POST ON YOUR DREAMBOARD
New Year’s Eve in Italy? Perché no? Let’s imagine ourselves in Venice — at Palazzo Papadopoli, the building that houses the luxury Aman Venice hotel on the Grand Canal, to be precise. Originally built in 1550, this palazzo is home to one of the most gorgeous dining rooms in all the land. (So gorgeous, in fact, that George Clooney held his wedding here.) On New Year’s Eve, they host a decadent fête with dinner starting at 7pm, and just before midnight they whisk you away in their private boats to watch the Venetian fireworks out on the water. That light feeling that overtakes you afterwards? Chalk it up to the bubbly, the fireworks… or there being €600 less in your wallet. You can already make reservations for next year at Aman. And please send me a photo!
MANGIAMO
In December you’ll see panettone stacked from tiles to tetto in pretty much every alimentari in Italy. I adore all the intricate ways they package this holiday sweet bread — I shared a bunch on our Instagram stories (you can follow us here). One very special social cooperative caught my eye. There is a pasticceria inside of a prison in Padova that has had great success in reducing the re-offending rate among released prisoners (down to 2% from the national average of over 50%). I believe in voting with my dollars, so I try to spend my money where I can do good. Next year, if you have Christmas shopping to do, consider buying from their beautiful online shop. Panettone always makes such a unique gift and I’ve been giving it to loved ones for 15 years. In my house, we always buy a dozen or so and distribute them amongst friends we may see during the holidays. Bringing peace, love and panettone to people near and far is one of my go-to life hacks, learned from my life in Italy. If this (or anything from this newsletter!) inspires you, I encourage you to bookmark it (and please forward our email to friends!).
WHAT WE’RE LOVING RIGHT NOW
Sleeping. Lots of it. I’m one of a bazillion working mothers that doesn’t get enough, so I love me some good sheets to tempt me back to bed. What am I vibing on right now? The Elba Bedding Collection from Mascioni, an Italian company with artisan-style production. When we’re in Lecce, I take my clients to Society so that we can all buy their stupid-expensive Italian-made linens that are *almost* at the top of our list when it comes to swoon-worthy bedfellows
WISH WE WERE HERE
This is on one of our trips in the Cinque Terre, dining at a friend’s private villa. Cheers to that. May 2022 bring you new experiences and adventures (the kind you choose to have).
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With love + panettone
Bianca
