La Dolce Vita

Italy the home of Opera and passion filled with architecture and history it's a place where people know how to live life to the fullest and look ravishing well doing [Music] it in this program we're on the search for lulita or as they say here the Sweet Life we'll be looking for automotive perfection in Marinella the sound of this car is unbelievable for reassuringly expensive shopping in Milan for men's fashion in Trava how much of this material can you get a year we can make no more than 50 suits a year and a beguiling sense of

Magic on the shores of Lake Kobo [Music] my Journey Begins in new Bon Street Central London even here there are echoes of that classic Italian flare Amon jildo Zena is one of Italy's greatest fashion houses and they've told me they can fit me in no time with something optimal I probably will lose a bit of wait what am I you're about 36 and a half to be accurate I'm very fous L why not my wife would be so delighted to see me being fitted in an Italian suit and I cannot tell [Music] you I'm going

to turn into an it check my suit won't be ready for quite some time but the best things come to those who wait and I now have a special invitation to visit Zena's HQ in Northern [Music] Italy in these days of increased security and Airport delays the only way to travel is in one of these an executive aircraft from a company called netjet it's taken me 20 minutes from the bentle to being Airborne our flight time to Northern Italy just 90 minutes the seats are comfortable but it's a little cramped is this supposed to be

luxury what would you say the fundamental attractions of flying private you know when you sit in the aircraft and you fly like this you might think that that what we're selling is luxury when in reality what we're selling people is time as we all know time is the ultimate luxury buying that time is Affordable especially for a company Robert tells me that for €125,000 I can get a block of 25 hours flying time on a jet just like this one that's around €800 per passenger per R easily comparable to Commercial Business Class it makes perfect

sense to me [Music] Milan a NeverEnding parade of Fashion Victims and Tiny helpless dogs shopping is a serious occupation here it's not enough to spend a million EUR you have to look the part as well bulgary has borne witness to over 10 decades of changing melanes fashion but one thing hasn't [Music] changed bulgary is best for something a little flamboyant maybe a dman PVE necklace at 32,000 EOS or perhaps a mother of pearl watch at [Music] 21,000 but bulgary offers more in the land than just shopping [Music] they've taken luxury one step further in 2004

they opened their first hotel in Milan's most stylish area [Music] laera it's expensive lavish and definitely Chic they've tried to strike a delicate balance between luxury comfort and Cutting Edge style personally I prefer something with a little more padding still you can't say it hasn't got atmosphere I'm told that the hotel is built on the site of an old Monastery there's an exclusive spa and a gold Mosaic pool not sure what the monks would have made of all of this lulita is incomplete without Italy's proudest Automotive creation Ferrari this morning I've taken delivery of a

gleaming 612 Scaletti that's 6 L and 12 cylinders of Marinello muscle sheathed in an elegant aluminum body the car is named in honor of Serio Scaletti one of the greatest names in Italian coachwork we're heading north to the mountains and I have to say that this is the perfect way to [Music] travel the sound of this car is unbelievable I mean they don't muck around I haven't checked out half these gadgets as yet I don't dare press one there something here called sport I don't think I better press that at the moment but this is

a real treat and if you really love cars this is the ultimate car to drive everything is sort of handmade here look at particularly the hand stitching everything is hand stitched all the leather the steering wheel itself I mean it's it's like a beautiful pair of shoes the interior of this car and it smells so good I mean the moment you get into this car you know you're you're actually getting into something which is fast and very very expensive I think they I mean a basic I think this is a basic trim this I think

this is probably about € 215,000 my search for that perfect Italian suit started in London atena I'm now on my way to meet Anna zenor granddaughter of the company's founder Anna and her family continue a business that was started over a hundred years ago in their Factory at travo they produc produce over 2,000 km of fabric a year and they Supply every major men's fashion brand in the world they're going to show me the rarest and finest fabric they've ever produced now tell me about this this this this rarest cloth in the world this hello

