Word: ginori
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...class flight on Delta Air Lines, my wife and I were rested and looking forward to celebrating New Year's at this world-renowned palazzo located on the Grand Canal in Venice. In minutes, we were comfortably ensconced in our spectacular room overlooking the canal, replete with Frette linens, Ginori porcelain, thick cotton robes and towels in the pink-marbled bathroom and an immense, multicolored Murano glass chandelier in the bedroom. There was also a chilled bottle of Ferrari sparkling wine (one of Italy's finest), a huge vase of flowers and a silver bowl of fresh fruit--all compliments...
...Italian accent is heavy and rich. At Richard-Ginori, customers select chinaware priced from $20 to $700 per place setting. Fashion Designer Valentino Garavani, whose ready-to-wear cocktail dresses can cost $800, has turned his Fifth Avenue boutique into an identical triplet of his Rome and Milan extravaganzas-all mirrors, brass and thick beige carpet. Mario of Florence, who sells women's shoes at from $82 to $420 a pair, operates out of a grand salon that could have been lifted from a jet-age Florentine palazzo. Roberta di Camerino's place, which specializes in sportswear...
Except for Ginori, which is listed on the Rome stock exchange, the avenue's Italian stores are all privately owned family enterprises. Some, like the proliferous Valentino-who operates nearly 80 retail outlets round the world-have been forced to franchise a number of their shops, but keep a firm hand on their agents. Buccellati and Bulgari are brother acts: one brother minds the store in New York while the others produce the jewels back home. Salvatore Ferragamo, who got his start making shoes for Silent Screen Stars Mary Pickford and Pola Negri, left his business to his widow...
There are cynics who explain the Italian invasion as less of an onslaught than a mass escape from chaos at home. "Some of the families, they're running away from Italy while they can still get out," says Ginori Director Franz M. Aliquo. But most of the shopkeepers admit to a more direct motivation. "New York is the most important showcase in the world," says Gucci's Cagliarini. Aliquo of Ginori says: "We decided to come because of the prestige, just to say we had a branch on Fifth Avenue." "Angelo Rizzoli just wanted a bookshop on Fifth...
...Italians also believe they are doing their bit to improve the quality of American life. Ginori is trying hard to help civilize U.S. bathrooms-by pushing its line of bidets. Ferragamo shoes last so long they should be sold with a 50,000-mile warranty. Rizzoli offers browsers the latest bestsellers from Paris and Rome (not to mention Asterix, the whimsical French comic-book series, translated into Italian). The Italians also believe they have upgraded the avenue itself. "Two or three years ago, Fifth Avenue was in danger of being taken over by the banks and airline offices," says Gina...