Italy’s Underexplored Imola Hosts High-Profile Party-Inside IC Bellagio’s Bash

The idyllic day seemed as surreal as a Paolo Sorrentino-directed film. But there I was, in the backseat of a little, vintage Fiat car, being driven through the rolling, green countryside during an afternoon in which the sky was as bright blue as the vehicle swerving through the curves and over the hills of Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region near Bologna.

The scene was even more surreal because I was in a caravan of candy-colored, classic Fiat cars in front of and behind me. It was fun to hear a car’s motor again while inside it and see the suited man at the wheel working the gears and actively driving.

The fleet of Fiats pulled up and into the little village of Dozza and parked in a semicircle next to a bridge outside the old congress center. This half-moon of lined-up vehicles created a charming, temporary auto show, which drew locals and tourists with their cameras and questions.

Selfie Time

The passengers on this two-hour tour, including myself, emerged to snap photos and selfies ourselves, since we had initially been picked up by the parade and whisked away from Palazzo di Varignana, an expansive, stylish and modern resort 18 kilometers away.

Our guest ambassador, Arianna Tululi, invited us to wander Dozza and appointed a time for us to return for the scenic drive back to the resort.

It was enough time for a glass of wine or coffee and to wander the narrow, shaded, cobblestone streets, to see the shops and to see the Rocca Sforzesca di Dozza—the medieval castle built in the 13th century.

Why the hurry? This amazing experience was just a small slice of a party pie served to invited guests over a weekend, and each experience was just as bucolic as the bite I had just described.

Only IC Bellagio – the world’s premier Italian custom tour company – could create such a soiree. As someone blessed to be invited, accompany me to the celebration through my photos and memories.

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IC Bellagio – a Quarter Century Celebrated in Style

In 2024, IC Bellagio celebrated its 25th year of creating amazing opportunities and triumphant experiences by connecting its clients with Italy’s most influential and significant tourism industry operators, hoteliers, historians, cultural leaders, chefs, artisans and luxury logistics providers.

To celebrate and mark the occasion, IC Bellagio’s founder, Andrea Grisdale, felt it fitting to gather the company’s most cherished partners, friends and collaborators.

It was the surreal, ethereal type of event that you see only in the most glamorous, elaborate, and even historical movies. IC Bellagio has created dreamy travel occasions for its clients. This time, they arranged an epic experience for themselves…and their guests.

In keeping with IC Bellagio’s fabled expertise, the weekend-long party was full of exquisite experiences in a location vacationers may not otherwise visit.

“We chose to host our special anniversary event in a lesser-known destination during slow season, inviting guests to experience the wonders of Imola, a hidden gem nestled in the picturesque landscape of Emilia Romagna,” said Grisdale.

The generous Grisdale was grateful to the Comune di Imola’s Mayor Marco Panieri for the city’s collaboration.

Grisdale, a tourism industry leader who has met world leaders King Charles, David Cameron and Barack Obama, is a global connector of people in places as diverse as Auckland and Havana. She has been named vice-chair of the World Travel & Tourism Council’s “Together in Travel” initiative.

While Grisdale and her in-house team of 40 travel advisors are based in Lake Como, she is an ambassador-in-motion, speaking each year at the influential Virtuoso Travel Week gathering in Las Vegas.

Grisdale and her husband Alessandro Pertusini have even climbed to Mount Everest’s basecamp.

The Weekend That Was

Guests arrived at Palazzo di Varignana Resort at various times on Friday, All Saints Day, jetlagged and ready to put their feet up.

The Palazzo di Varignana resort’s castle dates back to 1705 and is surrounded by a contemporary stone village. The castle offers scenic views of the resort’s vast green spaces, parks, water sources, and farm.

In keeping with Grisdale’s sensitive passion, Palazzo di Varignana is a project centered on the recovery and regeneration of historic buildings, abandoned rural lands, farmhouses and discontinued crops.

The invitees checked into their modern guest suites to discover a card and gifts from the IC Bellagio team. One of these gifts was an ornately decorated box, a “Comfort Zone Tranquility Kit,” perfectly timed after a long-distance journey, full of body lotion, shower cream and oil.

IC Bellagio also left sweets from a Genoa-based confection company called Romanengo, founded in 1780. “We hope that you will enjoy this taste of Italian tradition and craftsmanship. Con affetto,” the note closed.

But the itinerary, also left on the desk, thoughtfully beckoned guests to emerge from their suites for more of a taste, as little or as much as they liked, by enjoying an evening “culinary tour” of the Emilia Romagna region.

