Magazine

Dolce Gabbana new Venice Boutique Palazzo Torres Venezia.Seguso Murano glass chandeliers.

Dolce and Gabbana inaugurated in June a sumptuous new boutique inside the fabulous restored Venetian Palazzo Torres, Calle Larga XX11 Marzo 9, Venezia. Architect Eric Carlson, of the renowned Studio Carbondale, who managed to retain the authenticity  of this historic Venetian building, built around 1800. Glamourous Murano Glass Chandeliers by Seguso, as featured in the photo, and stunning gold mosaiques on the walls, and elegant marble floors.
Upon the occasion of the store’s opening Dolce & Gabbana launched a silk scarf collection dedicated to the Save Venice Fund, and funds will be donated to the save the Venetian patrimoine. 

The boutique sells clothes, individually decorated hand painted Sicilian  handbags, scarves, and the new D&G jewellery collection.

 

 

Dolce Gabbana Alta Moda. 2017. Giuseppe di Lampedusa’s “Il Gattopardo” Sicilian inspirations for Dolce Gabbana Alta Moda 2017 show on the baroque Piazza Pretoria Palermo, Sicily

Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda Piazza Pretoria, Palermo, Sicily,  2017.

In our web magazine www.eluxetv.com May 26th 2017 in a feature on Melania Trump wearing the Dolce Gabbana stand out Sicilian rose coat, we mentioned Giuseppe di Lampedusa’s cult novel “Il Gattopardo”, set in Palermo that Visconti made into an epic film, The Leopard, with a sensational performance by Burt Lancaster, and starring roles for French heart throb Alain Delon, and the beautiful Claudia Cardinale.

Dolce Gabbana’s Alta Moda collections are enthralling classic Sicilian inspired art. It brings back the perfume of the di Lampedusa story, opulence and Sicilian decadence, in D&G’s sexy low key,elaborate  “turn heads” casual style for today’s cool Jet setters. .

Sicily is famed too for its “Teatro dei Pupi” , costumed theatre……..

Palermo airport saw  150 private planes bringing in their top clients from around the World for a stunning show.

A Couture dress starts at £30.000, & by the next morning after the show most of the 116 outfits had, it seems, been sold. What a party those Girls must have had flashing the plastic, Dolce Gabbana have created an Event that overtakes “fashion”. It is participative “Art”.

 

 

Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda  Palermo July 2017

 

Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda  Palermo July 2017

Dolce Gabbana Alta Moda Palermo July 2017

Dolce Gabbana Palermo 2017

 

 

Piazza Pretoria, Palermo, Sicily

 

 

Caravaggio winning The Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot June 2017. Pete Mooney’s exclusive Pictures capture the moment

23 June 2017; CARAVAGGIO, Ryan Moore up, winning The Commonwealth Cup at Ascot. © Peter Mooney, 6, Cumberland Street, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Tel: 00 353 (0)86 2589298

23 June 2017; CARAVAGGIO, Ryan Moore up, winning The Commonwealth Cup at Ascot. © Peter Mooney, 6, Cumberland Street, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Tel: 00 353 (0)86 2589298

Royal Ascot 2017

Royal ASCOT 2017 Atmosphere caught by photographer Pete Mooney

Highland Reel exciting Royal Ascot finish. Exclusive photo Pete Mooney. June 2017

 

21 June 2017; Ryan Moore drives HIGHLAND REEL, left, to a decisive success over Decorated Knight, Andrea Atzeni up, second right, and Ulysses, Jim Crowley up, right, in The Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Ascot. © Peter Mooney, 6, Cumberland Street, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Tel: 00 353 (0)86 2589298

“Chrysler” inspired icon.La Comete sculpture by Guirard-Riviere, Etling Foundry. See reference to the Chrysler building in New York.

La Comète

La Comète is a magnificent Art Deco sculptural image of a female nude modelled as a streamlined comet, her long hair trailing behind her as she flies through the clouds. The silvered bronze sculpture is heightened with parcel gilding and raised on a breche griotte shaped marble base, signed Guirard-Riviere and inscribed with the foundry mark Etling Paris. The sculpture’s composition displays a great sense of dynamism and movement.
This iconic design was considered the height of modernity and an example of the model was placed in the reception of the famous Chrysler Building, New York from 1930 to 1942.
See example with a green/brown patina which was sold at Sothebys, New York in 2014 for $ 60,000 USD

Hickmet Fine Art

 

 

Royal Ascot Ladies day ready to rumba………..photo copyright Pete Mooney

 

22 June 2017; RoyalAscot. © Peter Mooney, 6, Cumberland Street, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Tel: 00 353 (0)86 2589298

Andre Fabre celebrated French Trainer wins at Royal Ascot Jersey Stakes with le Brivido , owner HRH Prince Faisal Bin Khaled. Photo copyright Pete Mooney.

