Valentina

Swimming Pool or Lagoon? | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

22 Jul 2014 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BackyardDesign, #GardenLighting, #LagoonDesign, #SwinmmingPoolDesign, #ValentinaCirasolaOnPinterest, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns, http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/containers

At this time of the year, with the summer heat in full bloom, the only container I can think of is a pool in the garden containing a large body of cool, blue-green water where I can refresh my brain with a simple dip.

A “Swimming Pool” is a structure, basin, or tank which is intended for swimming, diving, or recreational bathing which contains water more than 24 inches deep at any point. This is roughly the description given in the book of building codes. Before December 14, 2006 building a swimming pool was fun and free of constrictions, until one-day things changed to complicate our lives.

Now every swimming pool installed, built or substantially modified after that date, must be equipped with one or more approved pool alarm which are capable of detecting a person entering the water at any point on the surface of the pool. The alarm must be audible at the poolside and other locations on the premises where the swimming pool is located, unless the swimming pool is equipped with an automatic power safety cover, then the alarm is not required.

A barrier of at least 4 feet high completely surrounding the swimming pool and obstructing access to the swimming pool is the next most important rule to know when building a swimming pool. Rules don’t stop here, we have been gifted with many more, but these are the two most important rules that will protect the homeowner if a group of strangers decides to jump the fence, take a dip in the pool while the homeowner is gone, act stupid and one of then drowns. Raising fences around the pool gives a sense of double seclusion more than the first fence built around the perimeter of the house and if you ask me is an unattractive feature. However, since the only thing we can do is to respect the rules, matter as well create something attractive and easy on the eye.

Just remember, if you are adding a swimming pool to increase value of your property, stop right there. The next buyers might not share your same interest in the pool and perhaps are looking to get a huge backyard for growing food instead. You never know. If you are building for your own pleasure, do it.

New Swimming Pool Concept

View of Pool Gate From Kitchen

Exterior Façade Concept Drawings

Nick Rickert – unsplash

A few years ago I created a set of drawings for remodeling the exterior of my client’s home. The remodeling was mostly aimed to have an attractive swimming pool for entertainment right outside the kitchen. In my concept drawings there was just about everything the client wanted. My list might help someone reading me in this moment in building their own pool space.

1. Next-door neighbors was curious about the affairs of others and looked in my clients’ back yard to find his own amusement. Tall trees would block the curious neighbors and at night the in-ground lights would not make the trees a dark presence.
2. During the day a livable stoned terrace area would provide a secluded area for sunbathing, reading, relaxing. At night, warm LED light would highlight the terrace area creating a cozy ambient where friends would sit comfortably on cushions, converse and sip a cool drink while the illuminated pool would be the centerpiece.
3. I planned for solar panel to warm up the pool water when needed.
4. Marine sails over the lounge area offer a good amount of shade.
5. The space was large enough for plenty lounge chairs aligned all around the pool.
6. Planning an illuminated swimming pool complements the house and adds safety. I even planned an island of flowers protruding on the water and stairs to help kids get in the pool.
7. Of course I planned an attractive tall fence all the way around the pool.

This is what the client wanted and received. This project in the Tuscan style was developed on-line and I never got to see the finished project. I am always happy to follow the client’s desire and dreams, that is what a designer should do, but if I ought to make a swimming pool for myself I would opt for a lagoon, with large rocks, water fall, tall trees and illuminated lush vegetation, much like the photo of a lagoon I posted here, without being open to the sea. Ah, let’s not forget the music! Good food, cool drinks and fun friends will follow. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been in business as a designer since 1990. She has helped a variegated group of fun people realizing their dreams with homes, offices, interiors and exteriors. She is a designer well-known to bring originality to people’s homes. As an Italian designer and true to her origins, she provides only the best workmanship and design solutions. Author of three books all-available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Hold On To The Light | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

11 Jul 2014 6 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #DoorDesign, #illuminatedDoorKnobs, #LEDDoorKnobs, #ValentinaCirasolaOnPinterest, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns, #WaveCrystalDoorKnobSet, HomeAccessories

Creativity is a beautiful thing especially when the result is spectacular!
Krystal Touch of New York introduces the Wave Crystal Door Knob Set. A superior quality crystal makes this fantastic doorknob set, which illuminates with the touch, stays illuminated for one minute and then goes off, until touched again. If in your home there is a dark corridor, or a dark closet, this doorknob will keep you in the light. LED light illuminates one side or both sides of the knob and fits standard doors thickness of 1-3/8″ to 1-3/4″. Guarantee for a life, the price is very affordable, these knobs make great solutions for a home with character.

