“Books, books, books…”
Miro Silvera
Milano: Lifestyle –
Lunch with Miro Silvera.
Miro Silvera loves to entertain chez soi. The intellectual, sophisticated and refined
cosmopolitan writer considers himself an outsider in the literary world. He has written
poems, essays and novels, which have won literary prizes and he is also a film
buff, and has written film scripts and is also a curious connoisseur of the arts. The Syrian
born author has lived most of his life in Milan
and is predominantly known for his best selling book Libroterapia, (Book Therapy) published by Salani, where he describes how books can cure all ills, where he takes the
reader through bookshelves telling original stories and pointing to the right
book to cure every ill.
At Home
Lunch
is served in a corner of the sunny sitting room. Obviously the room is full of
books and art works all perfectly and elegantly placed. One could spend days just browsing around and
enjoying them all.
The Table
Like
most creative people Miro is also a
good cook and has always been interested in food. When he entertains he fuses his
Middle Eastern heritage with his Italian upbringing, thereby creating an
unusual and delicious menu - an interesting mix of tastes. On a bright blue Paola Navone designed table, the only
modern note in the room, the table is laid with his grandfather’s gold-rimmed dinner
plates, bought in Prague in the
1950s, and hand-blown Murano glasses. Crudities:
of fennel and carrots are on hand to munch on. The Black bust on the left of the
table is an African sculpture,
whilst the white stucco head on a marble pedestal on the right, is an early
nineteenth century piece. As on every wall of the apartment more books are
stored in the Napoleonic Empire
style bookcase.
Piero Fornasetti - Lemons
- 1972
Colored
pencil drawing
Tabbouleh
Tabbouleh
is a Middle Eastern vegetarian dish traditionally made of tomatoes, finely
chopped parsley, mint, bulgur, and onion, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon
juice, and salt.
Aubergine and Chickpea Syrian Stew
The
white marble round table serves as a side table to place the Piero Fornasetti faux marble dessert
plates and serving silver utensils. In the foreground of the group of
sculptures, the double terracotta bust by sculptor Igor Mitoraj.
Sweet and Sour Fruit Salad
Antonio Marinoni – Miro Silvera in Via Lanzone
Watercolor
One
of the many portraits of Miro
portrayed by artists, in various mediums, scattered around the apartment. The Antonio Marinoni architectural
watercolor, above is a perspective of Miro’s former beautiful apartment in Via Lanzone.