#ItalianLifeStyle | Valentina Expressions

Every Trick Is Permitted At Carnival, Just Need The Right Mask | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

11 Feb 2010 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ColorScheme, #EuropeanFashion, #HowToDecorateTips, #InteriorDesign, #ItalianCulture, #ItalianLifeStyle, #VeniceCarnivalMasks, #VeniceStyle

In Europe around this time of the year we celebrate Carnevale, or Mardi Gras. The Christian calendar marks Carnevale as the period between the Epiphany and the first day of Lent, this being the day when all the fatty food must end until Easter Day. In Austria and Bavaria, Carnevale called Fashing starts the day of the Epiphany, in Cologne it starts at 11:11 of Nov.11.

At Mardi Gras, the day before Lent, we Europeans consume a variety of meat dish, food high in calories and proteins, lot of fried food and stuffed food, but on the Lent day and for forty consecutive days, until Easter, the diet must be light and lean.
In Carnevale time every trick is expected and accepted. I remember the sugar, or the white flour being thrown at the passerby in the streets, especially if they were wearing a dark coat. Getting mad was out of the question, next street corner it would have happened again. In the history of time, Carnevale has been a magic time of divertissement, debauchery, costume parties, eating, unrestrained sex, and a time during which life challenges were momentarily forgotten.

The etymology of the word Carnevale could be deriving from the Latin “carrus navalis” or from the Medieval “carnem levare” which it means to eliminate the meat from the diet for 40 days as the Lent requires. On Ash Wednesday, Christian people must spread ashes on the forehead as a sign of repentance.
During Carnevale it is a must to wear masks to disguise one’s identity, but the usage of masks is not a novelty of today, it goes back to Paleolithic time, when the chief of tribes wore masks during spiritual, or magical propitiatory rituals to invoke riches, or to get rid of maleficent spirits. Romans celebrated their Gods with Carnevale festivities. The use of masks concealed their licentious behaviors and their social status, allowing old and young, rich and poor, nobles, servants, slaves and prostitutes to mingle and dance together until dawn.

During the festivities of Carnevale, Romans celebrated Bacchus, the God of wines, with rivers of wines and long hours of dances all in the streets of Rome, hence the name Bacchanalia. The gladiators entertained the public and the king of the festivities, elected by the people for only the duration of the feasts, organized public games to which everybody could participate.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

In Italy, masks for Carnevale have been used in theatre plays, especially in Goldoni’s comedies, a famous Venetian writer of the 1700 and in the Commedia Dell’Arte in the second half of the 16th century, based on improvisation on stage. Plays of Commedia dell’Arte are still fascinating and alive in the arts and in the memories of theatre lovers.

Carnevale in Venice, renowned all over the world, is a magical and mysterious event that takes place every year around February, it calls for unruly behavior and the masks are breath-taking. Browsing in costumes through the narrow streets of a foggy Venice is like walking in the 16th century. Everybody is disguised, people laughing, chatting, a glass of wine here, a dance there. Carnevale in Venice is what it was and still is.

Paintings of Venice Carnevale scenes, or paintings of masks can be included into today’s home décor very easily. Think about a room in a total white color scheme with very colorful paintings on the walls as the Geraldine Arata’s art work. She knows how to capture on canvas the mystery of Venice and the complicity of secretive lovers. Her oil paintings are beautifully executed, colorful and unconventional.

(Defiance – Geraldine Arata)

Another example could be a room painted in grey gun-metal faux finish with a modern style décor and Geraldine’s colorful mask paintings just laid casually against the walls, or hung on a wall washed with light. Loose white chiffon draperies swinging in the windows as a sweet melody in Venice would carry two lovers in each other arms.

Find Geraldine Arata at:
www.aratafineartgallery.com

As an Italian born designer and a lover of Commedia dell’Arte, I can help recreating the mystery of Venice, its flamboyance and Bohemian atmosphere into today’s home décor and I can help placing this particular art in a special home. It takes a sunny eye to see the sun light.

Please forward this article to anyone you think might be interested in reading it and let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. Thank you. Ciao,
Valentina

www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior and Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe. She combines well fashion and interior in any of her design work. She loves to remodel homes and loves to create the unusual. Author of the forthcoming book on the subject of Colors.
Author of the book: ©Come Mia Nonna–A Return to Simplicity
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles:http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Living Life Without Limits | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

30 Jan 2010 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Books Blog Tags: #ComeMiaNonnaReturnToSimplicity, #ItalianFood, #ItalianLifeStyle, #ItalianTableCustom, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

I am a designer with a passion for cooking, most of the people who know me is aware of that. Writing and publishing a regional Italian cookbook has been the best thing I have done in 2009. I named my book with an Italian title and an English subtitle: ©Come Mia Nonna-A Return To Simplicity. The translation of the Italian title means As My Grandmother, the book, in fact, is dedicated to her, my nonna Pasqua, the person who taught me to love simplicity.

This book represents the quintessential of simplicity while being creative with food. So much so that it has attracted some restaurants in the area where I leave who want to feature some recipes from my book. “It would be really different to organize a book presentation if I host events at the local Italian restaurants in my area”, I thought. The idea is inviting, no author has ever done a book presentation in a restaurant, the idea is a novelty, I like it, let’s do it. After all, I learned to live a life without limits, right?!

