Marco and Claudia were married on 19 May 2003 at four in the afternoon at
the cathedral in Monza.
Marco and Claudia were married on 19 May 2003 at four in the afternoon at
the cathedral in Monza.
The weather was perfect and this was a fairy-tale location.
The exterior reminds me of the Duomo in
Milan, but without all the tourists, pigeons and scarf sellers.
The interior is unbelievably ornate with
frescos covering every inch of every wall.
Claudia looked absolutely stunning - calm and elegant in a full length white outfit.
The ceremony took an hour which is much longer than weddings in England. My Italian is not good enough to understand the service, but the priest said something about having lots of children.
The reception was at Villa del Bono in Cremella. This is an amazing country house on a hill. I was expecting a restaurant and we got a stately home.
Marco promised me that we would not be having the traditional Italian 10 or more courses and that it would only be 3 courses, but his idea of three was a little imprecise. There was champagne and anti pasto on the lawn as people arrived, then risotto, lasagne, a fish course, wedding cake and further desserts with the coffee. I make that six courses, but however many it was, it was a wonderful meal and a thoroughly enjoyable occasion.
This is not a giant pizza, it is the wedding cake, a lovely light, slightly alcoholic sponge cake with loads of fresh fruit on the top. It was much nicer than the heavy fruit cake that is an English wedding cake.