#Biella Noble

[sylsabastian]

How can I find peace and happiness?

"How can I find peace and happiness?"

Dear Mona,

Have you considered the problem in the question itself. If we believe we have to "find" something, that means we have to "look" for whatever it is, and that in turn means or implies we don't have it.

If you were to have peace and happiness, where would it be? I'd say, shift your view from searching, to recognising. Imagine what it might be like, imagine how it would be *inside* you, as that is the only place it can really be. Right?

And then, the more you practice this recognition of peace and happiness within you, the more that mindset and perspective becomes a habit, and before you know, you'll have that peace and happiness as part of your life. "Finding" in this case is all about Deliberate Emphasis.

A key understanding is to realise that our Circumstances and our peace and happiness are actually not necessarily directly connected. In other words, we can be at peace and happy in sucky circumstances. But, if we believe and assume our peace and happiness comes from without, then we will have a hard time connecting to those positive states-of-being. What we are, how we are, is largely independent of what goes on outside us, if we so choose. Only we can decide what we really are. And this is the path to peace and happiness.

Your broad question reminds me of the Oracle at Delphi, in ancient Greece of Old Earth. The system worked because those that ran the temple there let it be known that the Oracle's answer depended on how specific the question is. A clever psychological insight. The more focused our questions, the closer we get to resolution.

Biella.

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[venicepearl]

The Sanctuary of Oropa (Santuario di Oropa) is a group of Roman Catholic buildings and structures in Oropa, frazione of the municipality of Biella, Italy. It is located at a height of 1,159 metres in a small valley of the Alpi Biellesi.

Bishop Giacomo Goria and Reverend Francesco Sforza Pallavicino episcopally crowned the image of “Madonna Della Oropa” of Piedmont in 30 August 1620. Pope Francis granted an official decree of Pontifical coronation to the image in 5 August 2021, signed and executed by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re at the Vatican.

According to legend, a black wooden statue of the Virgin Mary carved by Saint Luke was found in Jerusalem by Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, carried to Oropa in the 4th century AD and placed into a small niche in a big boulder. In the Middle Ages, a church was built around the niche housing the statue, and was replaced in the early 17th century with what is known today as the Ancient Basilica. During the following two centuries, several other buildings were added to the complex, including the royal apartments of the House of Savoy, a big library and the Royal Gate, a masterpiece designed by the architect Filippo Juvarra in the 18th century.

The last addition to the sanctuary was the Upper Basilica, a monumental church built between 1885 and 1960 due to the large number of pilgrims visiting Oropa. It can hold 3000 people and its dome is 80 metres high.

In 1617, the complex of the Sacro Monte di Oropa was built not far from the sanctuary. It is a devotional path now composed of twelve chapels (plus another seven nearby) containing groups of statues representing scenes from the story of the Virgin Mary's life.

A new graveyard was built near the Sacro Monte in the 19th century, for noble families of the Biellese territory to build their family tombs. Some graves have freemason symbols, such as Quintino Sella's.

[anastpaul]

22 Julyis also the Memorial of Blessed Augustine Fangi O.P. (1430-1493) – Dominican Friar and Priest, Confessor, Mystic, known as “The Miracle Worker”, Augustine of Biella.   He was commonly regarded, even in his time, as a miracle worker and, in serving as the Prior of several of his Order’s monasteries, was concerned with restoring and maintaining a faithful observance of the Rule of Saint Dominic.   He was born in 1430 at Biella, Piedmont, Italy and died on 22 July 1493 at Venice, Italy of natural causes.   In the 1530s, workmen found his coffin floating in the water that had seeped into the burial chamber – when opened, Augustine’s body and clothing were found to beIncorrupt and remains so.

Blessed Augustine’s father was a member of the Fangi family, who were wealthy and noble and, because of this, he had planned a secular career for his son.   But when the Dominicans came to Biella, his plans were changed, for Augustine was completely charmed by their way of life and begged to be admitted.   He entered, while quite young, the new convent that the Dominicans had built at Biella.

Augustine had a reputation for penance, even at a time when people were not as squeamish as they are today.   Not only did he inflict harsh penances upon himself, he also bore with patience whatever pain and annoyance life granted him gratuitously.

One remarkable characteristic noted of Augustine, was his equanimity and ability to concentrate intensely on spiritual matters.   One incident recorded, involves a surgical procedure, which he was required to undergo without anesthetic, as such an aid was not available in the fifteenth century.   He did so without crying out at all.   Afterwards, he simply stated that his mind was so intensely focused on something else that he hardly noticed what was being done.  In prayer he was often seen levitating in ecstasy.

In 1464, Augustine was made Prior at Soncino.   Several of his best known miracles were performed there.   At one time, a deformed child, who had died without baptism, was restored to life, by Augustine’s prayer, long enough to be baptised.   At another time, when he was passing down the street, he met a little boy who was crying bitterly, because he had broken a jug of wine.   Augustine gathered up the shards and put them back together again.   Then, with a prayer, he refilled the jug and handed it back to the startled child.   Still another time, through his intercession, a woman was delivered from possession of five devils.

When his coffin, was opened in the 1530s and his body was found to be Incorrupt, interest was again revived in Blessed Augustine.   Nevertheless, it was more than three centuries before his cultus was confirmed in 1872 by Pope Pius IX he was finally beatified in 1878 by Pope Leo XIII.   His Shrine is at the Chapel of St Dominic in Venice (below).

(via Saint of the Day - 22 July - Blessed Augustine Fangi O.P. (1430-1493))

[sebastiankurz]

Let’s have a look at the Most Exquisite Italian Craftsmanship

Italian Craftsmanship always was internationally celebrated. Italians have been known for bithing some of the most talented craftsmen and creative designers the world has eve seen. Their artistic and artisanal excellence is known all over the world. Italy has been a leader in innovative, beautiful, and high-quality design for decades. It’s no wonder that Isaloni (Salone del Mobile.Milano), one of the best and most notorious art and furniture design showcases in the world, is based in Milan since 1961.

Brianza, for example, is considered the craftsmanship-design district, halfway between Milan and Lake Como. It is a mesmerizing place, in which over the past two centuries noble and affluent families built many villas. These constructions required the skillful hands of master artisans and��experts which furnished the breathtaking houses. This is the motive why such a fine and precious know-how survived there, as a crucial part of the region’s legacy. Some traditional craftsmanship knowledge can’t even be found anywhere else in Italy.

Since the 1950s, design entrepreneurs come to this area to collaborate with famous Italian and foreign artists, bringing to life of iconic furniture and lighting.

All the best Italian-made craftsmanship products merge together traditional craftsmanship and technology in an extremely detailed and almost perfect way. Artisan expertise has an irreplaceable value which allows delicate finishing details and final touches in all manufactured pieces. Human hands are capable of sensitivity and emotion while maintaining almost industrial precision.

Each hand-crafted art piece is truly unique since it is not being mass-produced. Every small little detail embraces the authenticity of it’s material and maker, a perfection in each flaw are featured.

The popular saying “Love French. Drive German. Dress Italian” already assures us of the high quality of Italian design and craftsmanship. Just to name a few, Berluti, Brioni, Brunello Cucinelli, Dolce & Gabbana, Ermenegildo Zegna, Etro, Fendi, Gucci, Armani, Kiton, Loro Piana, Paul Evans, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, and, of course, Versace, are all celebrated luxury brands with Italian origins. In luxury furniture and acessories we can also find Moooi and Swarovski, among many others.

