LuminosityItalia

By Mariella Radaelli LuminosityItalia To the discerning, Italy is not only a boot, but also a luxury shoe. Today the country produces 30 percent of the finest shoes in the world, with brands well-known to the well-heeled and some that have become famous as the preferred choice of the renowned and even infamous. Tycoons, presidents and stars often strut their stuff in Italian shoes, finding talking common points over which Italian footwear maestro is truly the best. But in some ways the modern Italian shoemaking tradition did start with a boot. After Napoleon’s forces captured Milan in 1796, the little general needed his cavalry boots replaced. Napoleon was so happy with boots made by Milanese craftsman Anselmo Ronchetti that he was named the emperor's official shoemaker. Napoleon is said to have ordered a new pair from highly regarded Milanese shoemaker Anselmo Ronchetti, who measured the French emperor’s foot at a glance and 48 hours later delivered a brand new pair...

By Jon Van Housen and Mariella Radaelli The Cave Bianche: A suggestive eco-design  hotel  that  brings harmony, a sense of serenity and  peacefulness  to guests. LuminosityItalia Italy has long been renowned for its miracles in stone. From Roman amphitheaters and aqueducts to Michelangelo’s David, the people from this mountainous land have produced creations that made history. The Latins converted the untamed into cultivated spaces, laying claim to new territories.“Urbem latericium invenit, marmoreal reliquit,” Emperor Augustus stated proudly, meaning that he found a Rome of bricks and left behind a city marble. Stone is masterfully integrated into Italian culture, shown to perfection in the pietra d’Istria Orsera that provides 80 percent of the pavement and decor of Venice, including the Ponte dei Sospiri. But is not only the past that yields wonders of stonework. Today a host of artists, architects and artisans continue to find expression in the n...