Bella Figura: How to Toast in Italy
In Italy, where beauty never takes a back seat, there is a phrase used to describe this country-wide devotion to grace and class: La Bella Figura.
The phrase was invented by Sophia Loren…ok it wasn’t, but it might as well have been (I mean, who gets off a airplane with no wrinkles?!?) It technically translates to “the beautiful figure” and describes a way of life and a system of etiquette innately understood by all Italians. It tells you how to look and how to behave in particular circumstances (i.e. with class). It means basically that your barista will often be better dressed than you and at least as well dressed as the cop and bus driver sipping on the café he just made them. It means that the woman riding a bicycle in high heels will never fall and if she does, someone will catch her. But it also means “looking good” socially. It is why the word awkward doesn’t exist in the Italian language or the Italian mentality (I have tried to explain it many times, it is not easy.)
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It’s a fact. Florence lacks green space. Aside from the banks of the Arno and a handful of piazzas on the outskirts, there are hardly any trees to be found in the historic city center. I almost didn’t notice until well into my first year in Florence. Perhaps I was used to this void, having moved from another urban center (New York), or maybe I was just so distracted by the city’s stunning beauty (albeit of the less animate variety). I think it hit me when the urge for a picnic first took hold and I suddenly found myself at a complete loss for where to go to enjoy some grassy solitude within walking distance.
The holidays are by far my favorite time of year; the fresh smell of pine needles, the sweet sounds of carolers, and the blatant overuse of lighted decorations leading to temporary blindness. It doesn’t get much better than when Santa comes to town.
This is hands-down one of my favorite stories. I mean it has it all: mystery, Renaissance celebrities, top-secret government sting operations, and a little Dan Brown-esque art history (that is actually FACTUAL). Also, for us at Select Study Abroad, it is particularly close to home. Not only is Leonardo da Vinci our BFF and not only do we personally take students to the scene of the “crime,” but our very own professor, Rab Hatfield, was involved, wrote a book on the subject, and gave us the opportunity of meeting (on several occasions) the man behind the mystery (No, not Leonardo! Read on!).