Thanks to the nonstop evolution of technology, there are a million ways to use chemicals, for example, to tan leather. However, the best leather in the world is made by Italian tanners who use millennia-old traditions of au natural liming and dying. The result is a material that’s sturdier than any other on the market, as we can see in genuinely Italian-crafted shoes, which all have also a beautiful hand-painted finish. Also, most fabric mills use water that’s saturated with salt and minerals, which leads to a fabric that’s covered in a thin, color-quashing layer. But Italian fabric mills are usually located in the North, an outstanding region in the south of Swiss Alp glaciers. Craftsmanship Italian mills use pure water to produce fabric, that’s why you won’t find a single thread covered in undesirable substances.

Some companies have been around longer than entire nations. In fact, Vitale Barberis Canonico, a family-run fabric mill in Biella, the main textile supplier for the tailor maestros at Zegn, is working for fifteen generations, since the 1600s.

Handcrafting any piece is a slow and detailed process, which requires a burning passion for craftsmanship. Artisans are almost wizards, dedicating their lives to the magic of building extraordinary art with their own hands. A hand-crafted project can take weeks, months, years to be finished.

In 2009, the Italian parliament passed a law prohibiting the use of the phrase “Made in Italy” on any product label unless the product is actually made in Italy, from start to finish. This was a strategy to protect the country’s precious reputation as a creator of the finest craftsmanship products.

From the columns of ancient Rome to Michelangelo’s David, style is carved into the stone of Italian life. There’s even a term for it: “La belle figura”, which literally means “the beautiful figure”, yet represents a life style admired and followed, a trend, at all times and in all ways.

Italian-crafted goods can handle really well the passage of time. Vintage cloths and furniture are always, always en vogue, especially if they are handcrafted, high-quality, designer-made items.

From Leonardo da Vinci to Poltrona Frau armchairs, from Armani and Prada to Tiramisu cake. Italians have several beautiful specific products of the highest level made by small producers, artists and artisans everywhere in the country. Pursuing a family tradition, innovating, creating, finding new styles and raising quality is in the Italian blood, characteristics which will lead the country to a bright future.

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Fascinating Murano Traditional Glassworks

One of the most relevant examples of Italian excellent craftsmanship is the Venetian Glass, created for over 1500 years and with production focused in the island of Murano since the 13th century. Nowadays, Murano is known for its artistic glassworks, but it also has a long history of innovations in glassblowing and is Europe’s major glassmaking center. During the 15th century, Murano glassmakers created cristallo, and almost transparent glass, considered the finest glass in the world. They also developed a white glass called lattimo which resembled porcelain. Later, Murano also became Europe’s finest mirror’s production center.

Venice was controlled by the Eastern Roman Empire, but eventually became an independent city-state which flourished as a craftsmanship trading center and seaport. The city’s alliances with the Middle East created opportunities for the glassmakers to learn with more advanced countries as Syria and Egypt. Venetian glassmaking factories existed since the 8th century, but they started to be controlled by Murano in the beginning of 1291.

Glass factories often caught fire, so removing them from the city and locating them in an island avoided major fire disasters for the populations. It is known that Venetian glassmakers protect secret recipes and methods for making glass, which are still treasured in Murano.

The island popularity peaked in the 15th and 16th centuries. Venice’s dominance in trade along the Mediterranean Sea created a wealthy merchant class that was a strong connoisseur of the arts. The demand for glassworks increased. The spread of glassmaking talent among Europe eventually lessened the importance of Venice and its Murano glassmakers, especially since Napoleon Bonaparte’s defeat in 1797. However, Murano glassmaking began to recover in the 1920s and today the island is home to numerous glass factories and a few individual artists’ studios. Murano’s Museo del Vetro (Glass Museum) in the Palazzo Giustinian showcases the history of glassmaking as well as glass masterpieces from Egyptian times to the present day.

Remarkable Italian Master Artisans

Piero Fornasetti

Among many incredible Italian master artisans, we can refer Piero Fornasetti, a painter, sculptor, interior decorator and engraver who lived most of his life in Milan. He attended the Brera Art Academy from 1930-32 and created more than 11.000 art pieces, many featuring the face of a woman, Lina Cavalieri, as a motif. Fornasetti found her face in a 19th-century magazine. Other usual characteristics of his work include the heavy use of black and white, the sun and time. His style evokes Greek and Roman architecture, by which he was heavily influenced. Nowadays, it is frequent to see Fornasetti’s style in fashion and accessories such as scarves, ties, lamps, furniture, china plates and tables.

Talented contemporary Italian master artisans include, for example, Simone Cenedese (glass sculptor), Massimo Lunardon(lampworker), Cesare Toffolo (lampworker), Simone Crestani (glassworker), Lucio Bubacco (lampworker) and Giovanni Corvaja(goldsmith).

Simone Cenedese

Living Room in classic style. Classic interior design

Simone Cenedese, one of the best Italian master artisans dedicated to glass sculpture, started working in a glass furnace created by his grandfather when he was still a boy. Through his work, Simone got involved in the family tradition of glasswork and gathered the key elements required for developing this art and creating designs. Artistic ability, creativity and the mastering of refined and exclusive techniques as well as the use of a wide chromatic range of pure and brilliant glass have developed into new ideas, creations, and projects.

Massimo Lunardon

Massimo Lunardon began his artistic career as a glassworker and lampworking artist in 1988. He gained experience in glasswork and glassmaking workshops and from numerous collaborations with studios, artists, designers, and architects. Interacting with different materials and people fueled his desire to experiment and push the traits of glass to their limit and beyond. Massimo’s ability to find the infinite possibilities of glass resulted in companies and private collectors from diverse sectors calling him to create original works.

Cesare Toffolo

Cesare Toffolo is one of the best Italian master artisans focused on glass sculpture and lampworking. Born in Murano in 1961, he grew up amongst a family immersed in glassmaking traditions. His grandfather, Giacomo, was a master glassworker who worked for Venini. Giacomo taught Cesare’s father, Florino, numerous techniques of glassworking, and Florino also joined the Venini glassworks at the age of 17. Florino then started to experiment and work with lampworking, gaining the respect of traditional glassworkers on Murano. It was then Florino’s turn to pass his knowledge to his son, Cesare.

Simone Crestani

The Italian master artisan Simone Crestani specialized in glassworking is known as one of the best craftsmen in Europe. He started working with glass at the prodigious age of 15. After a ten-year apprenticeship in “Lunardon’s factory”, he opened his own studio: “Atelier Crestani”.

Lucio Bubacco

Lucio Bubacco is an Italian master artisan specialized in craftsmanship, glass sculpture, and lampworking art. He was born on the famous island of Murano in 1957. As a boy growing up on this island renowned for its glasswork, Lucio would play with glass, making small animals, beads and other typical lampworked objects. At the prodigious age of 15, he became a qualified glassworker and started to sell his lampwork creations.

Giovanni Corvaja

Giovanni Corvaja is a craftsman and researcher with a deep passion for metal and an immense love for goldsmiths. He is one of the talented finalists in this year’s edition of Loewe Craftsmanship Prize. This incredible master artisan was born on 30 September 1971 and is an Italian jewelry artist renowned for his craftsmanship masterpieces of the finest quality. He began to work as a metalsmithing at the age of 13 at Pietro Selvatico High School of Art in Padua under the tuition of Francesco Pavan and Paolo Maurizio. In 1988, he was awarded the Diploma di Maestro d’Arte, and in 1990 the Maturità d’Arte Applicata.

You can also check out this one: Don’t miss our Design Guide for NY’s AD Design Show 2019

Inspiring Italian Designers

Gaetano Pesce

During his career, four decades filled with projects in architecture, urban planning, interior, exhibition, and industrial design, Gaetano Pesce, the architect, and designer, conceived public and private masterpieces in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. In all his work, he expresses his guiding principle: modernism is less a style than a method for interpreting the present and hinting at the future in which individuality is preserved and celebrated.

