Art For Business is a non-profit association born in 2007 to promote and highlight the contribution of the arts and culture for companies and organizations. It acts as a hub connecting companies, cultural institutions, universities and people wanting to define the role of artistic languages for innovation, education and development.

Valeria Cantoni, the mind behind this idea says “Art has an enormous potential: dialoguing with art is like wearing special sunglasses that can help to understand the complexity of contemporary organizations, building a new sensibility for relationships, showing the emotional side of decisions”.

Art For Business works especially with contemporary art expressions that can high light differences, that can represent an opportunity to express oneself and to rethink common values, visions and organization models. For this purpose Art For Business promotes research, experimental activities and communication.

The Art For Business  project originates from a simple idea: art is good for business. Getting to know art allows you to understand, perceive and act everyday life in a different way. That is why Art for Business does not separate artists from non artists: anyone can use the processes by which art is used to solve problems in an unexpected way, to communicate more attentively,  to gain value from our mistakes. Art For Business believes in promoting and emphasizing the contribution that the arts offer for the development of people within business organizations. Since 2007 it works with artists, managers, entrepreneurs, scholars to make this value more and more recognizable.

The main aim is to promote research, experimenting with new methods of learning, organizing public meeting initiatives. There is still a lot to be done; the area to explore is vast. That’s why they practice exploration, side by side with people, businesses and institutions who can foresee the potential that artistic languages can create within organizations.

Concluding, Art For Business has as its main objective to involve all enterprises and public and private institutions that believe in the value of art and culture as a strategic tool for development of organization, reputation and management.

The association promotes easy mobility with environment friendly  means of transport such as the bicycle, that is healthy and does not pollute.

Activities include bycle rides in natural reserves, bycle roots near the coast and through villages. During this year’s  “Giornata di Primavera” of the FAI, for example, the group cycled in the Province of Ascoli Piceno up to Colli del Tronto, passing through the Borgo Storico in Castel di Lama and the Palazzetto Panichi in Colli del Tronto. Youngsters and adults with children are welcome to join in all the activities.

The “Giornata di Primavera” of the FAI takes place every year all over Italy, during the last weekend of March. It is a wonderful event that opens palaces, courtyards, churches, homes and galleries that are normally not accessible to the public. This year the Province of Ascoli Piceno has opened three real jewels for our curious hearts:

Galleria degli Specchi di Palazzo Saladini di Rovetino, Ascoli Piceno

The image on the left is a detail of the beautiful frescoes by Biagio Miniera, the same artist who painted the frescoes in the chapel of the Borgo Storico around 1600. This wonderful “salone” has been rediscovered by the Saladini di Rovetino family in the 1990s and since then restored bit by bit. Painfully ruined during the second World War, it is a lovely example of colours, forms and symbols.

Chiesa Santa Maria delle Donne, Ascoli Piceno

This magnificent church was built in 1220 circa by the Clarisse nuns.It is a fine example of a romanic church with a Monastery nearby. It has been saved by the love and care of the Saladini di Rovetino Family who have restaured it in recent years and are now opening it to the public.

Castel di Luco

To reach this medieval castle – Castel di Luco – one must drive through the Salaria Road and reach an isolated spot of the Sibillini Mountain range. It is a magical place and it gives a pleasant culinary experience with traditional dishes under frescoed vaults lit by candlelight. A few rooms are available as B&B, excavated in the stone overlooking the green woods surrounding the imposing fortress.

Madrid – FITUR – January

Finally, contacts with our loved sister country Spain have increased! A new Ryanair flight started at a special promotional rate: Madrid – Ancona, every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Furthermore, from May, Seville – Ancona will start every Wednesday and Sunday. The Fitur Fair was hence a great platform to introduce Le Marche and the Borgo Storico to the Spanish market. We have been working for many years with Cosmoplitan Tours and the Fundacion de Casas Historicas y singulares hence, these two new Ryan air flights will help us to enhance the international exchange between Italy and Spain.

New team Memember

We also have a new team member in Madrid who represents both the Borgo Storico and Le Marche Segrete: Maria Carmen Sanchez del Peral Lopez. Expert in Heritage Management, she worked for many years for the Fundacion de Casa Historicas y Sungulares supporting their legal department and planning itineraries. She is now Professor for the Cultural Management Master: Tourism, Heritage and Environment at Ortega and Gasset University. 

Bruxelles – Salon des Vacances – February

The Salon des Vacances Fair is directed mainly to the public, rather than to agencies and Tos. Sometimes it is a very good way to test our products, to see the reactions and ask questions about the liked destinations, means of transport, etc. Le Marche for example, is a loved destination by Belgians and Dutch who drive a long way and stay more than a week in the chosen place. We were hosted by Le Marche Region in the Enit stand.

Berlin – ITB – March

ITB Fair in Berlin is a prime meeting place, a marketplace, and a driving force behind the entire industry. The exhibition area and various segments, along with the comprehensive congress programme and supporting events represent the entire product spectrum of the tourist industry. In 2010, Germany is the country with more outgoing tourism. Italy is the third destination for Germans after Spain and Germany. We were hosted in the stand of  Le Marche in the Enit pavillon.

Does this really work?

The Golden rule: never underestimate your capabilities

We all started the course a bit skeptical, how can you measure electromagnetisms relying only on your body reflections? How can you detect the positive areas from the negative ones?  How can you expect to learn a few basic principles in just a few days?

Well, all these doubts were soon set a side by Marco, saying “Leave all your preconceptions behind, do not worry about the result, accept you body as being a natural antenna that captivates the energy of the biosphere and jus LISTEN…” This was almost the beginning of a Yoga course, but probably Marco was right, one forgets that our body can listen with more parts than just our ears.  Our body is LIKE an antenna that captivates energies, not only sounds or images, but electromagnetisms from the earth, plants and electronic devices such as radio frequencies, underwater rivers, satellite and mobile lines.

A special course for skeptical beings

A must: be curious and open to new ideas and techniques

To begin with, we had two intense days of theoretical studies starting from the ancient Egyptians and Greek cultures through to Hans Christian Orsted, James Clerk Maxwell, Guglielmo Marconi and Walter Kunnen. Marco touched the most sophisticated scientific researches by juxtaposing them with natural or bio techniques that have taken a lot of time to be proved and explained scientifically. We played around with candles and fire, measuring with the Lecher antenna it’s strength and corners of rooms.

The third and fourth days were past in the gardens, detecting the north and south electromagnetic poles, fluxes of under water paths and plant energies. It was fascinating to discover how an evergreen, planted in the right spot can give so much back to our body electromagnetically or how a palm tree, usually a great magnet of positive energies can manifest a horrible and incurable disease. And this was only by the use of the Lecher antenna.

The course ended with many more doubts than we had begun with. How can one reach the stage of not influencing the antenna while detecting the electromagnetic waves? When do we stop counting the waves? How do we know that the work is done well? And here Marco ended the course: “Constant practice let’s all doubts you may have out of the window that is your mind”.

Hence, if you want to feel your way amongst this unknown territory you have two unmissable opportunities in 2011: from the 12^th to the 15^th of May at Villa Lina historic park and from the 6^th to the 9^th of October here in the Borgo Storico gardens.

Further info: www.archibio.it

Another wish was to have a Catholic wedding in our home in Castel di Lama. The Borgo has a lovely frescoed 17^th century Oratory dedicated to San Pancrazio, but our biggest wish was to have a ceremony in the historic garden, under ancient oak trees and evergreens.

NUMBER OF GUESTS

150: the magic number.

It gave the opportunity to all family members and closest friends to meet in a very relaxed and easy going atmosphere. It is however a number that leaves out many dear friends that we do know but that for natural reasons we have seen less of in the past years, this is why I always wanted to have a big party before or after the wedding! You have a chance to dance, drink and let go with really ALL the people you care for but still have a small wedding, with the magical charm of small but precious things.

LOCATION AND CEREMONY

A reflection of our culture and Soul.

During our lives, Ben and I have matured love for nature in its different forms: gardens, sea and countryside. Ben loves walking to work in London and up mountains all over the world, going shooting in the English and German countryside and sailing in the rough northen seas. I love sleeping under a tree, strolling in the streets window shopping and sun tanning on a sailing boat in the calm waters of the Mediterranean sea….We wanted our wedding to reflect these passions for nature! We wanted to make our vows not only in front of God, our family and friends but also in front of the whole Universe! Plants, birds, insects, skies, clouds, suns (no rain fortunately…..).

Too add even more significance to the event we married “in” a contemporary work of art by Saverio Todaro, a young artist from Turin who exhibited his works here at the Borgo in a group show in 2008. He created “Oracolo” (Oracle) the circle of the “I Ching” in black and white by building cement blocks to sit on. Furthermore, the area is very good bio energetically for the stomach, a way to relax everyone while the ceremony was going on!! Hence we had religion, naturalism and oriental philosophies all mixed in the same place, a cultural mix which also reflected all our friends who were present: Italians, English, Germans, French, Spanish, Swedish, Swiss, Chinese, Colombians, Indians….

Our local priest Don Giacomo, was so kind to understand these wishes that in his speech he spoke of universal understanding, of the importance of nature and its closeness to God and the Church.

THE LUNCH PARTY

Table settings, decorations, flowers, food, wine and a good wedding planner!

Wedding Planner: We decided from the beginning that it was best to call Jean Paul Troili from Rome, a dear friend of my parents that shot to fame in the ‘80s as a very good make-up artist and who is now the best event organizer in Italy. He mixes a Baroque style with contemporary touches which include also natural elements. Visually the decorations can be very imposing or extremely subtle, following always the desires of the commissioners. The choice of the table settings and of the food and wine strictly follows the visual effect created, amalgamating all the senses: vision, taste, odours and touch. This is probably why JP is the Head Decorator for the most important Italian aristocratic families as well as for actors as famous as Tom Cruise and companies as well known as Bulgari.

Food and wine: In Italy it is tradition that people invited to weddings are also invited to lunch or dinner according to the time of day you choose to marry. We therefore offered quite long drinks with local specialities like the “Oliva Ascolana” with fried vegetables, oysters, finger food and some good “Valdobiadene Marca Oro” prosecco. Lunch was served under the gazebo adjacent to the Villa, 14 tables of 10 people each, all with a precise seating plan plus a long table for the bride, groom and their witnesses. Ben chose a selection of local wines from Le Marche which included the Montori Fonte Cupa (red) and the Garofoli Macrina (white). To accompany these lovely wines we had home made ravioli with ricotta cheese, lobster, lemon sorbet and a wide selection of traditional Sicilian puddings like “latte di mandorla” (almond milk), “granite” (water ice cream), “minne di Sant’Agata”, “cannoli al pistachio di bronte” (fried thin pastry roll with sweet ricotta cheese, candied fruit and pieces of chocolate). and last but not least, the “Cassata Siciliana” as the wedding cake. It all ended around 6pm and we were just so happy of how it all went smoothly.

Flowers: The flower arrangements were done by our dear friend Francesco Mancini from Ascoli Piceno who has known our family for many nears. He created lovely baskets of country flowers, as though they had been picket in the garden (lavender, white lisyantus, broom flowers, blue bells, little red poppies all tied with small oak branches). The bouquet was inspired by the 18^th century ones as it matched the date of birth of the garden 1875 and obviously, very importantly….the dress! (white stephanotis, orange blossom, white foam roses, white lisyantus all tied with sempervirens ivy).

Decorations: All the seating cards, tableau, envelopes and menus were created by Silvia Antonelli from the decorative shop in Ascoli Piceno “Petali di Carta”. She was so helpful and precise with all the different needs we had that she followed from the very beginning to the very end.

Table settings: The choice of the table cloths and cutlery is as important as the choice of food, wine and decorations. They both act as the canvas on which to paint: roughness or smoothness? Bright or subtle colours? Patterns, opaqueness or shininess? These are the tonalities you have to create with a lot of thought and calm, without rushing, always thinking of the location and “feeling” what one wants to create for the special event.

BRIDE’S DRESS AND GROOM’S SUIT

Being happy is the most important thing!

I have realized how important “the wedding dress” is in the 6 months preparing for the wedding. The dress, like all other things you choose for your wedding, is an expression of your being and of the love relationship between the bride and groom. The dress is practically YOU.

My mother was extremely helpful in deciding what to do as she worked for 20 years in the fashion industry. We started by looking at a few books on fashion with designs by Dior, Lacroix, Chanel, etc. Initially we were looking for a modern dress inspired to the Charleston period with a thick belt on the thighs and a strap on the forehead but I didn’t feel comfortable in wearing this on my wedding day. Instead, my eye fell on a lovely design by Paul Poiret (Paris, 1879 – 1944), an exceptional French designer in the true modern sense. His contributions to the fashion world have been compared to those of Picasso in the art world. The design I chose, with a few changes suggested by my mother, was perfect for an antique lace piece we had in our home for decades. It is a French lace (broderie a l’aiguille) from my father’s side of the family. It was actually a bed cover, but as it is very delicate, it saw day light just a few months ago!

My mother worked constantly for 6 months on the design but especially on the cut of the silk dress and French lace, with Ivana Manni, the atelier owner, and her precious dressmaker Rina, both from Ascoli Piceno with a very long tradition in tailoring. Precision had to be absolute as there were not many metres of the fabric. The shoes were made by Andrea Iommi, a young local designer who makes tailor made shoes for men and women. Finally the make-up and hair problem: they both had to fit the idea of the dress: antique, light and delicate. Maria Giorgi the make-up artist and Antonietta Re, the hair dresser both from Castel di Lama, understood our needs very quickly and after a few tries all was perfect.

Ben had less of a problem with his morning dress, he went to a very good tailor in London and had everything tailor made, he chose a yellow waist coat and a lovely flowery Kenzo tie that he knew I liked very much. And frankly, he is so handsome that anything would have looked good on him!

GUESTS’ DRESSES

Glamour and fun!

We were so amazed at how all our friends really made an effort to bring with them their best hats, family jewels and wonderful clothes. They blended so well with the idea we had of a romantic garden wedding: precious materials, bright colours, original hats, stunning stones…

AFTER PARTY

Dancing under the stars

After a few hours of relaxation and sleep we were all ready to continue the party by the pool!!! A quick change of clothes, an open bar, deliciously genuine food, good music, candles and fire works all completed this wonderful and magical day.

Concluding, we realized how one’s wedding has to relay on many small but important factors like the choice of food and wine or the shoes and make-up, but most important of all are the love and unity of our family and the affection and respect of our friends, who always support us whatever choices we make. Our wedding without all these wonderful people would have been so less meaningful. Special thanks go to the Borgo Staff that patiently looked after us in these 6 months of intense preparations.

In the months of April and October we usually organize Educational Trips for groups of journalists and agencies (maximum 12 people). They are good months due to the warmer and sunnier weather. Bookings are not at their highest peak, hence the property can be enjoyed better than in winter months.

Why is it important to make journalists and agencies familiarize with the HH?

The most precious thing: context

To increase your visibility and unique selling points, it is always a good idea to make people understand how and where these homes were built and where they are today. Its ancient context might have disappeared but its territorial history can be linked to its modern location and use. A HH in fact is never separable from its context. It might be tied to the nearby towns due to the same materials and techniques used in building, it might have strong ties with the nearby museums and archeological sights due to its furnishings and sculptures in the garden, and so on.

How does one organize these Educational Trips?

The Golden Rule: professionalism

When you organize a “Fam Trip” you have to keep in mind a few important things: the local cultural context, the services offered by the area and who you are and what you have to offer.

The following are the essential details one must look after while preparing to host these kind of groups:

1)   Timing of the group with pick ups and departures

2)   Opening times and free entrances in museums, theatres and picture galleries

3)   An escort that accompanies the group throughout the whole trip

4)   Guides for towns and museums etc.

5)   Links with local art and cultural departments

6)   Local restaurants and shops with special prices for the group

7)   A briefing describing the area and the HH activities within it

It is best to always advice the Local Authorities of these Fam Trips as their art and cultural departments can assist you with a few free things including guides and entrance tickets. They also take pleasure sometimes in meeting up with the group to assert the importance of the institution they represent.  It is good for a HH to be closely in contact with these institutions as they are an important part of the social and economic context of the surrounding area.

How do we make the stay of these groups appealing?

A Must: attention to detail

Two nights are usually enough for a journalist or agency to understand the products you are trying to sell them. It is important to be at your best with:

1)   Staff

They must be told who is coming and why, that the group is super important and that no errors are admitted. They must understand that they are not paying guests but a group that will bring work for everyone. Give them a service note with the program, times, activities and menus.

2)   Food

The choice of food is very important. Always check if there are vegetarians. Avoid serving spicy dishes and particular meats (such as rabbit, horse, game, etc) that nowadays few people eat. Keep it simple, local and tasty.

3)   Press pack in the room

Prepare a detailed kit for each participant. They should be given a property manual, brochure, prices, photo CD, program, postcards, a local souvenir and detailed information on the area.

4)   Cleanness of the rooms and public areas

Check all rooms twice: lights, sheets, towels, bathroom set, slippers, fruit, mini bar, TV, air-conditioning or heating. Usually things break just before these groups arrive and it is quite unpleasant to make them change room due to some unattended superficiality that turns into a disaster. Public areas and gardens must be spotless as remember that agencies will be checking the quality of everything before even thinking of adding your HH to their list.

Our friend Melba visited the Borgo with a SKY troupe for channel 275 Dove “Secret Italy”. She visited the hidden jewels  of the Region: Offida and Recanati discovering high quality wine cellars, Leopardi’s poetry, breathtaking landscapes and hospitality in private homes.  The series is on every Saturday at 5pm and the shoot on Le Marche will be broadcast on the 10th of April.

This visit has helped us focus on a variety of issues regarding marketing and promotion of Heritage Homes in the modern world.

THE MEDIA WORLD

How important are media relations for the upkeep of a HH?

The Most Precious Thing: information.

Everything that helps a business be visible in my opinion is valuable. Many years ago, a dear friend of ours called David Wickers, who was working for the Sunday Times, told us: “If something is shut to the public, in my eyes it does not exist”.  His aim was to tell his readers all the things that a place like a city or region could offer and he would mention nothing that was closed or difficult to access.

For people who own historic monuments, this is an important issue to think about. If you decide to keep your HH for the exclusive use of your family, you probably do not want to appear on maps, articles, TV shows, guides, etc. But if you decide to “open” it up, then you need people to visit the place and be part of your activities. The media helps us to “exist” in a world full of possibilities, beautiful places, cities and resorts, where competition has become international rather than local. The media act for us like a shop window on a main street, where people can look at us through the glass and then buy our products if they find them appealing.  Furthermore, according to who writes about you and for what newspaper or TV or radio program, it is as though you have a quality control stamp on your business. For instance, if an article comes out about you on a newspaper like the FT, people will think that you surely have something great to offer! But if you come out on a dodgy TV channel your business will probably look dodgy too.

Concluding, if a monument opens its doors to visitors, there should be ideally one person of the staff team dealing with marketing, pr and media relations. It is often best to leave it to the owners who are the spirit of the place and who are usually interviewed but we have seen also how important the staff members of the sales team are for information and technical support regarding the structure, activities and numbers.

What is the best way to portray a HH through the media?

A Must: activity.

A HH usually always stays the same, especially if you restore it to a classic antique style – it will almost never change it’s decor and furniture, garden plants and lawns, hence how can it appear constantly interesting to the public if nothing within it changes? The answer is activities. If the media come it is because you have thought of something original and new that few have talked about. The events one creates during the year and that form what is called the “annual calendar of events” makes the HH stand out, live a life of it’s own giving it a specific character. We have seen how many homes in Italy have focused, for example, on plant and Flower Shows very successfully, and how others have created Music Festivals. The main question one has to answer from the beginning is “who are we and what do we like doing that fits this property”? We managed to answer this question during our 10 years of activity!

Our yearly calendar of events includes themes of nature, art, gastronomy and music. We created the Bioenergetics Landscape areas and opened our doors in the month of May for guided tours of the gardens. Art has always been a big part of our lives and we hence decided to combine these two themes by organizing in the months of September and October a contemporary art exhibition focused on nature’s urgent issues. Music could not be left over hence we started a small Easter music Festival where we try to promote young talented and up coming musicians and singers.

All these activities not only help the media to find something new to write about us but also greatly help the upkeep of the property with visitors almost all year round. We also discovered how important it is to link the HH home’s events with the local ones. People nowadays travel more and more focusing on Music and Opera Festivals, Food and Animal Fairs, Wine Tastings, Art and Botanical Shows. It is a good idea to be part of these events as they help to make the “open” season of the property last longer.

How can a HH be of continuous interest to the media?

The Golden Rule: novelty.

