Lake Maggiore · Rocca di AngeraMichelangelo
Michelangelo and Antigone contacted me by e-mail. Shortly afterwards we set up a video call and I believe we liked each other from the very first moment. I like to think that, when you set out on a journey like this, you always choose each other: organising a wedding means sharing months of work, emotions and important decisions, and it is essential to feel from the start that you are on the same wavelength.
I believe my knowledge of the territory contributed to their choice. They were looking for someone who could bring out the best of Lake Maggiore and accompany them in building a weekend that would truly tell who they were as a couple.
Michelangelo and Antigone are two truly special people. Of them I will always remember the great sensitivity, the empathy, their utterly easy-going nature and an aesthetic taste out of the ordinary. They always had the desire to dare, to step outside the box and to build something personal.
They are one of those couples who push you to experiment, to look for new solutions and never to settle for the first idea.
As with every wedding, the most important challenge was to create a day that truly spoke of them. The difficulties, however, were not lacking.
The chosen venue, the Castle of the Rocca di Angera, is one of the most fascinating places on Lake Maggiore, but it demands extremely careful planning: the spaces, the logistics and the constant uncertainty of the weather accompanied the final phase of the project. Every effort, though, was repaid by the marvellous views that place could offer. A true gem overlooking the lake.
It is those small details, often invisible to the guests, that truly make the difference.
The concept did not arrive immediately: the influences were many and very different. On one side, the contemporary aesthetics and the New York influences that fascinated the couple; on the other, the desire to bring into the project the creative universe of the Missoni family, the groom's family of origin. The real challenge was finding the right balance between these two worlds.
One of the most significant moments of the whole project was gaining access to the fabrics kept in the Missoni archive, a rare and precious opportunity that gave the project an entirely new direction. It was a joy to involve the English textile designer Mia Sylvia, with whom we studied the best way to honour those fabrics and integrate them into the castle's spaces, turning them into an integral part of the setting.
The result was a wedding rich in colour, personality and elegance. Every space told a perfect balance of historical architecture, fabrics, floral compositions and contemporary design.
Every detail seemed to belong naturally to that place, without ever overpowering it.
Among all the memories of the planning there is one I still carry in my heart. Mia Sylvia and I were not completely satisfied with the ceremony setting: something was missing. So, almost at the last moment, we decided to bring in some Missoni fabrics made entirely of long fringes. They were complex materials to work with, but Mia and her team succeeded: it was the choice that completely transformed that space.
That detail created a perfect dialogue between the colours of the flowers, the fabrics and the frescoes of the majestic Sala di Giustizia of the Rocca di Angera, giving the ceremony the balance that until then had still been missing. It is those small details, often invisible to the guests, that truly make the difference.
One of those moments that seem to belong more to a film than to reality.
The wedding was only one chapter of an entire wedding weekend. Among the most beautiful memories I carry with me, above all, is the dinner organised along the tip of Isola dei Pescatori: the Ristorante Italia prepared the traditional Lake Maggiore risotto for all the guests in an enormous pot, so large it had to be stirred with boat oars. An authentic scene, deeply tied to the territory, which surprised and delighted every guest.
The evening went on among live music, stalls, dancing and a sunset that coloured the lake before the boats slowly carried all the guests back to the mainland. One of those moments that seem to belong more to a film than to reality.
Of Michelangelo and Antigone I will always carry the colour within me: that of the fabrics, of the flowers and of the lake, but above all that of the emotions. I will remember the extraordinary sensitivity of the couple and their families, the kindness and warmth of the guests, the Greek songs sung by the bride's grandfather, and that sense of diffuse beauty that seemed to wrap every moment of the weekend.
There are weddings you remember for a setting, others for a venue. This one I will remember for the atmosphere it managed to create: an atmosphere made of creativity, culture, elegance and wonderful people.
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