Born in La Spezia, Italy, in 1939, Pesce studied Architecture at the University of Venice between 1958 and 1963. He taught architecture at the Institut d’Architecture et d’Etudes Urbaines in Strasbourg, France, for 28 years, at the Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, at the Domus Academy in Milan, at the Polytechnic of Hong Kong, at the Architectural School of Sao Paulo and at the Cooper Union in New York City, where he made his home since 1980, after living in Venice, London, Helsinki, and Paris.

Pesce’s work is featured in over 30 permanent collections in the most important museums in the world, such as MoMa of New York and San Francisco, Metropolitan Museum in New York, Vitra Museum in Germany, Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Pompidou Center and Musee des Arts Décoratifs of Louvre in Paris, he also exhibits his art in galleries worldwide.

His award-winning designs include the prestigious Chrysler Award for Innovation and Design in 1993, the Architektur and Wohnen Designer of the Year in 2006 and the Lawrence J. Israel Prize from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York in 2009. Pesce’s experience is global, his innovations are always groundbreaking. Boundaries between art, design, and industry seem irrelevant to him, as art is most certainly not something created and put on a pedestal: art is a product, it is our creative response to the needs of the time we live in.

Patricia Urquiola

Patricia Urquiola (1961) was born in Oviedo (Spain) and currently lives in Milan. She studied architecture at the Polytechnic of Madrid where she graduated in 1989. From 1990 until 1992 she was an assistant professor in the courses given by Achille Castiglioni and Eugenio Bettinelli, both at the Polytechnic of Milan and E.N.S.C.I. in Paris. Between 1990 and 1996 she worked for the development office of new products of “De Padova” and signed with Vico Magistretti the products: “Flower”, “Loom sofa”, “Chaise” and “Chaise Longue”.

Between 1992 and 1996 Urquiola opened a studio with two friends, Renzio and Ramerino, working with architecture, interiors, restaurants, among others. In the next 4 years she was the manager of the Lissoni Associati Group and in 2001 she opened her own studio in Milan, focused on product design and architecture. Patricia won many design awards, such as Antares-Flos, Artelano, Boffi, Cappellini, Cassina, Kartell. In addition to attending events, conferences, and lectures she designed for B & B, Bosa, De Vecchi, Fasem, Kartell, Liv’it, MDF Italy, Molteni & C., Moroso, and Tronconi.

Her products were selected for the 2001 Design Exhibition in Italy and for the Annual International Design Catalog of 1999 and 2001. In 2001 she was a jury of the 19th CDIM Design Competition and lectured at the Domus Academy. She currently conducts her professional career at her own craftsmanship studio in Milan in the fields of design, exhibitions, art direction and architecture.

Renowned Italian Art Galleries

Since the end of the Nineties, Nilufar knows how to find its own unique place, so it became a reference point to everyone devoted to historical design, craftsmanship and to people who love to follow the trends and understand the evolution of contemporary design.

Above all, Nilufar inhabits that fine line between artistic knowledge, poetry and visionary ideas, all of the characteristic of contemporary art. Nina Yashar is the gallery’s founder and works with her sister Nilu plus a team of five people. Nilufar was present in several editions of Pavillon des Arts et du Design in Paris and is always in the spotlight at Design Miami/Basel. This art gallery also has its own little manifesto, composed of three words: Discovering, Crossing, Creating.

Gallery Rossana Orlandi opened in 2002 in a former tie Factory in the Magenta neighbor. The gallery has been supporting along the years new designers and is becoming one of the most revered promoters of avant-garde design and lifestyle. Its activity started with a focus on the rising dutch design with designers such as Piet Hein Eek, Maarten Baas and Nacho Carbonell. However, the research has moved widely around the world creating a catalog which reflects the most innovative craftsmanship from Europe to Asia and America.

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from Sebastian Kurz Blog https://www.designbuildideas.eu/lets-look-exquisite-italian-craftsmanship/

[forsoothsayer]

Piedmont by Giosuè Carducci

On the jagged summits, sparkling in sunshine. Leap the swift chamois; the avalanche thunders Down from the glaciers whirling and rolling  Through the woods pouring; 

Out from the expanse of the silence cerulean. Spreading his dark wings and wheeling in circles, Slowly descending in stately gyrations  Flies forth the eagle. 

Hail to thee, Piedmont! Thy rivers descending From far in melodious sadness resounding, Like to thy epic songs telling the valorous Deeds of thy people,  

Down to the valleys, full, rapid and blithesome, Dashing they come like thy hundred battalions; There to the awakened villas and cities  Tell they of glory.

Aosta old, by Caesar's walls encircled, Thou who in Alpine pass above the fashions Of the barbarian ages proudly raisest  The arch of Augustus.

Ivrea the beautiful, who her red turrets In the blue Dora's broad bosom dreamily Mirrors, and all around is the dark shadow  Of King Arduin.  

Biella, 'twixt the mountain and the growing Verdure of the plain, down the fertile valley Gaily looks, boasting arms, ploughs and laborious  Smoking of chimneys.  

Potent and patient Cuneo, and smiling  On the gentle slope standing, sweet Mondovi,   And the land joyful in castles and vineyards Of Aleramo; 

And from Superga, amid the rejoicing Choir of the high Alps, Torino the regal Crowned with victory, and the republican  Asti reposing,  

Fierce with the slaughter of Goths and the anger Of the red Frederick, from the reverberant River, O Piedmont, she gave thee the new song  Of Alfieri.  

He came, that great one, as cometh the great bird From whom was taken his name, o'er the lowly Townlet he hovers, tawny-haired, restless.  "Italia, Italia”  

He cried to the ears unaccustomed, to the Slothful hearts, to the souls supine, "Italia, Italia!" echoed from the tombs of Arqua  And of Ravenna.  

And under that flight the bones in the graveyard All the length of the fatal peninsula  Creaked, and were seeking each other to clothe them In wrath and in iron. 

"Italia, Italia!" and lo, a people  Of the dead arose singing, war they demanded, And a king in his pallor and in his courage Devoted to death

Drew the sword. O year so hopeful in portents, O spring-tide of the fatherland! O ye days, O ye last days of the blossoming May time!  O sound triumphant  

Telling of victory first to Italians, How as a child through the heart didst thou thrill me, Wherefore in times more propitious, the Vates, Grey-haired, of Italy, 

Thee I sing to-day, O king of my green years, Thee, king so much blamed and so much lamented, Who passedst away, thy sword in hand bearing ;  Clothed with a hair-shirt 

Thy Christian breast, Italian Hamlet. Under The fire and the sword of Piedmont, and under The force of Cuneo, the rush of Aosta,  The enemy scattered.  

Languidly now the last boom of the cannon Died away behind the flight of the Austrian,  The king on his charger rode down the slope westward, Facing the sunset 

In the midst of his staff gathering round him, Glad with dusty smoke and victory, he drew forth A missive, unfolding it said “Surrendered  Is Peschiera!”  

O what a cry as with one voice vibrating Arose from those breasts, of ancestors mindful, Waving the standards of Savoy: "Long live the  King of Italy!”

Red in the glory of sunset was glowing Widely extended the plain of Lombardia, Beyond, the lake of Virgil, like a veil fluttered  By a bride coyly 

Opening its folds for the kiss of love promised. Pale, erect and unmoved in the saddle  Sat the king, his fixed eyes beholding the shadow Of the Trocadero.

And him the misty Novara awaited And Oporto, final goal of sad error,  O by the chestnut woods silent and lonely House by the Douro,

With the resounding Atlantic to front it, Fresh with camelias beside it the river, Which beneath calm so indifferent sheltered  Sorrow so poignant.  

