The Italian

I watched this Russian film, The Italian, back in November 2010. Directed by Andrei Kravchuk, it stars Kolya Spiridonov as Vanya Solntsev. Based on the true story of a small boy, it tells the tale of his life in an orphanage and his mission to find his birth mother. Heart-wrenchingly sad in some parts and beautifully hopeful in others, The Italian is a wonderful film.

‘The film opens in a Dickensian orphanage in Russia, a fascinating miniature world presided over by a hierarchy of orphans. The daily routine is broken when “Madam” arrives to introduce a loving Italian couple hoping to adopt a child. The object of their interest is six year old Vanya, a handsome, bright-eyed little boy to whom the couple takes an instant liking. Everyone is envious of Vanya, for the adoption by the Italians will take him away from the harsh conditions of the orphanage and into a serene life under the Mediterranean sun. But when the mother of another orphan comes to reclaim her son, Vanya starts to have doubts and becomes determined to learn whether or not his own birth mother is out there. Willing to do whatever it takes to find her, he embarks on a heroic and dangerous quest that will take him into the heart of the country.’

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.