La Dolce Vita
by Elena Chen
A while back, and now I suppose it is quite a while back now, I was dating an Italian young man (not exactly quite so young anymore) who was an adventurer and traveler of sorts. I would ultimately label that as an unsuccessful venture but I did get some amazing memories and photographs out of it. Many other souvenirs that I would do better to forget but I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice then and I doubt I do now. Italy is beautiful, magnificent even, and since that first Italian boyfriend I have been on close to ten trips in the country. I dated another Italian person after the first but that’s neither here nor there.
Strangely, only five months after moving to Paris, our friends from Los Angeles also moved to Bologna. After waiting the appropriate two months for them to settle in, we happily booked our tickets to crash at their newly decorated abode. Close to 50 year old marble laid out in mosaic, three bedrooms, one study, two tiled bathrooms befitted with bidets and then some kitchen was what welcomed us. And their rent was lower than that of our one bed in Paris. I am not complaining (just yet) but there were certainly awes and sighs of admiration and envy as we toured the apartment for the first time.
The tiles in that bathroom were truly something else.
Why is it that beautiful things move me so much?
Sometimes I really wish I wasn’t so beguiled by superficiality but it is like a temptress that I cannot help but see when she beckons. Apparently I took 397 photos on my phone during my six day trip in Italy. I didn’t expect to want to document it so much. But I was finding beautiful and aesthetic corners in every city we visited.
In Bologna, these earthy yellow and brick tones that is so present in certain parts of italy were bringing back all sorts of memories traveling there.
There is this back to your roots sensation when just surrounded by hues of dirt and sand.
These trees reminded me of the Mediterranean cypress dotted all across Tuscany.
This was right beside a piazza, where we were taking a stroll. We happened across this shop that had an entire wall of pastel enamel cookware.
Perhaps this newfound appreciation of Italy also comes with the newfound appreciation I have for myself. The last few times I had been in Italy I was a smaller, more afraid, more untouched version of myself. Now, I know so much better what I look for in a trip. I know that pastel enamel cookware will bring me joy. I know that being able to browse and admire a city on foot is something that really adds to my experience in it. But mostly, keeping better company has made all the difference.
People being so well-dressed, this was something as well. Bologna, having one of the oldest universities in the world, the University of Bologna, was filled with young minds who were also blessed with goods made with Italian craftsmanship.
Food in Bologna: Roast Beef Carpaccio, Housemade Spritz, Focaccia topped with Brie & Prosciutto, Crispy Prosciutto Seasonal Salad.
At Berberè where we went two times and both times I had the best pizza of my life. This one is the ‘NDUJA E BURRATA made from Apulian burrata, Spilinga 'nduja, fiordilatte, confit datterini tomatoes, and basil.
After spending four days with our friends we made a pit stop at Florence by train before going to Pisa where we had our Airbnb and where we would take our flight back to Paris.
Florence, which I had already visited in the past, did not disappoint with its culture despite the number of tourists there.
This display next to a tile shop exhibited so casually next to an array of house plants and their respective watering can in a shamrock color. This is what I felt like I was seeing all over Italy: A casual harmony that rendered things beautiful. Their food, their streets, their placements of balconies and their tile displays.
Age and weathering only makes the vintage look stand out more and its desirability increase.
At the same restaurant where they really got the decor right, we had one of the best meals during our trip, a Florentine experience through and through. It was at Il Vivandiere - Cantina Vinicola for lunch and we got their housemade meatballs, ribs, pasta bolognese (amazing) and I do believe that was a warm appetizer with toasted cheese and walnuts though the name of the dish has escaped me. We also got a giant glass of wine (this was just their serving size) and a “side” of potatoes. Perfetto. I would probably skip the ribs if I go again since they were good but not amazing.
Just opposite from Il Vivandiere, the sense of design, the tonality, the choice of lampshade, the arch of the lamp stand, brass door handle… and another fashionable person in Florence.
I want to curate a small selection of objects and interiors that I found particularly interesting this trip. Wood seems to be a material that adds something natural to the design of things that I have seen around very much in Paris or in Los Angeles, and I miss it. In Italy it seems ubiquitous.
The garden at the Airbnb in Pisa was basically a villa.
Italy is just so Pinterest worthy. What makes something worthy like that I don’t know. I have not been able to qualify that quality. I think it’s a sort of respect for what’s showcased in the image. The colors, lines, objects, details, light all come together to best illustrate something beautiful. It can be minimalist or extravagant but what it must always do is make you feel like something is beautiful.
I had set out on this trip to try and change my impression of Italy. I didn’t think I needed that opinion changed but your mind tells your mind what it wants it to believe. It’s true that Italy is one of the first places I traveled to without my family, as a “proper” adult. I experienced overt racism for the first time there. I got my heart broken there, mended, inspired, and filled. Then I spent many years feeling lost and unsure, hopscotching between careers and countries until I finally found some sense of belonging again.
I first went to Italy as an unknowing palette waiting to be imprinted upon. Now I’ve developed my own tastes, I have my own schema with which I look at the world, and I own ideas about where I want to be headed in the future. I hope everyone gets to visit it one day. She’s one of those countries that exude a natural elegance.
