If you happened to visit the brand new, cleaner Naples this July, angels were by your side! I am referring to the magnificent and exceptional three-night majestic and illuminated Piazza Plebiscito held under the stars.

The first evening, I had the privilege in assisting, with friends among an elegantly dressed Neapolitan audience of 10,000 comfortably seated spectators, conductor Zubin Metha presenting the public not one, but two prestigious orchestras. Not an everyday occasion!

The Maestro’s, baton conducted 350 musicians on a stage where the orchestra complex of the Teatro San Carlo the peak of Neapolitan culture, and choirs of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino from Florence harmoniously united to give life to the execution of one of the greatest compositions ever written: The in B Minor, Op. 125 by Ludwig van Beethoven, otherwise known as “The Ninth“.

Finmeccanica as the sole sponsor of the concert served also to finance the restoration of the San Carlo opera house.

Many government figures were present including Sandro Bondi, minister of cultural affairs, Antonio Bassolini, president of the Campania Region, Dino Di Palma, president of the Province of Naples, Rosa Russo Lervolino, mayor of Naples and Crescenzio Sepe, archbishop of Naples, along with celebrities from the entertainment world including Renzo Arbore, who introduced the concert, Roberto Bolle, Carla Fracci and Maria Grazia Cucinotta.

The Piazza symbol of the city, looked impressive, through time a stage for political and cultural events this year it speaks of a desire for rebirth – “A stage in the heart of Naples” with the intent of bringing the city back to its ancient spirit: the cultural appreciation of music and the capital of international arts, a difficult task in view of the city’s current problems.

While arps and other instruments of the orchestra played their tunes, you could hear the noise of some occasional plane above the piazza, dog barking from far on houses nearby, where owners invited their friends for drinks in their balconies for this special occasion. Every fifteen minutes sharp, the clock on the beautiful Neo-classical facade would with exact precision remind us of time.

The mix of these sounds and the invisible touch of the fresh evening breeze would remind me of Proust when he wrote about time being an illusion ” The time we have at our disposal everyday is elastic: The passions we feel expand it, the ones that inspire us contract it, and the habits are the ones that fill in what remains.”

There was a vivid performance of a legendary work, which Beethoven composed when he was completely deaf – a rare combination of strength and beauty that reaches its apex with the “Ode to Joy“, the anthem of the European Union which rose in a great crescendo to symbolize the brotherhood of all peoples. The applause at the end of the performance was interminable.The conductor offered an encore by acclamation: the Intermezzo from “Cavalleria Rusticana” by Pietro Mascagni.

After emphasizing the significance of the event and explaining it was not possible to leave Naples – which was his first stop in Italy when he arrived in Europe from India – without playing something “from Naples”, the finale of the evening was a rendition of “O Sole Mio ” made rollicking by the powerful chorus and the emotion of the piazza. ( listen live) . It was a wonderful combination of “cultured” music and popular sentiment, another challenge in an event that certainly did not lack ambition, leaving everyone with the wish that the storm will be followed by an “aria serena” – a time of peace.

” It will be a hymn for the rebirth of a marvellous city,” declared Zubin Mehta shortly before the concert while speaking of Beethoven. He said that music cannot resolve problems – but culture, beauty and art can be important allies in confronting it. Definitely to remember!

On July 5, ballet major star Roberto Bolle also performed in Piazza Plebiscito. The San Carlo theatre opened once more to the city with a new event for the very vast public and for young people.

“Roberto Bolle and Friends” Gala event united ballet dancers of international fame, who came from the best ballet companies of the world, all around Bolle, the magnificent dancer, an evening of union governed by the great art and by beauty with some of the most beautiful and famous music pieces of the 17th and the18th century repertoire.

In the same soiree and on the same stage, the most famous ballet stars of the moment, “challenged” each other in a friendly way, in the name of the art of dance, in an extraordinary confrontation of techniques, schools and styles. Absolutely unique!

Finally, in front of a delirious crowd of 40,000 twenty-seven years after having done his first show in this same square a symbol the crossroads urban Bourbon-Catholic belly of the city, Pino Daniele, the king of as he defines himself “Taramblu “, a mix of tarantella, blues and rumba whose songs are characterized by a free intermingling of English, Italian and Neapolitan passages reigned supreme.

It is the reality that now has changed. The sun, sea, but the landscape is dominated by dark colors dell’immondizia (Litter) and degradation. But the singers also serve as this: to revive the colors, the desire to ransom in the rubble. singers also serve as this.

The most beautiful song and celebrated by Pino Daniele the singing all together, like a languid “we’re the world” Parthenopean in this evening taste cathartic for Naples: The protagonist, the public and then Nino D’Angelo, Avion Travel, Giorgia, Irene Grandi, Chiara Civello and even Gigi D’Alessio.

Pino with his fabulous old band, the one with James Senese, Tony Esposito, Rino Zurzolo, Joe Amoruso and Tullio De Piscopo singing ” Je so ‘crazy“, ” Yes I know my way” (watch) and then the musicians who have accompanied him in thirty years of songs. One thing is certain, Pino Daniele still sings “Napul’è one thousand culure” and he is so right!

References: La Rebubblica It. Napoli Nino Gastaldo ” Pino Daniele un coro di felicita”—-Finmeccanica communications-Teatro San Carlo press Release– Photos courtesy Riccardo Siano

Joelle’s tips:

Watch and listen the videos live:

” Vento di Passione” Pino Daniele and Giorgia (Beautiful!!) ” Yes I know, my way ” Pino Daniele

Zubin Metha: Listen live ” O Sole Mio” with the choir of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Teatro San Carlo

Land and sea. From the teeming coastal waters to the fertile plains come Sorrento lemons and Vesuvian apricots, Paestum artichokes and lobsters from the gulf of Salerno. A continent waiting to be discovered, where quality and territory are closely linked and nature and history dine at the same table.