Le Brivido, trained by Andre Fabre, racing to the exciting finish, The Jersey Stakes Royal Ascot 2017.. Photo copyright Pete Mooney.

Lady Aurelia returns triumphantly to Royal Ascot, photo Pete Mooney. 21st June 2017

20 June 2017; LADY AURELIA and John Velazquez scorch to success in The King’s Stand Stakes at Ascot. © Peter Mooney, 6, Cumberland Street, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Tel: 00 353 (0)86 2589298

Lady Aurelia, trained by Wesley Ward,  winning Kings Stand Stakes Royal Ascot 2017. photo copyright Pete Mooney

Royal Ascot. Irish Racing Photographer Pete Mooney captures Barney Boy’s lead as track record is beaten. 21st June 2017.

Barney Boy . Royal Ascot 2017 – Barney Roy breaks track record to win the St James’s Palace Stakes. 

Sicily. San Domenico Savio church Scordia. Daniele Iozzia, a talented young Sicilian painter with a PhD in Philosophy & History of Ideas, from Catania University, has created beautiful lyrical frescoes in the church of San Domenico Savio, Scordia, Sicily

Daniele Iozzia a talented young Italian painter and interior decorator has created beautiful lyrical frescoes for  San Domenico  Savio church Scordia, Sicily. 

Daniele Iozzia a talented young Italian painter and interior decorator has created beautiful lyrical frescoes for San Domenico Savio church Scordia, Sicily. Daniele grew up in Sicily in an old Palazzo, which he agrees inspired his love of Antique History & Ideas, and Classic architecture . Daniele Iozzia has PhD in Philosophy and History of Ideas, University of Catania & Daniele continues to return regularly to Catania to give lectures. Daniele’s painting ability led to him being invited to produce exclusive Frescoes in prestigious locations. Daniele Iozzia has studied Interior Design at Michael Inchbald and now takes on private commissions.

 

 

 

Fendi. Italia Amore. Italian fashion inspirations

 

 

Fendi bag with customised personalised initials  tag. Glamourous leather & beaded floral shoulder strap.

Fendi bag for summer, in lilac leather, small clutch handles, customised personal initial tag and elaborate leather flower & bead shoulder strap.

 

 

 

Sicily. Piazza Armerina. Villa Romana del Casale. Sensational mosaics in a 4th Century Luxury Roman villa

 

Villa Romana del Casale.. Near the town of Piazza Armerina Sicily

Villa Romana del Casale

“These mosaics are unique in the Mediterranean,” says the Italian archaeologist Carmela Bonanno, gesturing towards the 3,500 square metres of mosaic pavements that fill the Roman Villa del Casale near the town of Piazza Armerina in central Sicily. “It’s a miracle that they’re intact.”

Sicily is blessed with several spectacular classical sites: the Greek Theatre at Syracuse, the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento, the ancient theatre overlooking Mount Etna at Taormina, to name three. But the Villa del Casale, which was protected by Unesco in 1997, offers something different. One of the best-preserved villas from anywhere in the Roman Empire, it still boasts much of its original decoration. The contents of, say, Hadrian’s villa at Tivoli outside Rome were long ago dispersed. But, against the odds, the mosaics of the Villa del Casale (named after an agricultural settlement known as casale, or farmhouse, that flourished there in the 15th century) remain in situ. 

The UNESCO World Heritage site  has seen the completion of most of an ongoing EU-funded reconstruction project that began in spring 2007 

 

Piazza Armerina. Sicily. Villa Romana del Casale. UNESCO World Heritage site.

Villa Romana del Casale

The Villa Romana del Casale was constructed (on the remains of an older villa) in the first quarter of the 4th century AD, probably as the centre of a huge latifundium (agricultural estate) covering the surrounding area. How long the villa had this role is not known, maybe for fewer than 150 years. The complex remained inhabited and a village grew around it, named Platia (derived from the word palatium (palace). The villa was damaged and perhaps destroyed during the domination of the Vandals and the Visigoths. The outbuildings remained in use, at least in part, during the Byzantine and Arab periods. The site was abandoned in the 12th century AD after a landslide covered the villa. Survivors moved to the current location of Piazza Armerina.

The villa was almost entirely forgotten, although some of the tallest parts of the remains were always above ground. The area was cultivated for crops. Early in the 19th century, pieces of mosaics and some columns were found. The first official archaeological excavations were carried out later in that century.

