“The greatest thing my mother taught me,” Giannola Nonino told me at lunch today, “was how to love things that are beautiful — whether a flower in a field or a work of art.”

Giannola — the matriarch of the Nonino family — is such an amazing lady and I loved chatting with her today about her family’s close ties to Luigi Veronelli.

I couldn’t resist photographing the putto (above) with amphora outside the home of Elisabetta (one of Giannola’s daughters) where Team Nonino and I had lunch today.

As chaotic and troubled as Italy can be at times, its beauty — even in the smallest details — is always unrivaled.

I’ve posted some more photos from the trip over at the Nonino blog this afternoon and I’ll be posting in more detail in the days that follow.

Tomorrow we head to Milan for a cocktail tour of the big city.

Stay tuned…