Spaghetti, wood burning stove pizza and buffalo mozzarella have made Neapolitan cuisine famous worldwide but there are other surprises in store for anyone wishing to stray off the beaten track. The rest of the Campania has all this and more: the sea-based cuisine of the coast. The islands and the villages of Cilento, Procida, Capri, Ischia, Caserta, and Positano have made the Mediterranean diet so famous.

This is without mentioning the production of extra-virgin olive oil and wine, which has had a strong tradition here since Greek and Roman times: from Lacryma Christi, Solopaca, Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo.

Unmistakable aromas, such as freshly baked bread, flavors and colors of raw materials that for thousand years have been equated to the Campanian sunshine. During my stay in the region I have enjoyed, (with the price of gaining a few extra pounds) to savor everyday different dishes, and local gastronomical specialties at times in restaurants, traditional bakeries and Neapolitan homes.

Traditional Neapolitan cuisine is divided equally between land and sea, and “poor” and “rich” recipes. Working-class dishes include Minestra Maritata a meat and vegetable soup. The rich dishes once eaten by the aristocracy on the other hand, include elaborate and spectacular specialties such as macaroni timballo and Rice Sartu.

The Neapolitans are such great vegetable-lovers that in the 17th century they earned the name of leaf-eaters; hence the inclusion of produce from land in dishes such escarole pizza, aubergine parmigiana, stuffed peppers, courgette marinated “alla scapece ” and friatelli (bitterish broccoli grown only in Campania) with sausages also served as antipasti ( before meals) dishes.

Unusual combinations are being experimented with the local sea cuisine in the Phlegraean Fields, a place of sensational archaeological landscape and thermal-water attractions. These include “scialatelli” (type of fresh pasta) with prawn and courgettes or “Paccheri” with mussels and broccoli. Without disowning tradition: mussel “impepata”, risotto alla pescatora, bass all’ acqua pazza” delicious barbecued “pezzogne” (scorpion- fish)”. Washed down with a delicious glass of chilled white wine such as Coda di Volpe, the famous Falanghina or Falerno—perfect!

Procida, the isle of lemons, is filled with restaurants overlooking the beaches in the village of Marina di Corricella. Local dishes? Anchovies marinated in onions, vinegar, olives, colatura, (an extract made with anchovies caught in the golf of Salerno using a special salting process and obtained by pressing the anchovies), paisley and capers. A delicious condiment “a freddo” (eaten cold) for hot pasta. Enormous lemons are a particular specialty: sweet and thick-skinned, they can weigh up to half a kilo.

The people eat the lemons in salads, with mint, garlic and chili. They use the leaves to roll up slices of mozzarella for the grill—like they do at my favorite restaurant Da Paolino in Capri close to the port of Marina Grande. Lemons are also used to make a variety of liquors, (Limoncello), sorbets, water ices (Sgroppino) and to perfume the confectioner’s custard used to fill the cake known as “Lingua di Bue” (Ox tongue) made from fine pastry filled with custard and spread with honey.

On the splendid Sorrento Peninsula, where citrus and olive trees create the characteristic landscape, the gastronomic tradition boasts illustrious stars: Gragnano pasta mafalde “Alla Nerano ” (with courgettes basil and Pecorino), dairy products like fior-di-latte , caciocavallo, ricotta and provola, cheese from the Lattari Mountains, lemons and oil from Sorrento, dulcis in fundo the renowed “Torta Caprese ” a chocolate and almond cake that also comes in a version of ice-cream and recently in lemon. Perhaps all accompanied by a drop of the highly scented liqueur from Capri lemons, Limoncello…

Finally Capri, one of the top international tourist destination, is also enticing from the gastronomic point of view. It is rightly proud of its delicate ravioli elaborate stuffed squid and Caprese salad (mozzarella, tomato, basil and olive oil).

The traditional confectionery, which is based on several great classics such as Baba, and Sfogliatella (a very fine shaped pastry dripping with trickles of custard and garnished with black cherries). Even King Ferdinand of Bourbon was known to be seduced by it. My favorite is the Nocciola (hazel- nut) ice-cream at Ciro in Naples Mergellina.

In concluding this stylish gastronomical trip, I suggest you sit down at one of the romantic restaurants on the beach at Positano where you can sample dishes from the sea and finish off with a sublime dessert and sip Cona dei Martini—a sexy, delicious and refreshing fruit liqueur while enjoying the charming surroundings.

If you prefer the lemon, mandarin, licorice (my favorite), strawberry, wild fennel, walnut or myrtle liqueur, then let me know about it!

Joelle’s Tips:

The Restaurants:

Capri:

Da Paolino: For the best oven grilled mozzarella in lemon leaves and sea salt crusted Branzino (sea bass) Via Palazo a mare ,11 tel 081 837 6490— Aurora : Very trendy atmosphere Via Fuorlovado,18-22-tel 081 837 0584 —Le Grotelle: Amazing surroundings and a nice walk at night Via arco Naturale- Tel 081 837 0833—Ojne: International Jet-set crowd Via Sella Orta,10-tel 081 8389473- Verginello: Mostly Italians and locals,excellent sea food Via Lo Palazzo,25-tel 081837 0665

On Naples Bay:

All with one Michelin star The restaurants given are in order, clockwise around the bay.