The king lay a-dying, when in the twilight Between the two lives a marvellous vision Passed before him, and he beheld the fair-haired  Sailor of Nizza  

Who rode at full tilt from the Janiculum Gallic outrage to encounter, around him Shone like carbuncle gleaming in sunshine the  Blood of Italia.  

Over the king's failing eyes came a mistiness, The shadow of a smile on his lips hovered.  A flight of spirits come from above the King's death encircle. 

Before all, O noble Piedmont, he who at Sphakteria sleeps, and first at Alessandria Gave to the breeze the tricolour, Santorre  Di Santarosa,  

And they to God all together escorted  The soul of Charles Albert: "O Lord, we bring Thee The king who wasted us, the king who smote us. Now he, Lord, also 

Hath died, as we, O God, died for Italia. Give to us our country. Give to the living, Give to the dead, by the smoke of blood rising From fields of battle,  

By those sorrows which level the palaces With the cottages, O God, by the glory Which was in past years, God, by the martyrdom  Which is in the present,  

To that heroic dust with life still throbbing, To this angelic light at length exultant, Give, O God, the fatherland! Give Italy  To the Italians!” 

[beege-blog]

Let’s have a look at the Most Exquisite Italian Craftsmanship

via

Italian Craftsmanship always was internationally celebrated. Italians have been known for bithing some of the most talented craftsmen and creative designers the world has eve seen. Their artistic and artisanal excellence is known all over the world. Italy has been a leader in innovative, beautiful, and high-quality design for decades. It’s no wonder that Isaloni (Salone del Mobile.Milano), one of the best and most notorious art and furniture design showcases in the world, is based in Milan since 1961.

Brianza, for example, is considered the craftsmanship-design district, halfway between Milan and Lake Como. It is a mesmerizing place, in which over the past two centuries noble and affluent families built many villas. These constructions required the skillful hands of master artisans and experts which furnished the breathtaking houses. This is the motive why such a fine and precious know-how survived there, as a crucial part of the region’s legacy. Some traditional craftsmanship knowledge can’t even be found anywhere else in Italy.

Since the 1950s, design entrepreneurs come to this area to collaborate with famous Italian and foreign artists, bringing to life of iconic furniture and lighting.

All the best Italian-made craftsmanship products merge together traditional craftsmanship and technology in an extremely detailed and almost perfect way. Artisan expertise has an irreplaceable value which allows delicate finishing details and final touches in all manufactured pieces. Human hands are capable of sensitivity and emotion while maintaining almost industrial precision.

Each hand-crafted art piece is truly unique since it is not being mass-produced. Every small little detail embraces the authenticity of it’s material and maker, a perfection in each flaw are featured.

The popular saying “Love French. Drive German. Dress Italian” already assures us of the high quality of Italian design and craftsmanship. Just to name a few, Berluti, Brioni, Brunello Cucinelli, Dolce & Gabbana, Ermenegildo Zegna, Etro, Fendi, Gucci, Armani, Kiton, Loro Piana, Paul Evans, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, and, of course, Versace, are all celebrated luxury brands with Italian origins. In luxury furniture and acessories we can also find Moooi and Swarovski, among many others.

Thanks to the nonstop evolution of technology, there are a million ways to use chemicals, for example, to tan leather. However, the best leather in the world is made by Italian tanners who use millennia-old traditions of au natural liming and dying. The result is a material that’s sturdier than any other on the market, as we can see in genuinely Italian-crafted shoes, which all have also a beautiful hand-painted finish. Also, most fabric mills use water that’s saturated with salt and minerals, which leads to a fabric that’s covered in a thin, color-quashing layer. But Italian fabric mills are usually located in the North, an outstanding region in the south of Swiss Alp glaciers. Craftsmanship Italian mills use pure water to produce fabric, that’s why you won’t find a single thread covered in undesirable substances.

Some companies have been around longer than entire nations. In fact, Vitale Barberis Canonico, a family-run fabric mill in Biella, the main textile supplier for the tailor maestros at Zegn, is working for fifteen generations, since the 1600s.

Handcrafting any piece is a slow and detailed process, which requires a burning passion for craftsmanship. Artisans are almost wizards, dedicating their lives to the magic of building extraordinary art with their own hands. A hand-crafted project can take weeks, months, years to be finished.

In 2009, the Italian parliament passed a law prohibiting the use of the phrase “Made in Italy” on any product label unless the product is actually made in Italy, from start to finish. This was a strategy to protect the country’s precious reputation as a creator of the finest craftsmanship products.

From the columns of ancient Rome to Michelangelo’s David, style is carved into the stone of Italian life. There’s even a term for it: “La belle figura”, which literally means “the beautiful figure”, yet represents a life style admired and followed, a trend, at all times and in all ways.

Italian-crafted goods can handle really well the passage of time. Vintage cloths and furniture are always, always en vogue, especially if they are handcrafted, high-quality, designer-made items.

From Leonardo da Vinci to Poltrona Frau armchairs, from Armani and Prada to Tiramisu cake. Italians have several beautiful specific products of the highest level made by small producers, artists and artisans everywhere in the country. Pursuing a family tradition, innovating, creating, finding new styles and raising quality is in the Italian blood, characteristics which will lead the country to a bright future.

You may also like: 6 fantastic Dining Tables used by top interior designers in projects

Fascinating Murano Traditional Glassworks

One of the most relevant examples of Italian excellent craftsmanship is the Venetian Glass, created for over 1500 years and with production focused in the island of Murano since the 13th century. Nowadays, Murano is known for its artistic glassworks, but it also has a long history of innovations in glassblowing and is Europe’s major glassmaking center. During the 15th century, Murano glassmakers created cristallo, and almost transparent glass, considered the finest glass in the world. They also developed a white glass called lattimo which resembled porcelain. Later, Murano also became Europe’s finest mirror’s production center.

Venice was controlled by the Eastern Roman Empire, but eventually became an independent city-state which flourished as a craftsmanship trading center and seaport. The city’s alliances with the Middle East created opportunities for the glassmakers to learn with more advanced countries as Syria and Egypt. Venetian glassmaking factories existed since the 8th century, but they started to be controlled by Murano in the beginning of 1291.

Glass factories often caught fire, so removing them from the city and locating them in an island avoided major fire disasters for the populations. It is known that Venetian glassmakers protect secret recipes and methods for making glass, which are still treasured in Murano.

The island popularity peaked in the 15th and 16th centuries. Venice’s dominance in trade along the Mediterranean Sea created a wealthy merchant class that was a strong connoisseur of the arts. The demand for glassworks increased. The spread of glassmaking talent among Europe eventually lessened the importance of Venice and its Murano glassmakers, especially since Napoleon Bonaparte’s defeat in 1797. However, Murano glassmaking began to recover in the 1920s and today the island is home to numerous glass factories and a few individual artists’ studios. Murano’s Museo del Vetro (Glass Museum) in the Palazzo Giustinian showcases the history of glassmaking as well as glass masterpieces from Egyptian times to the present day.

Remarkable Italian Master Artisans

Piero Fornasetti

Among many incredible Italian master artisans, we can refer Piero Fornasetti, a painter, sculptor, interior decorator and engraver who lived most of his life in Milan. He attended the Brera Art Academy from 1930-32 and created more than 11.000 art pieces, many featuring the face of a woman, Lina Cavalieri, as a motif. Fornasetti found her face in a 19th-century magazine. Other usual characteristics of his work include the heavy use of black and white, the sun and time. His style evokes Greek and Roman architecture, by which he was heavily influenced. Nowadays, it is frequent to see Fornasetti’s style in fashion and accessories such as scarves, ties, lamps, furniture, china plates and tables.

