An inspirational design magazine published by Devon&Devon A new Grand Tour Devon S^Devon

A new Grand Tour. Questo numero di &Journal è un viaggio lento nello spazio e nel tempo, che partendo da Firenze, dove Devon&Devon è nata, e dalla Toscana, dove lavorano i suoi straordinari artigiani, segue le orme dei Grand Tour ottocenteschi e le travalica, aprendo, in tutto il mondo, nuove strade verso la bellezza. Ma è anche una riscoperta del piacere di fermarsi e di sentirsi a casa ovunque, anche soltanto per qualche giorno. Buona lettura

A New Grand Tour This edition of &Journal is a slow journey through time and space. Setting off from Florence, where Devon&Devon was established, and from Tuscany, where its extraordinary craftsmen and women work, it follows in the footsteps of the 19th century Grand Tours and goes beyond, opening, all over the world, new roads leading to beauty. But it also rediscovers the pleasure of stopping and feeling at home anywhere, even just for a few days. Enjoy! 04 Florence 06 Venice 08 Santorini 10 Reims 12 Madrid 14 At Home. Everywhere 16 The designers’ choice 18 L’Art de vivre la salle de bai

Suggested book: Claudio Paolini, A sentimental Journey. Inglesi e americani a Firenze Florence Helvetia & Bristol A stay in the city’s oldest luxury hotel, is a sentimental journey in the footsteps of artists and poets and of traditional craftsmanship that can only be found here. Nel più longevo hotel di lusso della città, il soggiorno è un viaggio sentimentale sulle tracce di artisti e poeti e di una tradizione artigianale unica al mondo.

June 1885: in the oldest part of Florence, recently reconfigured to give it that touch of grandeur displayed by other European capitals, the city’s first luxury hotel was inaugurated. Its prime location, harmonious Neo-Renaissance architecture, and stunning Liberty-style winter garden - which filters sunlight through unexpected coloured glass - quickly secure it a place of honour in the travel journals of the international elite on the Grand Tour. Its elegant suites would soon host the likes of Igor Stravinsky, Luigi Pirandello, and Eugenio Montale, Gabriele D’Annunzio and Eleonora Duse, John...

Suggested book: J. W. Goethe, Italienische Reise Venice Palazzo Cristo

“When I saw the first gondola approach, it brought to mind a toy from my early childhood, one I hadn’t thought about in perhaps twenty years. My father owned a beautiful model of a gondola, which he had brought from Venice. He really treasured it and I felt so incredibly lucky when he let me play with it. The bow, covered in shining tin, and the black cabin felt like old acquaintances and stirred in me the sweetness of a cherished memory”. The lost and found poetry of a souvenir of yesteryear thus emerges miraculously from the pages of the travel journal kept by the master of all travellers....

Suggested book: Platon, Kritias Santorini Namaste Suites “I bow before you”, says the name of this charming holiday residence, suspended between the blues of the sky and the Aegean sea. “I bow before you” it repeats, throwing open its doors before the guest who finds a magical place within its limewashed walls, a place where time stops ticking and makes way for contemplation. An island in an island, Namaste Suites invites the traveller to embrace the silence, where distant echoes of ancient stories still have the power to speak to the present. Tales of gods and heroes, and of a civilisation that...

Suggested soundtrack: Gioacchino Rossini, Il viaggio a Reims Reims Résidence Eisenhower A spellbinding private residence offers its guests the privilege of living in history and the pleasure of discovering a new travel dimension. Un’incantevole residenza privata offre ai suoi ospiti il privilegio di abitare nella storia e il piacere di scoprire una dimensione nuova del viaggiare.

Beneath the Saint-Nicaise hill, southeast of the magnificent 13th-century Gothic cathedral where the kings of France were crowned, run 25 km of tunnels that connect countless “caves de champagne”. There, where gypsum quarries were once to be found, the miracle of in-bottle fermentation now takes place, resulting in some of the finest champagne in the world. Since 2015, this remarkable network of cellars has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site, alongside the vineyards that, since the 18th century, have shaped a unique and unparalleled landscape —now a sought-after Grand Tour destination...

Suggested song: Fred Astaire, Puttin’ on the Ritz Madrid Mandarin Oriental Ritz

2 October 1910: King Alfonso XIII presided over the lavish inauguration ceremony of the first luxury hotel in the Spanish capital. His presence was not merely ceremonial: he had been the one who, upon returning from a trip, had wanted Madrid to have a temple of hospitality that would rival those of Paris and London. To bring this vision to life, he invested a substantial capital in the construction of a grand palace and appointed César Ritz, “the king of hoteliers and the hotelier of kings,” to oversee every aspect of the project. With the opening of the Ritz, the Belle Époque also came to Madrid....

BELMOND CASOLE TUSCANY MANNA ARCADIA GREECE RITZ CARLTON GENEVA SOFITEL OBELISK DUBAI PORTRAIT MILAN TORRE A CONA TUSCANY

“Arriving at each new city, the traveller finds again a past of his that he did not know he had.” Italo Calvino “Arrivando a ogni nuova città il viaggiatore ritrova un suo passato che non sapeva più d’avere” Italo Calvino In the postcards sent from hotels around the world that host the Devon&Devon collections, an old-fashioned tradition is revived, capturing the moment when a journey is condensed into an image and lingers on a thought directed toward those who are part of everyday life. An imaginary bridge between the extraordinary and the ordinary of everyday living. Nelle cartoline inviate...