BEAUTY, CURIOSITY, HARMONY AND ESPECIALLY REBIRTH : THESE
CONCEPTS INSPIRE OUR MAGAZINE, SHARING SPECIAL MOMENTS
AND CARVING OUT A NICHE FOR YOURSELF.
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ALCHEMY OF REBIRTH
#14 Flowers, what a treat!
Edible flowers are nothing new, but every time we see a handful of jasmine or violet petals in a dish we are surprised and even a little astonished, facing such versatility.
The use of flowers in cooking dates back thousands of years, but thanks to the tests of two top chefs, Michel Bras and Marc Veyrat, they became more and more important ingredients in the world of haute cuisine. In the so-called "edible landscapes" flowers play an important role, not only for their texture, their smell and the sparkling colors, but also because they convey a gentle, poetic world. Often chefs who love edible flowers do in-depth researches with botanists to create different varieties that fit their dishes.
Catering’s growing demand has allowed the birth of companies dedicated to this specific purpose, which continuously look for new flower varieties around the world and offer them to the highest and boldest bidders.
Today we find a few species of edible flowers on supermarket shelves, but there are almost forty different types. Enjoy them, but also make sure you know them before tasting, to avoid unfortunate accidents.
Good Rebirth… and appetite!
STORIES OF REBIRTH
#13 The art of disappearing
"Enjoy being discreet means to immediately accept that you cannot enjoy it forever. It means really giving up, happily, the eternal and homogeneous life, source of many deadly desires."
What it means to live discreetly in the present age, in the (social) media circus, in what Bauman would call “the liquid society”? The author – a French philosopher and professor at the University of Paris VII - Denis Diderot - proposes a mandatory reflection, for anyone who wants to train his critical spirit and not give up thinking the Zeitgeist, the spirit of time.
Orienting one’s thoughts about what is alive and beautiful, both socially and politically, means going in the opposite direction to that of the appearance. It means grasping the naked beauty of the gesture; not work’s, nor statute’s, but the whispered impersonality that produces a smile, a bit of joy and energy, the democratic beauty of ordinary life. An experience "that demands to depose all sovereignty and to open to the opportunities of an anonymous life, which are rightfully unlimited”.
This approach brings us closer to a particular kind of happiness, far from the one given by having or being for someone else: "... escape the emptiness of self-images and personal ambitions; shirk things that you possess as to those you do not possess; escape both the fear of losing and that of not having anything to lose: we might call it happiness by subtraction. "
Thank you my friend, you've read my heart.
Pierre Zaoui - La discrétion : Ou l'art de disparaître
Autrement, Paris, 2013
SELF MOMENTS
#13 Porta Rosa in Velia, in the heart of the Mediterranean
Velia: a glorious place for real fans (as it is outside the usual tourist routes), which still retains a true jewel, witness of our great civilization.
In Velia, the ancient Elea, the heart of Magna Grecia, the traveler falls silent in front of Porta Rosa, a unique example of Greek arch dating back to 4th century, a unique treasure of that period’s architecture, the first rounded arch in our history . The charm of the excavations is amplified by the site location, that overlooks the sea of Cilento.
History and philosophy lovers strolling in the streets of Velia get a thrill of pure emotion, as retracing the steps of the fathers of the Eleatic school philosophy means to be reborn with them. It is hardly surprising that the onset of the logos took place right here, blessed by the sun and the sea.
The supreme harmony of the elements is so vivid in this place, that no imagination effort is necessary. Breathe in the salt, the arbutus and the happiness arising from the pride our origins.
Porta Rosa - Velia, Salerno, Italy