Latest news with #Silvestri
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lisa, Viola Davis, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Liu Yifei Attend Bulgari High Jewelry Show in Taormina
TAORMINA, Italy — 'We want to surprise and make clients fall in love with Bulgari again and again,' said Laura Burdese, deputy chief executive officer of the jewelry brand. So how could Bulgari top the Aeterna high jewelry collection presented last year in Rome that paid tribute to the jeweler's 140th anniversary? By traveling to Taormina, the hilltop town dubbed the Pearl of the Ionian Sea, on the east coast of Sicily, the Etna volcano in the background. More from WWD Designers Weigh In on the Enduring Impact of the Dandy Nicholas Daley's Pratt Honor Is a Full-circle Moment Coco Jones and Designer Manish Malhotra Talk the Singer's 2025 Met Gala, Black Dandyism and Capturing 'Resistance Through Elegance' 'We wanted the location to be 'wow,'' said Lucia Silvestri, the brand's jewelry creative director, speaking on Monday from the San Domenico Palace, the former Dominican monastery that is now a Four Seasons Hotel, which was the setting for the second season of 'The White Lotus.' Silvestri spoke about the collection ahead of Bulgari's gala dinner at the Hotel Timeo and fashion show at Taormina's ancient Greek theater. 'The theater is so close to our roots,' said Silvestri, referring to founder Sotirio Bulgari, who was a Greek silversmith. Called Polychroma, the new high jewelry collection also takes its name from the Greek language — poly meaning multitude and chromia meaning colors — a key element throughout Bulgari's history — plus the homage to Roma, the brand's birthplace. 'Polychroma is an ode to the infinite possibilities to play with shapes and colors. The collection comprises a total of 56 gemstones, the first time with such an expansive color palette,' said Silvestri, who herself is passionate about color — she was wearing a dandelion yellow pantsuit over a soft lilac blouse, and a brooch shaped as a pine cone revisited from an archival design from the 1960s and 'a symbol of good luck.' Looking down at the garden of the luxury hotel, abloom with bougainvillea, jacaranda, and jasmine, citrus and palm trees, the location was a perfect stage for the Polychroma presentation. It featured 600 pieces, including 250 creations of both high jewelry and high jewelry watches, with 60 millionaire designs, the highest number ever for Bulgari. Around 200 clients were due to visit presentations of the collection throughout the week, said Burdese, who explained that developing the themes for the high jewelry presentations can take up to three years. Burdese took on the newly created role of deputy CEO last September. She was promoted from vice president of marketing and communication at the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned jeweler, a position she had held since January 2022. Burdese oversees the jewelry, watches, perfumes and leather goods business while keeping her previous responsibilities. She reports to CEO Jean-Christophe Babin, who in March was also named CEO of LVMH Watches, which comprises the Hublot, Zenith and Tag Heuer brands. Asked to comment on current market conditions, Burdese admitted 'we are navigating uncertain waters, with so many changes taking place, and yes, some clients may be in a wait-and-see mode. But we have a great legacy and our jewels are like artistic creations and they are seen as investments, they hold value over time, so for us this period is less difficult. Therefore, I am cautiously optimistic.' To be sure, Bulgari has not slowed its investments; for example, it has expanded its production plant in Valenza, unveiled last month, expecting to double its production capacity by 2029, and it opened a major flagship in Milan's Via Montenapoleone in March. After renovating its Dubai Mall and Champs-Elysées stores, and recently opening units in San Francisco and Costa Mesa, Bulgari will unveil new boutiques at Tokyo Takashimaya in September and on Rodeo Drive in October. A new Bulgari Hotel will open in the Maldives while the project in Los Angeles was shelved as the city's planning department halted its development. Despite a general slowdown there, China remains Bulgari's main market, said Burdese, adding that the other regions are all 'well-balanced.' Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Anne Hathaway, longtime Bulgari house ambassadors, debuted pieces from Bulgari's Polychroma collection at the Met Gala earlier this month, as reported, and the former attended the unveiling on Monday, flanked by Liu Yifei, Lisa and Viola Davis. Silvestri underscored the 'extraordinary combinations of colors, the exceptional quality and highest level of craftsmanship' of the Polychroma collection. It reaches its pinnacle in the Gallery of Wonders, with five one-of-a kind creations 'crafted from the rarest and most unique gems, which are gifts of nature and possess rare and exceptional features.' The Bulgari Cosmic Vault revealed a 123.35-carat Sri Lankan sugarloaf sapphire in a deep and intense royal blue tone with a velvet-like texture, 200 alternating elements showing 331 buff-top sapphires and 13 diamond drops. Jericho's Tree of Life mosaic from Hisham's Palace, built in the 8th century A.D., inspired the Celestial Mosaic necklace with a central 131.21-carat spinel from Tajikistan, the world's fourth-largest spinel 'and the first in terms of quality,' said Silvestri, and a kaleidoscope of hues, from the deep turquoise of a very rare tourmaline to emeralds, onyx and diamonds. 