Hat shop with a royal heritage

http://www.cappelleriaviarani.it/

could be useful !

Bought a Panama for a friend - fantastic quality 

I found this great hat shop in Torino / Turin near the station ( Industrial Capitol of Italy where Fiat cars are made! ) I really liked my stay in Torino a city wonderfully free of tourists - a breath of fresh air after Rome. The Savoy dynasty lived here before they were not so politely asked to leave. This was caused by an Italian referendum in 1946 where 54% of the Italian people voted to abolish the House of Savoy royals.The Residences of the Royal House of Savoy in Turin and the neighbourhood are protected as a World Heritage Site. 

This is why Turin is such a beautiful city much like Firenze, Venice and Rome little has changed to this day. Although the titles and distinctions of the Italian royal family have been legally abolished, the remaining members of the House of Savoy still insist on using various titles, including the Counts of Savoy, the Dukes of Savoy, the Kings of Sardinia, and the Kings of Italy. The House of Savoy is on the rise again with the heightened profile and  increased popularity of Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice and Piedmont the heir to the throne ( if it still existed) Like any other aspiring celebrity he has risen from obscurity by winning the Italian version of Strictly come Dancing! prior to this he was a model in advertising as well as a guest on talk shows - it would seem the public just can't get enough of blue blood. 

The House of Windsor is enjoying a boost of popularity post the wedding - the fate of the House of Savoy must have been sobering indeed post Diana's death and the subsequent public out cry. The irony of the Italian situation though is that the heir to the Italian throne is now entering politics cleverly maximizing on his new greatly increased public popularity. Truth could become even stranger than fiction - "The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the Senate, it's the sand of the Colosseum" ( popular television) !

Well I suppose he is not bad looking!

Emanuele Filiberto