Talented contemporary Italian master artisans include, for example, Simone Cenedese (glass sculptor), Massimo Lunardon(lampworker), Cesare Toffolo (lampworker), Simone Crestani (glassworker), Lucio Bubacco (lampworker) and Giovanni Corvaja(goldsmith).

Simone Cenedese

Living Room in classic style. Classic interior design Simone Cenedese, one of the best Italian master artisans dedicated to glass sculpture, started working in a glass furnace created by his grandfather when he was still a boy. Through his work, Simone got involved in the family tradition of glasswork and gathered the key elements required for developing this art and creating designs. Artistic ability, creativity and the mastering of refined and exclusive techniques as well as the use of a wide chromatic range of pure and brilliant glass have developed into new ideas, creations, and projects.

Massimo Lunardon

Massimo Lunardon began his artistic career as a glassworker and lampworking artist in 1988. He gained experience in glasswork and glassmaking workshops and from numerous collaborations with studios, artists, designers, and architects. Interacting with different materials and people fueled his desire to experiment and push the traits of glass to their limit and beyond. Massimo’s ability to find the infinite possibilities of glass resulted in companies and private collectors from diverse sectors calling him to create original works.

Cesare Toffolo

Cesare Toffolo is one of the best Italian master artisans focused on glass sculpture and lampworking. Born in Murano in 1961, he grew up amongst a family immersed in glassmaking traditions. His grandfather, Giacomo, was a master glassworker who worked for Venini. Giacomo taught Cesare’s father, Florino, numerous techniques of glassworking, and Florino also joined the Venini glassworks at the age of 17. Florino then started to experiment and work with lampworking, gaining the respect of traditional glassworkers on Murano. It was then Florino’s turn to pass his knowledge to his son, Cesare.

Simone Crestani

The Italian master artisan Simone Crestani specialized in glassworking is known as one of the best craftsmen in Europe. He started working with glass at the prodigious age of 15. After a ten-year apprenticeship in “Lunardon’s factory”, he opened his own studio: “Atelier Crestani”.

Lucio Bubacco

Lucio Bubacco is an Italian master artisan specialized in craftsmanship, glass sculpture, and lampworking art. He was born on the famous island of Murano in 1957. As a boy growing up on this island renowned for its glasswork, Lucio would play with glass, making small animals, beads and other typical lampworked objects. At the prodigious age of 15, he became a qualified glassworker and started to sell his lampwork creations.

Giovanni Corvaja

Giovanni Corvaja is a craftsman and researcher with a deep passion for metal and an immense love for goldsmiths. He is one of the talented finalists in this year’s edition of Loewe Craftsmanship Prize. This incredible master artisan was born on 30 September 1971 and is an Italian jewelry artist renowned for his craftsmanship masterpieces of the finest quality. He began to work as a metalsmithing at the age of 13 at Pietro Selvatico High School of Art in Padua under the tuition of Francesco Pavan and Paolo Maurizio. In 1988, he was awarded the Diploma di Maestro d’Arte, and in 1990 the Maturità d’Arte Applicata.

You can also check out this one: Don’t miss our Design Guide for NY’s AD Design Show 2019

Inspiring Italian Designers

Gaetano Pesce

During his career, four decades filled with projects in architecture, urban planning, interior, exhibition, and industrial design, Gaetano Pesce, the architect, and designer, conceived public and private masterpieces in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. In all his work, he expresses his guiding principle: modernism is less a style than a method for interpreting the present and hinting at the future in which individuality is preserved and celebrated.

Born in La Spezia, Italy, in 1939, Pesce studied Architecture at the University of Venice between 1958 and 1963. He taught architecture at the Institut d’Architecture et d’Etudes Urbaines in Strasbourg, France, for 28 years, at the Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, at the Domus Academy in Milan, at the Polytechnic of Hong Kong, at the Architectural School of Sao Paulo and at the Cooper Union in New York City, where he made his home since 1980, after living in Venice, London, Helsinki, and Paris.

Pesce’s work is featured in over 30 permanent collections in the most important museums in the world, such as MoMa of New York and San Francisco, Metropolitan Museum in New York, Vitra Museum in Germany, Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Pompidou Center and Musee des Arts Décoratifs of Louvre in Paris, he also exhibits his art in galleries worldwide.

His award-winning designs include the prestigious Chrysler Award for Innovation and Design in 1993, the Architektur and Wohnen Designer of the Year in 2006 and the Lawrence J. Israel Prize from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York in 2009. Pesce’s experience is global, his innovations are always groundbreaking. Boundaries between art, design, and industry seem irrelevant to him, as art is most certainly not something created and put on a pedestal: art is a product, it is our creative response to the needs of the time we live in.

Patricia Urquiola

Patricia Urquiola (1961) was born in Oviedo (Spain) and currently lives in Milan. She studied architecture at the Polytechnic of Madrid where she graduated in 1989. From 1990 until 1992 she was an assistant professor in the courses given by Achille Castiglioni and Eugenio Bettinelli, both at the Polytechnic of Milan and E.N.S.C.I. in Paris. Between 1990 and 1996 she worked for the development office of new products of “De Padova” and signed with Vico Magistretti the products: “Flower”, “Loom sofa”, “Chaise” and “Chaise Longue”.

Between 1992 and 1996 Urquiola opened a studio with two friends, Renzio and Ramerino, working with architecture, interiors, restaurants, among others. In the next 4 years she was the manager of the Lissoni Associati Group and in 2001 she opened her own studio in Milan, focused on product design and architecture. Patricia won many design awards, such as Antares-Flos, Artelano, Boffi, Cappellini, Cassina, Kartell. In addition to attending events, conferences, and lectures she designed for B & B, Bosa, De Vecchi, Fasem, Kartell, Liv’it, MDF Italy, Molteni & C., Moroso, and Tronconi.

Her products were selected for the 2001 Design Exhibition in Italy and for the Annual International Design Catalog of 1999 and 2001. In 2001 she was a jury of the 19th CDIM Design Competition and lectured at the Domus Academy. She currently conducts her professional career at her own craftsmanship studio in Milan in the fields of design, exhibitions, art direction and architecture.

Renowned Italian Art Galleries

Since the end of the Nineties, Nilufar knows how to find its own unique place, so it became a reference point to everyone devoted to historical design, craftsmanship and to people who love to follow the trends and understand the evolution of contemporary design.

Above all, Nilufar inhabits that fine line between artistic knowledge, poetry and visionary ideas, all of the characteristic of contemporary art. Nina Yashar is the gallery’s founder and works with her sister Nilu plus a team of five people. Nilufar was present in several editions of Pavillon des Arts et du Design in Paris and is always in the spotlight at Design Miami/Basel. This art gallery also has its own little manifesto, composed of three words: Discovering, Crossing, Creating.

Gallery Rossana Orlandi opened in 2002 in a former tie Factory in the Magenta neighbor. The gallery has been supporting along the years new designers and is becoming one of the most revered promoters of avant-garde design and lifestyle. Its activity started with a focus on the rising dutch design with designers such as Piet Hein Eek, Maarten Baas and Nacho Carbonell. However, the research has moved widely around the world creating a catalog which reflects the most innovative craftsmanship from Europe to Asia and America.

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[sylsabastian]

The Efficiency of Joy Part 2

Audio Reading: https://goo.gl/vw6B4W

Continued from Part 1: https://goo.gl/dZWHzD

Ursula took hold of this information on the Young Man, thinking it through. "Could it be related to how much he cared?"

