to rome with love

Exactly one year ago I was just beginning to get settled in a tiny apartment in Siena, Italy. Aside from learning crucial life lessons (it is in fact acceptable to eat pizza three times a day) and expanding my taste palette (italian cappuccino beats hot coffee with an ice cube in it--who knew?) I was also beginning to embark on my three month love affair with a country. While Siena was seeped in charm and intimate pleasantries with myself and the piazza, visiting big cities like Florence and Rome made me enter a state of ecstasy so extreme that my friends would look away in shock. Blame it on the New Yorker in me, but my obsession with the Fireze Rapida far exceeded the fact that I was entering a big city. I spent hours trying to distinguish if Rome or Florence was my soulmate and which, subsequently, was my lover on the side. In the end, it didn't matter. My relationship ended as quickly as it started. I sobbed the entire plane ride back to America and was horrified and almost choked when I ordered an espresso shot at Starbucks the following morning. Now though, I realize my relationship with Italy doesn't have to end. We're on a break, and the next time I go to rome will be with love. 

Vogue Russia September 2012

Photography: Tom Craig

Model: Marte Mei Van Haaste