Wave

Basket Ball

Golf Ball – Brand Name: JHK

Glow in the dark-Found on: thegreenhead.com

Emtek Levers

Find some more fun door knob here https://www.trendhunter.com/slideshow/innovative-doorknobs

Emtek combines functionality, design, and fun all in one with its collection of Brighthandle, made of acrylic levers and stainless steel. Perfect for public restrooms and hotels, when the room is occupied the levers illuminates with LED lighting powered by a single AA battery. No need to put the Do Not Disturb sign against the door anymore. These levers are more expansive than the illuminated doorknobs, about $250 per door set. It is fairly a new product and like all the new products, the price will come down with a larger market demand.

One small suggestion: if you have arthritis, problems with joints or difficulties in doing turning motion, it is best to use the wrist blade door handles and faucets levers. Ciao, Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola transforms and creates spaces realizing people’s dreams in homes, offices, interiors and exteriors. She infuses your everyday living with a certain luxury without taking away a comfortable living.  She offers design consultations on-line through Skype and the traditional in-house consultations, helping people with their design challenge any where in the world. She is the author of three books, all-available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Something Up The Sleeve | Valentina Cirasola |Designer

28 Jun 2014 2 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #GianfrancoNicastriPuglia, #GianfrancoNicatriFashion, #InteractiveFashionArt, #ItalianFashion, #PugliaTravel, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

Today has been a day dedicated to the beaux-arts and creative arts. We are approaching the studio of an inventor of Interactive Fashion Art. I was told it will astound us when we get to see what it is. The designer in person greets us at the door. His studio seems very industrial, but he doesn’t, he is fashionable and well polished. The door is sticking and the wind blows it open a few times. This going back a forth to close the door is giving me a little more time to observe his gestures. He is a smoker and very coquettish in his movements. After a brief introduction, I got him to talk about his invention, as matter of fact, he is wearing it. He is Gianfranco Nicastri.

His invention consists in a removable card 2” x 1″ of painted art taken from a canvas insert inside the wrist cuff of a shirt. Basically, a canvas has a few slits here and there where a 2” card is inserted. Both the card and underneath the card area are painted twice with the same details. When one card is removed the canvas area underneath is fully painted and doesn’t look bare naked. The painted card is then inserted into the opening of the shirt’s cuff fabricated with an open frame made just for this purpose. Only one wrist cuff of the shirt hosts a painted card. Women and men’s shirts carry this detail.

Painting on Canvas with Interactive Art

Shirt Cuff with Interactive Art

Woman’s Purse with Interactive Art

Upholstered Chair with Interactive Art

Gianfranco Nicastri – Inventor

At first I thought the system is a bit fussy, taking the card out of the painting and putting in the shirt, then one must remember to take the card out of the shirt again before taking it to the dry cleaner. Will people remember to do all that in this busy life we live? Then I remember we are in the south of Italy, people here know how not to get stressed out. Like all the new things it takes time to digest it. However more I looked at it, more I liked it. It is different, snazzy and why not wearing a piece of real painted art?! The shirts with the insertable cards sell on Gianfranco Nicastri’s site – www.nartist.it

Women purses with this technology apparently are being snapped up, he can’t produce them enough and jeans are still being perfected. Gianfranco has adopted the system of Interactive Fashion Art on upholstered chairs with arms and it looks so artsy. The insertable card is larger, almost as if the entire painting is done directly on the piece of furniture. Hopefully, we will see these inventions all over the world, as it seems they are already going. Traveling is the only thing you buy that makes you rich and we are learning so much on this trip. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

