0:00:04 > 0:00:07I'm embarking on a new railway adventure
0:00:07 > 0:00:09that will take me across the heart of Europe.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15I'll be using this, my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide
0:00:15 > 0:00:17dated 1913,
0:00:17 > 0:00:22which opened up an exotic world of foreign travel for the British tourist.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26It told travellers where to go, what to see
0:00:26 > 0:00:32and how to navigate the thousands of miles of tracks criss-crossing the continent.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34Now, a century later, I'm using my copy
0:00:34 > 0:00:38to reveal an era of great optimism and energy,
0:00:38 > 0:00:42where technology, industry, science and the arts were flourishing.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46I want to rediscover that lost Europe
0:00:46 > 0:00:48that in 1913 couldn't know
0:00:48 > 0:00:53that its way of life would shortly be swept aside by the advent of war.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15This new journey occurs in one of my favourite countries - Italy.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17La Bella Italia.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19I'll be crossing its northern plain
0:01:19 > 0:01:22and with my Bradshaw's, hoping to find out how things stood
0:01:22 > 0:01:25on the eve of the First World War
0:01:25 > 0:01:30in this region of factories, Fiats, fashion and infatuation.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37My Italian travels begin in the Piedmont region,
0:01:37 > 0:01:40where I will visit the city of Turin,
0:01:40 > 0:01:45from where I'll travel into Lombardy to another major northern city, Milan.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47Away from the urban sprawls,
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Como and its famous Lake will be my third stop
0:01:50 > 0:01:54before I visit the romantic city of Verona.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58The journey will end in the east, on the islands of Venice.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02I explore some of the great passions of Italy,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05from Milan's material magic...
0:02:05 > 0:02:09Being measured for a suit in Italy is more like being measured for a body cast.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12- Cinquanta cinque.- Mm-hm.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15..to the extraordinary diversity of Italian cookery.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18That looks a bit like a Ravioli?
0:02:18 > 0:02:22- Agnolotti!- Sorry.- Agnolotti del plin! - Yeah, yeah, it's different.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24And on the Grand Canal,
0:02:24 > 0:02:29I hear about the amorous conquests of Venice's most famous son.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32Casanova loved women. He only had a 130 lovers.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34- That's extremely moderate! - Absolutely.
0:02:37 > 0:02:38Viva Italia!
0:02:43 > 0:02:46My first stop will be Turin - Torino in Italian.
0:02:46 > 0:02:53Bradshaw says that from 1860 to 1865 it was the capital of the Kingdom of Italy.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56I'd like to know how the city held that privileged position
0:02:56 > 0:03:01and why it hugged the limelight for so short a period.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07When Bradshaw's guide was written in 1913,
0:03:07 > 0:03:09Italy was still a very young country.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11Until just a few decades earlier,
0:03:11 > 0:03:16Turin's kingdom of Piedmont existed alongside a jumble of states
0:03:16 > 0:03:18controlled by competing European superpowers.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22One of the busiest stations in Italy,
0:03:22 > 0:03:28Turin's Stazione Centrale would have been the Edwardian traveller's first major stop in Italy.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34Construction began in 1861, a crucial date in Italy's history.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50This magnificent chamber
0:03:50 > 0:03:53with its paintings and mirrors and chandeliers
0:03:53 > 0:03:57was the waiting room for the royal family of Italy.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01And their majesties then just had the briefest of excursions
0:04:01 > 0:04:03from here to their waiting train.
0:04:03 > 0:04:08I sometimes get a little bit excited about using the first class lounge at Paddington,
0:04:08 > 0:04:12where you get a free cup of coffee and a biscuit.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16But it's not just royalty who are catered for in this station.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19There's also a plaque honouring British railway pioneers
0:04:19 > 0:04:23Giorgio and Roberto Stephenson,
0:04:23 > 0:04:25"who perfected the locomotive,
0:04:25 > 0:04:30"opening new trade routes to the advantage of the brotherhood of peoples."
