Can a story be of global interest even if it’s firmly rooted in a specific place? Can it be open to the world as well as
In recent months, the restrictions and bans that we’ve learnt to live with have compelled us to give greater value to things that previously, due to some strange optical defect, were perhaps too close for us to be able to fully appreciate them. Forced to abandon our longer-distance travels, we’ve all rediscovered how much beauty we had at our fingertips – and for us Italians it must be said that it hasn’t been difficult.
Brands are also experiencing a similar shift in perspective. After years of making stylistic choices aimed at satisfying the demands and tastes of travellers hailing from faraway lands, they are now working towards rebuilding their relationships with local consumers. This type of clientele may be reduced in size and less inclined to buying on impulse, but it is also cultured and loyal, the indispensable pedestal underpinning every plan for international development.
These considerations have inspired this issue, which is a new experiment, another small first. From cover to cover, it focuses on a single place that is very close to us, and yet unique in the world and undoubtedly special. Naples leaves nobody indifferent. It arouses powerful emotions, and by its very nature it can’t appeal to everyone. But it is unpredictable and explosive, a world within a city. We describe it as a place where the seeds of diversity and inclusivity have always germinated, and which today is a fertile ground for new artistic experiences with an international reach. These creative developments are taking root with a felicitous fusion of hyper-localism and openness to elsewhere, a quality that distinguishes every great southern capital, and which social networks and new media are projecting far and wide.
On these pages you won’t find the Naples of picture postcards, but rather glimpses of real life, beauty and style. There’s just one cautionary note. We have chosen not to talk about its many well-known problems, because that’s not our profession. But looking closely, we’ve touched on the city’s troubles indirectly, by giving voice to people who, at a certain point in their lives, decided to leave this place, yet fatally they have returned, bringing their contribution to usher in a new season.
In any case, and above all, we wanted to offer a few pieces of Italian sky to everyone who reads and watches us from afar. Hopefully you’ll breathe the fragrance of our long-awaited summer, which has never been more well-deserved than this year.