Francesco's Travels: Table of Contents

Balkans/Eastern Europe
Bulgaria	Surviving in Sofia: Part 1 Basically Bulgarian: Part 2 The Turkish Touch: Part 3 One for the Ladies! The Cultural Heritage of Petar Petrov
Greece	apaptform—Where Greece Meets Japan
Macedonia	Marjan Pejoski & Kokon To Zai
Romania	Gypsies, Vampires, and Rozalb de Mura
Serbia	The Dominant Strength of Serbia's Dejan Despotović
Slovenia	SENS, Feeling the Touch of Slovenian Class!
Turkey	Turkish Anyone?
Mediterranean Isles & Coasts
Intro	The Mediterranean Isles of Italy
Western Europe
Belgium	MoutonCollet: Sometimes Silence is Silver Veronique Branquinho & the Antwerp Six...or Seven?
Portugal	Salsa Jeans Adds Some Spice to Bread & Butter Berlin
Spain	Toledo—the City of Three Cultures
Italy
Ischia	Ischia: Roots on a Rim
Macerata	Elia Maurizi & "Who Is On Next"
Naples	Ischia: Roots on a Rim
Pompeii	From the Ashes of Pompeii
San Marino	San Marino: Still Paving the Way
Sardinia	Welcome to Cagliari When in Sardinia, Eat as the Sardinians...and with them! Nora: from Phoenicia to Carthage and onto Rome The Nuraghic People, "Su Nuraxi" & UNESCO Sardinian Nuraghis Rock! Tharros: Nuraghic Foundation Tharros: from Phoenicia to Carthage & onto Rome Bauladu—Country Living in Sardinia Oristano: Its Musuem & Festivals Alghero—Sardina’s Little Catalonia Antonio Marras—the Designer from Alghero Sulcis—the Why to it All The Nuraghic “People of Bronze” Come Back to Life
Russia
Former USSR	My Romance with the Color Red Cracks in the Berlin Wall Shifting Gears: from China to Eastern Europe Calm, Cool, and...Calamity? Munching in Moscow
Siberia	Hayam Hanukaev Sets Russian Fashion Week Free
North America
Philadelphia	Matthew Izzo Presents Wrath Arcane at 1st Friday Philadelphia Fashion Week—a “First” Definitely Not to Be Missed!
China
Beijing	Happy Chinese New Year! Designer Chi Zhang's Northern Capital of Fashion
My Sojourn	Menswear—Not Just Fashion: Focus on China A Culture Vulture at Heart Trained by Trains "Trained" Foriegn Experts First Impressions Social Divide Chomping around China When in Rome.... Workers—Another Kind of Army Guizhou Minorities in the 80's Miao People—All about Fashion Zhuang Fashion Yao Men, Yao Women—the Differences Pervade Them All The Song of the Dong Yi Fashion
Southeast Asia
Thailand	Bangkok, Menswear & Darwin's Beagle

Elia Maurizi & "Who Is On Next"

Elia Maurizi is the last designer that I will be able to cover of the 7 finalists for "Who Is On Next," the young designer competition created by Alta Roma in conjunction with Uomo Vogue and to be presented tomorrow at Pitti Uomo.

Elia was born 1981 in Macerata of Le Marche region in central Italy, an area abundant in hills and hilltop towns. For a year, I lived in a neighboring town, also situated far up on a hill and surrounded by a robust medieval wall.

Once a week, I used venture to the outdoor market in the center of Elia's birthplace. The palazzi in Macerata are striking, some dating back to the 12th century. Ah, the memories!

Well, Elia not only received a formal shoe design education in Italy but he also apprenticed with one of the best craftsmen—his father—who owns a shoe factory.

In May 2008, Elia decided to launch his own unisex shoe collection, which plays on irony, simplicity, and an innovative taste for things of the past.

Photo top right by Idéfix, Copyleft at Wikipedia.
Slideshow 2010 s/s collection Copyright Elia Maurizi.