La Minesetta:A superb antipasto of local citrus-marinated sea bass was adorned with slivers of lemon peel.Our little ricotta cake with cooked pear slices, and sfogliata di mandorle (almond paste enclosed in a soft crust) Via Lungolago 2, 80070 Bacoli NA; (39-081) 5234169, fax (39-081) 5231510. Closed Monday; meal for two, $100. From Naples (17 miles), take the Tangenziale (bypass) in the direction of Pozzuoli and follow signs for Arco Domiziano

Il Principe: Traditional Neapolitan cuisine. Pompeian decor. Specialty, Paccheri di Gragnano- short large-bore pasta tubes, made nearby – are served sauced with scorpion fish and sweet peppers, their flavors deliciously trapped by the pasta’s rough surface.The restaurant’s signature dessert, Cassata di Oplontis, was invented by an Italian archaeologist-cook inspired by a Roman fresco. Based on cassata siciliana, a ricotta and almond confection, it is adapted for Old World food supplies: honey replaces sugar, dried fruits replace candied. , Piazza Bartolo Longo 8, 80045 Pompei NA; (39-081) 8505566, fax (39-081) 8633342; , Lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday; lunch only Sunday; price, $110. There is a smoking section. The restaurant is in the center of the modern town of Pompei (15 miles from Naples) on the main piazza. It can be reached by train, or take the main highway, the A-3, Napoli-Pompei, from Naples.

Quattro Passi: Try the ravioli filled with smoked Provola cheese in a very flavorful tomato sauce with perfect tiny grilled lamb chops. Fish ‘’soup” — shrimp, scampi, palombo and mussels served on a plate with very little liquid and very sweet Campanian wines. The best are the individual soufflés, with hidden black cherries, into which custard sauce is poured.Quattro Passi, Via A. Vespucci,
13/N, Nerano-Marina del Cantone, (Massa Lubrense), 80068 Termini NA; (39-081) 8082800, phone and fax (39-081) 8081271; Open daily in summer; otherwise closed Wednesday; price, $135. Smoking in outdoor dining area. Directions as for Taverna del Capitano, below. Should you arrive by private boat, both restaurants will arrange to have you brought ashore

Taverna del Capitano, The meal begins with a viewing of the fish trolley, during which Mr. Caputo presents the fresh fish of the day and recites the preparations.The grand antipasto plate, which included asparagus wrapped in thin slices of octopus, crab roe and nearly raw tuna, elegantly arranged on a dark blue plate. Chef suggests simple dish that he said was typical of Nerano, where restaurants compete to create the best versions — spaghetti with sliced zucchini and a brilliant yellow, quite-liquid cheese sauce. It had such a strong but subtle flavor, such a creamy, mouth-filling texture. Piazza delle Sirene 10/11, Nerano-Marina del Cantone (Massa Lubrense), 80068 Termini NA; (39-081) 8081028, fax (39-081) 8081892. Closed Monday; open daily in summer; price, $105. Smoking and nonsmoking areas. From Naples (34 miles), follow signs first for Sorrento on SS-145, but before reaching Sorrento follow signs for Sant’Agata (or for the well-signposted Don Alfonso 1890), then for Massa Lubrense and then Marina del Cantone. Marina del Cantone is about 45 minutes from Positano, 15 minutes beyond Sant’Agata.

Some of the restaurants have rooms available, if you prefer not to risk these tricky roads after dinner.

Naples

For the best ice cream in the world, my favorite, hazel nut, Rochet, Baci
Bar Pasticceria Chalet Ciro A Mergellina- 31, V. Mergellina Napoli (Napoli) Campania
tel : 081669928

Sources:

Maureen B. Fant – Choice tables- New York Times

Marco Di Lello (Councelor for tourism and cultural resources) Campania wine and food tourism

Among the many interesting historical sites in Naples that I recommend visiting is the Archeological Museum. Here is a short list of my favorite collections with a special emphasis of the recently inaugurated “Gabinetto Segreto” (Secret Cabinet) with the museum links if you wish to know more.

The photography was taken by me on my visit, to give you a better sense of what this is really like… But if you wish, once in a lifetime, to take a trip and go back in time, this surely is the place to be.

The Meridian Room is spectacular. One of the most imposing roofed rooms in Europe, its construction was begun between 1612 and 1615 but was hindered by structural problems and was only completed in 1804. It’s also the place where the G7 dinner took place back in 1994.

Ancient Naples : The collection is arranged in chronological order, contains some of the most important finds from the cemetery of Parthenope, the first Rhodian or more probably Cuman settlement situated on the hill of Pizzofalcone – which was occupied from the mid-seventh century to the mid-sixth century BC and from Greek and Roman Naples.

Frescoes and Mosaics from Pompeii :The collection, one of the most famous in the Naples museum in terms of the wealth of evidence, comprises part of the paintings detached from the houses of Pompeii and the surrounding area between the mid-eighteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, and it represents an exceptional insight into the development of Roman painting from the Late Republic to the Empire.

House of the Faun
The mosaics of the House of the Faun represent the most precious part of the Neapolitan collection in terms of quality and figurative variety and the fame which followed its discovery. The splendid works on display include the famous “mosaic of Alexander”, depicting the battle between Alexander the Great and Darius III.

Magna Grecia

The collection comprises a significant amount of materials discovered during the excavations carried out in the southernmost regions of the Bourbon Kingdom, ancient Magna Graecia, or which came to the Naples museum, especially in the nineteenth century, either through the acquisition or donation of antiquarian collections; of these, one of the most important and largest is the Santangelo Collection.