0:04:30 > 0:04:33Turin has been at the heart of Italian industry
0:04:33 > 0:04:36since my Bradshaw's was published,
0:04:36 > 0:04:37so I'm curious to find out
0:04:37 > 0:04:42how much of the old city centre described in my trusty guide remains.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45This lovely square is called the Piazza Castello,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47named after the sturdy castle,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50and Bradshaw's refers to the Palazzo Madama
0:04:50 > 0:04:52and the royal palace, the Palazzo Reale,
0:04:52 > 0:04:54which apparently dates from 1646.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57This is my first visit to Torino
0:04:57 > 0:04:59and I'd been expecting a city of factory chimneys
0:04:59 > 0:05:06and to find so much elegance and history is a very pleasant surprise.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08Located on the Po river at the foot of the Alps,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11Turin is a city with ancient roots.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14But it's known for one thing above all -
0:05:14 > 0:05:16it's the cradle of Italian liberty.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20Its first prime minister was Count Camillo di Cavour,
0:05:20 > 0:05:24who was an architect of the unification of Italy.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29To find out more, I'm meeting historian Silvia Cavicchioli.
0:05:29 > 0:05:30Who was Count Cavour?
0:05:30 > 0:05:36Cavour was one of the most important Italian politicians during the 19th century.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39He was the leader of the Liberal Party
0:05:39 > 0:05:43and at the beginning he just wanted to modernise the kingdom.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48Then he came to idea of a single unified great state
0:05:48 > 0:05:52and a very modern state.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56You have to know that when he was young he travelled a lot
0:05:56 > 0:06:00and he made many journeys across Europe.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04He was very interested in the British rail system.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06He sounds like my kind of man.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10I know that you are very interested in railways
0:06:10 > 0:06:15and in fact, Cavour, he was amazed by the speed of this travel.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20He realised that the railways were very important
0:06:20 > 0:06:24in the modernisation of a country, of course,
0:06:24 > 0:06:28and to overcome the barriers between people.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30It's very interesting.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33I often think about the social effects of the railways.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37But here we are talking about the political effects of the railways as well.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39Cavour's promotion of the railways
0:06:39 > 0:06:41brought him to the attention of the British,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44who sent envoy Sir James Hudson to Piedmont.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47He and Cavour became very close friends.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51The plaque suggests that Hudson was "a maker of Italian unification."
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Why would the British be interested in Italian unification?
0:06:54 > 0:06:59Because Great Britain wanted a stable and constitutional ally
0:06:59 > 0:07:02in the southern part of Europe.
0:07:02 > 0:07:08They wanted to play a role in the development of the industrialisation of Italy.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11The British wanted to sell the Italians railways, that's what it was.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Ah, yes, and in fact after unification,
0:07:14 > 0:07:20Great Britain produced 80% of the railway machinery
0:07:20 > 0:07:24and steam engines for Italy.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Britain was keen to have an ally in southern Europe
0:07:27 > 0:07:31and was the first of the Great Powers to acknowledge the Kingdom of Italy,
0:07:31 > 0:07:35actively undermining French influence in the peninsula.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Well, Michael, for you as a former politician,
0:07:38 > 0:07:40it would be interested to know
0:07:40 > 0:07:43that we are in front of Carignano Palace.
0:07:43 > 0:07:50And this was the very building which housed the first Italian parliament.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53On the 17th March 1861,
0:07:53 > 0:07:57King Victor Emanuel II ceased to be the King of Piedmont
0:07:57 > 0:08:00and became the King of all Italy.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Well, Cavour must have been delighted to see that.
0:08:03 > 0:08:04Yes, he was very happy.
