The Symposium event had exceptionally brought together all members of the SdB international network, including the team and core partners. Hence, in the days following the event, I accompanied the innermost circle on a sublime immersive experience throughout Florence, to open their minds and hearts and witness with their eyes (and with the palate!) what we stand and work for every day for! The first threshold we crossed was the one of the Maselli atelier in Via de’ Ginori, one of the beating hearts of Florentine Excellence from 1955.

An ode to well-made and consistency in detail. The outfit chosen for ‘Symposium’ was the result of a further combination of Excellences: stories of four #MadeInItaly realities.. plus one, an intimate and personal one, that I cherish in my heart.

A precious archive dress handcrafted by Antonella Rossi Atelier, unique earrings from the collection of Roman goldsmith Rossella Ugolini and the most exquisite pendant, inspired by one of Botticelli’s Graces, by Paolo Penko.

The exquisitely Renaissance-inspired hairstyle and make-up were created by the Eleonora Gentile Firenze Salon, a further Excellence to close the circle.

A sublime collaboration between two historical Florentine realities could only lead to an equally superb creation of sublime refinement. On Friday 19th of May, now in its nineteenth edition, the Premio Galileo 2000 awarded 7 splendid prizes to illustrious personalities in the fields of culture, science, economics, art and music.

It is my duty to honour such a masterpiece of Florentine craftsmanship, created by four hands between the master goldsmith Paolo Penko and the looms of the Antico Setificio Fiorentino, two pillars of the artistic heritage of the city of Florence.

On a January afternoon kissed by a warm winter sun, I walked along the Villa Ada boundary wall until the beautiful Parioli neighborhood, where I reached Serena de Fiore's slow fashion atelier.
Between a pastry and a chat, the friends and entrepreneurs Serena de Fiore and Anna B. introduced us about their lines; two different but complementary fields, fashion and skincare, yet linked, both by the inescapable personal history of two cultured and refined businesswomen and, above all, by the hand-crafted nature and meticulous research.

Diaries of three magnificent days in Florence with Artigianato & Palazzo; amidst the labyrinths of hedges and rose gardens, in the sublime frame of Palazzo Corsini, more than 90 master craftsmen of yesterday and today came together to showcase their savoir-faire. A riot of Beauty in all its facets to converse about with fascinating people, while strolling through a place steeped in profound inspiration.