La Dolce Vita

Fiat 500C "La Dolce Vita" by Fenice Milano

If you've got taste, flaunt it. Or so they say, but what if you have none? Flaunt it anyway, as the case may be with Fenice Milano.

The Italian house of Bling that gave us the Diva edition Rolls-Royce Ghost has come back with La Dolce Vita, its own blindingly glitzy take on the decidedly more accessible Fiat 500C.

Like with the Rolls, Fenice has decked out the Fiat in 24-karat gold trim and refitted the interior with teak veneers, gold accents and custom leather upholstery, fitting a new dashboard with Mini-esque central instrument binnacle in the process. There's also a series of mechanical upgrades available, but we doubt anyone will be paying much attention at that point.

Gallery: "La Dolce Vita" Fiat by Fenice Milano

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Tags: 500C, Dolce Vita, Fenice, Fenice Milano, Fiat 500, Fiat 500C, La Dolce Vita

The New Vespa GTS 300 Super

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Classic Italian scooter maker Vespa just unveiled its newest and most powerful model at the New York Motorcycle Show. The sporty GTS 300 Super (above) can hit speeds of up to 80 mph, and gets about 70 miles to the gallon. Available in either black or white, the new Vespa (which means "wasp" in Italian) will sell for $6,199 beginning in March. Along with a souped-up engine and extra large wheels, the GTS 300 Super features sporty touches like a side grill on the rear engine panel, a red spring on the front shock, two-tone alloy rims, a black-rimmed headlight and chrome air intake. Vespa, founded in 1946, has featured in many stylish films from Roman Holiday and La Dolce Vita to Quadrophenia.

Tags: Dolce Vita, DolceVita, Italy, La Dolce Vita, LaDolceVita, Quadrophenia, Roman Holiday, RomanHoliday, Scooter, Vespa

Campari Celebrates Summer in Style

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

In our Classicist column about Veuve Clicquot's collaboration with Riva Yachts the other day we fell to musing about Dolce Vita style on the Riviera. Of course, nothing exemplifies seaside sprezzatura quite like Campari, the classic Italian aperitif. The bold red spirit with the sexy ads starring Salma Hayek (above) has been around since 1860, but that doesn't mean they've run out of things to do with it. Campari and soda is the classic combo - and one of our seasonal staples - but the company has come up with several spiffy new cocktails for summer. See the gallery for recipes, including a couple that can be made in large quantities for parties.

Gallery: Campari Summer Style