stay
Forte dei Marmi is still out there, vibrant and desirable as ever. But this time, we are not the ones searching for it. We let it find us instead. In a day entirely our own. In this refuge suspended between the woods and the sea. Rediscovering the lost art of doing absolutely nothing
Testo di Niccola De Prà - Foto di Alessandro Moggi
There is something unusual about sunset light when you are not about to leave. When there is no suitcase in your hand, no taxi waiting outside, nothing you have to do except remain there, relaxed, watching it unfold. Irene says it softly, almost to herself: “I always see this light in a rush.” She is right. It happens to me too. But I do not answer. I simply surrender to this perfect moment. I watch the light shift minute after minute as the sun slowly disappears behind the hills of the Ligurian coast. Pink and gold. Deep greens and amber reflections. The sea below glistens like a distant thought. For once, we are not going anywhere. We have already arrived.
Morning begins slowly, just the way we like it. Breakfast appears almost magically on the terrace table: coffee, pastries, little cakes, strawberries from the Versilian countryside… No alarm clock. No plans. Only the unmistakable scent of blooming helichrysum, the balsamic aroma of pine trees, the cool shade of the surrounding woods, and a blackbird singing hidden among the holm oaks. “Come,” Giorgia calls. “The garden is enchanting early in the morning.”
She is right. We walk along paths and stone walkways disappearing into lush, surprising vegetation. From time to time, the view opens onto the plain stretching toward the sea, the ancient waters of Lake Porta below us, Livorno and La Spezia at opposite ends of the coastline. We move in silence, discovering unexpected spots: a stone bench shaped like a sculpture, a giant metal hand made for sitting and swinging, a table engraved with a poem in marble. Time feels different here. It settles gently over things, holding them still. Holding us still, too.
We come across the small lake almost by chance while descending a slope. Deep green water reflecting the sky. Silence broken only by the croaking of frogs and the trickling sound of a narrow water channel. Irene chooses the sun. With my inseparable book in hand, I instead climb toward a tiny belvedere barely emerging from the cool embrace of ivy. Little by little, thoughts begin to slow. Then they even come to a stop.
We walk along paths and stone walkways disappearing into lush, surprising vegetation. From time to time, the view opens onto the plain stretching toward the sea, the ancient waters of Lake Porta below us, Livorno and La Spezia at opposite ends of the coastline
Lunch in the garden – what a joy! Something simple and perfect, with light filtering diagonally through the branches, casting long shadows across the pale marble. A generous salad. A glass of white wine served at exactly the right temperature. We chat about everything and nothing. We joke. We laugh. Conversations among friends. Thoughts set free. Then we go back to the terrace, and Giorgia pulls out a deck of cards. “Just one game,” she promises. We play six.
Lunch in the garden – what a joy! Something simple and perfect, with light filtering diagonally through the branches, casting long shadows across the pale marble. A generous salad. A glass of white wine served at exactly the right temperature. We chat about everything and nothing. We joke. We laugh. Conversations among friends. Thoughts set free
The afternoon drifts by like this: reading, naps, games, walks, lingering glances at the landscape and its colors as they shift hour by hour. We chose to do nothing, and there is something quietly revolutionary about a day without obligations. Forte dei Marmi is still there, vibrant and desirable as ever. But this time, we are not the ones searching for it. We let it find us instead.
And then comes the evening light. A slow, languid descent toward nightfall. But before darkness erases the landscape, there is still one more moment entirely our own. A little music. A few dance steps. Arms lifted toward the sky. Happiness in silhouette. Moments we wish could last forever. And we reflect on all the times we used to rush somewhere at this hour. But not tonight. Tonight, we stay. In this moment, in this perfect place that, somehow, now feels like it belongs to us.
in symbiosis with nature
Words by Francesca Navari
Symbiosis with nature imparts a lasting quality to every project. Tiziano Lera, a globally acclaimed bio-architect, creates homes that engage with their environment, balancing modernity and memory. For the photo shoot featured on these pages, he opened his home, La Sughera, in Palatina, where the embrace of flowers, plants, and animals turns a visit into an immersive experience. Here, landscapes become paintings; sculptures by important artists punctuate the vast park; poems are engraved on tables and benches; and a gentle pony walks alongside, as if to distill the beauty of life itself.
“Thirty-five years ago, I fell in love with this place,” says Lera, a pioneer of sustainability and biosystemic architecture, “and chose to live in full immersion in a place already designed by God. Originally part of Corsica, it still perfumes with helichrysum and offers views from the coast to Lake Porta. Here I found the core of my philosophy as a naturalist architect: blending history, nature, art, and architecture. I recovered part of this unfinished hotel and completed it using local materials, such as cavernous limestone for the floors, and clay and lime for the plasterwork. The design includes a breeze to cool the interiors and natural caves for meditation. Every spot in Versilia has its own poetics, steeped in different eras and styles, making local knowledge essential. Special effects do not convince me: contemporaneity imposes values of seismic performance, safety, and home automation, but it is a natural balance that passes identity on to future generations.”
Architect Tiziano Lera
Location: Villa La Sughera | Photography: Alessandro Moggi | Styling: Francesca Bertini | Hair & Make Up: Sara Martini Muah | Clothes: Boutique Frog Firenze, Filberg.Design, Collezione Lera | Beachwear: KC Beachwear | Models: Irene e Giorgia for Casting Firenze Model Management | Table setting: Cose Belle Home | Floral styling: L’Arcobaleno Arte del Fiore