Farnese Collection -Sculptures , Bath of Caraca, Roman Busts -Stunning!!
This important collection of antiquities, begun by Alessandro Farnese, the future Pope Paul III, was formed in the sixteenth century, as a result of the purchase and confiscation of the collections of noble families, donations and, above all, by finds from excavations conducted on behalf of the Farnese family in Rome.

Finally… The Secret Cabinet
The collection, known historically as the “Gabinetto Segreto” (Secret Room), consists of a series of materials with an erotic theme assembled during the eighteenth century.

However, they were removed from public view for a long period because they were considered obscene and therefore became famous and an object of curiosity. One of the most famous pieces is the marble group with Pan and a goat, which was found in Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum.

Ancient Roman culture had no sense of a shameful nature for all sexuality, and viewed sexually explicit material very differently to most present-day cultures. Ideas about obscenity developed from the 18th century to the present day into a modern concept of pornography. Although the excavation of Pompeii was initially an Enlightenment project, once artifacts were classified through a new method of taxonomy, those deemed obscene and unsuitable for the general public were termed pornography and in 1819 they were locked away in a Secret Museum.

These even included the un-explicit statue Venus Kallipygos, only erotic to 18th and 19th century eyes due to her partial nudity and the exposure of her eponymous “beautiful buttocks”. At Pompeii, locked metal cabinets were constructed over erotic frescos, which could be shown, for a modest additional fee, to gentlemen but not to ladies.

This peep show was still in operation at Pompeii in the 1960s . The cabinet was only accessible to “people of mature age and respected morals”, which in practice meant only educated males. The catalogue of the secret museum was also a form of censorship, where engravings and descriptive texts played down the content of the room.

The excavation of Pompeii was important to a range of powerful, and often conflicting, interests who saw the discovery of Pompeii as validating their own view of history, but at the same time excluded anything that did not fit the preferred model. Later Mussolini saw the excavation of Pompeii as validating the continuity of a Nova Roma. The presence of sexually explicit material, however, was problematic.

Re-opened, closed, re-opened again and then closed again for nearly a hundred years, the secret room was briefly made accessible again at the end of the 1960s before being finally re-opened in the year 2000. Since 2005, the collection is kept in the Museo Archeologico in this separate room. Enjoy the photo gallery!

Joelle’s Tips:

The Museum: Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli : Piazza Museo, 19 Napoli / hours : 9.00 – 20.00/ Closed on Tuesdays – Tel. + 39.081.440166 – Fax 039.081.440013- e-mail: sanc@interbusiness.it

Like old souvenir postcards, the latest fragrances get their inspiration from the Italian landscape among Cedars and Magnolias.

The landscape of the peninsula is the latest discovery of creative noses. Past the cliched 50’s vintage stereo postcards (with the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius in the background) there is an Italy of hidden corners and unknown gardens.

Chandler Burr, scents critic of the New York Times, picked this Italian landscape as the inspiration for two “Olfactive” dinners organized in Florence and Rome where scents and perfumes evoke old images and fragrances from the peninsula.

But to sniff attentively oasis and and pathways is also the Texan designer Tom Ford, that for the opening of the Milan boutique, his second mono-brand worldwide after the one in Manhattan,he created a unisex Eau- De Toilette dedicated to Italy. It’s main ingredient, a plant of the most pictoresque from which fragrance he took the name, Italian Cypress.- ” It’s aperfume dedicated to a genmtleman of the 70′.a kind of man that is not easy to find anymore” explains the designer who advises the use also to women.

But these are not the only scented ” postcards” of this summer. – “The idea of a journey reveals an infinite font of inspiration” adds the creative nose Francois Demachy that for Dior he built the fragrance Escale a Portofino, inspired by the fascinating and exclusive Ligurian Port. Developed with a note of green Cedar, lemon, and orange flowers, they leave a place to the more persistent Almond, Cypress and Juniper. This of the French house is the first eau of a series dedicated to European maritime ports: the next one is programmed for next summer but the exact destination remains a top secret.

In wandering about Italy there is even who has decided to reflect and freeze a location at a specific day, time and month into one perfume. An authentic and real instant frame developed by Elena Ghiretti for the Italian niche line Memento Olfactic Landscapes debuted last year from Eurocosmesi with the nose of perfumer Marie Salamange.

Together they have attempted in capturing in the new eau de parfum Sicily of Memento.The breath emotions at 11 o clock in the morning of March 6, 2008 in the Central Hystorical Piazza Barocca of Ortiga, in the island if Siracusa in Sicily carry notes of neroli, freesia, jasmine, helichrysum, hay, cedar, amber, patchouli, myrrh and agarwood. It launches this month in 50 ml Eau de Parfum. Look for upcoming fragrances for Sardinia, Rome and Cortina.

Villa Borghese gardens during the Summer, are Bernard Duchaufour dedication to Magnolia Romana ’s Eau D’Italie. Among the white flower, notes pass from the subtle and fresh Basil, recently cut grass , to the most charged Tuberose, leaving a sensation of evening blossoming flowers in the skin.

And at last let’s remember La Dolce Vita and nothing better during this summer the Acqua di Parma who is launching a new limited edition hesperidic perfume called Colonia Assoluta Edizione Riviera, which aims to capture the joie de vivre of the fabled coastline. Think Antonioni’s L’Avventura… “Sophia Loren. Anouk Aimée. For over a century, the Italian Riviera has been synonymous with glamour…

“Opening with a splash of citrus, this effervescent mix gives way to rose, jasmine and ylang-ylang. Warm, vibrant cardmom and red pepper add a sense of sophistication and give the scent its underlying intensity. At its heart are refined blonde woods that echo the enduring elegance of Colonia Assoluta. White musk and amber help to create a chic and lasting impression.