0:08:04 > 0:08:11But the pity was that he died just a few weeks after that memorable day.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16Well, at least he lived to see the Kingdom of Italy proclaimed.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Cavour was prime minister of Italy for just two months.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23After his death, Turin remained the capital for only four years.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26The title passed first to Florence
0:08:26 > 0:08:29and then finally to Rome in 1870.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33In time, Cavour's dream of a modern, industrialised Italy
0:08:33 > 0:08:35would be realised
0:08:35 > 0:08:37and one company became a driving force.
0:08:37 > 0:08:43Founded in 1899, the Fabrica Italiana Automobili Torino, or Fiat,
0:08:43 > 0:08:48went on to produce an icon of Italian car manufacture.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54And here it is the Cinquecento!
0:08:54 > 0:08:57- Bella machina! - Fabulosa di lei!
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Fabulous indeed!
0:09:05 > 0:09:08En route, we pass their first factory.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Questa la vecchia fabrica della Fiat.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12Ah! This is the old Fiat factory.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14Very small in those days.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19This pioneering company exploded in size in the early 20th century.
0:09:19 > 0:09:24Founded by Giovanni Agnelli, it went on to construct an icon of modernism -
0:09:24 > 0:09:28the first Futurist building in Italy the Lingotto.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33I'm driving onto the roof of this former factory
0:09:33 > 0:09:37to meet the head of the company archive, Maurizio Torchio.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Grazie. Arrivederci.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49- Maurizio.- Hi, Michael. Welcome.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52This is an amazing building! Tell me about it.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55The first director of this building used to say
0:09:55 > 0:10:01that the perfect plant has to be a concrete dress around the productive process.
0:10:01 > 0:10:08And this has to conceal as little as possible of the flow of the materials.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11You can imagine it as a kind of an Italian dress.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14It is very, very beautiful. What does the process consist of here?
0:10:14 > 0:10:17I mean, the raw materials arrived at the bottom
0:10:17 > 0:10:20and then they started to go round and round, up and up,
0:10:20 > 0:10:24until here on the rooftop, on the test track,
0:10:24 > 0:10:25arrived the final product.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29The cars were tested here and then again they would go down
0:10:29 > 0:10:33and they would go to the railway to be delivered to the customers.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37Ah! So even cars had to travel then by railway to be delivered!
0:10:37 > 0:10:39Absolutely!
0:10:39 > 0:10:41At the time of Bradshaw's guide,
0:10:41 > 0:10:45the company was just one of many small car manufacturers in Turin.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47It was common in Italy and most of all in Turin
0:10:47 > 0:10:52to get into this new, marvellous business of making cars.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55I mean, the car industry was absolutely the technology of the future
0:10:55 > 0:11:00and at the time it was something like the internet bubble.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04In 1913, the company was expanding at a rapid rate.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08As the demand for vehicles exploded with the advent of the First World War,
0:11:08 > 0:11:13the workforce increased massively from 4,000 in 1914
0:11:13 > 0:11:15to 40,000 in 1918.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17What happened to Fiat during World War I?
0:11:17 > 0:11:20If this plant was built, it's because of World War I.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24I mean, during World War I, finally Fiat sold many, many trucks.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27And with the profits from the war,
0:11:27 > 0:11:29made possible to create a new plant,
0:11:29 > 0:11:34styled after the way plants were built in the United States.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36Though Britain was the first industrial nation,
0:11:36 > 0:11:38the Italians were modernists,
0:11:38 > 0:11:43adopting the latest ideas on industrial efficiency from America.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47And thereafter, Fiat gets into all sorts of things, doesn't it?
0:11:47 > 0:11:50I mean, for example, in Britain we're very well aware
0:11:50 > 0:11:53that we have trains, Pendolinos, that are made by Fiat.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58In the '70s, some countries hadn't the possibilities to invest.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02So they decided, well, maybe if we create trains that can tilt
0:12:02 > 0:12:06it will go faster in the existing railways
0:12:06 > 0:12:08and we didn't need to create new infrastructure
0:12:08 > 0:12:10and that's actually the Pendolino -
0:12:10 > 0:12:16something that permits higher velocity on traditional railways.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19And that is exactly the case with the United Kingdom.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23To top off my adventure at the Lingotto factory,
0:12:23 > 0:12:27I'm invited to carry out a test drive on this historic track.
