Bella Figura

Bulgari celebrates its new Festa collection with an equally glamorous, well, festa. Naomi Rougeau heads to Venice

“La luce!” exclaims Lucia Silvestri. The Bulgari creative director is recalling the moment she decided to face it the reverse side of a 180-carat sapphire cabochon that had lain dormant in a vault for years. “It was as if it had been reborn. It finally came to life with light,” Silvestri says. Not wanting to take a sliver of attention away from such a rare gobstopper—the centerpiece of Bulgari’s Principesse range within its new Festa high-jewelry collection—Silvestri added a “simple” chain boasting 28 carats of trapezoidal step-cut and pavé diamonds.

Its name? “Il Magnifico.” Inspired by Roman princess Paolina Bonaparte Borghese, whose brother Napoleon gave her the nickname “Our Lady of Trinkets” due to her affinity for the finer things, the necklace is one of 28 one-off pieces inspired by legendary Italian principesse throughout history and the grand parties (or feste) they were known to throw. With the collection complete, there was only one thing left to do: throw a #BulgariFesta. Location? Venice.