White lemon from Sicily, Citron from Calabria, bergamot from Sicily, Iris from Florence …… “Signore , per piacere? Do you have a stamp please…I must write a postcard.”

Joelle’s Tips:

Available on line:

Magnolia Romana

Inspired by the romantic Villa Borghese in Rome, this is a pure white flower with fresh green notes of basil, lotus blossom, crushed lemon leaves and just a hint of evanescent damp earth. Exquisite for both men and women. Eau de Toilette Spray – Size 100ml
Euro 85,00 order

Dior Escale a Portofino:

4.2 oz Eau De Toilette Spray
Inspired by Dior Couture Cruise Collection, Escale a Portofino is fresh, uplifting and sophisticated.
• Calabrian bergamot, Italian citron, and Sicilian petitgrain • Bitter almond, orange blossom and juniper berry
• Cold spices, cypress and cedar White musk, caraway and galbanum • 125ml Style: Free-spirited. Feminine. Glamorous. Recommend Use: Day, Evening, Night
Details Price: us $236.00 Order

Acqua di Parma, Colonia Assoluta
A celebration of Italian freshness with a contemporary signature, Colonia Assoluta is a precious fragrance that melts into the skin with sensual, woody notes enhanced with amber and white musk.
Notes:
Cardamom, Rose/Pink Pepper, Allspice Pimento, Jasmine, Wild Orchid, Rose, Ylang-Ylang, American Cedarwood, Patchouli, Resins.
Style: Fresh. Sensual. Vibrant. Order

Memento Sicily: Not available yet

I arrived in Naples a few days ago.

It’s very, very hot here. I am staying in a beautiful rooftop overlooking the sea on the hills of Posillipo. The name comes from the Greek Pausilypon meaning “pause from pain”, it is the city’s oldest neighborhood. I am surrounded by a lively countryside of green trees, stunning views of the Sorrento Peninsula and a majestic Mount Vesuvius at eye level.

Every morning, the best thing I have to do, is go to the sea that I silently watch every night at sunset from my bedroom. It takes me approximately fifteen to twenty minutes walk through the viewer of my camera and for nothing in this world I want to miss the insights of this hidden Posillipian countryside marvel.

La Repubblica‘s Venerdi insert about the weekend’s cultural events, Kuky Nobel’s suntan creams, my vintage Persol, and old Etro blue and white towel all packed in a straw bag from the nearby Thursday market are my daily companions.

On my way, I stop for my usual fresh Percoche peaches at Salvatore, who every morning tries to sell me watermelon and every morning I explain that it is too heavy to take with me down to the Rocce Verdi. Salvatore resigns, giving me his word of honor that the small green figs I love will be perfect to eat at the beginning of August and that I will be the first client to try them. Like every morning wishes me a “buona giornata signorina” and turns to take care of another customer.

I proceed with my walk, it’s still early but the sun is already high in the sky. The day promises to be as warm as all the others during the two weeks I have been here. But the reward, as I’ve learned from living here, is that the warmer the days, the prettier the sunsets and evening colors. Day after day I have enjoyed watching those pink, orange and blue colors — receiving them as eternal gifts to my soul that is seeking rest from the hectic heat—sometimes reaching 38 degrees Celsius (100 Farenheit)—and the noisy sea of the day that just passed by.

It’s a cycle. The cycle of a genuine and simple life starting at 6 .30 in the morning with the freshly squeezed orange juice from the tree property and the aroma of strong burning coffee re-freshened by the good night sleep and a previous great meal.

The entrance gate of the property is large, heavy and made of iron. On the top of the gate is a green and gold sign that says “Villa Fattorusso, terra di rocce e mare” (land of rocks and sea).

This private estate used to belong to a family for three generations. At the beginning of this century, the patriarch, Mr. Bartolini, a wealthy retailer and manufacturer of the prestigious Haute Couture embroidery house, Fratelli Fattorusso, picked the magnificent landscape of rocks over the sea charmed by the beauty and greatness of the region and steadfastly focused on this area of excellence that have made Naples renowned worldwide to build his home and a house that during several years was the mecca of his friends and relatives sea escapes.

It is only about 40 years ago that the children, over-boarded by the continuous movement of guests of guests and relatives that decided to open the once upon a time on an invitation-only paradise into one of the most exclusive lido open now a nearby neighborhood public.

I am now crossing old Roman arches and huge walls made of Tufo. It’s like being in a land where time has no more dimension and the present is presently immaculate.

If you really wish to, you can only tell its passing by blossoms of flamboyant Azaleas bushes, uncontrolled cascades of dark blue wrapping Bindweed flowers, called once by deco artists Belle du jour or Morning glory and explosive pink-purple- pea-like shy and delicate Glycine bushes.

Their intricate and disorganized existence together with numerous oranges left on the ground and small plantations of corn is orchestrated by the intensive heat and owners nonchalance in face of an aggressive superiority of the Mediterranean sun.

Finally after spying with my invading camera lens people’s details of small intimate lives in gardens, small courtyards and inviting shaded terraces I see the small wooden sign Baia Rocce Verdi (Green Rocks Bay) sending me to a steep downhill site. 17 euros is the price of a lettino. (Small bed)s I make my way to what in a few minutes I call paradise. From where I am, a terrace with tech furniture getting ready for tonight’s wedding party I can see already a group of early morning sun seekers giving themselves away on lettinis and materassini (small mats) without remorse to the gentle rising breeze.