0:12:27 > 0:12:32This is where, famously, Michael Caine and others drove cars round and round
0:12:32 > 0:12:34in that film The Italian Job
0:12:34 > 0:12:38and I just hope that as I go round I don't blow the bloody doors off!
0:12:38 > 0:12:42MUSIC: # "Theme from the Italian Job"
0:12:42 > 0:12:44OK!
0:12:50 > 0:12:53# This is a self-preservation society
0:12:53 > 0:12:57# This is a self-preservation society
0:12:58 > 0:13:00# Gotta get a bloomin' move on
0:13:00 > 0:13:02# Babadab-babadabadab-bab-ba
0:13:02 > 0:13:05# Jump in the jam jar Gotta get straight Hurry up mate, don't wanna be late
0:13:05 > 0:13:09# How's your father? Gotta get a bloomin' move on. #
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Cars may have been a twentieth century passion for Italians
0:13:14 > 0:13:20but the country's love affair with food dates back to the Roman Empire and before.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Edwardian visitors to Turin would have had their taste buds titillated
0:13:23 > 0:13:26by new, exciting flavours.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29My stomach has steered me to a traditional Piedmontese restaurant,
0:13:29 > 0:13:33La Taverna di Fra Fiusch, in the hills above Turin.
0:13:33 > 0:13:39Chef Ugo Fontanone has kindly invited me to join him in his kitchen.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45- Hello!- Oh, hello.- Michael.- Ugo. - Ugo. Ugo.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49So Ugo is obviously making pasta. What sort of pasta is he making?
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Well, the chef is making agnolotti del plin.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54- Would it be possible to have a taste this already? - Yes, it's very good.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Is it already good?
0:13:58 > 0:14:03Mm. It is. A lovely mixture of meats and vegetables.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05Mm. That's a great taste.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08That looks a bit like a ravioli.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11- Agnolotti!- Sorry. - Agneootti del plin!
0:14:11 > 0:14:14- Yeah, yeah. It's different. - Plin!- Ah! There's his plin.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18- That's the thing. - May I have a go? Si, si.- Prego.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22So I have to take one teaspoon...
0:14:23 > 0:14:25- Cosi?- OK, perfect.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28Perfect? He does speak English! I knew it!
0:14:28 > 0:14:31- Me no speak English! - He doesn't speak English.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33Right, so now, Ugo, I should cut, should I?
0:14:35 > 0:14:40- L'acqua.- Little bit of water on there with what looks like a paint brush.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47- And now...- Roll over. - All the way over? Cosi?
0:14:47 > 0:14:50- Er... No.- No, no, no.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53- Sorry. Cosi.- Ah! Cosi.
0:14:53 > 0:14:58OK. And now the all-important pinch! Like this.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01Plin. Cosi e cosi.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04It's all in the technique of these fingers and thumbs.
0:15:04 > 0:15:05Look at that.
0:15:05 > 0:15:11And now I cut along here. Look at that lovely wiggly line it leaves.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13And now I cut across here.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20- Quasi perfetto. - Quasi perfetto, yes.- Wonderful.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Yes almost perfect but not quite perfect.
0:15:22 > 0:15:29In fact, look - that is decidedly wonky or asymmetrical.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34And now what do you do next?
0:15:34 > 0:15:36THEY SPEAK ITALIAN
0:15:39 > 0:15:41And then we cook them and then we eat them.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44That sounds a very good idea. Grazie tanti! Thank you so much.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46- Arrivederci.- Arrivederci.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51What a wonderful view! And what a spread of food!
0:15:51 > 0:15:53- Is this all from Piedmont? - Yeah, it is.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56So I recognise these. These are the agnolotti.