I am writing a travel diary of my last trip to Puglia with an American group and sharing with all of you my notes of feelings, observations, food-wine tasting and experiences that have changed the life of people traveling with me. The trips I organize are made for people who want to live it up in Puglia! Check out my books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Room | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

11 Jun 2014 4 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #DecoratingTips, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns, #WordPressPhotChallengeRoom, https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/room, Room

This week the photo challenge is about the word ROOM – https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/room

Rooms used to be grand and heavily decorated. Often we had to traverse many rooms before we could get to the right room, the destination for a specific activity, sleeping, eating, bathing, reading or gathering. In today’s world, rooms are built as small as possible to save on ground space, to fit more homes or apartments in one same borough.

Often people consider rooms as containers of stuff, without giving much thought to decorating. Once a room is filled with their possessions, it will serve their lives and that will be it.

Client’s kitchen looking into dining ©Valentina Interiors & Designs

Client’s dining looking into living

Mural outside my studio

Living-Dining rooms

(All photos belong to ©Valentina Interiors & Designs)

My ideal room must have plenty natural light from windows and skylights, if possible, must be spacious with a beautiful floor, must have some wall details such as niches and when I lay on the floor, I want to look up and see exposed beams, a mansard ceiling, or a stylish ceiling that will help me fantasize. After these architectural features important to me, the next thing I like is to have a balanced décor.

I like to open a door of a room and find a view on the opposite wall of the next room, a pleasant something to look at instead of staring a blank wall; a pleasant something that will accompany me when going from one room to the other; a pleasant something that will turn every wall in a gallery show. A room that overlooks another view is no longer a four-wall room. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Bread In Style | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

27 May 2014 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ItalianBreadShop, #ItalianFashion, #ItalianFood, #KitchenApron, #PatriziaPerroneBreadShop, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor

You would think that if you go to a bread shop is to buy bread and a few other treats available in the shop, but in Italy people want to find style and colors with bread. The shop must be packed with flavors, aromas, inviting atmosphere and fashion. “L’occhio vuole la sua parte” as we say in Italian, basically we eat with the eyes first and if the owner of the shop is well dressed with harmonious clothes and appearance is well put together, the bread products sell even better. This is the case of Patrizia Perrone, owner of Panificio Perrone – Forno di Gennaro, in Matera, Italy. Her newly remodeled shop designed by Italian architect Antonio Di Benedetto at KA Lab is modern and very stylish with a back room for casual eating looking to an open view in the production, because there is nothing to hide when products are made with naturals ingredients.

Patrizia Perrone in her bread shop Oven of Gennaro

Patrizia Perrone with her bread stamp

Patrizia Perrone apron front side

Patrizia Perrone apron back side

Night production of sweets

La Pannarella

All her products sit on shelves with a suffuse lighting and the bread behind the counter is displayed in an appetizing way. The apron Patrizia wore intrigued me and pushed me to interview her. She started by saying that her company logo is a bread shaped as a woman representing the women running her company. In ancient time only women made breads, but since home stove had not been invented yet, the women took their bread dough to a public oven to have it cooked. A wood stamp with the initial of the head of each family distinguished one bread from another. Artisans carved those wood stamps for breads and in Matera there are still a few artisans continuing the tradition. In Patrizia’s case her breads are stamped with the letter “P” after her first and last name: Patrizia Perrone. The production in the back of the store is highly organized with modern machines programmed to produce breads, focaccia, biscotti and other sweets with ancient formulas everyone is still demanding.

Her apron is not a common kitchen apron, it is asymmetrical cut at the bottom right; in the back three stripes, one on the right shoulder, one in diagonal on the left shoulder and one in the waist hold the apron together. The white scarf on her head is an old tradition, a form of respect for food, she told me. Before women attempted to work on the dough for bread, cookies or pasta, they closed the hair in a scarf to keep food making hygienically clean. Her natural, earth tones make up is in tune with her natural products and emphasizes her open, glowing beautiful face, framed with a pair of earrings I am sure heritage of her grandmother, a sign that everything here is a tradition and well tied to the territory.