"Yes! That's exactly it Ursula, you have helped resolve a mystery for me. Part of our New Nobility culture is learning to care-without-caring. It's relatively easy to acquire, when everyone shares that mindset. But, that's only a small part of it. We don't live in a culture of dependency. I don't mean material needs, although that can be a factor. Mainly however, on Nobelia, there isn't dependency on anyone for interactions which are meaningful and sustaining. When we care too much in isolation, we can be vulnerable"

"Yes yes," Ursula connected to Biella's explanation. "That's why I have no interest in going back to my old world. The interactions..."

"But you'd have the Comm, and with VR..."

"Yes, I tend to forget about that, I am still thinking of how it was pre-Agg. The comm alone would make a huge difference." Ursula laughed. "I'd certainly be dependent on it."

"And what would happen if your Comm was faulty? If you couldn't communicate effectively?"

"That would be a problem, and would certainly affect my equanimity, especially if it was an unsolvable problem, That would be severe. Difficult indeed. But, there was a basic comm in the Young Man's time?"

"Yes. I was using the Comm to illustrate communication difficulties. Sharing in the way we do here, sharing with this level of intensity and detail, sharings of such sustained length and depth, those were rare then, as I imagine they were and likely still are on your old world. Nobelia, the New Nobility, is comprised of those for whom such relationships are their thing, who love this kind of interaction, who want to do nothing else, and who have learned how to do so. We take many skills and techniques for granted. The entire TakeAway Philosophy for instance. Our thorough understanding that communication is a haphazard affair is another. But..."

"Yes...?" Ursula prompted, eager for the More.

"But we take something massively for granted on Nobelia when it comes to communication and interaction. It's inherent in the very premise of Nobelia, it's innate by now..."

"What what? Don't make me beg," Ursula laughed happily. Biella's promptings usually had good effect and stimulated her mind intensely, but what Biella now meant, Ursula had no idea. It could be so many things.

"Good Intent!" Biella supplied. "It's simply not a question that any New Noble has good intent underlying everything they do. This is even understood and accepted throughout most of the Agglomeration. Even taken for granted. Good Intent is synonymous with the New Nobility. It seems simple, but this association has a profound effect on shaping Frame-of-Perception. Yes?" Biella created opportunity for Ursula to put some of it together, knowing how much she enjoyed doing so.

"That Frame-of-Perception... Yes, huge. I'm thinking about when it isn't there. Was one of my biggest challenges back before. Especially in politics. But when the assumption is that one's motivation is askew in some way, it kind of balances out. Everything depended on results, and proof of concept, explanations, and "sell" and so on. Made for much extra effort, but it was the system, was accepted, so not particularly stressful." Ursula paused, thoughtful, exploring the variations, as she had learned to do.

"I'm thinking how it would be if that Understanding of Good Intent was missing here. I mean for me in particular. I now realise it is this singular fact which energises me so. MY intent is not questioned, ever. It's simply assumed and taken for granted I am coming from positivity. That's fantastically liberating and energising. Makes all the difference! No matter how poorly I express myself and communicate, always there is that perception and conviction from everyone here that my Intent is good, no matter what I do. I can do no wrong!" Ursula almost shouted that last realisation. "That's HUGE!"

Continued in Part 3:

Excerpted from: The Biella Series.

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[sylsabastian]

The Efficiency of Joy Part 1

Audio Reading: https://goo.gl/3v5m8X

"What's up?" Ursula was early, wanting some alone time with Biella.

"Thinking about a somewhat complex topic I promised someone I would elaborate on," Biella replied. "It has many parts. I'm thinking on it to get a view of the whole. Or some sort of angle from which to communicate. Tricky. Unrelated, but I like it."

"Unrelated to?"

"Oh, umm, yes," Biella chuckled, "Unrelated to what I was thinking about earlier."

Ursula scowled at Biella with mock perplexity, "Really now," she exhaled with exaggerated drama, earning a giggle from Biella.

"Okay okay, I was thinking about the struggles we have with equanimity. Well not you, but some of us. I imagine you had experience with others having this trouble back on your old world. The Young Man was particularly perplexed by this."

"That surprises me," Ursula's interest sharpened, she was a big fan of the Young Man.

"He had many sides. As much as he loved Awareness, his struggle, and much of the value we have derived from his writings over the centuries, stemmed really from his persistence and insistence on overcoming the unawareness he constantly dealt with. He was perplexed by what seemed at times to him like an outside control of his moods and motivations."

"I can relate to that," Ursula grinned, "Here on Nobelia it's easy to maintain equanimity, the force of the combined energy, mood, and emotional climate is powerful. I just couldn't be in any sort of untoward mood here, I'd feel like a right..." Ursula faltered, her word of choice not feeling appropriate. But Biella's raised eyebrow persisted in its prompting. "Ha, okay then, feeling like a right turd." Biella grinned back, waiting for more.

"But truly, I just don't feel that way here, I always feel good, always in a good mood, there's nothing to be annoyed at, or irritated by. I suppose I could find something if I tried, but, my tolerance level is off the charts because the energy is so high here, pulls mine up along with it."

Biella nodded. "That is so. The Young Man generally had high energy, and it sometimes caused him problems when his energy was mismatched. Mainly for him, he said, he ran into problems of equanimity when he encountered inherent contradiction. When he was put into situations where no matter what he did, he saw a problem. This he had difficulty with."

Ursula took hold of this information on the Young Man, thinking it through. "Could it be related to how much he cared?"

Continued in Part 2:

Excerpted from: The Biella Series.

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[sylsabastian]

Inner Resolution

"Making Peace with the nincompoopery of others allows us to Make Peace with our own nincompoopery. It is to this end all the efforts of the New Nobility to Understand the full spectrum of the human condition are geared." - Biella Noble

“Feel you *OWN* feelings. Independence-of-Feeling is imperative. Most of us are not even Aware that our feelings are not really our own. Unhook from "should."” - Ursula A

"When we Understand, when we truly Understand, we find Peace within." - The Young Man

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[sylsabastian]

The Time Before - Biella Series Book 4 Ch1

Biella and the group had all settled in after boarding and their voyage was already well underway. Biella had strongly recommended everyone familiarise themselves as slowly as possible, explore the ship in small doses, and generally extend the time taken on all activities. Space travel was a slow business.

The spaceship they were on was owned by the New Nobility. More like a small city than a ship, fully self-contained. The nature of space travel involved a ship manoeuvring to a point in space where the competing gravities from major celestial bodies were mostly cancelled out. Then the gravity of the entire ship and contents was changed via localised mini black holes. Changing gravity causes relative time to accelerate or decelerate. It also involved using the mini black holes to accelerate the spaceship. The controlled black holes were used to apply acceleration to the spaceship and everything on it evenly. This allowed for acceleration faster than the G force limitation of propulsion applied to the ship only. Since the ship was not in effect pressing on the physical bodies, it enabled massive acceleration. Once the speeds needed were attained, the black hole was closed and a new one in the other direction was used to decelerate the ship and its contents.

The ships used this method to slow the relative time of the ship. Everything onboard remained the same for the occupants, but time in the universe accelerated. The ship itself in effect stayed in the same place, but the rest of the universe continued to move, and moved much much faster, relatively. The ships positioned themselves on the forward trajectory of their destination. Thus the planet they wanted to travel to, came to them, and their departure point moved away from them. This was how the faster than light problems were solved, via the time-gravity relationship.

The acceleration and deceleration was used to position the ship, taking the short cut as it were. And even though vast distances were covered, they were small relative to universal distances. This acceleration and deceleration along with the gravity changes also ended up more or less evening out the time dilation effect. Nonetheless, space travel always resulted in some change in the difference between the traveller and their point of origin. So when one returned, one always returned to the future, even if it was only a few years further along.