Really? Get back on the road? No!

Market Night

Grisdale and IC Bellagio, who earned a reputation for anticipating their clients and guests’ needs, moods and desires for a living, were too intuitive and thoughtful to put travelers through more miles. Instead, IC Bellagio brought Emilia Romagna to the guests, without them having to leave the resort.

The opening night welcome banquet was billed as a casual “Market Night,” featuring local food stalls run by family businesses and suppliers and selected for their delicious products and their passion for the region.

“Eat and drink as little or as much as you like,” Grisdale wrote, noting that, in addition to the local fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, hand-rolled pasta, gelato, wine and beer, there would also be live music.

The Market Evening was billed as casual, well, as casual as Italy can be. The gathering, held in one of the sprawling, hillside resort’s windowed ballrooms, had the feel of a strolling wedding reception.

Or rather, a rehearsal dinner – with Grisdale and her husband Alessandro greeting entering guests and standing for photos like a bride and groom. The rest of the mainly female IC Bellagio professional team were lovely, helpful bridesmaids.

In the Spotlight

I told Nicole Bellatti and Carole Petrusini, two of IC Bellagio’s leading guest ambassadors, along with Marta Valsecchi, and any of them I encountered throughout the weekend, how happy I was the spotlight was shining on them and they were being celebrated on the anniversary weekend.

Having said that, in between the accolades and affection, the ladies, including Marni Richards, Creta Panzeri, and more, worked to keep this ambitious soiree running smoothly.

Over the years, I’ve collaborated with many of IC Bellagio’s guest ambassadors, including Claudia Coppa, Alessandra Bazzoni, Daniela Ferradini, Ariola Aleksi, Marianna Micheli and others I greatly appreciate and wish I could name.

Friday Famiglia

Similarly, I was dazzled as I greeted my way through the receiving line and entered the ballroom lined with food stations. It was, admittedly, a feast for the senses, but I was distracted by the collection of characters cavorting and caucusing in the Market Night atmosphere.

This was a “United Nations” of IC Bellagio’s travel industry supporters and friends. You know, the close ones you would invite to, say, a wedding. La famiglia! La cosa nostra! “The family.” “Our thing.”

For me, it was like the gathered “ghosts of Christmas past.” I wandered through the cherished crowd, wearing a red scarf Grisdale gave me during a random lunch I once had with her in Detroit.

Along the way, I encountered and was reunited with various personalities I had met, been driven by, or enjoyed tours with via IC Bellagio-planned trips throughout Italy.

Reunited

There was the tall, flamboyant Silvio Vettorello, named “Best Hotelier of the Year,” with whom I once enjoyed the perfect Aperol Spritz on the veranda overlooking Como di Lago at the award-winning Grand Hotel Tremezzo.

While drinking an orange Spritz that afternoon overlooking blue Lake Como and the village of Bellagio, Grand Hotel Tremezzo’s owner, Valentina De Santis, also sat down for a sip.

Now, years later – presto – here she was, in all her dark-haired, bejeweled elegance, at the IC Bellagio reception. After kissing both of her cheeks, I swiveled to see Karen Fedorko Sefer, in from Istanbul, Turkiye, where she founded and is CEO of Sea Song Tours.

“I was in Istanbul last year and had the intriguing opportunity to smoke a cigar at twilight on the Bosphorus River with Ralph Radtke. Surely you know him,” I told her.

Sefer nodded emphatically with wide eyes and said she would be with Radtke, the fabled general manager of Kempinski’s Ciragan Palace Hotel, in two weeks.

“When you see him, please tell him I said, ‘Merhaba.’” Sefer smiled at my mispronunciation. (I get that a lot.)

It’s All About Collaboration

It is worth noting that some of these attendees are technically competitors of Grisdale’s IC Bellagio, seeking to entice international tourists to visit their respective countries, such as Türkiye, and use their custom travel services.

However, Grisdale, a leader in the travel industry, believes in collaboration and is an amazing connector of people. In my case, as a travel writer, she has generously suggested coverage and connected me with global hospitality promoters from as far and wide as New Zealand and Cuba.

Two more of those “so-called” competitors approached me next: Matej Knific and Matte Valencic, the friendly partners who operate Luxury Slovenia.

I fondly remember the time Grisdale arranged my first media visit to Venice. Grisdale instructed that my itinerary was for me to arrive at Marco Polo Airport on Boxing Day.

