Interview by Francesca Navari - Photograèhy Nicola Gnesi

Forte dei Marmi remains the hub of her customs, enshrined in that beach cabana No. 1 at Bagno Giovanni for a good fifty-five years, even after exploring every corner of the world. A Milanese travel and lifestyle journalist and correspondent for national newspapers and magazines, Silvana Rizzi, has found her ideal peaceful nook in Versilia despite her curious and adventurous nature inherited from her Bergamasque ancestor Antonio Moscheni. The magnificent frescoes he painted in Jesuit churches and colleges in India in the late 19th century earned him the reputation of “India’s Michelangelo.” Silvana has dedicated a docufilm to him, to be presented at Villa Bertelli on July 7 at 9:30 pm. When did you start frequenting Forte? “My parents brought me in the postwar period. I was four to five years old and instantly fell in love with the town that smelled of freedom. One year, my mom diverted the family vacations to Elba: I got bored, took the train alone, and returned to Forte to hop on my bike.” What do you like best? “It is a place that can amaze you even in winter, on windy days on the Pontile when surfers ride the waves – a sophisticated environment with a rising number of designer labels, but nothing jarring. On that note, some lament a loss of identity: what do you say? “Woe if it becomes Miami, though, everything changes. The cobbler is gone, but there is also less need for one. I feel sorry for the demise of the Giannelli bookstore and regret the florist confined to the indoors of a gazebo, yet the glorification of plants and flowers blessed so many towns. It is a small town that can give so much.” Such as? “The chance to feel safe in the romantic comfort zone of one’s habits. I am thinking of morning coffee at the café, bike rides, lunch on my house’s porch, and the Giovanni resort, where I feel at home. The lifeguard Paolo, whom I entrusted my children and today my grandchildren, has been here for sixty years.” Do you always find the flavor of yesteryear? “Some say too many white villas have been built. I invite them to see the stunning conservative restoration that Manfredi and Kelly Catella did of the Mann-Borgese House.”