This method worked well. However the calculations involved were inordinately complex. The entire universe really had to be taken into account in order to compute accurately. Since such information is not available from any one particular point, an approximation has to be made, and updated as the journey went on. Much the same way as ancient seafaring mariners had to adjust as they went. Space travel had much in common with those ancient mariners. Journeys took months on average, and sometimes years. Some ships had yet to be heard from, although this was extremely rare. It was why the modern spaceships were self-sustaining, and could in theory exist indefinitely in space. They were perfect closed systems, with the exception of solar energy and a few other sources of incoming energy.

Besides Biella and The Group, as her friends and circle had become known, many officials from the Agglomeration on board as well as enough new Nobles to literally fill a small city. opportunities such as this didn't come along to often. Most New Nobles eagerly sought to join. In effect the ship was more a mini world than even a city. The new Nobility had found, particularly when making first contact, it was much much better to do so in mass, spreading out the interactions so as to circumvent an impression being formulated by any one specific individual, or small group.

This was a Diplomatic Mission. A particularly important Diplomatic Mission. And from experience, the Agglomeration had learned that the Diplomats always had to be fully in charge. They contracted with the New Nobility for their Diplomatic needs. This particular mission was Biella's mission.

No diplomats were even closely comparable to the New Nobility. Their independence from the Agglomeration made them even most trusted.

As everyone had more or less familiarized themselves with the ship they had all congregated in one of the large communal spaces. They were hanging out. "Biella?" Nora asked, she was not one to ever forget, "tell us about your childhood please? You always put off telling us. Not because there was nothing there, but because it was a long long story. A truly very very long story you said. One that really needed to be told in its entirety. We know you meant it, most of us have not forgotten, and have remained intrigued and hopeful for the opportunity to hear the story. Now the opportunity has finally arrived."

A chorus of agreement and excitement rose from The Group. They knew Biella had not been putting them off. They knew she always meant what she said. "Yes," Biella said enthusiastically. This is indeed a most appropriate time and circumstance. "I am keen to tell the story finally, and I have an intuitive feeling I cannot quite pin down that it is somehow relevant. I cannot say how or to what. But there are conditions!' Biella grinned fiercely at them. "I mean that most sincerely. It is a difficult story to tell. It is not an ordinary story at all." She paused, making sure everyone was paying attention, and that everyone was there. This was going to be a Huge Project. "Good," she said, "I want to be sure everyone is fully aware of what's involved. First, I want to make sure all are agreed to suspend the usual questioning. I do not want to shut down questions of course, never ever that, but in this story, and the way it has to be told, much will become obvious and apparent as the story unfolds. So I am asking that the mysteries be held onto. I know it is a big ask, but to try to resolve all the mysteries and immediate obvious questions as they come up will lead to too much sidetracking. It will all come clear." Biella continued, "And after a while, it will become clear as to what types of questions are appropriate. I am asking for Trust in me on this. It is not something I can justify in the usual way. Only through the telling can I show this. You will all see as it develops. And the questions issue will resolve itself. There will be many many questions to ask. But they will change as we go on. You will know what I mean if initially the questions are put on hold. Most of the obvious questions will be resolved later in the story. It is not a linear story" She laughed, "Any questions right now?" "How long is long," Hrmumpt asked. "I am not exactly sure," Biella said, "probably weeks at least. As long as our journey maybe, or even longer." "Excellent!!" said Marko, with many expressing similar sentiments. "What better on-board entertainment than that an on-going story told by Biella. And about Biella!! What could be better." Biella looked at each one in the group in turn. "Everyone is up for this?" No-one dissented. All were eager to hear the story, and the fact that it was going to be a long long story was all the better. "You all agree to be patient, and wait for the story to unfold and at least get some traction before asking questions? I want to emphasise that of I love questions, as you know, but in this case it is important that you hold off for a while before asking. As you know it is near impossible for me *not* to answer a question, but if they are asked too soon I believe the story of my childhood, which is to be the main theme, will not get told. It is a long long story, and complex, but also simple at the end of it all." She smiled enigmatically. "Yes?" she asked again. "Yes!!" They all agreed enthusiastically and with much anticipation. Biella had set them up nicely. They knew it wasn't for effect. They knew Biella meant everything she had said, but it had the effect of creating much anticipation. "Very well," Biella said, with her own enthusiasm. "We will convene as we have been, roughly mid-morning and then let the length of the day's story be determined by the day, and the story. I will start with my earliest memory, which was when I was two and a half. Mostly, from what I have been able to determine, most people's early memories are not usually specifically fixed in time or sequence, but in my case, my earliest memory is both specific as to time, very clear, and long sequence." Biella smiled mysteriously. You'll see, and it will all make sense eventually." She laughed happily again. Enjoying herself. It was not an ordinary story, and she was going to enjoy maximizing the mystery of it, and enjoy the opportunity to tease The Group a bit. "I have to prepare, so until tomorrow then." She got up to leave, and just as The Group was about to engage in discussing this turn of events, she added, "There are pictures..." Saying no more, she left them to wonder.

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[sylsabastian]

Riding the Gifts of Intent

“We cannot assume anything when it comes to memory,” Biella said. “Memory is not a constant. Memory is a variable based on many factors. We especially must not fall into the trap of believing when we do not remember, there is nothing to remember.”

“...there is always More!” Aki and Nora chorused with glee.

“Indeed,” grinned Biella. “Reminds me,” she shifted into story mode, to the delight of the group.

“The Young Man and his Heart had many interesting experiences while in the desert. Many decades later the Young Man asked his Heart, 'What do you remember of our time in the desert? What stands out for you?'”

“His Heart replied, 'There was the White Horse.'”

“'The White Horse?' The Young Man asked puzzled. He could not remember a white horse.”

“'Yes,' his Heart said. 'It came out of nowhere one day. And you put me on it and it took me all around the area of the farmhouse.'”

“The Young Man was amazed. 'But why? That is most strange and unusual.'”

“His Heart simply shrugged. 'It was the thing to do. I don't know why you put me on the White Horse either.' She smiled at him. 'But I held onto that mane and it took me all around that area. You said that horse was just for me.'”

The Young Man remained amazed. He now had a vague memory of the White Horse. He had learned it was the nature of special moments to have peculiar effects on memory. That had been A Moment. A Moment for his Heart. The memories of it belonged to her. The White Horse had been only for her. He could not remember what about it had made him realise then that it was for her alone. But it was magical nonetheless.”

“He checked to make sure. “Despite you never having ridden a horse before and with no saddle or bridle I put you on that horse? It is beyond logic.' He smiled at that. Knowing that often they had done what was not-logical, and always it had led to something amazing.”

“'Yes,' his Heart said, 'Nothing. Just me and the White Horse and the desert.' The look in her eyes melted his heart."

“The Young Man said to his Heart, 'I am thinking about you on that horse. It's so wild, so incredible. What is your Abstract TakeAway from that?'”

“His heart replied, 'There is my relationship with horses and non-relationship. Powerful and Free creatures - I respect that. I had never found the idea of horse-riding appealing...fear? Inability to conceive of it as doable? Just not interested? Why not?...A White Horse!!!! Unicorn! Magical!!!” She grinned fiercely.”

'“Mostly it was the total naturalness of just getting on the horse! I knew the horse was there for me! I had no qualms getting on its back. The ride. A visiting of sorts. Why? A communication that everything is ok!” She was enthralled by the remembrance. She added, “Something familiar about that horse...'”

“The Young Man thought deeply about this and later said to his Heart, 'To me, it is the acknowledgement of the existence of Magic. To have the Understanding that when it comes, we can ride it. We can Do what we would ordinarily never consider doing, or conceive of doing. But when Magic is involved, when the Spirit is involved, when the Universe is taking an interest, then we can surpass ourselves. Easily. We can set aside our Expectations of Limitation, and ride and ride and ride that Magic White Horse wherever it wants to take us. We need only remember the one time we transcended ourselves in the past, to Enable us for all Moments that are to come.'”