In an Italian bread shop, a visitor notices many things: bread is stylishly shaped, because we eat it everyday, thus must look good on our table; the bread shop must be stylish, otherwise people don’t feel invited to walk in, food sold in the store must be stylishly packaged and fashion…..well in Italy is a must even when selling bread. Italian style is about feeling good, look good and give pleasure to others. Patrizia by keeping alive the traditions of our land gave me a great pleasure when I saw the Pannarella my grandmother made sold in her store. The description next to the product says Pannarella is like a canvas to color. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-to-puglia-2

I am writing a travel diary of my last trip to Puglia with an American group and sharing with all of you my notes of feelings, observations, food-wine tasting and experiences that have changed the life of people traveling with me. The trips I organize are made for people who want to live it up in Puglia! Find Valentina’s books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Courtyard Of Courtship | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

30 Apr 2014 4 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #EnclosedGardens, #ItalianCourtyard, #ItalianLifeStyle, #RedVoyageIntoColors, Courtyard, Peristilio

Walking along the small alleyways of Polignano a Mare in my beloved Puglia, a good aroma of home cooked food filled my nose. The salty air of the Mediterranean mixed with the food aroma coming from people’s houses permeated the air and created an aura of antiquity, that midday feeling when works stops to give way to daily meal with family and nothing else matters.

I was visiting my country at that time and I was walking the streets of Polignano with all my childhood friends who are ready to pick up our friendship where we left off, as if no years have passed by and no oceans divide us.
I pushed open the large green metal patina door of the house where the food aroma was coming out and a beautiful courtyard revealed in front of my eyes. Tall and short plants concealed colorful seating areas, cherubs in the fountains looked happy to play with the water, flowers everywhere, distressed walls, consumed floor and clean laundry were in all in one space open to the sky.

On the second floor, the mama was leaning on the balcony, visibly curious to see what a group of strangers were doing in her courtyard. To relieve her inconvenience of having strangers in her court, I soon asked her what she was cooking and why it smelled so good. She replied that the aroma I thought was so fantastic was nothing more than simple pasta and beans with pork bones. She invited all 10 of us to eat with her family and after a few minutes of reluctance, we were delighted to accept the invitation. The lunch lasted a good 3 hours, during which time she took out her best home-made wines and the best food preserved for the winter. It was a feast with people with had not known before that moment and became our best friend.

California courtyard – Photo taken with permission

California courtyard

A courtyard is not a backyard, nor a front porch, it is a private open spaces surrounded by walls used in residential architecture for as long as people have lived in constructed dwellings. In Roman villas the Peristilio was a courtyard used to give more light and aeration to the dwelling, often enclosing a swimming pool, or fountains to give out a pleasant atmosphere with games of water. In the Middle Eastern countries and as far as 3000 B.C., courtyards have been used for many purposes including cooking, sleeping, working, playing, gardening, and even places to keep animals.

In the Renaissance Italy the courts with portico and colonnades returned in all the classic elements, even monasteries and public buildings adopted the style. In Italy there are beautiful examples of public buildings with a court: Brunelleschi’s Palazzo Busini-Bardi (1430), Palazzo Strozzi and Palazzo Pitti (late 1500) in Florence, Palazzo Venezia (1470) and Palazzo Farnese in Rome and Palazzo Ducale (1470) in Urbino.

Courtship often took place in the courtyard of private homes under the watchful eye of the family, but mostly courtyards filled the universal desires of human beings to have air, light, privacy, security and tranquility.
If I will ever build my house, I will have a spectacle of courtyard and reproduce that moment in Polignano with all the friends who will want to court my food. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

This is my 24th years in design business and I am not showing signs of wanting to quit. I will be evolving in different directions, while still helping people realizing their dream spaces in homes, offices, interiors, exteriors and improving restaurants or cafes. Check out my books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Colors To Eat | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

21 Apr 2014 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #BH&GColors, #BritishScones, #ColorEnergy, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #SpringColors, Chromotherapy

(Photo: BH&G)

This flower arrangement I found on BH&G looks perfect for today’s Easter table. It’s cheerful and vibrant and is definitely a resurrection of the spirit from the winter gloom and snow. Every color has healing power. Color therapy techniques have been around for over 5,000 year. Today we call it chromotherapy. It’s roots go back to Ayurveda Indian natural remedies medicine. Decorating a home or office, or preparing food we bring those healing energies from colors into our life and if we use them correctly, colors will enhance our qualities.

