The most beautiful villages in Italy

You, too, may have stumbled across this article on buzzfeed recommending 15 must-see Italian villages.  It must have been hard to whittle it down to 15.

The Italian government has taken a much more in-depth stab at this list.  The Il Borghi piu d'Italia web site is slow to load (maybe a reminder to slow down?) but it's worth the wait.

The recommended villages are broken out into an interactive map - the north, centre and south, including Sicily.

There's also a hard copy book but it's in Italian. Even more reason to slow down and brush up on your language skills. At the bottom of the web site you can sign up for the newsletter, too. 

Even for devout Italophiles, there's bound to be some new towns for you to visit.

Vernazza, rebuilt after the 2011 mudslide, made the cut on both lists

Florentine Summer Fashion

Here is The Florentine's take on fashion for the brutal Florence summer...flip-flops don't work with cobblestone anyway!

How to Dress Like an Italian: Part Two

Italian fashion icon Sophia Loren, early 1960s

So, for the past year, I've tried to dress more femininely at work - a nod to Italian women always putting their best Ferragamo foot forward. 

What this ended up meaning for me was dresses.  Lots and lots of dresses.  Paired with low pumps or flat boots or sandals.  What I found is that everyone thought I looked smashing (many more compliments than say pant suits) and that it's a whole lot cheaper and easier.  Here's why:

1.  Dresses are one piece, so you don't have to buy separates that match or get home and realize that the blouse you just bought doesn't match the skirt you already had
2.  Dresses immediately say "put together"and create a single flattering line
3. Dresses are inherently feminine
4. Dresses are cheaper (if you hit the sale racks) since you are only buying one clothing item
5. Dresses are more forgiving - pants need to fit really well to look good
6.  Dresses generally don't care about your height.  If you are tall, it's nice not to have to put yourself through the agony of shopping for pants that are never quite long enough
7.  Dresses are board room appropriate with the right structure or jacket
8.  Dresses enable you to focus on interesting jewelry, shoes, and purses with the money you save from buying fewer tops and bottoms
9. Dresses that match either black shoes or brown shoes make your morning routine easy
10.  Dresses show a touch of leg, which is acceptable at work

Start wearing more dresses and you'll see what I mean.

Italophilia O.C.D. things to do after returning from your Italian holiday

1. Force your children to listen only to Strega Nona books at bedtime
2. Change your Travelocity Farewatcher to monitor airfares only to Italy
3. Wear lots of leather and scarves
4. Attempt to smuggle in non FDA-approved cured meats
5. Call your cul-de-sac a piazza
6. Harass the wine guy at Trader Joe’s with obscure requests
7. Try to talk Nutella into hiring you as the West Coast sales rep
8. Turn your mid century modern ranch into a Tuscan villa
9. Buy a Fiat 500 for your family of 6
10. Start saying rocket instead of arugula

How to dress like an Italian

This book is old, 1992, but still rings true.   Sienese women seemed to be even better dressed than the Florentines, if that is possible.

Things I noticed about Italian women on my last trip:

1. Radiant, natural skin (no facelifts or breast augmentation for that matter, either!)
2. Curve-skimming feminine clothes, not terribly trendy
3. A few classic high-end accessories (knock-offs ok, too)
4. Scarves, scarves, scarves
5. Glossy, well-cut hair with subtle highlights if any, longish
6. Heels!
7. Great leather items
8. Ironed clothes and polished shoes
9. Killer shades 
10. Natural makeup