'It reveals influences from Mughal art and combines almost 200 elements connected by flexible joints for a perfect fit,' said Silvestri, who stays away from any stiffness and always aims for sinuous designs that adapt to the neck of the wearer. One of the collection's emblems, the exquisite Polychromatic Bloom, stood out with three gems — a central 106.36-carat rubellite, a 55.52-carat peridot and a 55.11-carat tanzanite, surrounded by blossoming petals, for a total of 500 different elements. Bulgari reinterpreted the Trombino ring, first designed in 1928 by Leonilde Bulgari for her mother, with the Essence of Yellow, a platinum ring with a 45-carat fancy vivid yellow diamond, which is extremely rare, appearing only once every four or five years, said Silvestri, and representing one in every eight million stones, here with an emerald Asscher-cut, featuring 42 diamonds and pavé sets. The bold and stunning Magnus Emerald necklace had a 241.06-carat emerald from the Colombian mines, the biggest ever used by Bulgari. Among the high jewelry watches, the Nuvole Preziose [precious clouds] in an octagonal shape echoes the ceiling of the Basilica Maxentius in Rome and features a 6.88-carat certified cushion-cut yellow sapphire at the center of the dial, with detachable clouds that can be worn as earrings. Spikes are crafted to represent the sun rays of Gian Lorenzo Bernini's altarpiece at the Santa Maria Della Vittoria church in the Italian capital. As the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome. View Gallery Launch Gallery: Lisa, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Viola Davis and Liu Yifei at Bulgari Presents Polychroma Collection Best of WWD A Brief History of Cartier's 'Love' Fine Jewelry Collection A Look Back at Kate Middleton's Cartier Wedding Day Tiara on Her 13th Wedding Anniversary: A Brief History of the Royal Family's Tradition David Yurman Files Lawsuit Against Mejuri, Alleging 'Serial' Copying
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
On COVID anniversary, protestors renew call for nursing home standards legislation
Stefania Silvestri, a registered nurse at Greenville Center in Smithfield, listens to a fellow long-term care worker speak during a COVID-19 memorial event outside the Rhode Island State House on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. Silvestri spoke about her own experience working amid understaffing during the pandemic. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current) It's been five years, but registered nurse Stefania Silvestri can still recall the smell of plastic. 'I placed body after body in a bag, day after day. That smell of plastic still paralyzes me,' Silvestri, who works at Greenville Center in Smithfield, recalled for a crowd gathered outside the Rhode Island State House Tuesday for a memorial event for the COVID-19 pandemic. Tuesday marked the fifth anniversary of the World Health Organization's official declaration of the pandemic. During the height of the pandemic, Silvestri said her workplace usually had four staff members on duty to care for 30 older COVID patients. That ratio made for a severe challenge in delivering care to the residents, who Silvestri said were often alone and scared, crying for help. Silvestri recounted the powerlessness she felt back. 'Nobody is coming to help them,' she said. 'I can't get to them either, and neither can anyone else. How? How can you save them all? How do you ease their pain and suffering?' Her experience is one reason she continues to campaign alongside her fellow unionized frontline workers for Rhode Island to adopt nursing home workforce standards passed by the legislature back in 2021. Tuesday's COVID-19 memorial also served as a protest against Gov. Dan McKee's fiscal 2026 budget and his veto of legislation last year that would have set minimum statewide compensation and quality of care standards for nursing home workers by establishing a Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board. The General Assembly did not call a special session for a vote to override the veto. Jesse Martin, the executive vice president of SEIU-1199, shouted into a megaphone that the governor opposes improving working conditions of resident care workers. 'What happened to the time five years ago when every house had a sign on the front lawn that said 'Health care workers and essential workers are heroes'? Five years later, under the governor's proposed budget, he wants to cut money off of our backs, from our units, from our supplies, from our workplaces. Is that OK?' Martin 'No!' the crowd roared back. Nursing home advocates were livid when McKee vanquished the Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board Act last year. The bill would have established a 13-member advisory body to help the General Assembly and state labor department craft and enforce regulations in line with the 2021 legislation. McKee wrote in his June 2024 veto memo, 'Rhode Island needs comprehensive solutions to resolve its critical nursing home emergency and support residents, workers, and the long-term health of facilities. This Act does not meet that need.' McKee added that the nursing home crisis is more than a labor issue, with closures, receiverships and Medicaid reimbursement rates unaffected by the proposed legislation. Yet in January, McKee proposed a fiscal 2026 budget that seeks to limit the annual increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates, which states tether to federally defined reimbursement rates for providers. Rhode Island hospitals, for instance, were expecting Medicaid reimbursement rates to rise 3.4% for inpatient services and 2.9% for outpatient services in the new fiscal year that starts July 1. But McKee wants to cap the hike at 2.3%, a number more closely aligned with the state's projected revenue growth. About two-thirds of nursing home residents in Rhode Island have their stays paid for by Medicaid, a population of about 5,000 people overall. At a press conference last month at Bannister Center in Providence on possible federal Medicaid cuts, Martin expressed concerns about the continued underfunding of nursing homes, which have 'seen a lot of hardship' in the last five years because of Medicaid's underfunding. Martin echoed the need for more funding to the crowd on Tuesday, dozens of whom sported the distinctive purple shirts with SEIU-1199 branding. 