Photo sources in this board:
Cup Cakes – http://www.ju-licioustastytreats.com/ – Blackberries – http://ilovemealplans.com/ – Blueberries – www.nipic.com –
Cauliflowers – www.greenprophet.com – Lilac & tea cup – http://www.free-hdwallpapers.com/wallpaper/nature/tea-cup/11991 -Salmon Sashimi – https://goo.gl/qTLyDf –
Round Squash – http://www.oahufresh.com/ingredient/round-squash/ – Limes – http://instiks.com/pin/3740/

Experiment with this color palette, I turned the same flowers arrangement into colors to eat and I came up with food with a perfect healing power. Let’s see what it means to eat nourishing food with these colors and which chakra will benefit from them.

Blue affects the chakra in the throat. As a calming color, blue lowers blood pressure, calms anxiety and helps insomnia. It enhances communication skills and increases will power. Blue food will help de-cluttering the mind from over-driving thoughts.
Orange food will balance too much blue. It’s perfect to serve blackberries mixed with orange slices.

Lavender/Violet is the chakra meditation on top of our head. Wearing violet helps treating mental problems, nervous disorders and tumors. Eating lavender/violet food will lift depression and the sense of disconnection.
Balance violet food with yellow food. When serving lavender tea is best to use lemon and not milk.

Yellow is the color of survival chakra in the upper stomach, or solar chakra. Yellow stimulates concentration and learning abilities, but if the solar chakra is imbalanced will promote fear and anxiety. Yellow food enlivens the solar plexus and reduces stress.
Balance yellow food with blue food. Roasted yellow tomatoes and roasted blue potatoes are a delicious combination.

Orange represents the inner child issues chakra, the sacral or sex chakra, which regulates the metabolism. Psychologically, orange color promotes happiness, increases creativity and socialization. Eating orange food will help curing depression, digestive problems and increase metabolism activities.
Grilled salmon and broiled green squash balance each other well.

Green represents the emotional heart chakra, connected to love, trust and forgiveness. It’s the perfect color for emotional stability and calmness. Eating green food will put you in a calm state of mind, balance the emotions and increase metabolism activity.
Magenta balances too much green.

Let’s transfer the lightness of spring into our food. Enjoy my British lavender scones recipe. I love them fluffy and warm on a breezy spring morning.

Ingredients for 12 scones:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ stick unsalted butter (very cold)
¼ cup sugar 1 teaspoon of dried culinary lavender (fresh lavender is better)
2/3 cup milk
egg wash

Preheat oven at 425° F. Grease and flour a baking sheet. In a mixing bowl mix flour and baking powder together. Add cold butter and make the mixture like breadcrumbs. Mix in sugar and lavender, then add milk to turn the mixture into a sticky dough.
Transfer the mixture to a floured surface or cutting board. With a cookie cutter cut the dough in a thick 1” round disk. Place each disk on the baking sheet previously buttered and floured. Brush the top with an egg wash and sprinkle a small amount of sugar.
Bake for about 12 minutes or until the sconces are golden brown. Serve with candied or natural nasturtium flowers and a home-made orange marmalade.
Bon appetite, I hope your Easter was beautiful and serene. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been in business as an interior designer since 1990 improving people’s life by changing their spaces. Often people describe her as “the colorist” for a reason. She lives in a colorful world, wrote a book on colors ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors and loves to color her clients’ environments by creating the unusual. Her deep interest in food led her as an autodidact in the studies of food in history, natural remedies, nutrition and well-being, then finally she wrote two books on Italian regional cuisine. Find Valentina’s three books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Oranges Landed In High Fashion | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

18 Apr 2014 9 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #AdrianaSanatanocito, #EcoFriendlyFashionDesign, #EnricaArena, #OrangeFiber, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #SustainableFabrics, #SustainableFashion

Did you ever think that oranges could be made into clothing? We live in amazing time for technology and how it can help us simplify our lives and sustain our environment. Here it is my Friday Fashion discovery of this week and I could not be happier. Playing with food seems to make people happier and this idea of Orange Fiber is even practical.

