Bal Harbour, FL – October 11, 2018 – Led by Italica Founder and CEO Edmundo Sansone, “Italy in Miami” made its U.S. debut at Bal Harbour Shops with a by-invitation-only kick-off cocktail reception introducing guests to the sights, sounds and taste of Italy. Previously held in prestigious venues such as the Italian Consulate and the Italian Cultural Institute, this year’s edition at Bal Harbour Shops was hosted by Sansone and Matthew Whitman Lazenby (President and Chief Executive Officer of Whitman Family Development, LLC), along with additional host committee including Arthur J. Furia, Carlo Barbieri, Tim Quinn, Rich Santelises and Ivelin Giro. Over 300 VIP guests, gathered in the center courtyard of the Shops, reminiscent of an Italian Piazza, and enjoyed Italian bites and sips by Martini Rossi and Peroni, to name a few, a surprise opera performance by Jean Junior Valliant, and also previewed the 2018 Lamborghini Urus SSUV. Acclaimed Bal Harbour Shops’ Italian brands including Bottega Veneta, Dolce & Gabbana, Ermenegildo Zegna, Kiton, Roberto Cavalli, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tod’s and Valextra, amongst others, also hosted interactive experiences for guests to enjoy that evening and throughout the weekend.

Matthew Whitman Lazenby, Edmundo Sansone, & Lucio Taglione

Lucio Taglione & Edmundo Sansone

Edmundo Sansone & Matthew Whitman Lazenby

Lucio Taglione, Edmundo Sansone, & Matthew Whitman Lazenby

Lucio Taglione & Edmundo Sansone

Jean Junior Vaillant

Karen Caballero, Edmundo Sansone, & JJ Páez

Luca De Tommasis, Ileana Caballero, & Artur Furia

Mercedes Saint-Elin, Claudia Rubio, Clarissa Hines, Leonardo Hidalgo, & Emma Sanchez

Mercedes Saint-Elin & Claudia Rubio

Alyona Symonova & Vivian Vazquez

Chilen Moya & Mafe Garcia

Olga Present, Tran Pham, & Anastasia Wachter

Flavia Pachecho & Ana Soares

Nicole Sand & Andrew Gaetano Trainor

Silvio Sulichin & Minerva Arboleya

Aleksey Shtivelman & Felicia Serano

Aneta Magdalena & Ela Pruszynska

Bettina Nagy & J Machin

Greta Faieta & Sthefany Tomassone

Antonella Piermattei, Stefano Iannini, & Teresa Reyes

Peggy Stora, Beni Barbagallo, & Judith Hofman

Lolo Sudarsky & Iran Issa Khan

Luca De Tommasis, Alessandro Barietta, & Giovanni Rago