AN AWFULLY BIG ADVENTURE
From stylish Italian men to the wonders of the Colosseum, Italy is a whirlwind of designer travel
The great scholar, traveller and explorer, Ibn Battuta once wrote—“travelling leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” Battuta’s words couldn’t have resonated with us more. For, the two of us got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of the Indo-Italian trade meet in Italy organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce in association with the Embassy of India, Rome. We were truly speechless with the enchanting country, and despite spending days of planning, reading up and doing research on the country, we found ourselves not sticking to the plan at all. Instead, we celebrated every bit of the Italian sojourn by taking things slow. We stuck to walking, finding our way through the labyrinth of each city, exploring it in the best way one can do—on foot.
Aware that this was a work trip, we were quite determined to balance the hours we gave to the trade meets and the time we spent touristing. There had to be some distinction between business and pleasure, after all. But the reception to our work was so heartwarming that it felt as if we were chatting with old pals instead of clients. A legal consultant from Milan was stunned by our exquisite handloom jamdani pieces. Even more so when he learned that the fabric was woven by hand. “How much would it cost? 200 or 300 euros?” he guessed and was shocked to know that in India we would price it at a mere fraction of what he had quoted. They had such immense respect for handicrafts and their artistic heritage. It made us realise that we take our cheap but skilled labour back home, so lightly.
MILAN
Our first stop was Milan, the Mecca of fashion. As fashion designers, this was our pilgrimage. After we wound up our meetings, we started our journey on foot and it was as if we were children in Disneyland, fascinated by nearly every monument and every piece of architecture that came on our way. But what stole our heart was the grandeur of the Doumo cathedral. We reached there on a rainy, damp and rather depressing evening but its magnificent architecture truly mesmerized us. When we came out of the cathedral, we were welcomed by a clear sky and beautiful sunlight. It was like everything was washed anew.
VENICE
After Milan, we headed to Venice by train which was just three hours away. We were both awed by the sartorial elegance of Italian men— they all looked like they had come out of the pages of GQ. A Bollywood movie buff will remember Zeenat
Aman and Amitabh Bachchan’s romantic rendezvous in Venice, cruising down the canals in a gondola, singing Do lafzon ki hai dil ki
kahani. As charming as the idea sounds, water buses are a faster and much more practical way to see the city than the gondolas. In fact when an American couple overheard how many places we had covered in such few days, they exclaimed, “oh you should plan our trip!” The Grand St Mark’s Basilica, the Bell Tower and the Doge’s Palace, all of which are masterpieces, caught our fancy, and we found ourselves spending hours exploring each facet of these architectural marvels. The city turned out to be quite different from the Venice we imagined. Our last destination for the day was the tiny island of Burano.
BURANO
Burano is well-known for its brightly painted houses and exquisite lace embroidery. The vibrant homes are the first thing that will catch your eye. According to history, families used to paint their homes in bright colours to designate where their family’s quarters ended and a neighbour’s began, as well as to make their homes more visible from the sea. The tradition has stuck ever since. Today, Burano is a rainbow of fun colours and a photographer’s paradise.
RIMINI
The next day saw us visiting the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world, the Republic of San Marino. We drove from Milan for around five hours looking at the beautiful country side making our journey towards the tranquil hill station. Our hotel was in Rimini, which was further an hour away. Rimini turned out to be a lovely little beach town with colourful umbrellas on the beach and cafes and shops on the waterfront. It was a sunbather’s heaven. Thankfully, we were able to hit the beach by sunset. Italian food accompanied by Peroni beer and red wine had us chatting and talking to our group till the wee hours.
VATICAN CITY
The next morning, we headed out for Rome, getting a glimpse of the picturesque country side of Italy. Coming from the serene beauty of nature to a busy city was a sudden shift for us, but we had no time to waste as we headed to witness one of the greatest wonders of the world, The Colosseum. This amphitheatre is the biggest and most significant in the Roman world. Although today it is partially ruined because of damage caused by earthquakes and stone-robbers, it still remains an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome.
As the trip came to its conclusion, we realised that our wanderlust resulted in our feet being bruised and stomachs tired of being fed pizzas. A Bangladeshi businessman who we befriended, gave us his lunch—rice and curry. After an eight day and seven city journey, it was brilliant to get a taste of home. That is when we realised—when in Rome, you needn’t always do what the Romans do. Rimi Nayak and Sayantan Sarkar are fashion designers and friends