharmacy, but it's actually a perfumery house, it used to be a church and the friars there were the first to brew perfumed waters, and it has been continued on. Now it is owned by a private family. It is famous for the fresh ingredients and herbal essences, they also still sell these very low alcohol drinks said to be with healing or healthy properties.

The whole place is infused with perfume, it becomes hard to identify a single essence when there's so much other smells around you that smell just as good. And unfortunately, despite my love for perfume and my hobby of collecting perfume bottles, my head started to ache after around 30 mins in there....
The place still has the old traces of the flood back in 1966 that ruined so many workshops and studios back then. San Frediano, where I am living now used to be the most important craftsmanship area, it still has many little shops and workshops, but no more the concentration it used to be.

On Tuesday, we were lucky to be invited to 2 of the 9 Frescobaldi family estates, Castello di Pomino and Castello di Nipozzano. I'm a little confused now about which we went first, but I do remember that Pomino is the one that produces their one and only sweet wine VinSanto di Pomino, which I bought a bottle for 21 something euros. In case you don't know, I LOVE SWEET WINE! Which makes me less of a great wine taster, I just love desert wine too much. Now, this VinSanto has to be dried for a very long time and then matured for 4 to 5 years in oak casks. The temperature isn't controlled as you would have for reds and whites, everything is more natural. But the downside is that when after the 5 years, you never know what you will get, since you never ever open the casks to check , you are putting yourself at a great risk. And also hence why the higher value.

The vintage planted by Prince Charles himself.

Collaboration bottle with Gianfranco Ferre.

Every family members gets wine bottled in the year that they are born, girls are 100 and boys 300, they are free to be used for whatever special occasions they might see fit. The newest member was from 2008, the bottles still look brand new, but here are some of the oldest in the family, held in a special cell.

The two estates are both extremely beautiful, and we had a beautiful weather that day, following the tour was wine tasting :) Just so you know, if you do get the chance to visit some day, they also sell their own cheese, olive oil and honey, also great.

Salone Internazionale del Mobile and Stefano Ricci

I always get hungry very late in the night nowadays, most of the time I can't restrain myself from taking a bite out of something, but today maybe I should. I really should at least finish this entry, and then there's Stefano Ricci's, Frescobaldi's, tomorrow's Monalisa's, next week's four Ferragamo hotels'..... FINISH THIS!

Walking into candyland.

So the furniture showing known as Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan is huge. Not only just the pavilions, there are more big brand outside in the center, but since I was too desperate for a good ice-cream, we gave in to our appetite and missed the best part of the visit... Oh well, we missed toooo much that day, won't hurt too much more just for an ice-cream. So apparently the best part is the New Designers section (which we did not get time to see...so now you just have to look at the crappy stuff... j/k, not necessarily, but definitely not the most innovative). Some names such as Kartell, Moroso, Porro etc.

The famous crumbled aluminium Moroso chairs by Tokujin Yoshioka

Might as well squeeze Stefano Ricci into this. No disrespect intended.
So we were in this store in the center of Florence the other day, one of 19 stores in the whole wide world, where they have riches from around the globe flying in just to spend millions of euros in one day. With one of his beautiful sons (this one is said to be quite a charmer...), talking about the general, since we already met once at Pitti Uomo, there really isn't much new stuff going on. Of course, the brand is awesome and the company is great. What I liked most what how Mr Ricci incorporated his love for hunting into the interior design and decorations. You could see soo many emblems of wild animals, and you would definitely not miss the green grass elephant right in the middle of the room, it's no less stunning than one that's pink.

This last photo is of the beautiful and luxurious home collection.