0:15:56 > 0:15:57Exactly, the one you made.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02These local specialities include a raw veal dish, carne cruda,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05finanziera, a dish of offal,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08vitello tonnato - veal with tuna sauce -
0:16:08 > 0:16:11and this bagna cauda dip.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13- Bon appetito!- Grazie.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18As I tuck into this dish of delicious Piedmontese tripe,
0:16:18 > 0:16:22it's a reminder that whilst Italy has been politically united,
0:16:22 > 0:16:26it's still incredibly varied in terms of culture and food.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29And in this mountainous region I've been offered mountains to eat!
0:16:37 > 0:16:40A new day and I'm following in the tracks of Edwardian train travellers
0:16:40 > 0:16:42across Northern Italy
0:16:42 > 0:16:45and I'm riding on a commuter service from Turin to Milan.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12THEY SPEAK ITALIAN
0:17:12 > 0:17:14Un'espresso. Grazie.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23Isn't that lovely? My espresso made freshly in the machine.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25You get a lot of businessmen on this line?
0:17:25 > 0:17:29Yes, at rush hour there are many businessmen heading into Milan.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33- Milan is still the centre of business? - Yes, but it's fashion of course.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35- Fashion?- Yeah, true.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39- You look very smart yourself.- Yeah? - Very nice uniform.- You, too.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43- Thank you very much. - You're welcome.- Cheers!- Cheers.
0:17:43 > 0:17:48Only in Italy would you see an espresso machine on the refreshments trolley!
0:17:50 > 0:17:53This magnificent Red Arrow Italian train
0:17:53 > 0:17:55is taking me to Milan,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58which Bradshaw's tells me is "the capital of Lombardy,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01"the most important commercial centre of Italy.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03"The silk trade is the largest in Europe
0:18:03 > 0:18:07"and the manufacture of woollen goods and machinery
0:18:07 > 0:18:09"are prominent industries."
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Well, I'm wearing a little bit of Italian tailoring myself
0:18:12 > 0:18:16and I'm more than happy to exchange fashion tips with the Milanese.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32After the fall of the Roman Empire,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35Milan was ruled by a succession of foreign powers,
0:18:35 > 0:18:37including Spain, Austria and France,
0:18:37 > 0:18:43until the Risorgimento made it part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49This Milan station is named after Giuseppe Garibaldi,
0:18:49 > 0:18:53the 19th century revolutionary, whose rebellion in Sicily
0:18:53 > 0:18:55and intrepid march into the peninsula
0:18:55 > 0:18:58freed vast tracts of Italy from foreign rule.
0:18:58 > 0:19:03It made him a cult figure, both nationally and internationally.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08Garibaldi visited the UK in 1860 to thank Britain for its support
0:19:08 > 0:19:11during the struggle for liberation.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Viewed as a dashing, romantic hero,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18he drew such massive crowds that he incurred Queen Victoria's displeasure,
0:19:18 > 0:19:22perhaps because his popularity outstripped hers.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25As I make my way into the centre of Milan,
0:19:25 > 0:19:29there's no doubt that the Piazza del Duomo is the heart of the city.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33Bradshaw's quite rightly has long paragraphs
0:19:33 > 0:19:38about the cathedral of Milan, which it tells me was started in 1386.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41I think of it as being shaped like a child's drawing of a house.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43In the corners figures support the building
0:19:43 > 0:19:46as though they were still helping to build it.
0:19:46 > 0:19:47It's recently been restored
0:19:47 > 0:19:52and we now see the marble as white and pink and brown and translucent
0:19:52 > 0:19:58and we have a view of the cathedral that people probably haven't enjoyed for centuries.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Bradshaw's tells me that on the north side of the Piazza is
0:20:08 > 0:20:12the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, a handsome arcade.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14Yes - for beautiful people.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17For Milan is the global capital of fashion.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22Completed in 1877,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25this is one of the world's oldest shopping arcades.
