What “La Dolce Vita” Means to Me
By Quinn Bauld
Artwork by Andrea Mancini
Creative writing student Quinn Bauld explores this year’s TuttoToscana theme.
La dolce vita is rather a lifestyle, a glamorous depiction that anyone can be free and live their best life. It means by definition “life of heedless pleasure and luxury.” The theme for this year’s James Beard Foundation is inspired by Federico Fellini’s movie La dolce vita and about the lavish way of living in Italy in the 1960’s when enchantment began.
The James Beard Foundation is a non-profit organization that was named after a chef, James Beard, who helped educate and mentor young and eager chefs to become as knowledgeable as him to cook with healthy, wholesome food. Florence University of the Arts is collaborating with the James Beard Foundation to create a timeless piece of Italian history through the dishes prepared.
I am helping this dream-like picture occur by writing descriptions in the creative writing class that I am taking while studying abroad at Florence University of the Arts. Everyone has come together to portray a message about the beauty and excitement of Italy in the 1960’s. All aspects of this project are interesting because all of the students under the TuttoToscana program join together and showcase the food during this specific time period.
The theme of the movie was not just an inspiration to viewers in the 1960’s, but to generations to come about working and making life what they wanted it to be. Anyone can be inspired by this motto the movie instills in its viewers. Everything back then was relatively conservative and this movie shows that one can truly be free if they desire to be. All in all, La dolce vita the movie and meaning give us hope.