“'Yes,' his heart said dreamily, 'A Moment...'”

“The Young Man added, 'Our Abilities are not a Limitation when Encountering Magic. Only our Impeccability to Ride the Moment counts.'”

Biella indicated it was the end of the story, “I am trying to keep the stories short,” she said smiling.

Arafel said, “I only like that because the horse was sort of free. Except that he couldn't have been ridden, were it not for having been broken. Which is unfortunate. I don't agree with or do horse-riding. Putting metal in someone's mouth and pulling it to force him to carry you on his back and run, is not how one respects the personhood and right-to-freedom of a horse, as I see it.”

“Yes,” Biella said not elaborating. I don't want to become side-tracked. “Be careful of missing the Magic. That certainly was a free horse. But it was not a broken horse. And certainly no ordinary horse. They were in the middle of nowhere. That horse was a complete Anomaly. At times like that reason and logic do not apply Arafel.”

“Anomalies are amazing phenomena. That is the lesson for us, was the lesson then. To suspend thinking and go with the logic and reason of the moment, no matter how odd it may be.” Biella thought some more, connecting to the Young Man, connecting to all the Magical Moments she had experienced. There have been so many in the last few weeks, more than usual.

“We can't think normally at times like that,” Biella said. “The Young Man had worked with horses before that time. For someone who has never ever been on a horse, or even near one, to get on a horse without bridle or saddle or even a halter is beyond crazy. Especially an unknown horse. The Young Man knew all of that. He would never ever do anything to endanger anyone, let alone his Heart. That experience is beyond extraordinary, in so many ways.”

“Horses acting on their own in circumstances like that just does not happen. Trained horses that are ridden and are very docile, need to be given direction. Otherwise they will just stand there. That the horse took his Heart round and round like that is just incomprehensible to me. As it was for the Young Man.“ Biella was earnest.

“There were many unexplained things in the World. The World does not work the way we think it does. The New Nobility strive diligently to learn and figure out ways to deal with the non-ordinary. The un-ordinary, non-logical and non-reasonable DO happen. Only fools deny it. The New Nobility refuse to be foolish. It is not easy to reconcile, but it has to be done if one is honest.”

“There is a snippet,” Biella said. “From the Young Man about this. It has no date to it. He had said, 'After my Heart told me again about the White Horse, I did remember More. But I do not remember why. That is the way it goes when the Universe puts pressure on us. We do. The reasons why don't matter. It is a different Way of Living. :) :) Seems totally crazy. But if one Trusts those Moments then the logic and sense comes out later. For my Heart that was a powerful experience. I did not express that enough when I told the story of the White Horse. But I see it now. It enabled her. It allowed her to Trust. To go along for the Ride. What followed from our desert experience is a Magical Ride indeed.'”

Biella added, “Most of the records from the time of the Young Man had become corrupted. Much has been pieced together. But there is still debate about chronology. We have only his recollections from later years.”

“There is More,” Biella said, “The Young Man, after discussing the White Horse Story with his Heart, asked her: 'Does This Change you?' She had replied in that profound but simple way she had: 'I think so! It is part of you I am now, not just an experience.'”

“The Young Man has responded, 'That is a most stunning thing to say. I have always felt that you were a part of me, never just an experience. You are my Heart! The implications of your statement are inordinate. For me it is beyond extraordinary! Especially considering how you came into my life. I am overcome with Love.'”

***

Syldinada.blogspot.com https://www.facebook.com/syl.dinada (For Comments)

[sylsabastian]

The Relationship for a Lifetime

"The Universe is my lover I can have no other The Universe is my Joy she helps me stay a boy The Universe is my life So her I take as Wife!!!"

Just *Being* The Universe's Lover:

Biella was asked “You talk of the New Nobility being focused on just *Being.* But what do they *Do,* to just Be?”

“Mood Management,” Biella simply said. She looked over to her Dear and glorious Friend and said, “There comes a time in the life of a New Noble when they shift from living a personal life.”

“What other kind of life is there?”

Biella explained, “They take on Life as an Agent of the Universe....or it's Lover

And then the exquisite Dance begins....the Dance of Power, the Dance of Joy... the Dance of Freedom. For it is a Dance of Control, a Dance of Responsibility. A Dance of Awareness and Attention. In this Dance we take up the task of Managing the Mood of the Universe, of the World, and everything in it. It is a stupendous undertaking. It is an impossibility, and yet we try. We Dance and Dance like never before. We never relent in our Dance of Joy, in our Dance of Cheer, in our Dance of Positivity. It is our Task, our Task to be Good, to set the Tone, to supply the Mood. Our personal feelings become irrelevant. We have undertaken the most sublime challenge possible, the challenge of..." Biella broke off.

“The challenge of....? Don't stop there...”

Biella had a faraway look on her face. A look of Grace, a look of Connection. “It is the Challenge of a Lifetime. It is the Challenge to always be our best, to always be the most Appropriate we can be, in any and all contexts. And what is Appropriate? What can we be sure of as always being Appropriate? Goodness, of course. But doing what's Good is difficult to know. However, *Feeling* Good we know contributes to the Goodness of the World, the Goodness of Everything. If we are contributing to the Feeling of Goodness wherever we are, we are adding to the Goodness of the World. What a challenge...” Biella breathed. She shivered, feeling the complexity of her thoughts.

“We affect the World around us with how we Feel. Every feeling and mood we put out affects those around us. Their feelings and moods in turn affect others. Every single one of us can thus be the butterfly sneeze that causes the typhoon. The Typhoon of Positivity and Goodness. Simply by *Being* Good. By *Feeling* Good. This is the only *Doing* that is needed. The only *Doing Good* we *can* do. Anything else is a presumption. The New Nobility take this Responsibility very seriously.”

- From: The Perfection of Now - Book 2 of The Biella Series

Syldinada.blogspot.com https://www.facebook.com/syl.dinada (For Comments)

[sylsabastian]

We catch up with Biella and Comelius going over Ursula's momentous decision and the discussion leading up to it. TakeAways come up and are discussed in extra detail in the reading discussion. 

Nobelia.org Self-Discovery Project https://is.gd/bwwNia

#BiellaNoble #TheBiellaSeries #NewNobles #NewNobility #Comelius #UrsulaAspirant #LifeChange #SelfChange #ProfoundChange #PerspectiveShifting #TakeAways

[sylsabastian]

Comelius Shares his Perspective on the potential manipulation by the New Nobility. Nobelia.org Self-Discovery Project http://bit.ly/33YCpWp #TheBiellaSeries #BiellaNoble #Comelius #TheDelegates #Manipulation #StrategicEthics #TheNewNobility #TheNewNobles #Extrapolation

[sylsabastian]

Biella Shares the Story of how The Agglomeration got its name. Nobelia.org Self-Discovery Project http://bit.ly/2X4yLY7 #Appropriateness #TheBiellaSeries #TheNewNobility #TheNewNobles #BiellaNoble #TheAgglomeration #CapitalDDiplomacy #Manipulation #Ethics #Integrity #Impeccability #Awareness #Cueing #Ursula #Extrapolation

[sylsabastian]

Biella and Shar have an Adventure revealing a profound Understanding.

Nobelia.org Self-Discovery Project

http://bit.ly/2NeEWFI

#Appropriateness #Context #TheInfernalMachine #SchoolOfNobility #TheBiellaSeries #TheNewNobility #BiellaNoble #Anomalies #Attunement #DoubtResolution #DecisionMaking