'We're still dealing with poverty level wages. We're still dealing with understaffing. We're still dealing with for-profits or nonprofits that act like for-profits that take money away from the bedside,' Martin told the crowd at the State House Tuesday. 'That is not where we should be five years after this pandemic.' The Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board Act has been reintroduced this year in both chambers of the General Assembly. In the House, the bill is led by Rep. Scott Slater, a Providence Democrat, while Sen. Bridget Valverde, a North Kingstown Democrat, leads the charge for the senate version. The House version has not yet been scheduled for a committee hearing, but the Senate version had its initial hearing on March 6. As is standard practice, it was held for further study. Testifying on the bill before the committee, Valverde remarked on the assertion in McKee's veto memo that the bill was not a 'comprehensive solution.' 'I don't think that is something anybody has ever said that this bill is going to do,' Valverde said. McKee's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Local Sweden
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
'Social glue': Why it's no surprise European states are toughening language requirements
Several European countries require the knowledge of the local language to obtain permanent residence or citizenship, and more are introducing such policies or toughening up the level required. In 2024, France passed a law requiring French language tests for certain types of residency card. Sweden is currently moving ahead with language requirements for citizenship. Italy also started to demand a language test when applying for naturalisations by marriage in 2018. And across the Atlantic, President Donald Trump has just signed into law that English is to be the US official language. Why are languages becoming such an important factor in residence and citizenship policies? Carmen Silvestri, a linguist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Reading in the UK, says 'this trend is not surprising in current times given the rise of nationalist parties'. Languages as an element of national identity and belonging are historically linked to the birth of the nation-state, in 1700-1800, she says. 'Nationalism remains the foundation of the nation-state. There is no nationalism without 'social glue', and language is the most obvious one,' Dr Silvestri argues. National identity According to a recent report by the Pew Research Centre, a US-based think tank, many people say that speaking the local language is what makes someone 'truly' belong in a country, followed by sharing its customs and traditions, and being born there. Views vary by country, age, education and ideology. Younger and educated people are less likely to see the language as important for belonging, while supporters of right-wing populist parties are more likely to consider it essential. In Europe, Hungary has the largest share of respondents (74 percent) saying that speaking the local language is key for national identity. France and the Netherlands follow with 64 percent. Greece stands at 63 percent, Germany at 62 and Poland at 60 percent. In Italy and the UK the share was 58 percent and in Sweden 52, although it reached 83 percent for supporters of the hard-right party Sweden Democrats. Silvestri says: "Before the nation-state, religion was the identity marker or the 'social glue' linking diverse communities by a shared sacred message and spiritual tradition. "The birth of the nation-state created a new social construct using other tools to imagine people as one community, and the language was the most immediate one. "This process was accelerated by the invention of print and the advent of newspapers, which started to spread information using a common language, and the secularisation process after the French Revolution." Today in Europe, the Pew research reveals, being part of the predominant religion of a country is the least important factor for the perception of identity, with the highest rates recorded in Greece and Poland (19 percent), followed by Italy (15 percent), the Netherlands (12), Hungary (8), Germany and Spain (6), France (5), and Sweden (3). Multicultural societies Compared to Europe, in Canada and the US only 49 and 48 percent respectively of participants in the Pew survey said that language is an important factor of belonging. Dr Silvestri explains the different attitude saying that 'both Canada and the US have an important history of migration and they started as multicultural societies, so there are other factors at play to determine the national identity'. On the other hand, 38 and 34 percent respectively said it is 'very important to follow local customs in order to truly belong', a share as high as 62 and 60 percent in Hungary and Greece, 42 percent for Italy and Spain, but declines to 39 percent in France, 25 percent in Germany and 17 percent in Sweden. This can also be explained through a nationalist lens as people access local customs and traditions 'through the knowledge of the language,' Dr Silvestri says. Multilingualism In such a context, and with nationalist parties on the rise across Europe, what is the role of multilingualism? Dr Silvestri says 'multilingualism has no correspondence with national identity'. 