Learn To Live The Bella Figura!

Kamin Mohammadi on how self-care the Italian way can make you happier, healthier – and even improve your love life

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Ten years ago, I was stuck in a rut. It was a glamorous rut, but a rut nonetheless. I had my dream job in publishing and a fast-paced life in London. But it did not make me happy. Worse still, it actively made me unwell: I piled on pounds of inexplicable weight in spite of all the detoxes I did, my face erupted in acne, and I was permanently tired.

Then life gave me a break. Armed with a redundancy package, a one-way ticket and not knowing a word of Italian, I went to stay in a friend’s flat in Florence for a few weeks. That was ten years ago. I am still here because I fell in love: first with Italian tomatoes, then the Italian lifestyle and, finally, an Italian man – a photographer named Bernardo, whom I married last year. I’m 48 now, working as a writer, and happier than I’ve ever been.

As well as the extraordinary beauty, the golden light and the delicious food, what struck me when I first arrived in Florence was the way the Italians lived. They stopped to say hello on the street. They chatted with the greengrocer as they shopped. They didn’t drink from plastic bottles of water on the street, nor did I ever spot a takeaway coffee cup: they popped into a café and drank standing at the bar, talking to other customers. They took their time. They were, I learnt, making la bella figura – a concept that demands that everything be as beautiful as possible, permeating all aspects of life.