0:20:25 > 0:20:30Its towering structure and wonderfully ornate details reflect
0:20:30 > 0:20:34the city's long-held obsession with fashion and beauty.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36Here I'm meeting Lucia Mantero,
0:20:36 > 0:20:40the director of a century-old, family-run silk manufacturer,
0:20:40 > 0:20:44to find out more about Milanese style.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Why do Milanese have a sense of style?
0:20:47 > 0:20:52We are lucky because first of all we are in a very beautiful country
0:20:52 > 0:20:57and moreover we are really next to very, very cities -
0:20:57 > 0:21:00first of all Venice and then Turin as well.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04So I think it is also due to this that they really developed
0:21:04 > 0:21:08a little bit of really... a sense of beauty
0:21:08 > 0:21:12that then they put into the fabrics and then in the clothes.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16At the time of my guidebook, 1913, what was happening in Milan?
0:21:16 > 0:21:20Very important things. First of all, many companies started.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22And one of these absolutely is Prada.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26They started producing leather goods first
0:21:26 > 0:21:29and they open in 1913 a store in Milan,
0:21:29 > 0:21:32that was something, I think, very, very important for that day.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35This blossoming Milanese fashion business
0:21:35 > 0:21:37drew wealthy Edwardians here
0:21:37 > 0:21:40who wanted the finest clothing that money could buy.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44Over the years, Milan has become the birthplace of global fashion labels
0:21:44 > 0:21:47like Dolce & Gabbana and Versace.
0:21:47 > 0:21:53And while I'm here, I really should experience Milan's material magic first-hand.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55On Lucia's recommendation,
0:21:55 > 0:22:03I'm visiting a traditional Milanese gentleman's tailor, Caraceni.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07- Ah, buongiorno.- Mi chiamo Michael. - Carlo Andreacchio.- Carlo.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10- Buongiorno. Nice to meet you. - Very nice to meet you.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12I find you with some lovely cloths.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15I've been learning about the Italian fashion industry.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17These look very, very beautiful.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21- Yes, these come from England. - From England!
0:22:21 > 0:22:25Yes, we use a lot of English fabric.
0:22:25 > 0:22:30- This is from Huddersfield. - Made in Huddersfield, England.- Yes.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32Do you make the entire suit from English cloth?
0:22:32 > 0:22:37No, it's a mixture, because inside we put the Italian silk.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40What is the Italian style? I see for example your jacket.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Very slimly tailored. Is that the key to it?
0:22:43 > 0:22:48Yes, this is the Italian style but depend on your measurements.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52As we head into the fitting room,
0:22:52 > 0:22:56it's clear that Massimiliano is interested in more than just my measurements.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:23:00 > 0:23:03He wants to know what my profession is.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06Well, I travel by train a great deal
0:23:06 > 0:23:13and I carry this book - I carry it like that, I carry it like that, and I carry it like that.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17- And I always need room for my passport.- Importante.- OK.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:23:20 > 0:23:22Si, si.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25Jacket has to be off for measuring purposes.
0:23:25 > 0:23:30Massimiliano takes pride in making suits for those with challenging professions,
0:23:30 > 0:23:32for example, musicians and conductors.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34It's very important that he should feel me
0:23:34 > 0:23:37because he needs to feel how these muscles work
0:23:37 > 0:23:39and whether the shoulder is going in at this point
0:23:39 > 0:23:41or whether it's stretched back.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44I'm afraid in my case it's pushing in a little bit.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47They take 26 measurements for a suit.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51With these measurements we can imagine your body.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54And some of the numbers are not very flattering.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58- Trenta due.- 32 round there. My goodness. Who would have guessed that?
0:23:58 > 0:24:02Cinquanta. Setantta sei.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05I never remember having this particular measurement here
0:24:05 > 0:24:07taken by an English tailor.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10No, this is our particular measurement.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Settantotto.
