by Ann Carrol

Created on: April 20, 2008   Last Updated: November 24, 2008

The highlight of these past twelve months was a three week trip to Italy, over Christmas and New Years. A word of advice about going during that time of year: Dress warm. It's cold!
Temperature, however, has no effect on Italy's hypnotic allure.
Once smitten, you'll never be the same.

Some guidebooks will say that eighty percent of the world's greatest art treasures

are found in Italy, but you don't need a guidebook to notice that art and design simply permeate the Italian culture. In Italy, every-day living is an art form.
You'll notice it on the street, observing the pedestrians and the general public.
No sneakers, no sweatpants, no T-shirts with silly sayings on them. Not that
everyone is dressed "fancy", but the typical person on the street it outfitted with tasteful
flair. Mundane events, such as going to the market, are transformed into special occasions
in Italy.

And speaking of marketing, in Italy, presentation is everything. An Italian merchant wouldn't dream of it being any other way. From the humblest street vendors to the interiors of the swankiest shops, goods are artfully arranged and stylishly presented. Window displays are works of art. Every purchase, even the most modest, is carefully wrapped in beautiful paper and taped with embossed seals before being placed in a bag. What seems routine is made oh-so special in Italy.

One afternoon in Rome, in the piazza outside the Pantheon, I gazed upward and
admired the beautiful color "washes" on the outside walls of the ancient buildings.
As I studied these peeling layers of color that were hundreds of years in the making, I couldn't help realizing how ironic it is that so many people here in the states are willing to pay hundreds of dollars for someone to instantly recreate the same look on the walls of their homes.
These Italian walls were not "faux"-anything. They were the real deal!

So that got me to thinking,.....we're all familiar with Italian style when we think of handbags, shoes, clothes, cars, opera, art...but what is it about Italian home decor that makes it so "Italian"? The answer became evident by the time we reached our rented cottage in Tuscany (a little 900-year-old jewel), as we marveled over the massive wood beams, brick walls and tile floors inside the home. A bit of research reveals that the Italian "style" comes from literally centuries of experimenting and actual use.

The fabric industry, for example, has a strong tradition in some regions, such as Como and Biella, producing exceptionally beautiful

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