The Italian Trade Commission in Chicago unquestionably has a "Flair" that certainly impressed the Times Journalist.  :)

Chicago Sun Times
By Chris Whitehead
Staff Reporter
November 12, 2004
 

What better way to display fabulous jewelry than to have half-naked women in body paint stroll through a packed ballroom? That seems to have been the thinking at the gala thrown last week for "Tuscany in Chicago," a 10-day tourism and investment initiative promoting Tuscany, sponsored in part by the Italian Trade Commission.

The jewelry was designed by names so big even I recognized a couple -- Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Ferragamo -- and created by Tuscan goldsmiths. And by looking the models over very carefully, I managed to see some of it.

Food, too: Six courses, each featuring white truffles -- yes, dessert was truffle-ized -- and 14 different wines (although only five made it my way, which is probably just as well).

Why? Tuscany wants our money. It has land, it has skilled craftsmen (those goldsmiths and something like 2,000 shoemakers) and advanced technology.

Want to expand your business?

Think Italy.

Or go for a vacation. They're OK with that, too.

Meanwhile, although "Tuscany in Chicago" is over, there's an exhibit of historic Tuscan photos at the Italian Cultural Institute, 500 N. Michigan, through Dec. 15

An Italian gala finds the way to a man's heart
http://www.suntimes.com/output
/casual/cst-fin-casual12.html