First thing I’ll do after picking my own place under the sun is dive into the dephts of the fresh blue waters of the bay of Naples and feel completely re-freshened from the heat. But one must be careful as there is plenty of moss, green slippery moss.

And with this intention, this summer, I will dive between those green rocks by the waves to take a closer look at the Bay of Naples treasures, and to perhaps explore the local history hat has been swallowed up by the deep. The wonders of underwater archaeology,the rusting relics on the sea bed,the abundant marine wildlife,and the colorful caves that have been gouged out the rock.

Together with ‘pearls’ like Capri, Ischia and Sorrento this is the sea of Campania laden with its “catch” of history, culture and traditions. Probably who knows my own, somewhere in time and space during these few long sunny hours and fresh encounters with its clear waters.

The day was great. Insights? Plenty, but now it’s time for the sunset, and the cycle begins again.

Joelle’s Tips:

Lido delle Rocce Verdi: Via Posillipo, 68, Napoli

For dinners, events and ceremonies reservations at Villa Fattorusso: + 39 081 575 6716 / + 39 081 575 6183

“There is so much to do. You can wander off in space or in time, set out for Tierra del Fuego or for King Midas’s court.

”Jean-Dominique Bauby . The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

After Prague I came back to my new routine in Naples. Everyday, early in the morning I would drink a large glass of a delicious freshly squeezed orange juice, sometimes with tiny clementines picked from the neighbor trees in the hills of the very old residential quarter of Posillipo. The Italian blend of warm strong coffee aroma would wake me up just on time to see at distance from my bed, the orange winter sun rise on the Vesuvius in the large bay of Naples.

Long morning walks to Marechiaro lungomare and back home early for lunch, where the green vegetable of the day would be picked in a small truck owned by a man called Salvatore right behind the old Palazzo where I stayed. His son Enzo a few yards away would have the tomatoes and herbs. Basil is only found in the Summer therefore something else is offered instead depending on the day. Seasons still exists in this corner of the world and globalisation is thought as something bello ( nice) but probably for someone else.

On my way to New York, with a connection to Paris, a friend from Brazil calls me on my cell…” You are kidding? You are in Paris and are not going to see Dr Sebagh?” A little ashamed not to know exactly who is doctor Sebagh I answer with a question ” Should I?”- ” Are you nuts? , He’s the world anti-aging Jewish Guru, I will call myself to set you an appointment right now, you’ll thank me !”

Here I am on a rainy day in Paris entering this very old 1900 iron elevator leading me to the second floor entrance where a very tall and skinny blond woman, dressed in a sport outfit and golden sneakers (certainly a model) speaks Russian on the phone, while leaving the exclusive door office open for me with a quick smile .Her skin is gorgeous white and perfect. A pretty and very long haired assistant dressed in trendy 1960 vintage-look jeans with a warm welcoming smile not exactly directed to me because she is busy telling a client about her interesting weekend, shows me the way to a nice room.

Nobody asks me to fill any paper, or any question at all. I am late but she obviously does not seem to mind at all.The very French and elegant living room is filled with brown old leather Chesterfields couches covered with fake furs, the walls in a Louis XV style Boiserie, Elle and Paris Match magazines on a modern glass table feature the last events of French president Sarkozy recent love entanglement with young supermodel and singer Carla Bruni.

Two French wrinkl-less ladies on their 40s impeccably dressed in Hermes Amazon-es, as they had left their horses at the door with the Doctor’s assistant, talk quietly without any sign of hurry, a young American couple ,also wrinkl-less, writes in great sign of concentration serious stuff certainly overseas on their small Blakberries.

Many hours have passed but Dr Sebagh charming and experienced Savoir-Faire, in his questions, and techniques of applying Botox and Restylane on my skin without making me feel any pain or doubt, overwhelm-es me. He then goes to the Internet and explains that I can buy his product line in New York right in front of my house, and can come to see him in a year if I wish to.

Younger in looks I arrive on a very cold January week-end in New York City. The light is dull. I am in a car among taxi cabs, I feel strange, I decide to isolate myself for a while until I figure out the jet lag, the fade light, the temperature and the difference in my Bio-rhythm altogether.

I realize I am a result of my own global freedom and still feel unhappily trapped by it . What do I need more? The traits in my face look more relaxed than ever, my skin feels as the skin of a baby, but an empty space locked within my self still reacts against an external and momentarily unrecognized environment that I sometimes I even call home. I am probably still a powerless human. I decide to go to the movies by myself for a small change, and watch the new Julian Schnabel” Diving bell and the Butterfly” playing on a Third avenue cinema near my house.

Jean-Dominique Bauby was the victim of a stroke that left his mind and one eye functioning . He gradually ‘’surfaced” into a new existence as a victim of ”locked-in syndrome“, mentally alert but deprived of movement and speech. This was enough to enable him to dictate ” The Diving Suit and the Butterfly” to Claude Mendibil before dying of heart failure. He achieved it by moving his left eyelid in response to an alphabet rearranged according to the letters frequency of use.

The The diving bell of Bauby’s title is his corporeal trap, the butterfly his imagination; the author cultivates strong feelings, especially anger, to keep his spirit from atrophying along with his limbs. On my way out I buy his book from Berck-sur-Mer. While reading it at candlelight I realize it is best experienced by remaining mindful of having the luck to be reading it between the many blinks of one’s eyes.

