Aristocratic residences, villas on the lake, whisky and winter barbecues, and that apparently effortless elegance that the world calls Italian style. The Gentlemen, Guy Ritchie’s series, lands on Lake Maggiore in its second season, and the comparison between British and Italian savoir-faire becomes irresistible.
Turning what appears on screen into experiences to live has always been a very entertaining game for me. I came across — unforgivably late — the series The Gentlemen on Netflix, an action comedy seasoned with crime and gangsters. In the first season, Eddie Horniman, the protagonist, brings Bobby Glass, a drug trafficker with whom he is reluctantly in business (a paternal inheritance), a White Park fillet, from a very rare British cattle breed raised by the Horniman family. How do they enjoy it in the series? Barbecued, in winter, in a heated gazebo with retractable glass walls and roof. It would be cool to be able to do it, wouldn’t it? I know where.
The Italian alter ego of White Park? It exists; in fact, there are two: Podolica and Maremmana, ancient, rustic breeds, linked to grazing and capable of producing intensely flavoured meat. A Podolica rib steak grilled over the fire, perhaps accompanied by a great red wine from the South, such as a Cirò, or from the North, such as a Barolo Riserva (also mentioned in the series), is probably the tastiest way to feel like a gentleman without having inherited a dukedom.
The game of finding “Italian equivalents” can continue. When expensive Scottish and Japanese single malts appear in the series, our answer is an Italian whisky! Yes, Italy boasts a single malt, and it is produced in the Alps. In this game of equivalents, French bubbles can worthily be replaced by Metodo Classico Oltrepò Pavese, Franciacorta, Alta Langa and Trentodoc. And to caviar, an almost programmatic presence in the universe of the series — Netflix presented it with the slogan “Crime meets caviar” — comes a little-known excellence in response: Italy is also a land of sturgeon farming and high-end caviar. Even British sloe gin has a worthy replacement: Bargnolino, or Prunella, an ancient liqueur made from the same wild sloes. Two interpretations, British and Italian, of the same small thorny fruit.
But The Gentlemen Italian Style experience does not end at the table. The second season brings Eddie and Susie Glass, Bobby’s daughter, to the shores of Lake Maggiore, among villas, historic hotels and high-end motorboats. It is here that British rigour loosens up: Eddie adopts softer lines, silks, cottons and Mediterranean colours; Susie, as soon as she “lands”, turns towards a distinctly Mediterranean glamour, with prints, scarves and large sunglasses. Her wardrobe also features highly refined accessories.
And Italy, this time, does not even have to look for an alter ego. The villa on Lake Maggiore exists: it is Villa Rusconi-Clerici in Pallanza, where a jetty was even built for the filming to allow arrivals by motorboat. The wedding, instead, takes us to the Grand Hotel Majestic and the Church of San Leonardo. Then there are Verbania, Intra, Stresa and the hairpin bends of Mottarone. In short, The Gentlemen Italian Style is not just a game: part of that world can really be travelled through, drunk and tasted.
The perfect day? A villa on Lake Maggiore, a ride in a wooden motorboat, an aperitif with Italian sparkling wine and Italian caviar, dinner with grilled Podolica and, to finish, a whisky, strictly made in Italy! Do we want to move to the countryside? An ancient residence, perhaps a castle, a horseback ride through woods and vineyards, an aperitif in front of the fireplace with fine cured meats and aged Parmigiano, then to the table: tagliolini with white truffle, porcini mushrooms and Florentine steak grilled over the fire, accompanied by a great red wine. And to finish, Bargnolino — the Italian answer to sloe gin — and a handmade cigar, strictly Italian.
Because the real luxury portrayed by The Gentlemen, once the gangsters and criminal dealings are removed, is precisely this: knowing how to choose a few things, beautiful ones, wear them well, eat better and behave as if everything were absolutely normal.
Are you curious to know which sought-after Italian products offer the best quality-to-price ratio on the market? Where to find them to buy them or have them served? Would you like to organise an evening in The Gentlemen style, but Italian? Do you want to extend the experience to an entire day or imagine a weekend? If discovery intrigues you, contact me, I’ll be happy to share ideas and suggestions.
