Rivalta Castle, Giorgio Armani's favorite place

From Monday 8 September Giorgio Armani rests next to his parents and brother in the cemetery of the small hamlet of Rivalta, on the first slopes of the Valtrebbia, in the Piacenza area. The designer had a very close connection fort with the Rivalta Castle, a sumptuous noble residence surrounded by a magnificent park owned by Count Orazio Zanardi Landi, president of the Castelli del Ducato association. "Giorgio Armani had a special affection for our village of Rivalta - comments the count - where he loved to carve out moments of break". Every time they met, Armani asked "Me is he selling the castle?" And every time he heard the reply that He would only sell it if necessary. It was their game, their ritual, their way of showing affection without pronounce words that are too demanding. But Armani also had the his quirks: he didn't like being photographed near Count Zanardi Landi because he had 'the height complex' and when he organized his nephew's wedding, had barriers placed in the a country which the count however immediately had removed. Inside the village of Rivalta there is the Locanda del Falco, restaurant frequented by the designer, also in his heart, an oasis of familiarity for lunches and dinners, where its roots Piacenza women returned to speaking the dialect of authenticity. "Today I say goodbye to Mr. Armani, the discreet and kind man who one day, many, many years ago, he gave Rina, my Mom, a little lampshade to soften the brightness of the room where he loved to be welcomed, here in Rivalta - he says Sabrina, the owner of the Inn - Since then, perhaps it was the 1978, many of our choices have also taken into account its opinion and it is in time that the admiration for the extraordinary creator of beauty has been filled with affection and care discrete". "Beyond the artist and the creative genius, there remains the memory of a man of extraordinary sensitivity, who knew safeguarding and recognizing the value of roots - says Simone Fornasari, president of the Visit Emilia tourist area - His connection with Rivalta testifies to that authentic dimension and human that no catwalk can ever replace." "Now Armani - continues the president - ideally returns to those stones of the Trebbia which inspired its unmistakable 'greige', color that has marked the history of fashion and made its eternal name". Today the designer rests in the small cemetery of the village medieval, surrounded by the same ancient stones that at every visit made him dream of becoming, at least for a day, the owner of Rivalta Castle.