this is called vus AUM the idea that developed comes actually from the history we have in selecting from the 60s the best and the finest raw material in the world now what what is this made from this is super fine wool from from either Australia or New Zealand are you the only people who have this yes Zena is the only company in the world that selects the material that buys all of it brings it to Italy and they H usually finesse of this wall is around 11 13 Micron consider that Kashmir today is around 16

it's [Music] amazing zenya was founded in 1910 from its northern Italian headquarters the company has grown into a worldwide clothing [Music] Empire to this day it's still a family business but one with 5,000 staff well why is a typical Italian family business where everything comes from someone who really is a leader a visionaire I would say and who really set H the tone and the strategy for the generation to come Anna puts Zena's success down to raw materials the best quality wool washed with soft North Italian water we are in an area of Italy where

the water is very special is very soft and there are rivers that run from this mountain it was a natural way to develop a textile business and this is why we are in Trio and not somewhere else further down in the plane even the factory is described in irresistibly Italian terms you will see looms this is the noisiest part of the the factory but is the one I love for me is not a noise is almost a dance when you see really these fantastic machines that little by little create the fabric and the the the

movement it's almost like a synphony [Music] a few hundred yard from the factory this is where it all started tell me so this this was your grandfather's house yes there is by the way ah originally you said he used to live in the factory yeah actually he lived just next door and when he had a house built he wanted to be able to see from his house the factory and it's very Italian there are very few H reality like this where you have the house built into the factory surrounding and that's zenya a textile Empire

Still carefully watched over by its founding family after the break we'll be visiting the Ferrari factory in Marinella I want you to tell me what you would suggest of your Formula 1 cars here that you would suggest would be a good buy for me and money is no object [Music] [Music] Ferrari a name to conjure with more than a brand it's a passion a part of the Italian soul for Ferrari fans this is the holy of holies the factory at Marinello started by Enzo Ferrari in 19 1943 to be invited inside is a rare privilege

Ferrari only build about 52,000 cars a year Each of which is essentially handbuilt and individually tailored around the production line the overall field is one of quiet devotion dedicated Craftsman and women slowly building up the unique specifications of each [Music] car there is automation particularly in the engine PL but even here the emphasis is on hand finished engineering the results are impressive this is the latest incarnation of Ferrari's iconic V12 engine today that engine poers the 599 GTB the highest performance 12 cylinder car Ferrari has ever produced if there's one dominant gene in Ferrari's DNA

it's racing born in 1898 Enzo Ferrari lived for Speed in the late 20s he formed scaria Ferrari a race team using Alpha Romeos the first Ferrari car appeared in [Music] 1947 today Ferrari's Motorsports successes are celebrated all over the world 14 Formula 1 World Championships and the company's Legend keeps on [Music] growing Ferrari's Formula 1 test track is also in Marinello beside the factory there's a special Department here called F1 Cente for well-healed fans that want to own an F1 car F1 cleen restores maintains and sells F1 cars from 1970 onw W it's a highly

Specialized Service and it comes at a price Alberto this is um every young boy's dream is to be a Formula 1 driver and this is one way you can actually fulfill that dream is it not now you're right I am a a potential customer and I want you to tell me what you would suggest of your Formula 1 cars here that you would suggest would be a good buy for me and money is No Object that's good to start well that's always a good thing I would suggest for example an f2003 GA car driven by

Michael Schumacher the car that Michael Schumaker won the Monza the one he retired in the one the last race now I wanted to buy that what would I have to pay H we still don't know but we know that we already got an option from one of our owners say I've got 10 million EUR to spend would I get the car for that you can get different cars no would I get that car we at this price yeah we have not a lot of possibilities Alberto is a little non-committal but you can see why this

is quite a selection of secondhand cars with former owners ranging from Nikki louder to Michael schumacker and once you bought your car F1 Cent here Will provide a full race team of Engineers to go with it and they'll transport them to any circuit you care to choose along with all the spare parts and replacement engines that you might need as you might expect Ferrari also cater to collectors of their classic sports cars I'm here to meet Roberto valetti who runs the Ferrari class Department the factory has preserved the original blueprints for every part and every

