Ten Minutes with Luca

(Day 13 of 30 – story crumbs from the world of Loveandpizza.it 🍕)

Right. Luca. 

Where do I even start with Luca? He’s the one who walks into a room like he owns it – and, to be fair, he sort of does. The boat, the villa, the family name that opens every door in Napoli, and a smile that has quite simply never been told “no.” He’s charming. He’s generous. And he is supremely confident that whatever he’s decided is the right call – for himself, and for everyone “lucky enough to be near him”.

He agreed to this interview in a heartbeat. Of course he did. Luca has never once assumed a room wasn’t delighted to have him in it. I’ll let him do the talking… see what you make of him.

Me: For anyone who hasn’t met you, what do you do?

Luca: [easy smile] Family firm. Alighieri – you’ll know the name. Ferries, cruises, all across Europe, and expanding – though the Bay will always be the jewel: Capri, Ischia, Sorrento, Amalfi. My father built it; I’ll run it, in time. For now I’m Communications Officer, which mostly means I’m the one everyone’s pleased to see. [shrugs] It’s a gift.

Me: And it comes with the villa in Posillipo, the place on Capri, the boat…

Luca: It does. Why pretend otherwise? I like beautiful things, and I like sharing them. Life’s better with a cold glass of something in your hand on a warm deck, no? I’m simply fortunate enough to be the one who owns the deck.

Me: You’re being groomed to take over from your father one day. Big shoes.

Luca: [the first properly serious beat] Enormous. My father decides everything – always has. The company, the house, who sits where at dinner. [a wry smile] You learn how to be a man by watching your father, don’t you? And in my family, a man handles things. He provides. He takes charge. He doesn’t sit around asking people how they feel about it. [spreads hands] So. Here I am.

Me: So. There’s a certain English teacher…

Luca: [immediately lights up] Ah… the teacher. Carolina. [a fond shake of the head] What can I tell you. She’s magnificent. Gorgeous, brilliant, funny, argues with me about everything. Nobody argues with me. It’s the most interesting thing that’s happened to me in years.

Me: You’re rather taken.

Luca: Completely. And I intend to take very good care of her. She came here with nothing, knowing no one. I can give her everything. The good life, the right rooms, nothing to worry about ever again. As long as she’s my girl.

Me: And Lisa, Carolina’s best friend? You two must know each other by now.

Luca: [a beat, vague] Lisa… [the pause stretches] The little one? Yes, yes, she’s around a lot. Always there, isn’t she. [waves a hand, breezy] Sweet enough. Not really my crowd. [already glancing at his phone] Anyway… where were we?

Me: Does anyone ever actually say no to you, Luca?

Luca: [laughs, delighted] No! Never. [then, softer] Except her. She says no to me constantly. Tells me I’m spoilt, that I don’t listen, that I can’t buy my way out of everything. [grins] I’ve decided I adore it. It’s entirely new.

Me: She chose to move to the Quartieri Spagnoli, I hear. What did you make of that?

Luca: [the smile cools a degree] Madness. Those backstreets? My Carolina? I told her plainly. Did she listen? [a short laugh, an edge to it now] She never listens. But she’ll come round. They always come round.

Me: And if she doesn’t? If she just wants to be asked?

Luca: [genuinely baffled] Asked what? I know what’s best for her. That’s what taking care of someone means. I plan the weekend, I book the restaurant, I choose the villa, so her life is effortless. [a beat, cooler] She calls it “deciding everything for her.” I call it loving her properly. I don’t see the difference. And, frankly, nor should she.

Me: Last one. The most romantic thing you’ve ever done?

Luca: [pleased] I flew a woman to Monaco for dinner once. Helicopter. She cried. [satisfied] That’s romance, don’t you think? You show someone the sheer scale of what you can give them.

Me: And the smallest romantic thing? Something tiny?

Luca: [genuinely stumped, then, recovering smoothly] …Why on earth would you do something small, when you could do something extraordinary?

And there it is… the whole of Luca in a single answer. Generous and possessive, charming and immovable, utterly certain that the helicopter, the villa, the grand unarguable gesture is love, and quite unable to imagine that someone might rather be handed something small, and true, and asked for. Give him his way, and there’s no warmer man in Napoli. Cross him, and the smile cools by a degree – and you notice, suddenly, that “my girl” was never really a question.

Is he the grand romance, or the beautiful mistake? [smiles] I’m saying absolutely nothing. That’s rather the whole book.

But I’ll ask you what I kept asking him: do you know a Luca? The charming one, the generous one – the one who’s quite sure he already knows what’s best for you? 👇 (Be honest, now.)

Dani. x