The first professional excavations were made by Paolo Orsi in 1929, followed by the work of Giuseppe Cultrera in 1935-39. The last major excavations took place in the period 1950-60. They were led by Gino Vinicio Gentili, after which a cover was built over the mosaics. In the 1970s Andrea Carandini carried out a few localised excavations at the site. Extract courtesy Wikipedia. With thanks

 

 

Madrid. Norman Foster inaugurates his new Foundation in the Madrid Palace of the Duke of Plasencia, which will host the 75,000 documents from his archive.

Norman Foster, 82 years old, in the headquarters of his foundation, in the old palace of the Duke of Plasencia.  Madrid. José Manuel Ballester

Norman Foster inaugurates its headquarters in Madrid: “We build houses, but we do not create communities”
June 1st Norman Foster opens his long-awaited foundation in Madrid, in the old palace of the Duke of Plasencia, which will host the 75,000 documents from his archive.Travelling between London Madrid & Lausanne, This is his life after overcoming a bowel cancer and a heart attack: he travels continuously in his Falcon 900 (is an aircraft designer and a RAF pilot)  projects and building projects in fifty countries At the same time , he runs a team of more than a thousand people and never thinks to stop. 

“Lord” Foster, what are people without a past?
As I always say to the students, if you want to look far ahead, you will first have to look far back. There are many factors that are in the genesis of a design, but for me one of the most important is History. If you are fascinated by the future, you need to be passionate about the past, because you are absolutely connected. And the problem is that the educational system regards History as an isolated compartment.  I remember when I arrived at Yale University, Professor Vincent Scully taught History by linking it even to the cinema premieres in the city , And of course what the great architects of the time, like Louis Kahn or Saarinen, did. All human beings are products of the influence of the past, equal to what you dedicate.
One of the main tasks of its foundation will be to promote interdisciplinary thinking.

 

 

 

Old Spice viral ad. Smell like a man… Super cool concept…

Old Spice Viral Ads Campaigns.  Super cool….Brilliant concept Ad currently airing again on 5USA  SUPER COOL

Funny. Memorable. Manly. The minds behind the Old Spice Guy campaign reveal their keys for marketing success. Extracts:
By Dave Smith Business Insider@redletterdave

EXTRACT Full article too long for this feature Courtesy & with thanks Old Spice ad on YouTube

EXTRACT Courtesy & with thanks.
He was “the man your man could smell like.” We looked away from him and were suddenly transported onto a majestic ocean liner. An outstretched hand offered us “two tickets to that thing you love,” shortly before the tickets magically dissolved into diamonds. Then he was on a horse. Really.

This crazy-yet-crisp introduction to one of the most popular viral ad campaigns in history, which aired for the first time during 2010 Super Bowl showdown between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints, sparked an Internet phenomenon, reaching more people than Procter & Gamble (Old Spice’s parent company) could have possibly fathomed. The ad amassed 220,000 YouTube views in the few short hours after the Super Bowl, and the video continually gained about 100,000 views every few hours. Even comments on sites like 4Chan and YouTube were overwhelmingly positive. The video had gone officially viral.

Months later, when the campaign had seemingly hit its high point, marketing agency Wieden & Kennedy dreamt up one of the most memorable social media campaigns to-date: A two-day marathon of high-quality, personalized video responses to questions asked by fans on Twitter and YouTube—set up, shot, and published online in Mustafa’s own bathroom.

In the Old Spice Guy vs. New Old Spice Guy Fabio campaign, the creative team even let fans control the outcome of the most important part of the story: the ending.

Extract Dave Smith Business Insider. Courtesy & with thanks.

 

 

 

 

Caltagirone, Sicily. Famous since millennia for stunning ceramics. During the Spring & Summer festivals to celebrate the famous colourful tiles.

Caltagirone tiles

Caltagirone tiles Sicily

Swirling patterns, vibrant colours, painstakingly detailed designs….. Wherever you go in Caltagirone this is what you will see: For Millennia ceramics have  decorated staircases & facades of Churches & Palazzos. Virtually all buildings in the old town are decorated with ceramic tiles, shops spill their delightfully crafted wares onto the pavements and the effect is one of vibrant colours.

The highlight is undoubtedly the 142 steps of the Scalinata di Santa Maria del Monte that connect the lower town with the older upper town. The upright of each step is decorated with ceramic tiles, offering a colourful alternative to the grey lava stone of the horizontal parts. During the last two weeks of May the steps are home to a festival known as the “Infiorita” in which they are covered by an enormous floral display. At the end of July (24th and 25th), in honour of the town’s patron saint, San Giacomo, and in the middle of August, the steps undergo yet another transformation, the “Illuminata”. Thousands of candles flicker away creating a truly breathtaking sight.

Very much an aristocratic town, Caltagirone has many splendid palaces and churches.
Caltagirone’s  history mirrors that of so many other towns in Sicily: the Romans, Arabs, Normans, Spanish and French all passed through leaving indelible traces of their presence and like the towns of the Noto Valley and Catania, it too was destroyed in the famous 1693 earthquake. Very much an aristocratic town, Caltagirone is brimming with splendid palaces and churches.

The modern name derives from the Arabic Qal’at Ghiran meaning something like “Castle of Vases”. During their dominion, the Arabs passed on some essential ceramic-making techniques, such as glazing, to the already flourishing local industry.  Caltagirone 40 minutes from Catania.

 

 

 

Wings of Eagles Derby winner 2017. Arqana Yearling sales in Deauville celebrates their 1st Epsom Derby winner, sold by the Haras de la Montaigu at the Arquana yearling sales in Deauville August 2015, and trained by Aidan O’Brien in Ireland. Owners Sue Magnier & Michael Tabor. Wings of Eagles, son of Pour Moi who won the Derby in 2011 trained by the great French Trainer Andre Fabre.

Wings of Eagles. Derby Epsom winner 2017. credit Reuters. Courtesy & with thanks The Telegraph Sports Epsom Investec Derby 2017 result: Rank outsider Wings Of Eagles pulls off shock victory

Wings of Eagles
Few people picked Wings of Eagles prior to the race  CREDIT: REUTERS

Marcus Armytage, racing correspondent, epsom Ben Bloom, (live updates) The Telegraph Sports
3 JUNE 2017 •
Aidan O’Brien winning another Investec Derby should never come as a surprise but even he appeared genuinely astounded by the identity of his sixth winner when Wings Of Eagles, a 40-1 shot ridden by journeyman jockey Padraig Beggy, swooped past his better fancied stablemate, Cliffs Of Moher, in the closing stages to win the 238th running of the Classic at Epsom yesterday.

For a trainer whose horses generally win at short odds, it was the longest priced Derby winner since Snow Knight returned a 50-1 winner in 1974. Snow Knight made all, but Wings Of Eagles came from so far behind he was only picked up by the commentator deep inside the final furlong on his way to bagging the richest race ever run in Britain.

For the first mile of the race, Wings Of Eagles, nominally fifth or sixth in the Ballydoyle pecking order for this year’s race if you take jockey bookings as your guide, only had two runners behind him.

Up front, his stablemates, Douglas Macarthur and The Anvil, Ballydoyle’s pacemakers, had set a searching gallop and, while Douglas Macarthur hung on in there until the two-furlong marker, he was eventually caught and headed by the Frankie Dettori-ridden 7-2 favourite Cracksman.

However, Dettori’s dreams of a third Derby soon evaporated as the 5-1 shot Cliffs Of Moher, having made his way from a long way back, hit the front a furlong out. At that point it appeared for all the world that, from a choice of six, Ryan Moore, Ballydoyle’s first jockey, had picked the right colt.
But behind him still picking his way through traffic from the back was Beggy on Wings Of Eagles, a son of the 2011 Derby winner, Pour Moi.

He went through one gap so quickly, recalled the jockey afterwards, that he suddenly found himself on the heels of Dubai Thunder and a couple of times his run was interrupted by having to switch him round horses coming back at him.

When Wings Of Eagles saw daylight, though, it was as if he had just joined in. He flew up the outside, making up five lengths inside the final furlong, to catch Cliffs Of Moher 50 yards from the line before going on to win by three quarters of a length, with a neck back to Cracksman in third, and three-quarters of a length to the other Frankel colt in the field, Eminent, in fourth.

 

 

The Oaks 2017. Exciting Ladies Day at Epsom with stormy weather and the Favourite beaten for good measure by a determined Frankie Dettori.

Frankie Dettori on Enable (Photo:Getty)Exciting Ladies Day at Epsom with stormy weather and the Favourite beaten for good measure by a determined Frankie Dettori. One of the great events in the English Racing Calendar. Photo: Getty

Courtesy & with thanks Daily Mirror Sports. BYJACK RATHBORN

The Frankie Dettori-ridden Enable caused an upset (Photo: Getty)
Enable under Frankie Dettori upset Rhododendron to claim the Oaks at Epsom on a rain-drenched Ladies Day.

Ryan Moore could not push the odds-on favourite out and was beaten out by four lengths.
Conditions were difficult after torrential rain and thunder broke out ahead of the start with spectators forced to head for cover.

Pocket Full Of Dreams had led early as the pace setter before Rhododendron came on strong but Enable under Frankie Dettori was too strong.

Daddys Lil Darling had been pulled from the race after bolting to the start, unshipping jockey Olivier Peslier.

 

 

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