car that they've ever [Music] produced so if you're looking to restore your passion to its former glory this is the place to bring [Music] it tell me about this car particularly what has actually happened what is the history of this car and what do you actually doing to it the customer bought the car without the engine and basically called up and said hey are you please available for uh an engine we said yes of course and basically we are now ready the engine is installed and the engine has been completely so you re absolutely the

car came with the carburetors the two uh Distributors some other uh accesss but all the rest of the engine has been redone by us and now it's completed it is fantastic is this a very rare Ferrari uh rare yes in some in some ways and the car now is becoming very very popular and everybody's trying to buy a 275 GTB and or gtb4 when the work is completed Ferrari classica issues a certificate of authenticity and your car is as good as new once more [Music] my final destination is without a doubt one of the most

romantic settings in Italy Lake KO in the foothills of the Alps to find out about the area who better to ask than someone who was born Born and Raised on the shores of the lake Rita you call Lake KO your Lake tell me why is it about the magic is it about the essence is it about the spirit or the beauty of it tell me it it's just because I've I've always been living here I was born here and I feel it mine and I like to share it with other people and I like to

speak about my lake with all the people I meet but what makes it very special to you for me the special is uh I have to say again a look around you it's romantic it's beautiful is uh peaceful and every single corner is different it's colorful every single season has got its color and what I love is to look at the lake Through Your Eyes the eyes of the people who come here since the 18th century Lago deom has drawn a stream of illustrious visitors from Barum to Longfellow from stendal to flober and list the

poet Shelly was moved to write that this Lake exceeds anything I have ever beheld in [Music] Beauty the lake shore is littered with an extraordinary architectural jumble of Fantastical Villas elegant Retreats for the Rich and Famous property ownership here is strictly limited Rita tells me that properties rarely if ever come on the market to buy a villa is really difficult you cannot build anymore here on the lake so what we have is what you see and as soon as one vill is on sales I think it takes a minute to sell it and they don't

come cheap apparently a villa was recently sold here for A1 million EUR but how do you put a price on exclusivity and more importantly privacy KO is Fame for its discretion it's one of the few places in Europe that the paparazzi cannot infiltrate why else would celebrities like George Clooney call this magical place [Music] home as you might expect renting is also an expensive proposition at this Villa discretion is once again a priority in fact the owner politely declines to be [Music] filmed the views are breathtaking it's an 18th century Jew with a faded North

Italian Elegance if you decide to rent this Villa there's room for 26 guests and the property is spread out over 7 Acres of prime [Music] Lakefront the agents unusual Villas tell me that it's around 50,000 for a week's stay [Music] I'm spending my last night in Italy at kom's legendary veste if it's good enough for Greta Garbo Alfred Hitchcock and Elizabeth Taylor it's good enough for me 130 years of spectacular history and some of those characters gazing down from the walls [Music] I've been very lucky they've given me the largest Suite in the hotel named

after Alfred Hitchcock it goes on forever reception rooms bathrooms bedrooms but why sleep when you can gaze out over [Music] this vad Des as an Hotel itself was open in 1873 so it's uh it's our 134 season this year but uh the villain itself is dating back more than 500 years ago even today we continue the tradition to be a place for you know it's not a place to be to be seen is more a place to see it's really uh it's really a state of mind is for people who really love this Timeless elegance

and that's why that's what I think make vesa so special it's hard to argue with that this place is special the Grands particularly are breathtaking and of course it used to be a private residence the much loved home of a Russian empress and now as a final treat I have an appointment with Villa's resident celebrity the king of risotto bonj Bon and what better place to be in the kitchens of the Villa with probably the greatest chef of all time the CH parari who is known as the king of risoto and he's going to teach

me today to make his great speciality which is yes today is r with perch with the perch from the lake from the lake yes fantastic okay so we start with onions so we put the onions this is carnaroli rice V parking wine was made specially which yes oh stock little flour how am I doing oh good A little olive oil butter Sage 2 3 minutes each side the little lemon you always taste a little bit of your we taste now we finish some Parmesan that's okay we we prepare [Music] now Fantastic look at that and

I made it all myself bra this is the very typical plate from KO and there it is the end of my grand tour of Italy and L do Vita [Music]