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"Valentino\nThe Legendary Couturier at His Luxurious Apartment in Rome\n&amp;quot;My house is quintessentially Roman, with a true southern disposition,&amp;quot; says Valentino (in 1988). &amp;quot;It gives onto gardens in all directions, and in summer it is completely open.&amp;quot; The couturier, who also has residences in New York and London, bought the villa in the early 1970s.\nRenzo Mongiardino, who worked on the villa&amp;#39;s d\u00E9cor, gave the living room an exotic feel. The Italian lacquered and gilded table holds figures of Chinese dignitaries from the Royal Pavilion at Brighton. The jardinieres are 18th century. Colefax Fowler drapery fabric.\nA collection of blue-and-white Chinese porcelain is displayed in the dining room below one of a pair of 18th-century Chinese paintings on rice paper. &amp;quot;Each of my houses has a different personality,&amp;quot; Valentino says. &amp;quot;This one is most influenced by my love of China.&amp;quot;\nMongiardino had the small dining room painted and stenciled, taking his inspiration from an 18th-century Sicilian veranda. A Mir\u00F3 watercolor hangs above a chest inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The antique busts are terra-cotta. The wicker chairs are by Mongiardino.\nA 17th-century northern Italian painting is featured in the intimate sitting room, which, like the master bedroom, was designed by Adrian Magistretti with Cesare Rovatti. The tufted silk chairs are Victorian. The desk and chair are Regency. On the floor is an Aubusson rug.\n&amp;quot;Mongiardino took my fascination with Chinese culture and used it as a decorative element in the house,&amp;quot; says Valentino.\\n\\nQing Dynasty portraits on silk highlight the richly colored and patterned master bedroom. The bed is 19th century. The chaise is 1830s Italian."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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