Dolce & Gabbana x Magnum

For Magnum's 25th anniversary Dolce & Gabbana have created a Sicilian themed ice cream bar; vanilla ice cream with dark chocolate bits and crushed pistachios, covered in white chocolate. I want it to come to New Zealand so bad! They should also make a cassata flavoured one.

San Pellegrino

San Pellegrino is exported all over the world from Italy. The company was founded in 1899, but it wasn't until 1932 that Enzio Granelli first mixed orange juice with the famous sparkling water; creating the aranciata. In the same year, the new flavoured San Pellegrino drinks were launched in their now famous clavetta glass bottles, with a rounded base and glass which imitated the lightly textured peel of oranges. A popular variation of the drink is gassosa e vino, a combination of lemon San Pellegrino and red wine. Delicious! After trying spritzers with both white and red wine recently, and thoroughly enjoying it, I will have to track down some San Pellegrino in New Zealand and try this out too.

Fiat 500 Sofa

Lapo Elkann has designed the Fiat 500 Panorama sofa for Meritalia. Inspired by the original 1970's Fiat 500, the sofa is available in an assortment of colours. The pastel blue and pink are my favourites.

 

Campari

Campari, a bitters, was invented in 1860 by Gaspare Campari in Novara, Italia, who dyed it with carmine from crushed cochineal insects. Sesto San Giovanni saw the first production plant of the drink in 1904, and Gaspare's son, Davide Campari, began to export the drink overseas. Campari is an alcoholic aperitif made from herbs and fruit such as chinotto and cascarilla, infused in alcohol and water. Mixed with soda, wine, or citrus juice, it is used in cocktails

 

Campari Soda is a popular drink in Italy, with a distinctive bottle designed by Futurist artist Fortunato Depero. Depero had initially stated he would reinvent the whole universe, but, needless to say, he is yet to have achieved this. The iconic Campari Soda was first launched in 1932 in a cone-shaped bottle like an upturned drinking glass. Campari Soda is product that mixes Campari with soda, and has a 10% alcohol level.

For the 80th anniversary of Campari Soda earlier this year, Matteo Ragni, an architect and designer from Milano, redesigned the cone-shaped bottle, a contemporary tribute to the original.

 

Fortunato Depero's original sketch for the bottle design

 

Matteo Regni's sketch for the 80th anniversary bottle design

500 by Gucci

One of my all time favourite cars is one of the most well-designed small cars ever to be made, the Fiat 500. Last year, for the 150th anniversary of Italy and the 90th anniversary of the fashion house Gucci, Fiat collaborated with the fashion company to create an elegant edition of the Fiat 500, which was first brought onto the market in the 1950's. The design of '500 by Gucci' was inspired by monochromatic films, and will be available in white and black only; along with the green and red detailing of Gucci, the former features chrome plating and a white interior, while the latter will have satin elements and an interior of black and ivory. Creative director Frida Gianinni says of the collaboration, 'When the Fiat 500 first hit the road in the fifties it created a style revolution. Gucci's history has always been about travelling in style so when this collaboration came up, it struck me as the perfect opportunity to create a new modern travel statement.' With the popularity of the 500 by Gucci, the 500C by Gucci was created, a cabriolet version with a convertible soft-top.

 

Montblanc Pinocchio

Montblanc has designed this beautiful limited edition pen in celebration of the Italian writer Carlo Collodi's famous character, Pinocchio.

Olympics

Italy has hosted three of the modern Olympic Games. In 1956 they held the Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, in 1960 the Summer Olympics in Rome, and in 2006 the Winter Olympics in Torino.

Fabergé

Google pays tribute to the legacy of Fabergé today on his 166th birthday. I first came across the beautiful Fabergé eggs when I was about seven, in my history phase. I would find books and videos about the Titanic disaster, the World Wars, the Ancient Roman civilisation, and many other events; but one the things I loved to research most was royalty. Marie Antoinette, Queen Victoria, and Cleopatra were a few of my favourites, and Anastasia. 

Fabergé eggs were created by a Russian jeweller named Peter Carl Fabergé, inspired by Easter eggs, but made with gold and precious jewels; valued for their intricate detail as opposed to carat weightage. Peter Carl Fabergé inherited his father Gustav's jewellery firm House of Fabergé in 1870, when he was only twenty-four. Although the company had been founded in 1842, it wasn't until Peter took over that it became famous. He designed for an elite and aristocratic clientele including the Tsar and the Imperial Court of Russia, Anastasia's family.

The first Fabergé egg was commissioned in 1885 by Tsar Alexander III as a gift to his wife, Empress Maria Fedorovna. So impressed by the delicacy and craftsmanship of the creation, the royal family continued to commission a Fabergé egg every Easter, each containing a mysterious and elaborate surprise. And Peter Carl Fabergé was named ‘Goldsmith by special appointment to the Imperial Crown’. After the passing of Alexander III, his son continued the tradition, gifting Fabergé eggs to his mother now the Dowager Empress, and to his wife, Empress Alexandra Fedorovna.

Ferrari F12Berlinetta

Last week Ferrari revealed its newest, fastest road car yet; the F12Berlinetta. I don't know anything at all about cars, but I love the sophisticated design of Ferrari. Cars are fascinating to look at purely in terms of form and shape.

Luminarie De Cagna at the Light Festival Ghent 2012

Luminarie De Cagna is an Italian family business that began in 1930. In those days, they would illuminate buildings and town squares with oil and carbide lamps, soon making the change to electric lights. From 2006, the company has used only LEDs, joined together to make large curtains of light, blanketing buildings or other objects. For the Light Festival Ghent 2012, Luminarie De Cagna is occupying Belfortstraat in Ghent, Belgium, with a giant colonnade made of wood and hundreds of thousands of coloured lights, with arches reminiscent of Romanesque and Renaissance architecture, with an entrance of 28 meters high. And for those concerned about wasting of energy, these 55, 000 LED lights consume only 20Kw/h of electricity. Impressive and enchanting even in photographs, I can only imagine how mesmerizing this would be in real life. 

Santa Maria Novella

In 1221, in Firenze, Florentine Dominican monks began an infirmary that has now evolved into a world famous perfumery and beauty brand. The monks based in Santa Maria Novella, grew herbs to make medicines, and by the mid-16th Century, they were selling perfumes and lotions to the public. They also created a perfume for Caterina de Medici, the Queen of France who had been born in Florence. The brand Santa Maria Novella has spread in popularity and remains one of the oldest and most well established perfumeries in the world. The packaging design is so classic and elegant, I wish I had known of the brand when I visited Florence, I would have visited the store.

Via del Paradiso

The design and architecture of Italy is amazing; even the street signs are beautiful, so different to the bright blue and green metal ones we have here in New Zealand. I photographed this one in Roma. One day when I go back to Italy I'll have to spend more time photographing the little details; last time I was so overwhelmed I photographed mainly art and architecture and regrettably forgot about the streets and the people.

Nutella

The Nutella Euro 2008 edition, developed by Ferrero and O-I.