“Then, on December 30, you will be driven to Trieste and, at the border, be handed over to the Slovenians,” she said.

It sounded like the prisoner exchange in an espionage movie. But “the Slovenians” she referred to were, as Slovenian guide Petra Lubej would later describe them: “‘One T’ and ‘Double T:’” Matej and Mattej.

Thanks to Matej and Mattej, I spent New Year’s Eve in Ljubljana watching fireworks over the castle on the balcony of a British movie actor, Julian Rhind-Tutt. Joining us were his wife, Natasa Zajc and my date, Mojca Pacnik – a top aide to Slovenia’s president.

In addition, we enjoyed a casual, intimate New Year’s Day dinner at the home of Mattej’s parents, Peter Jeglic and Teja Valencic. Teja was State Secretary of Slovenia’s Education Ministry. All of this was due to IC Bellagio and Grisdale’s sincere networking efforts.

Virtuoso Travel’s American Contingency

Matthew Upchurch, Virtuoso Travel’s CEO, was a popular guest at the IC Bellagio Market Night, often cornered at the otherwise strolling event, so I got in only a quick “buona sera.”

However, I was able to spend some wonderful time chatting with Virtuoso’s global public relations director, Misty Belles, and her husband, Mark. It was thanks to Virtuoso’s annual Travel Week gathering in Las Vegas, 12 years earlier, that I first met Grisdale. I will be eternally grateful to Belles for this and the wide-ranging collaboration it created.

Belles would have been grateful if her luggage had not been lost by the airline. She and Mark had flown from America overnight into Florence. Still, they were then forced to spend the entire day in that airport – in an uncomfortable area where the baggage carousels operate inside customs with no food and beverage services – hoping to receive her bag via a later flight.

Clothes Don’t Make the Woman

Eventually, to travel to Bologna in time for the reception, they had to give up. This meant that Belles, who appeared in top fashion and professional makeup often on the American network’s morning television talk shows, had to saunter into the party in the same clothes she had donned the day before in Washington D.C.

Never fear, though, her doting husband Mark reminded Misty frequently what a blonde beauty she is. But he does that even when she does not lose luggage.

Jennifer Campbell, also with Virtuoso’s leadership team, rode with me in the Fiat the next day. She was just a month away from a cruise to Antarctica, which is hopefully not where Belle’s luggage ended up.

In terms of Americans, I noticed and greeted another network television type, Peter Greenberg, who also hosts a nationally syndicated radio travel show.

Keith Roberts, a motivational speaker and author from Denver known as “Zen Man,” seemed completely at peace as attendees gathered and lingered on the patio around fire pits under the stars.

Imagination in Imola

The astonishingly imaginative, elaborate bash continued to its climax on Saturday, when motor coaches drove the guests, at 4 p.m., on the 30-minute trip to the town of Imola.

In my formal wear, I sat on the bus behind two beautiful Irish women – one of whom was Andrea Gallagher from WTTC – who told me they lived in London. I walked with the two charmers off the bus and into Teatro Ebe Stignani, a historic theater built inside a 24th-century church when it opened in 1812.

Inside the classic theater, named for a famed Italian opera singer, guests mingled and enjoyed an aperitivo with musical entertainment.

I climbed the stairs and met some nice Italian women who could tell I was alone, so they welcomed me to drink prosecco while standing at a cocktail table: Diana Toniolo, from Hotel Albereta e Andama; and Beatriz Gimeno, of Autentico Hotels.

Though the friendly Irish girls exhibited the Emerald Isle’s famed hospitality, the Italian women were ebullient. I told them I was an American travel writer.

“Is there anyone in this room you’d like to be introduced to?” Ms. Toniolo offered.

I swallowed my prosecco and thanked her for such a thoughtful offer. Then I wasted no time nodding my head toward a Sphinx-like brunette.

Chanelling Michael Corleone

She wore an elegant, black, gold-buttoned, V-neck outfit with a black and gold pendant hanging from her perfect posture well below her neckline.

The highlights in her subtly tinted hair cascading over her shoulders were deep red. This was in total contrast with the bright red lipstick framing a smile so bright it illuminated the room from the very high, frescoed ceiling to the parquet floor.

I wondered if I would get close enough to learn the color of the calm, relaxed, deep gaze penetrating from under her delicate eyebrows.

Yeah, yeah, I know. Just like Michael Corleone spotting the fair Sicilian woman in “The Godfather,” I admit I had been “hit by the thunderbolt.”

