Hi Guys,
We are back from Italy and I can only say that this was the best vacation we have ever had!
We started off in Rome, then went to a 700 year old knife show in a town called Scarperia followed by a few days with the Maestro and finished up in Venice. The time simply flew by.
We walked the streets of Rome for two days. We saw the Basilica Of St. Peter and the Vatican, the Castle of San Angelo and enjoyed some fantastic dining. I also had a special treat in Rome. The Maestro and Marco Belloni set it up for me to meet the owner of the most famous barber shop in Rome. The shop is called Antica Barbieria Peppino and has been there for 50 years. The owner Piero, works with his son, Fernando and Anthony. These folks were fantastic and the barber shop has many dignitaries as customers. Piero gave me a traditional straight razor shave that was just fantastic. What a touch he has. His work with the brush and razor was amazing. He is definitely a master. The hot towels, the steam, the shave.........ahhhhhhhhh. Piero is also working on a line of fragrances that he will be introducing in the future. After this, we went to dinner. Seemed like about 20 courses with wine and concluded with some Grappa. The hospitality and friendship was amazing. If you ever get to Rome, make sure you go meet Piero. In addition to his Maestro Razors, he has a collection of about 150 straight razors.
Next we were picked up at our hotel by the Maestro, Massimiliano and Jimmy Davies, to our good fortune spoke english and stayed with us until we went to Venice. The Maestro then took us to Scaperia, a ancient town near Florence where he was participating in the annual knife show there. The 700th knife show there. We we got to Scarperia, we met the Maestro's son Luca and his wife Elena along with Marco Belloni (who has been translating my email to the Maestro for over a year), Dottore Francesco, Massimiliano #2 and his girlfriend Stephania. Both the Maestro and Luca make gorgeous knives in addition to the Maestro's straight razors. The Maestro had a table in the show showing his knives, razors and shaving brushes. I wanted one of each.... The Maestro put on a demonstration and made a straight razor in the plaza. It is a Damascus with almost an inch wide blade on a ebony of Madagascar handle with three ivory inserts on the handle. In addition it has a worked back. It was unbelievable to get to see him make this from scratch. He is truly the Maestro. We also got to see the forging of Damascus steel by another Master who is a long time friend of the Maestro. When he finished the razor, three of use got a shave from it performed by Piero who had travelled from Rome to the show. To my amazement, the Maestro then engraved the handle of the razor and presented it to me. I will treasure this razor (see pic). The food and wine in Scarperia were also outstanding. I felt like we were with family from the minute I met the Maestro. In addition to the razor, I was fortunate enough to meet the Mayer of Scarperia who presented me with an out of print book entitled La Pogonotomia by Perret. It is the Art of Shaving and covers even the Lorenzi collection in Milan. I am going to try to get this book translated. We also got to meet a reporter from the Lame Italian knife magazine. The Italian Knifemakers Association is filled with very impressive talent and they take their knifemaking very seriously. You should have seen this show. I got to speak for a DVD the Maestro had made of this event. Hope I didn't mess up the heat treatment part.....lol. If anyone wants to see any pics of the Maestro and Luca's knives, let me know. Maybe I can post some in the Off Topic section too.
After the show, the Maestro took us to his shop and home in Perugia. His shop is awesome. You name the tool, he has it. I saw his forge, all the different grinders he uses, the different drill presses and was totally impressed. The Maestro's work area is behind his store where he sells knives, cutlery, razors, brushes and scissors. Great display. I brought home some great cutlery for some of my friends here. These knives are really priced well. I also found out and got to meet people from all over Italy who come to the Maestro to have everything from shears to scissors sharpened. They also sharpen the knives for the chefs of some of the best Restaurants in Italy. The first day with the Maestro, he took us to Assissi, Umbria and a town called Gubbio. We got to tour the Basilica San Francesco, walk the ancient streets and see a couple of great castles and squares. The scenery was fantastic. On the way back to the Maestro's house we ate at an unbelievable restaurant that served a truffle specialty with pasta. The food, the wine......ahhhhhhh!!!
Once back at the Maestro's, he did another DVD on making a Damascus set of scissors and I got to add some english to this as well. Just being able to watch him work was a treat. He also finished up a few razors for me that I brought back. I'll have them in the for sale section. The work on the spines is really nice. The other great part of getting to watch the Maestro work was to be able to get to eat at his house. Elena is an unbelievable cook and we did not suffer from hunger a second. The Maestro even gave me a Prochuetto. He really likes the wine from Montepulciano. It really is great and we brought a couple bottles back with us. We also got to see Perugia and sample some of the great Chocolate from there.
I cannot express just how fantastic and gracious the Maestro is. He and his extended family were like family to us and I was really sad to have to leave. The Maestro's artistry is beyond compare and his level of energy and creativity are amazing. I did want to stay there....... I could have watched him for ever. Just to see the effort and what it takes to hand craft straight razors truly left me in awe of his talent.
I had a nice talk with the Maestro as well and will be updating the pricing on the Straightrazordesigns site. Look for some nice savings, especially on some of the Damascus razors. The Mother Of Pearl handles are currently unavailable as the supply in Italy has dried up for the moment.
Well on to Venice, which was the last part of our journey. Great city with a ton of international tourists. We walked all over, traveled the waterways, visited the Murano glass factory and the village of Burano known for it's hand made linens. It was also a fishing village and again we ate and drank well. San Marco Square was beautiful and we got to see the small orchestras performing in the plaza by all the restaurants there. Just an amazing city to see.
This vacation was a dream come true for me and one that I will cherish and remember forever. I am hopeful that I will get to go back and spend more time with the Maestro, see more of the country and host the Maestro over here as well. So far Cathy and I have not stopped talking about how great this trip was and about the fantastic people we met.
Lynn
