Description
Choosing a cover is always a challenge. It causes differences in opinion and a source of tension. Often we clash, rarely we agree, but we have to converge in the end. After all, a publication cannot be sent off to the printers with a blank front page. (Actually, that’s not true. The New York Times did it once to make a point.) The hassle is heightened when it comes to the December issue because of the need to send a message at the end of the year, a time that calls for reflection, reckoning and resolutions.
This year has been no different. (A Christmas tree decorated with lockboxes was my cover request, but Santa Claus didn’t deliver… too topical. Turn to page 27 instead.) So, how did we resolve it? Lightly. And what best symbolizes lightness? Feathers, whose weightlessness has both movement and meaning. Feathers are emblematic of flight, of soaring above everyday stress, obtaining a bird’s-eye view, the bigger picture and a sage perspective on things.
This flight momentarily detaches us from the ground to acquire renewed vision ahead of the New Year. Lightness also means having fun as the holidays entice us to more pleasurable pursuits: to savour what we do every day, at work with colleagues, and in our free time with friends and family.
Convinced in our cover choice, puffing out our feathers after an inspiring visit to Mazzanti Piume round the corner from Rifredi railway station (page 4), we started to glimpse other meanings in this close-up. As a creative bunch, here’s what we saw: car wash brushes (AKA, it’s time to clean up); characters from The Muppet Show (bringing out our inner child); fir branches, with the needles all spruced up (it’s time to gather around the tree with the ones we love: that quintessential Christmas message). Last but not least, this month’s cover reveals what it really is: a gorgeous feather boa that’s perfect for partying, footloose and fancy-free.
Take the time to browse our guide to owning your Florentine Christmas (pages 6-9), including our panettone taste test (page 10), as well as planning your holiday season by checking out our best events lineup on pages 12-16, including Vasari exhibitions galore in Arezzo and surroundings on the 450th anniversary of the artist’s death (pages 17-18) and what’s on at Teatro Niccolini this December (page 20)—don’t miss Dame Helen Mirren on December 18.