'If national identity has correspondence with the language, multilingualism is not a factor of identity or belonging. It is a tool to access texts and to communicate," she said. "It helps to connect social groups, and while it is important to have a socio-linguistic root in the native language, multilingualism helps to connect, collaborate, share, and also understand otherness developing a wider view of communities beyond the boundaries of national identity.'
Local Norway
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Local Norway
'Social glue': Why it's no surprise European states are toughening language requirements
Several European countries require the knowledge of the local language to obtain permanent residence or citizenship, and more are introducing such policies or toughening up the level required. In 2024, France passed a law requiring French language tests for certain types of residency card. Sweden is currently moving ahead with language requirements for citizenship. Italy also started to demand a language test when applying for naturalisations by marriage in 2018. And across the Atlantic, President Donald Trump has just signed into law that English is to be the US official language. Why are languages becoming such an important factor in residence and citizenship policies? Carmen Silvestri, a linguist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Reading in the UK, says 'this trend is not surprising in current times given the rise of nationalist parties'. Languages as an element of national identity and belonging are historically linked to the birth of the nation-state, in 1700-1800, she says. 'Nationalism remains the foundation of the nation-state. There is no nationalism without 'social glue', and language is the most obvious one,' Dr Silvestri argues. National identity According to a recent report by the Pew Research Centre, a US-based think tank, many people say that speaking the local language is what makes someone 'truly' belong in a country, followed by sharing its customs and traditions, and being born there. Views vary by country, age, education and ideology. Younger and educated people are less likely to see the language as important for belonging, while supporters of right-wing populist parties are more likely to consider it essential. In Europe, Hungary has the largest share of respondents (74 percent) saying that speaking the local language is key for national identity. France and the Netherlands follow with 64 percent. Greece stands at 63 percent, Germany at 62 and Poland at 60 percent. In Italy and the UK the share was 58 percent and in Sweden 52, although it reached 83 percent for supporters of the hard-right party Sweden Democrats. Silvestri says: "Before the nation-state, religion was the identity marker or the 'social glue' linking diverse communities by a shared sacred message and spiritual tradition. "The birth of the nation-state created a new social construct using other tools to imagine people as one community, and the language was the most immediate one. "This process was accelerated by the invention of print and the advent of newspapers, which started to spread information using a common language, and the secularisation process after the French Revolution." Today in Europe, the Pew research reveals, being part of the predominant religion of a country is the least important factor for the perception of identity, with the highest rates recorded in Greece and Poland (19 percent), followed by Italy (15 percent), the Netherlands (12), Hungary (8), Germany and Spain (6), France (5), and Sweden (3). Multicultural societies Compared to Europe, in Canada and the US only 49 and 48 percent respectively of participants in the Pew survey said that language is an important factor of belonging. Dr Silvestri explains the different attitude saying that 'both Canada and the US have an important history of migration and they started as multicultural societies, so there are other factors at play to determine the national identity'. On the other hand, 38 and 34 percent respectively said it is 'very important to follow local customs in order to truly belong', a share as high as 62 and 60 percent in Hungary and Greece, 42 percent for Italy and Spain, but declines to 39 percent in France, 25 percent in Germany and 17 percent in Sweden. This can also be explained through a nationalist lens as people access local customs and traditions 'through the knowledge of the language,' Dr Silvestri says. Multilingualism In such a context, and with nationalist parties on the rise across Europe, what is the role of multilingualism? Dr Silvestri says 'multilingualism has no correspondence with national identity'. 'If national identity has correspondence with the language, multilingualism is not a factor of identity or belonging. It is a tool to access texts and to communicate," she said. "It helps to connect social groups, and while it is important to have a socio-linguistic root in the native language, multilingualism helps to connect, collaborate, share, and also understand otherness developing a wider view of communities beyond the boundaries of national identity.'