On February 24, 2010, Cedro Ristorante Italiano in Menlo Park, CA has graciously offered to host my book presentation event. The dinner will feature food from my book, I will be the commentator, the historian, the story-teller.

The region I wrote about is Puglia, where I was born, on the Adriatic sea. It is a mixture of antiquity and modernity, Baroque architecture, ancient table customs, tasty and healthy food to die for, and the region’s warm people.

Barnes & Noble

The guests at Cedro Ristorante Italiano will have a unique opportunity to taste the delightful food of my land and will appreciate its elegant simplicity. Live music will fill the ambiance. Thank you in advance to all of you at Cedro.

The food of Puglia is in tune with all the needs people have today to stay healthy, eat good food to control the weight, cook fast because we are all busy, and save money at the same time, as the ingredients are inexpensive and can be found in any grocery stores, not only in gourmet specialty stores.

I cannot be happier about the interest that ©Come Mia Nonna-A Return To Simplicity has created. My book had a purpose and a message, I could not pass the opportunity to publish it when I did, it was the right time.

The book was published on Thanksgiving day 2009, that was a super good sign and made the best Thanksgiving I ever had! Thank you my grand Universe.
More book presentation events will happen in different Italian restaurants. Stay tuned! Ciao,
Valentina www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina’s book event: The Flavors Of Puglia Cedro Ristorante Italiano – www.cedroristorante.com 1010 El Camino Real Menlo Park, CA 94025 (on the corner of Merrill St. and Santa Cruz Ave) February 24, 2010, at 5:30-7:30 pm
Seating is limited

Please forward this blog to anyone you think might be interested in reading it and let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. Robert Taitano, a friend and business associate of www.wine-fi.com says: “Valentina – an International Professional Interior Designer is now giving you an opportunity to redesign your palate”. Author of the book: ©Come Mia Nonna–A Return to Simplicity
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0

Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

The Table Is A Lady | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

25 Jan 2010 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ComeMiaNonnaReturnToSimplicity, #HowToDecorateTips, #ItalianLifeStyle, #MiseEnPlace, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns, Tablescape

In my Italian culture, the table has a masculine connotation when is used for various tasks: paying bills, writing personal notes, rest all the groceries that are waiting to be placed in cupboards and fridge. This is the case when the table is called “il tavolo”.
A curious thing happens when the table is dressed up for food, meaning for breakfast, lunch or dinner, suddenly it becomes a feminine genre and it is called “la tavola”.

This is my observation: In every part of the world, when a woman is invited to go out to a restaurant, she gets well dressed up and prepared for a few hours of fun. Is it for the respect of food, or for the person who invites her, I don’t know…? Perhaps it is only the anticipation of the simple pleasure of tasting food, smelling the aromas and flavors paired with good wines, while resolving life’s problem at the same time. I think that the answers to most questions in life are generally found around a dining table.

Ever since Roman times, food have been the special occasion to be invited to, breaking bread with people meant then, as much as it does today, to be trusted enough to be part of the host’s special circle. Even though the Romans ate half laying down on the “triclinium” a type of chase long, their low table in front of them was highly dressed in the fashion of the era and the guests had to appear in elegant attires. Think about the great holidays of the year and how much efforts women take to dress up the table. The purpose of that is to show off the food and enhance the flavor with the decorations on the dining table and all around it.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

We eat with eyes first; a golden roasted Thanksgiving turkey would not look good if the dining table was not well dressed, right? For the holidays, I arrange tablescapes for my Clients and I teach others the secrets of a well balanced decorated table, just so the pleasure of being seated with nice people, eating and conversing can be prolonged well into the day. A decorated table also has the property of limiting calories, because it dictates a slow pace of eating, induces conversation, people diverge their attention on life matters and food becomes the way to a general pleasure and not the center of attraction.

On the contrary, when people eat away from the table, on their lap by the T.V., on the floor, on the sofa, they tend to eat more and until their favorite show is over, they have ingested an enormous amount of food, damaging themselves day after day. Driving, eating and drinking is the worse, as the attention is somewhere else and not on the road. At night, before I retire into my sleeping quarter, I prepare “la tavola” for the next day breakfast: tablecloth, which changes according to my mood, a scented candle to be turned on in the morning, place settings composed of plates, cutlery, cloth napkins, a coffee cup turned upside down on its saucer and the book I am reading at that time. I want to ease into the morning with a calm and quiet beginning, treating myself to comfort and beauty, accompanied by the sound of classical music and the fresh food I will prepare on the spot. My lunches are always sitting down for about an hour. I never work through lunch, or eat at my computer. Dinners are the delight of my every day, a relaxation time cooking familiar food and enjoying again a dressed up table for the evening.

I don’t eat at the Queen’s table everyday, but I want to be the Queen at my table each and every day. It’s the good life!

Please forward this article to anyone you think might be interested in reading it and let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. Thank you.
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior and Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe. She combines well fashion and interior in any of her design work. She loves to remodel homes and loves to create the unusual.
Author of the book: ©Come Mia Nonna–A Return to Simplicity on
Amazon http://goo.gl/xUZfk0 and Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w
Author of the forthcoming book on the subject of colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors.