5 secrets for living La Dolce Vita

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Happy summer dear readers.

Everybody hopefully is enjoying this wonderful summer time.

Time for vacation, travels. And for the one of us still stuck at the office working, well we can at least hang at the pool in the weekend, go to the shore, enjoy a day on the beach and just day dreaming about the next vacations and make plans for them.

I'm Italian so my whole life I've been exposed to what the world calls "La Dolce Vita", the sweet Italian live stile.

It's normal for us Italian to wake up early in the morning and be surrounded by beauty. In a city like my own Venice, early in the morning the city is quiet and like a flower ready to bloom. You can hear the leap of the water on the canals, the voices of the gondoliers getting ready for work. Imagine the blue sky and the fresh air, a cup of coffee and delicious croissant on a balcony facing the water....magical. And if you are in the country side you hear the sound of church bells while the early morning sun paints the sky in a soft pick on the vinery all around you.

It may be early, but you’re already dreaming of fresh pasta al dente and a drop of Barolo for a lazy lunch on a sunny terrace. For us Italian this is normal. For most of the people a dream, until they are there and experience this themselves.

In Italy we always look to share happiness with another human being and try to make the most of that moment. The food, wine and the experience of living – it is only beautiful if you can share it with somebody.

We Italians are passionate about food. On the street, you’ll hear people sharing recipes and debating about where to find their favorite ingredients.

So here are 5 amazing secrets of the Italian Dolce Vita, basically the way we live.

1. Food is a fuel to the soul

Food is a fundamental thing for us Italian. We famously says that the world eat to survive, we survive to eat. You can eat good pasta every where, but some of the best chefs in Italy  they say that "you won’t understand pasta unless you have been trained by a Ligurian. “The art of making linguine in Liguria, the rugged coastal region in Northern Italy, is something Italian are very passionate about it.  It is said that “Liguria is to pasta what Naples is to pizza".

It’s important to use the freshest and best ingredients you can find to make any delicious dish. And so Liguria a small, hilly region, they made terraces on the hills to grow their vegetables. They don’t produce a lot, but they produce the highest-quality artichokes, asparagus and basil, one of the main ingredients of Pesto, the famous sauce you can now find everywhere in the world. But nowhere is like in Liguria.

So, while in Italy enjoy our local food. Risotto with fish in Venice, meat in Tuscany, pasta with pesto in Liguria, bucatini with any meat sauce in  Roma, pizza in Naples.

And don't be surprised to hear Italian humming while eating their food in a restaurant in Italy or talking very animated about it. We really love our food.  

Buon appetito.

2. Fashion is a way of living

We Italians dress to impress, and competition is especially fierce on the streets of Milan, the country’s fashion capital. But pretty much everywhere I will say. 

There are many trends in Italy, but one the most loved by us Italian is the spezzato, a word created particularly to describe the artful way Italian men mix and match jackets and trousers versus simply suiting up.

Spezzato, a signature of classic and effortless Italian style, describes the way men and women put together jackets and trousers that complement each other but are not part of the same suit.

In Italy, style is more than just looking the part – you must  live and breathe it through a commitment to top-tier fabrics and tailoring, worn with an air of unstudied, effortless elegance. In Italy we really care about the way we dress. It's an old fashion way of thinking that elegance is not an optional, it a must. People will see us, and we need to be taken care. And we come to the third important secret of being Italian and living La Dolce Vita.

3. Embrace la bella figura

We Italians like to create a good impression wherever we go. You might call it showing off. We call it la bella figura. The best way to arrive in style is behind the wheel of an Italian sports car – with the convertible top down, sunshine streaming in and opera playing on the radio. Fancy sunglasses on, always, we spend a lot of money to have the most trendy ones every season. 

An Italian that arrives on a place will look to the rest fo the world like a scene from a movie. For an Italian is just the way to be. La bella figura.

So, imagine yourself hopping into a beautiful convertible sports car  and travel 55 miles (90 kilometers) out of the city, along picturesque, tree-lined lanes and quaint villages, to arrive at the deep-blue waters of Lake Como. Spectacular right?

Then spend the day zipping around the town’s spectacular pastel-colored villas, stopping only to admire the views eating an ice-cream with someone you love, and then dine at a lakefront restaurant. You get the picture, right? La Dolce Vita. 

4. Every moment deserves amore

For us Italians, a good meal is not solely about delectable dishes. Flavor goes hand in hand with amore and creating the right setting to indulge in both. If you follow me, when I cook, when I sing, when I tell about about my life, you know that my secret ingredient is always amore. Amore, love, in all we do. Now you know why I sing love songs and my Concerts always have love in the air. Love is La Dolce Vita. And being Italian is celebrating amore in all we do. 

5. Everyone is famiglia

And here with some to another fundamental thing of being Italian and living La Dolce Vita. Ask any Italian: they will all tell you the best way to enjoy la dolce vita is with someone you treasure, be it family, friends or a soulmate. And that said we Italians are also happy to open our doors and offer hospitality to people from faraway places. Everyone is welcome. "Aggiungi un posto a tavola", "add a place on the table" is the title of a popular Italian song, but also the way we live our days. Life is only beautiful if you can share it with somebody.

Anyone can experience and share la dolce vita in Italy, where language is no barrier, and everyone is family.

One of the greatest things to do while in Italy, to experience la dolce vita is stopping in an unfamiliar village to order a bread roll with pecorino and prosciutto, along with a glass of Chianti. It’s very special, and you’ll find that we are very sociable. In the villages, they start a conversation even if you only say ‘buongiorno.’ 

Language is no barrier. 

I think we Italian know how to live well – we know how to create pleasure, whether it’s a dish of pasta or a landscape. It is part of our identity, and it is something we have to share.

So if you want to live La Dolce Vita in Italy with me, well I'm going next year with a group of fans to experience all of the above.

here below all the info.

Happy summer and let's enjoy life at the fullest no matter we are in the world the Italian way.

Giada 

Would you like to join us on an unforgettable trip to see Venice and the Veneto region with me next year ?

https://giadavalenti.com/italy-trip-2020 for info, dates and price. The trip is organized by Perillo Tour. 

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