Reading Bauby’s words during this uncomfortable landing in the city made me understand astonished and finally humbled, that the refusal of one spirit to accept death as an end is what’s necessary . It’s the conviction of a transformation process into a new beginning, a rebirth, aiming at life more than ever in the fullness of its present moment and in the part of the self that resides in the creative mind.

I also realized that I have the potential of being anywhere I want to be, without really having to move from where I am at the present moment as long as I ma present. Most important of all, is the forgotten appreciation of what I always find waiting for me, untouched, every time I come back.

I always come back to the wisdom of Kabbalah dealing with the inevitability of one’s immortal experience and the all night connection to the harvest and eternal life through the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.

My feelings of confinement is gone.. My hands are quicky typing on my Mac many stories about my last trips in Prague, In Naples, In Rio. Many people would like to share the experiences. Here I am.

Ah… By the way, I heard Barney’s is having a promotion on that Sebagh’s “For your eyes only ” cream on Monday. I will check it out,it’s right off the corner from home!

This post is dedicated to my good friend Ana Abdul from Brazil whose professional and personal dedication to style, a youth and excellence is time-less and unique. May this post be for her an ode to life!

Joelle’s Picks:

The ‘ Guru ‘ Doctor :Dr SebaghHead Office : Cosmetic Doctor At Work Ltd25 Wimpole StreetLondonW1G 8GL

Tel : +44 (0)20 7637 054 / Fax :+44 (0)20 7637 5110

Paris Office:64, rue de Longchamps 75116 Paris / Tel 01 47 04 65 75 / Fax 01 45 53 45 18

The Skin Products:

” First Experience Kit 6 Trial Sizes by Dr. Sebagh” A good and economic suggestion to try all the line at once as a starter. Absolutely amazing and revolutionary having enzymes and pure vitamin C instant powder over your skin, It’s like having a fresh squeezed organic orange juice through your cells Try it. You’ll love it. I have included a link where you can buy it on line below .Please give me your feed-backs.

Botox in Usa: www. mybotoxsecret.com / dr Hedaya
Ocean County Office – One Route 70 Lakewood, NJ. 08701
Ph: 732-901-6111 Fx: 732-905-0611

The Movie: Diving bell and the Butterfly

It’s the 23 of December, I have no idea how to deal with a Christmas decoration.

Because of my Jewish religion, I have never had a Christmas tree at home even less a crib. The house where I am a gust is going to follow this tradition therefore I am invited to come along by my hosts to explore a new world for me that in Naples starts at the famous road San Gregorio Armeno in the center of the Centro Storico (Historic Center).

As I walk in the very crowded road, I notice several small shops and colorful stalls by the dozens with artisans and craftsmen working on and displaying small delicate sculptures representing humans, shepherds, peasants, laundresses, vendors, pastures, cattle, sheep, the three kings, angels, I am immediately told that those are figures, called Pastori give rise to a theatrical scene, the Presepe, or nativity scene or crib, with lights and music as main religious symbol of the Neapolitan Christmas.

I am also told by my friends that the construction of Neapolitan crib traditionally begins the eight in December from storage pulling out the “basis” of the previous year (a skeleton cork and cardboard resting on a wooden table, without pastors and various decorations) and the possible enlargement like adding the wood oven or ruscelletto (small river) with water and a few more sheep in the flock is discussed in the family and with children.

The story focuses on the birth of Christ, recalling the events of some evangelical and pastoral-bucolic images. With its origin back in the Middle Age as a handicrafts and a folk tradition it is only in the Baroque age that it acquired a form of high artistic expression developing an interest in addition to the religious symbols (Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, Sacred Child Jesus) the small and middle class, everyday life and the agricultural or Pastoral world. A remarkable example is the Presepe Cuciniello (Cuciniello’s crib), which consists of 162 people, 80 animals, 28 angels, and about 450 miniature items, and considered among the finest nativity scenes in the world is exhibited in the San Martino Museum in Naples.

Suddenly, it’s not difficult to realize, watching the magnificent presepi exhibited in the first floor of number 55 of San Gregorio Armenio, at the famous 1836 leading master craftsman Giuseppe Ferrigno shop and son that the Neapolitan crib becomes the representation of the place where both in the eighteen hundred to our days the sacred and profane, spirituality and daily life, prayer and irony live together in a city of contradictions.

Marco Ferrigno, Giuseppe ’s son explains while offering the best brown foamed expresso ever that the faces of the Pastori are made in polychrome terracotta, the eyes in crystal, their hands hand crafted in wood, the costume fabrics sourced in antique shops and auctions throughout the year are made from old silk factory San Leucio and embroidered in the Italian city of Modena in the manner of renaissance Turkish sultans. The family starts working on February to produce

The expressions, like the one of Carmela (one of Marco’s favorites, he likes her hair, ) is taken after a pictures of a lady neighbor that lives next door with that name, every year apart those who are the traditional characters like Quasimodo, Procida and Caprese, the personification of a new personaggio (Character) from a real person is introduced to the superbe family collection of presepi as to keep the tradition alive.

I realize that the shops offer such a vast variety of products that it is impossible to keep them on track with my camera. Whatever the subject, the statue of an animal, basket of fruit, a port fish, a mill will enrich the choreographed set of presepe-palcoscenico (crib -set) and clearly my sharp and attentive lens.

