TresSugar

Amanda Knox Makes Her Final Plea in Perugia

Annie Scudder — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:00:53 PDT

You couldn't blame anyone casually following the Amanda Knox case over the past four years for being confused. But today, the American college student convicted of murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher after alleged "sex games" gone wrong tried to make it very clear that she is innocent. In fluent Italian, Amanda begged the court to let her go home, saying "I did not do the things they say I did. I did not kill, rape or steal. I was not there." Her appeal, which came after a trial filled with tainted evidence and bizarre behavior by Italian officials and Amanda herself, is coming to a close. A panel of two professional and six lay judges are expected to reach a decision soon on whether her 26-year sentence will stand, or she will be allowed to return home to Seattle. Watch Amanda's final plea with subtitles now, and tell us what you make of it all in the comments.

The Berlusconi Defense: I'm Too Old!

TresSugar — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 10:40:13 PDT

"Even though I am a little brat . . . 33 girls in two months seems like too much even for a 30-year-old."

- Without compromising his virile reputation, little brat and Italian prime minister Berlusconi argues that he's just too old (74) to have that much sex. He's facing allegations that he had sex with 33 women, including an underage prostitute, at his villa where "bunga bunga" parties were held. As for details involving erotic dancing that turned sexual, Berlusconi said: "The girls were just shaking a leg in the disco - alone, as I've never liked dancing."

Hugo Boss Spring '11 Campaign Takes Us on a Vacation to Italy!

FabSugar — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 03:47:05 PST

Wanna get away? Mario Sorrenti shot the Hugo Boss Spring ad campaign, which features two gorgeous blondes – Raquel Zimmermann and Heidi Mount – in a boat, sunbathing, above a turquoise sea, and hanging with really handsome men. Click through the highlights from the campaign, but be forewarned: you might be inspired to drop everything and hightail it to Italy!

Picture It: Sex Pot

Colleen Barrett — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:20:15 PST

This art piece at Arte Fiera Art First Festival in Bologna, Italy, looks just like Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, if you're comparing it to this recent photo of him looking - how do you say? - corpse-like (but with makeup!). The perpetually tan prime minister has been embroiled in sex scandals, and you don't have to be an art critic to interpret what this artist thinks of him.

What Do Berlusconi's Teenage "Friends" Like to Talk About?

Annie Scudder — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:30:31 PST

The New York Times has just translated wiretapped conversations currently gripping Italy. The tapes feature a range of call girls, reality-TV personalities, and other associates tied to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, but the star is 18-year-old Karima el-Mahroug. Prosecutors are currently investigating Berlusconi, 74, for paying to have sex with Karima (aka "Ruby") when she was a minor. In the recordings, Ruby says she asked the Italian leader for $6.7 million to keep her story to herself, and she says he told her: "Ruby, I'll give you as much money as you want, I'll pay you, I'll cover you in gold, but the important thing is that you hide everything; don't tell anyone anything." Apparently he didn't give her enough.

If Silvio "I'm No Saint" Berlusconi were an American politician, his ongoing sex scandals would have brought him down years ago. There's a chance that these wiretaps, filled with stories of orgies, blackmail, and a minor, will finally lead to his ousting, though he maintains he's not going anywhere. So his ego, and not his power, is probably most under immediate threat. In the recordings being read all over Italy, another prostitute offers her frank assessment: "He's more dead than alive. He's even become ugly. He should just give up. I hope he's more generous."

Shiseido Gets Operatic With La Scala

Miriam Lacey — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 10:45:37 PST

Shiseido has just signed a three-year deal with La Scala, Milan's famed opera. The entire troupe will wear Shiseido in performance, and the brand is showing an advertising retrospective in La Scala's lobby.

It's unusual to think of a performance venue or theater company having a makeup sponsorship, but it's a really smart move. By choosing an opera, Shiseido has aligned itself with a cultural institution that represents luxury and elegance as well as entertainment, and its ads even feature archival images of legends Maria Callas and Shirley Verrett. Coming on the heels of Make Up For Ever's deal with Paris's Moulin Rouge, it seems high-end makeup and high-end entertainment are teaming up all over. Is this the sort of collaboration you like to see?

Brad and Angelina Snap Up an Italian Treasure

CasaSugar — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:30:13 PDT

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have scooped another diminutive nest for their growing brood in the hills of Valpolicella, Italy, near Verona. The family apparently fell for the country during the filming of Jolie's upcoming project The Tourist and decided to add some Italian real estate to their portfolio of homes in Los Feliz, Malibu, New Orleans, Cambodia, and the South of France. "Some real estate" to be exact is a 18,000-square-foot Palladian-style mansion named Villa Costanza with 15 rooms, eight bathrooms, a home theater, stables, a vineyard, and two swimming pools, which cost the high-paid couple a colossal $41 million.

The property is slightly disheveled and a bit of a fixer-upper. But it's a stunning estate that offers lots of privacy, and the grounds are a perfect place for the young Jolie-Pitts to roam around - and their actor parents to stage a period piece. Check out more photos of the home below.

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Source

Yummy Links: From Edible Flowers to Tomato Jam

partysugar — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 06:50:11 PDT

Are edible flowers the next big thing? - The Atlantic
Learn how to make ricotta gnocchi - Grub Street SF
Five places to eat when traveling through Italy. - Eatocracy
Whole-grain baking isn't just for hippies. - Chow
Do or Don't: Cooking food for your own wedding? - The Epi-Log
Pop-Tarts is opening its first ever cafe in Times Square. - Eater NY
Must make: spicy tomato jam. - Serious Eats

Source: Flickr User askabir

Picture It: Euro Trash

TresSugar — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 10:45:18 PDT

The first hotel made completely out of garbage opened today in Rome, Italy. Trash was collected from beaches throughout Europe to build the Corona Save the Beach Hotel, and its first guest was model Helena Christensen.

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Home Away From Home: Maison Moschino

CasaSugar — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:00:00 PST

Italian fashion house Moschino is testing out its style skills in the wonderful world of interiors with its brand new Maison Moschino hotel in Milan. Set in an 1840 neoclassical building and former train station, the hotel was designed by the label's creative director, Rossella Jardini, along with its art director Jo Ann Tan, and fully restored with respect to its original façade.

Much like Moschino's apparel, the interiors have a fanciful, surrealistic quality that just toes the line at fantastical. Each room has a fairy-tale-inspired name - including "Alice's Room," "Red Riding Hood," and "Gold" - which coincides with its equally dreamy design. My favorite parts are the tart pillows and cookie chandelier! Meanwhile, the lobby is marked with fluffy origami cloud lamps and Moschino dresses and accessories turned into floor and table lamps. To see photos of the hotel and hear what Jardini had to say about the hotel,