Once the main calendar of events is defined it is very important to do whatever you enjoy doing – from a flower show to a dog beauty contest – as professionally as you can. Having the idea is just the first step, the second one and most difficult is to put together a very good team that takes responsibility for the event. We suggest avoiding one off events that do make the media talk about you for a short while but with no real guarantee for the future. Furthermore, they are very expensive to organize.

Media relations need to be constant, they need to be fed news regularly, even if some things they receive won’t interest them. Receiving information makes them remember we exist and that we are constantly active on the cultural scene.

Obviously we must never forget the financial part of any creative idea we have. It is very important to figure out the costs of everything and this is why we suggest to start small and to build up in size and quality year by year. Having one’s feet well planted on the ground can be very frustrating most of the time but it is actually very helpful as it pushes you to find creative solutions to low budgets.

Partnerships are also fundamental. Remember, we appear interesting to the media whenever there is something new about us. For example, we organize an art show at the Borgo? Why not ask the local Town Hall to host some of our artists in a public square of the town? We organize a wedding show at the Borgo? Why not ask the best wedding planners in Italy to exhibit their portfolios with us? Hence we are being faithful to the event but adding each two or three years a different twist to it. This helps the event evolve, it becomes more professional each year and the media will always be interested.

In 2010 we started the year with the wonderful news on our wedding – Ben Gladstone and I (Stefania Pignatelli Aragona Cortes) will marry this year, both our families are very happy and since January we had a great time with all our friends celebrating this new event in our lives!

This private occasion has proved to us how the keep up of a HH and the family’s activities are practically inseparable. Celebrating a mixed marriage (Italian and English) also gives us the opportunity to introduce friends to our favorite places like Ascoli, Offida and the sandy coast of the Adriatic. All the accumulated experience in tourism of the past 10 years is of great help to make these celebrations memorable for a few fortunate guests.

FAMILY LIFE

How do family events influence the HH and its business?

The Most Precious Thing: family.

Organizing weddings is one of our major activities at the Borgo and we have noticed how important it is to improve the quality of services and options for this day dear to many Italian and foreign couples. The choices mainly focus on the menu but the type of tablecloths, cutlery, glassware, decorations, chairs and flowers add to the beauty and magnificence of the event. Unfortunately, many catering companies have the same kind of décor and we hence have realized how important it is to be unique, original and above the normal standard of things. We have thus decided to create our own designs for candlesticks, tablecloths, plates and flower decorations. Things you can only find at the Borgo Storico.

Our wedding will help us see if the things we have come up with actually work with our friends and family! And if the result is positive we can suggest them to our guests.

Is it important to link family activities to the HH business activities?

The Golden rule: spirit.

In these 10 years we have found very hard to separate family life to the running of the Borgo. We have noticed how our main interests like culture, art, music and nature have become an integral part to the image of the Borgo, and so we happily admit that family life has naturally expanded into our business and vice versa. I do not think that it is essential but it definitely gives a personal touch to the product which otherwise would seem a normal hotel.

What makes the difference between a hotel and us is in fact this strong relationship with the history of the place and members of the family that own the property. Our priority is to become strong financially to be able to  maintain the property and make it prosper in the future through the ideals of our family’s philosophy of life. On the otherhand, too much attention on profit hinders the safe guard of the gardens and buildings. The more you rent out the outdoor and indoor spaces, the more they need maintenance costs. A balance between the two (conservation and profit) is very difficult but definitely achievable with some sensible solutions, i.e. decoding the maximum capacity of people and events per year.

Do all family members need to participate in the upkeep of the HH and in the running of the business?

A Must: coherence.

10 years ago we started working with my mother’s family. From the beginning we noticed that although we wanted the best for the property, we had different ideas on how to run it. It has been very hard to come to terms with the fact that we were not compatible and that it was best to separate and to each go our own way. Today, after a year of this decision, I can happily say that it was for the best. We can finally act quickly on decision making, internal and external communication is clear and we appear more coherent to the members of our staff and to the outside world.

Concluding, if a big family owns a property and there are many people that want to get involved in it, I strongly suggest to create a business with clear key management positions and their areas of responsibilities, exactly like any normal business is set up. This way you will avoid any unnecessary waist of time and energies and a lot of internal disagreements that will take your focus away from selling and marketing the property.