I can easily sense an atmosphere of agitating rush around me while I walk haunted by those terracotta figures, having the impression that they are all intensely staring at me and dramatically wandering why I haven’t yet picked them up yet to placed them in my crib…. Even being a Jewish girl I am aware that everything must be ready by tomorrow evening.

Joelle’s Piks:

The stores:

Giuseppe e Marco Ferrigno: Via San Gregorio Armeno,n 8/10/55, Napoli, to order in adavance their products, please call the following number: +39081 / 552 31 48. Delivery could be as early as two weeks, and depending on the Character, a year. Average price 700 Euros per 56 cms figure. www.atreferrigno.it

Arte del Pastore e del Presepe: Via San Gregorio Armeno , 6/7 – Napoli. Tel/Fax 39 081 55 16 221. Here you can find more affordable naitivity figures and order directly on line on categories and finishes, Concetta de store owner will ship directly worldwide upon availability. www.artedelpastore.com

The permanent exhibitions:

Complesso Museale di Santa Chiara : Santa Chiara Eighteen Hundred Nativity Scene at their Chiostro, absolutely magnificent!
via Santa Chiara, 49c
80134 – Napoli
tel +39 081.195.759.15
fax +39 081.195.758.59

Museo Nazionale di San Martino

Cucciniello ’s crib.

Museo di San Martino Largo San Martino, 5
80129 – Napoli
Tel.e Fax: 0039.081.5781769; 081.2294498

Arte Presepiale Naploetana Natale 2007 ( seasonal)

Piazza della Chiesa del Gesu Nuovo ( see photo gallery in last post) tel 39 33 93 61 98 02

Readings : The Metropolitan Annual Neapolitan Christmas Crib

You may have noticed that I haven’t posted these past few days — I feel guilty but the wait will be worth it…

I’ve been visiting Naples for the past few days. I am totally overwhelmed by all the holiday lunches and dinners, Christmas concerts, rich Presepi, crucifixes, antique markets, old churches, hand-crafted nativity figurines, internal cloisters, hyper-caloric delicious traditional pastries and delicacies, gifts, fish night markets, and the unusual frigid temperatures that have migrated from Siberia. There’s snow on top of the city’s volcano, the Vesuvius.

Every time I start to write, something always comes up and brings me back to the scooter over the lungomare. At the moment, I am organizing some wonderfully new material and will post shortly once I’ve edited the enormous amount of pictures that I have taken during these festive days.

In the meantime, I wish all of you a very happy holiday and a glorious New Year. Here’s to lifestyling with Joelle in the New Year.

“The absence of ornament is a proof of spiritual power“ – Adolf Loos, 1908

It’s the Saturday morning before Christmas in Naples, and like everyone else that lives in this city, the think to do is to stroll around the stylish Piazza dei Martiri high-end antique stores and boutiques with the most fashionable and intimate wood-paneled grand haunt la Caffettiera, as the final destination for the aperitivo with friends.

It’s very cold but sunny. While my friends order a glass of Lacrima Cristi (Christ’s tear), a local wine produced in the foothills of Vesuvius, I see in front of me an interesting n 23A panel with an arrow leading to an interesting door.

I cross the street and seduced by a white architectural space , I discover the recently inaugurated showroom Deimartiri 23, an oasis in the heart of a city of tradition a mecca for those who search a new concept for contemporary living.

The showroom carries the signature of architect Graziano Nora together with the team of experts Lorenzo del Regno e Grano Design & Partners. The concept basically integrates the-store- client- city relationship, where the client itself experiences the idea of an interactive and live loft in the heart of its own city where he has the opportunity to experiments different vanguard materials, furniture, surfaces and ideas, and if we wish to dare why don’t we say this could be possible from any city in the world?

From the entrance staircase illuminated by Viabizzuno light designers leading to the living room filled with very large and comfortable divans by Ivano Redaelli, Kitchen and dining room all in one massive dark grey block called Terra from very prestigious Italian house Minotti and a Kos whirlpool bath emerging majestically from a circular opening on the floor.

I am suddenly caught by continuously projected blue images on a white wall from an extremely sophisticated video installation- “the latest innovations proposed by the store,” I am told by a charismatic Pre- Raphaelite long haired Rosanna one of the two trendy architects in the show-room that take care of the store clients projects.

White surfaces in majority associate themselves with touches of neutral greys, chocolate and black of the home accessories and accents among other signed by designer Diego Granese and the eclectic 1970 reproduction of the Fiocco armchair created by prestigious gruppo Industriale Busnelli and permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Two hundred and fifty urban square meters where fabrics , teak wood and furniture, wall mosaics from Sicis , bathroom fixtures and complements by notorious house of design Toscoquattro,
fragrances, latest fabrics and carpet samples , are elegantly exhibited in an a soft, ultimate custom- made and almost sensorial atmosphere where what you want is just cocoon and experiment the wide and interesting varieties of purchasable refined possibilities to what could be you true and personal home need.

Sergio, the other architect responsible for most of oversea projects and working for the Moselli brothers owners of the store part of the MMM Group is trying to tell me that someone’s looking for me at the front store entrance door, apparently a waiter came and kindly brought my forgotten Christ’s Tear at la Cafettiera….

Maybe I could sip the gods’s tear while I dream of a new dream home for me around this city.

Joelle’s Picks:

The Store: You can bring your own home plan and the team of architects will take care of the projects for you.

Dei Martiri 23A ” gruppo MMM” piazza dei Martiri, 23A, Napoli. Tel +39 081 240 0594 /Fax + 39. 081. 240 05 94
The Cafe: Gran Caffe La Caffettiera, at 30 Piazza dei Martiri.