A romantic story set in Portovenere inspired by my last attendance to the Madonna Bianca celebrations
A romantic story set in Portovenere inspired by my last attendance to the Madonna Bianca celebrations
Summer 2012 was the year of my trip to Tuscany, but most of all my wedding proposal. Kate and I had planned any single day and activity in our so long sought after vacations in Italy and our travelogue was drawn into a booklet by Maggy, our concierge at the villa in Forte dei Marmi, Versilia. If you look for a magical place to stay in Tuscany at close reach from Lucca, Cinque Terre, Pisa and many other charming places, this is Versilia. Our villa was surrounded by a huge park and crossed by a small creek, which was a great relief from summer heat. We were spending our days touring around and enjoying all beauties of this area: a boat tour and concert by the Puccini lake, trekking on the mountains, a sailing trip to spot dolphins off Viareggio coast and long-relaxing prosecco and ‘focaccia’ aperitifs under the villa patio, lulled by the hammock or stranded on big soft cushions. Just one unique moment was missing and I decided to call on Maggy to single out the right one for me. I had heard of many religious celebrations in Italy connected to St Mary falling around August 15th, the Italian ‘Ferragosto’ and I thought that might be perfect to celebrate a unique woman and seal a special event between me and Kate: our engagement. Maggy, our concierge and deus-ex-machina, immediately came with a plan. Read on the Wall Street International Mag