“Oh, I can see you’d like to meet Ariela,” Gimeno concluded. “Let me present Ariela Duina. She is the general manager of Villa Cora. A hotel in Firenze.”

Thinking of Vila Cora as a “hotel” is like describing Duina as a “woman.” The sumptuous Florentine residence is a testament to aristocratic splendor respected, historically, by the world’s elite – and overlooks the Boboli Gardens.

On With the Show

While my heart fluttered, the lights flickered to indicate guests should make their way to their theater seats for a presentation. In the swarming crowd, I bumped into Caterina, an IC Bellagio guide from Venice.

She teased me: “Oh, we all know that Guilia DeCarolis is your favorite guide in Venice!”

I confessed unabashedly that I adore Guilia and her husband, Alby. So we took a smiling selfie and I texted it to Venezia with the caption: “Wish you were here, Cara Mia!”

Of course, I did not reveal to Caterina, Giulia, or Duina, for that matter, that I had written to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni inviting her to accompany me to the IC Bellagio event. (six months after the gala, I still await an RSVP from the PM.)

We all found seats in the classic opera theater, which was steeply tiered with loge-level seating in balconies and boxes.

Heartfelt Speech

Through a speech and a dramatic, scenic and inspiring film, Grisdale’s message to the gathered, on the 20th anniversary of IC Bellagio, in her own words, was this:

“I think everyone shares a love of stories. Adventures that ignite our curiosity, characters that become companions, and landscapes that leave us totally breathless. For me, the greatest stories aren’t found on a page, though.”

“They’re written on the open road, down winding streets, or under starlit skies. Every flavor, sip, sight and sound. Stories are all about the people, those you know and those you get to know and care for along the way. Local people that make an impact in an instant and still leave you smiling every time they cross your mind.”

“At IC Bellagio, we are the authors of true Italian travel. Our itineraries: a romanzo, where every individual plays the protagonist, every page is a new experience, and every chapter curated to be full of captivating characters.”

“Ours are stories where you can lose yourself or find yourself, supported by a team of experts, your narrator or guide, from cover to cover. Life-changing stories that, when brought together, create a library of change now and into the future.”

“Stories that you don’t stop telling because they stay with you forever. That is the travel experience we always strive to create, stories that are personal and profound… those that you don’t just put on the shelf when you’re done but keep close to your heart forever.”

Brought to Tears

It was beyond heartwarming for all of us in attendance, from all around Italy and the world, to then see the entire IC Bellagio team of nearly 50 professional guest ambassadors and administrators stand in the front rows below the stage.

To be honest, it brought a literal tear to my eye because I imagined the applause represented the cheers of gratitude from 20 years of enriched and enchanted clients these guest ambassadors had steered into satisfying itineraries all over Italy.

Here, they received appreciation and admiration in the form of applause during a standing ovation from the attendees in the floor seats and four levels of loges and balconies.

To hide my tears, I was glad the lights dimmed again so tenor Matteo Macchioni and pianist Mirca Rosciani could perform stirring renditions of Italian classics Sole Mio and Nessun Dorma. This was followed by Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah and lastly by Queen’s “The Show Must Go On.”

Fashion and Fun

I had the pleasure of overlooking the presentation from seats in the theatre’s top tier with the famed fashion designer Federico Sangalli and his wife Barbara Torno Ginnasi, who is Sangalli’s showroom director.

I met them a few years earlier, thanks to IC Bellagio in Milan. Barbara gave me a tour of their atelier, which included a dark room to display their “Light My Night” dress: a traditional but fantastical gown made with optical fiber that allowed the dress to illuminate brighter throughout the evening and even change colors.

In addition to their creativity and success, Federico and Barbara, also parents, are the most fun people one could ever hope to mingle and sit with. For instance, that first time I met Sangalli, one of the world’s most talented designers, I had the audacity to be caught wearing a $20 dress shirt by “Amazon Essentials.” Sangalli still invited me to return for Milan Fashion Week, anyway – a dream for any dame.

This time, though, I sat with them in my white dinner jacket, black vest and black bow tie, wearing Gucci glasses, black Prada loafers and my Omega Seamaster 007 watch. I stood and spun, gesturing to the great Federico Sangalli, hoping for his approval.

“Fico,” he answered, flashing a thumbs up. “Fichissimo!”

“It means ‘cool.’ ‘Very cool,’” the gracious, smiling Barbara translated.

