Interview by Titti Chiarello - Photography Annalisa Ceccotti

Milan-Forte dei Marmi round-trip, at least once a month, please! This rhythm typifies Maria Sole and Alice Grossi’s lives, fortemarmine sisters, who have chosen the Lombard capital to work and study. Twenty-three-year-old Maria Sole, already a graduate of the prestigious IULM (University of Languages and Communication), works for a Milanese agency that organizes luxury and fashion events, while twenty-year-old Alice is attending her second year of the Arts, Entertainment, and Cultural Events course also at iulm. What do you miss most about Forte since you have been living in Milan? “Everything!”, Maria Sole replies. “It is true that Milan gives me so much, but I miss nature, the scent of the sea – in other words – the freedom, and all the beauty of Forte, where I grew up and was used to. It is the long beachfront promenades, which make the sea look wonderful in winter with its gigantic spaces, or the walks along the riverbanks, where greenery and silence reign, a paradise even for my dogs! To say nothing of the clean air that takes on a salty smell in some days… all things that I have always taken for granted, whilst now I know they are unique and special. What about you Alice? “I too can now appreciate Forte’s uniqueness more”, she answers, and adds with a smile: “Every time people ask me where I am from, and I reply “Forte dei Marmi” I hear this refrain: “Lucky girl!!”. I had never dwelt on the tremendous fortune of being raised in a place where nature is sovereign and I can tirelessly walk for hours in the open air without getting bored, because the spaces are immense… And then, I also miss my community so much, the village relationships which are almost one with the environment we are immersed in; slow paces, caring for other people, closeness – that is – zero stress”. Yet is there at least one thing that you manage to do both in Milan and in Forte that serves as a bridge between your two lives, the city life, and the village life? “As I love doing sports”, Maria Sole recounts “I found a gym in Milan where I do wall climbing. When in Forte I go to Tennis Europa or Italia”. What about you Alice? “I love attending exhibitions and when I am at home, I do not miss one, whether at Villa Bertelli or at Fortino”.