About the inventors and how Orange Fiber came about: “Our adventure started 2 years ago in Milan when we were finishing our studies and sharing a flat. We met every night for dinner to share our dreams: Adriana wanted to become a fashion designer with an innovative and sustainable product and I wanted to work in sustainable development and social entrepreneurship. There we were, 2 Sicilian girls living in Milan dreaming to change the world starting from their homeland…and all of a sudden Orange Fiber came to our mind: what if we could use citrus products to create a textile? Sicily is rich in citrus products but every year more than 700.000 tons of industrial waste is produced in Italy from citrus transformation. We wanted to re-use this byproduct to catch the ongoing revolution in the fashion industry: sustainable fashion.

(In the photo: Two businesswomen “Orange fiber”: Adriana Santonocito and Enrica Arena on Lucifer Vocifero Magazine)

Adriana started to study how to create a textile from organic biomass and specifically from citrus for her dissertation. She tested her hypotheses in the lab of Politecnico in Milano and patented the innovation. We developed a process to enrich the sustainable textile with natural oils releasing vitamins on the skin of everyone wearing the textile”.♢ (from Orange Fiber website).

Using nanotechnologies to fix essential oils in the textile, the inventors made a product consisting of functional clothing that can contribute to the consumers’ well-being, integrating the daily vitamins requirements just by wearing the clothes, as the textiles made by extracting cellulose from citrus fruits release active principles directly on the skin. So far they have developed and tested a prototype using citrus essential oils with high values of vitamin C. However the product can release vitamins A, C, and E upon contact with skin, all from the natural citrus oils that are embedded in the fabric.

(photo from: www.today.it)

Hats off to the entrepreneurs Adriana Santanocito 35 and Enrica Arena 27 for their vision, which led to the invention of Orange Fiber. This is a true revelation, a new material that combines innovation and responsibility toward the environment. Their fashion project focuses on the creation of innovative sustainable fabrics and clothes blending two Italian excellences: textile industry and citrus cultivation.

I shall be waiting for their sustainable orange fabrics to reach the interior decorating as well, scented fabrics that we can use in beautiful modern spaces and that will bring their sunny Sicily in every home. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, working in the USA and Europe. Born in Italy in a family of artists, style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations and now she can remodel homes as well as personal images. To better help people in the world, she offers consultations online. She is the author of three books. Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Monument | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

15 Apr 2014 6 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #1500sFashion, #DisfidaBarletta, #ItalianHistory, #PugliaTravel, #RedVoyageIntoColors, http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/monument, ItalyTravel, WordPressPhotoChallengeMonument

This week WP photo challenge comes at the right moment, in fact next month I will lead a group of tourists to Puglia, Italy where among many places we will visit the monument in the town of Barletta that represents the challenge between the French Army and the Italian Army in 1503. http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/monument

The monument is a wine cellar, better a tavern as it was called then, where boisterous soldiers would get refreshed with wines and after a few drinks their abilities to fight was challenged with offensive words that most often ended up in a fight. Two kings from France and Spain, Louis XII of France and Ferdinand II of Aragon, signed the treaty of Granada under which they agreed to equally share the Kingdom of Naples. The treaty apparently didn’t spell out clearly the terms for both armies occupying the same territory, thus created hostilities between the two armies. They always broke out in small fights on the interpretation of the treaty that would best suit them.

Disfida di Barletta – Tavern

Reenactment of the Challenge

1500 Fashion in Barletta – Reenactment Feb.13

(Some of the photos are courtesy of Proloco Barletta)

Sometimes, instead of fighting in the open field, they resorted to challenges in the field of chivalry, often held in the town of Barletta. On Feb.13, 1503 the most important fight between the French Army and the Italian Army serving under the Spanish crown decided the future of the territory. Thirteen Italian knights and many French knights fought a chivalrous duel resulting in the winning of the Italians led by Ettore Fieramosca. Today, every year on Feb.13 the reenactment of that historical event comes alive and the town of Barletta experiences life in the 1500 century, tastes food of the era and admires beautiful fashion parading down the road.