“Non rompermi le palle,” I squinted my eyes and countered, dramatically, in Italian, Federico, while wagging a finger. He seemed shocked, firstly because I spoke in Italian and second because of what I said. Then he smiled slyly, tilted his head back, and roared with laughter.

“Mi dispiace,” I said with a shrug of apology to Barbara.

Gala in the Piazza

A procession of people then walked from the theater down the narrow street toward the gala at the piazza in Imola’s center.

There were candles on the commercial street and signs directing guests to the gala. IC Bellagio even staged a quartet of live musicians for us to encounter along the way.

I walked with the bella donna Barbara and her beau Federico, who lit up a cigar and regaled me with intriguing and funny political discussion. He disappeared for a moment and then emerged from a streetside shop where he had sweetly ducked in to buy me a cigar, too.

As we paused so I could try to light it, I stopped Raffaele as he was passing by with his girlfriend Nele. I once spent a day with Raffaele piloting me and some friends in a van to wine tastings and pasta making in Tuscany.

Travel Tales

I hugged Raffaele and I told Nele how he’d spent the entire drive telling us about her and tales of their travels to Dubai, Costa Rica and ski trips. She seemed flattered, and in truth it was a rollicking, hilarious afternoon of laughs, even before we drank Chiantis and Super Tuscans.

Even though he was sober as a judge that day, Raffaele was kind enough to laugh, too. Sangalli and I had to stash the stogies when our stroll subsided upon our arrival at Piazza Matteotti. In the middle of the square sat an elegant tented structure, inside of which the gala was held.

In the back of the glamorous structure, I was struck to see what appeared to be a stunning army of 15 serious-faced, brunette Italian women dressed in black. These stylish attendants, lined up to help guide guests, intimidated me.

“Why don’t you go and try to charm them?” Bellatti playfully suggested.

“As if?” I responded. “Me? Charm?” We both laughed at that one.

Just in time to save me from the dangerous mission, I was tapped on the shoulder by Rita, a lively, colorful and spirited guide I met during a tour of Lake Como.

Fond Memories

“The boat builder Tony still talks about you!” Rita insisted.

Again, thanks to IC Bellagio, Rita took my son Harrison and me inside a genuine, working boatbuilding workshop along Como di Lago.

While we were there that morning, we were having such good laughs with Tony, an Italian craftsman who was wearing a Snoopy hat, that he brought out a bottle of prosecco…which he sabered open with an axe off the workbench.

Tony then autographed the axe with an affectionate message and gave it to me as a souvenir. These are examples of exactly what Grisdale was referring to in her 20th anniversary message:

“Stories are all about the people, those you know and those you get to know and care for along the way. Local people that make an impact in an instant and still leave you smiling every time they cross your mind.”

Dining With Dignitaries

The subsequent sit-down dinner, at long, elaborately decorated tables, started with an antipasti selection of locally cured meats and cheeses. These included Strolghingo from Romagna, Parma prosciutto, felino salami, Piacenza coppa, oro nero cheese, Granello and aged stracchino. In addition, there were marinated zucchini, pickles, carrots and peppers with local mustard and jams. This course was paired with bottles of Costa D’Amalfi Bianco Per Eva wine.

Then came the primi course: Mezzamanica fresh pasta with tomato and basil sauce paired with the same winemaker’s Rosato Selezione ED 2023. The secondi was Chianina Chateaubriand with Cervia sweet salt, baked potato stack, and a bundle of seasonal vegetables paired with Tramonti Rosso 2022.

The dolce dessert was a custard tart with mixed berries, washed down with Ferrari Brut F1, which we all used to toast Andrea Grisdale when she was bestowed with the “Cittadino Onorario Della Citta di Imola” commendation by the mayor, making her an “Honorary Citizen of Imola.”

Grisdale, of course, shared the honor with her entire team, who promptly joined her and Alessandro in dancing the night away. (And surely, by the next morning, returning to their joyous, meaningful work sharing Italy with IC Bellagio’s clients and the world.)

Gifts from guests were collected in the form of donations to la Cooperatavia il Sentiero – Casa La Vita, an organization providing safe havens for abandoned mothers facing hardship and victims of violence, including children, in abusive and neglectful family situations.

Salute! Grazie Mille!

Read more of Michael Patrick’s work at The Travel Tattler and contact him at [email protected]. Order his book Travel Tattler – Less Than Torrid Tales at https://amzn.to/3Qm9FjN