LETTERS OF OSCAR WILDE
Here’s a piece from De Profundis - written right before leaving prison: To me one of the things in history the most to be regretted is that the Christ’s own renaissance which had produced the Cathedral of Chartres, the Arthurian cycle of legends, the life of St. Francis of Assisi, the art of Giotto, and Dante’s Divine Comedy, was not allowed to develop on its own lines but was interrupted and spoiled by the dreary classical Renaissance that gave us Petrarch, and Raphael’s frescoes, and Palladian architecture, and formal French tragedy, and St.
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WRITER AND MAESTRO
Oscar Wilde - devoted to beauty, famously ruined by his homosexuality, writing that extraordinary letter in prison - a meditation, re-imagining Christ as an artist to express his suffering in De Profundis Sergei Diaghilev not only thrived despite, in the early 20th century, he leveraged it - introducing Russian and modern ballet to the west, the father of modern art - everyone followed him including Stravinsky, Nijinsky, Massine and Matisse, Balanchine, Bakst, Benois and Braque, Coco Chanel, Cocteau, and de Chirico, Dali, even Brecht, and of course Picasso…once upon a time
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SMALLEST DOC IN ALL OF ITALY
In the autumn I began using our fireplace and by early winter I kept the fire going all day long. It was an elaborate stone structure with a large glass door and air valves funneling warm air throughout the lower story. This was clever because our home wasn’t built in classic Piemontese style with multiple rooms. The lower story was one, long, spacious room with windows extending across the front of the house to optimize the view.
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FINDING PIEMONTE AT 50
“In the autumn I began using our fireplace and by early winter I kept the fire going all day long. It was an elaborate stone structure with a large glass door and air valves funneling warm air throughout the lower story. This was clever because our home wasn’t built in classic Piemontese style with multiple rooms. The lower story was one, long, spacious room with windows extending across the front of the house to optimize the view.
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LIFE AS A LIVEABOARD
When life becomes a struggle, emotions move at their own pace. I was grateful to live aboard our sailboat MADI back in 2010; it changed my life. Excerpt from “A European Odyssey” “As far as I was concerned there were two projects to complete. The first was to get our boat into ship shape and the second was to make sure I followed her lead. From the moment I moved aboard Madi there was the promise of transformation.
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BOHEMIAN AND ITS IDEALS, INCLUDING TRUTH, LOVE AND BEAUTY
Pic from Prague, a place that really allowed me to open up my mind and spirit.
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HEADLESS STATUES OR WOMEN IN REPOSE
“On a regular basis Colette and Godot were taken past the American Academy where I fantasized Gore Vidal was studying at the library doing research for Julien. This weekly sojourn took us to the seventeenth century Villa Pamphili located in the quarter of Monteverde. This is where Via Aurelia begins with her dramatically high, dark grey walls stretching up to the sky until a tiny world opened up for us alone.
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RESTAURANT WITH A VIEW
In Agliano, Piemonte, located in northern Italy you can enjoy the spa - and the view isn’t too bad either.
Read morePEASANT RECIPES
Peasant recipes from Piemonte are world famous - they also do fancy just fine
Read moreFINDING YOUR ELIXIR
“Expectations were exceeded on a weekly basis in Prague. A neighborhood store confirmed suspicions that elusive Bohemian ideals might be hidden behind patterns of another kind. I found a retailer where I could mix my own elixir of scents and oils with various olive oils, specialty liqueurs, brandies, and whiskies of all kinds. After making a purchase the young saleswoman wrote the name in cursive with a large white pencil on the artisan styled clear bottles.
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Why hello, New Year!
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WHY I NAMED MY DOG GODOT.
Godot did arrive. Post party. When I’d do the dishes, think about people’s stories, relive the memories… Godot did arrive.
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ONCE UPON A TIME IN EUROPE
W/Yumi Katsura, the doyenne of Japanese wedding dress; once upon a time. I went to her couture show, then to dinner at a night club in the Marais, in the 4th in Paris. She sat at the head table, alone, everyone else, her designers, choreographers, sat around her, it was surreal. I asked if she’d take a photo - she was so cool. Prince had performed at this venue the night before.
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THIS MIST IS LOVELY FOR THE WINE AND EYES
The nebbia, the fog of Piemonte is atmospheric and everywhere.
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THE FOG, THE SHROUD...
‘nebbia’, the fog of Piemonte, a shroud that buries the plains - only trees and steeples pierce thru - i miss it
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