In May I will take my traveling group to visit the tavern and inhale the flavor of chivalry, when honor was the most important thing. Ciao,

Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina will host two trips a year to Italy with the intention of showing Italy with the eyes of a designer born in those parts and let people experience the ”wheel of emotions” don’t even know exist. She will take her groups to the non-commercial Italy, areas not beaten down by massive tourism. Valentina will guide the tours through art, architecture, food, shopping and special adventures organized for people who want to live it up!
Check out her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Things That Changed Me| Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

12 Apr 2014 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #EnglandTravel, #EuropeTravel, #LondonCoventGarden, #RedVoyageIntoColors, ItalyTravel, London

I don’t know what triggered the memory of London trip to come to my mind this week, but it was sweet and nostalgic. I arrived in London in the early ‘80s all dressed up like an Italian model, constricted in the latest fashion trend dictated in Italy, soon to find out that London is about freedom of expression. Something I was not familiar in Italy, my homeland. If fashion for instance says this year the color black is in fashion, like an army of obedient soldiers, everybody will wear black whether it looks good or not, then black will show up even in home accessories, kitchen ware, (I hated the black plates when they were indeed in fashion), bathroom and bed linens, illumination and everything else.

Man in Chain

Minstrel

Street fashion

Passerby

Street rules

Bobbies at Carnaby St.

Street rules

Pub

In London all this doesn’t exist, everyone wear what they want. Carnaby St. was the center of revolutionary fashion from Mary Quant’s mini skirt we are still wearing today 50 years later to the underground music of the Rolling Stones when they played at Marquee Club and where the swinging London lived fun days. I shopped in Carnaby St. and got rid of my traditional clothes forever!

I was pleasantly enthralled with the street life and entertainment I had never seen in Italy up to that moment, except for food markets. At Covent Garden, the man in chains was really intriguing. In a minute time and without anybody’s help he untangled himself from the chains he had wrapped around his body. Street players and minstrels filled the air with fun, laughs and madrigal music from ancient England. Life in London was much more colorful in my eyes than the life I was accustomed to in Italy. Oh, how I loved the freedom in London!

Nowadays in Italy many things have changed, there are a lot of street events, entertainments, art exhibitions, music, flea markets, you name it they have it. The city administrators have realized that creating street events would increase store sales and help growing the economy, thus copied our neighboring countries and made their own street fun.

Back in England, one night at 11:00 o’clock, I crossed on a pedestrian zone with a red light. All of the sudden I heard the whistle of a Bobbie who scolded me for crossing with the red light. Where did he come from? The street was deserted, I was the only one there. I did it many times in Italy even in the traffic and nobody cared, I could not understand why I deserved a ticket and a ticket I received.
Upon my return home, trying to tell my co-nationals in Italy to respect city rules, to respect city vegetation, learn to eat different food, or dress to suit own personality was a huge undertake.

I traveled England by sleeper train from London to Scotland stopping at major places. Going toward Scotland, I fell asleep passed my stop and I didn’t get off at Inverness. When I woke up the train was at a full stop in a station.
I didn’t know where I was, for sure I must have ended up in the wrong place, I thought. The train keeper came and offered me breakfast. I was at the last station where I needed to be, they let me sleep for a while and then woke me up with breakfast of my choice. I was mesmerized of the gentle treatment I received from British people.

The England trip opened up my mind. It was my first time visiting an Anglo-Saxon country, up to that moment I had traveled in Mediterranean countries similar in customs to mine, where life is laid back, tomorrow is a better day, rules are merely suggestions and dressing up, no matter how beautiful and elegant it may be, it is always very constrictive. I was forever changed and I welcomed the changes.
What experience changed you? Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina will host one or two trips a year to Italy with the intention of showing Italy with the eyes of a designer born in those parts and let people experience the ”wheel of emotions” don’t even know exist. She will take her groups to the non-commercial Italy, areas not beaten down by massive tourism. Valentina will guide the tours through art, architecture, food, shopping and special adventures organized for people who want to live it up! Check out her books on
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