0:24:16 > 0:24:1778.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23Being measured for a suit in Italy is more like being measured for a body cast!
0:24:23 > 0:24:28Every single contour has been accounted for.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31- Cinquanta cinque.- Mm-hm.
0:24:31 > 0:24:37Now, just before we get too involved here, I need to ask you about price.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39What might this cost me?
0:24:39 > 0:24:42THEY SPEAK ITALIAN
0:24:47 > 0:24:50From 5,400 euros upwards.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55- And what does it get to? - Venticinque mille massimo, massimo.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Up to 25,000. Mm.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Would it be all right if you just keep my measurements on file
0:25:00 > 0:25:02and I maybe I'll come back when I'm a little richer?
0:25:04 > 0:25:08The burgeoning Milanese fashion business of the early 20th century
0:25:08 > 0:25:11was just one attraction of Milan.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13Another was the opera.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16The British King Edward VII was a keen opera goer
0:25:16 > 0:25:20and the educated Edwardian traveller followed suit.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22Sadly I don't have tickets to La Scala,
0:25:22 > 0:25:26so I'm on the tram to find the next best thing.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30One of the great tourist attractions of Milan is its old trams.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33This one dates from 1928 and has been running ever since.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36It's not that Milan can't afford new ones
0:25:36 > 0:25:40but the Milanese love the old trams and I don't blame them!
0:25:45 > 0:25:51For my overnight stay, Bradshaw's mentions the Grand Hotel of Milan near La Scala Opera House
0:25:51 > 0:25:56and "frequented by the elite of English and American society."
0:25:56 > 0:25:58I must join them.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Hello.
0:26:06 > 0:26:12OK, so, Mr Portillo, this is your room. The Verdi's apartment.
0:26:17 > 0:26:18It's a beautiful apartment.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22Is it called the Verdi suite because La Scala is so close by?
0:26:22 > 0:26:28No, it's called Verdi's apartment because he lived here for 27 years.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30- He lived in a hotel!- Exactly!
0:26:30 > 0:26:33We used to consider him our first corporate account.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Did he write any music here?
0:26:35 > 0:26:42- Yes, he wrote the entire Falstaff right at this desk.- How fantastic!
0:26:42 > 0:26:45Giuseppe Verdi was a prolific composer
0:26:45 > 0:26:48who wrote some of the most beloved operas in the repertoire,
0:26:48 > 0:26:52including Aida, La Traviata and Nabucco,
0:26:52 > 0:26:56which features the famous Chorus Of The Hebrew slaves.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00This was adopted as the anthem of Italian liberation
0:27:00 > 0:27:02and Verdi became a hero
0:27:02 > 0:27:06and was elected as a member of the new parliament of a united Italy.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10There is another interesting story about Otello.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12The opera was successful
0:27:12 > 0:27:17and once Maestro Verdi and the tenor Tamagno went back to the room,
0:27:17 > 0:27:19people was crowding from outside,
0:27:19 > 0:27:25so Verdi told to the tenor Tamagno "Sing to the crowd."
0:27:25 > 0:27:29- And, of course, no orchestra, unaccompanied, he sang to the crowd. - Exactly.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32MUSIC: TENOR SINGING ARIA
0:27:49 > 0:27:52On the second part of my journey through Italy,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55I'll find out how the Edwardian adventurer discovered
0:27:55 > 0:27:57a love of the high life.
0:27:57 > 0:28:02A traveller with my Bradshaw's guide in 1913 could have gone up in a plane
0:28:02 > 0:28:05- and seen this wonderful view? - Absolutely.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09I follow a star-crossed trail of Shakespearean life.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11Eleanora! Eleanora!
0:28:13 > 0:28:16Hello, Michael! Come up and join me!
0:28:16 > 0:28:22And on the Grand Canal, I hear about the amorous conquests of Venice's most famous son.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26Casanova loved women. He only had a 130 lovers.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28- That's extremely moderate! - Absolutely.