Local Germany
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Local Germany
'Social glue': Why it's no surprise European states are toughening language requirements
Several European countries require the knowledge of the local language to obtain permanent residence or citizenship, and more are introducing such policies or toughening up the level required. In 2024, France passed a law requiring French language tests for certain types of residency card. Sweden is currently moving ahead with language requirements for citizenship. Italy also started to demand a language test when applying for naturalisations by marriage in 2018. And across the Atlantic, President Donald Trump has just signed into law that English is to be the US official language. Why are languages becoming such an important factor in residence and citizenship policies? Carmen Silvestri, a linguist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Reading in the UK, says 'this trend is not surprising in current times given the rise of nationalist parties'. Languages as an element of national identity and belonging are historically linked to the birth of the nation-state, in 1700-1800, she says. 'Nationalism remains the foundation of the nation-state. There is no nationalism without 'social glue', and language is the most obvious one,' Dr Silvestri argues. National identity According to a recent report by the Pew Research Centre, a US-based think tank, many people say that speaking the local language is what makes someone 'truly' belong in a country, followed by sharing its customs and traditions, and being born there. Views vary by country, age, education and ideology. Younger and educated people are less likely to see the language as important for belonging, while supporters of right-wing populist parties are more likely to consider it essential. In Europe, Hungary has the largest share of respondents (74 percent) saying that speaking the local language is key for national identity. France and the Netherlands follow with 64 percent. Greece stands at 63 percent, Germany at 62 and Poland at 60 percent. In Italy and the UK the share was 58 percent and in Sweden 52, although it reached 83 percent for supporters of the hard-right party Sweden Democrats. Silvestri says: "Before the nation-state, religion was the identity marker or the 'social glue' linking diverse communities by a shared sacred message and spiritual tradition. "The birth of the nation-state created a new social construct using other tools to imagine people as one community, and the language was the most immediate one. "This process was accelerated by the invention of print and the advent of newspapers, which started to spread information using a common language, and the secularisation process after the French Revolution." Today in Europe, the Pew research reveals, being part of the predominant religion of a country is the least important factor for the perception of identity, with the highest rates recorded in Greece and Poland (19 percent), followed by Italy (15 percent), the Netherlands (12), Hungary (8), Germany and Spain (6), France (5), and Sweden (3). Multicultural societies Compared to Europe, in Canada and the US only 49 and 48 percent respectively of participants in the Pew survey said that language is an important factor of belonging. Dr Silvestri explains the different attitude saying that 'both Canada and the US have an important history of migration and they started as multicultural societies, so there are other factors at play to determine the national identity'. On the other hand, 38 and 34 percent respectively said it is 'very important to follow local customs in order to truly belong', a share as high as 62 and 60 percent in Hungary and Greece, 42 percent for Italy and Spain, but declines to 39 percent in France, 25 percent in Germany and 17 percent in Sweden. This can also be explained through a nationalist lens as people access local customs and traditions 'through the knowledge of the language,' Dr Silvestri says. Multilingualism In such a context, and with nationalist parties on the rise across Europe, what is the role of multilingualism? Dr Silvestri says 'multilingualism has no correspondence with national identity'. 'If national identity has correspondence with the language, multilingualism is not a factor of identity or belonging. It is a tool to access texts and to communicate," she said. "It helps to connect social groups, and while it is important to have a socio-linguistic root in the native language, multilingualism helps to connect, collaborate, share, and also understand otherness developing a wider view of communities beyond the boundaries of national identity.'
