Our introductory video
You may have seen the video on our home page. If you haven't, take a moment to watch it now.
It shows our artisans putting the finishing touches on a bespoke Midsummer-Milano mattress and gives you an idea of the craftsmanship that goes into each of our products.
You may also enjoy the accompanying music. It is the beginning of an aria from Pergolesi's opera L'Olimpiade, which I find particularly attuned to what we do.
The aria says:
Mentre dormi, Amor fomenti While you sleep, may Love foster
il piacer dei sonni tuoi the pleasure of your sleep
con l'idea del mio piacer with the thought of my own pleasure
Well, I haven' t been able to find a proper english translation, so that was my own clumsy attempt. Which is particularly embarassing since the libretto was written by Metastasio, probably the most famous Italian and European baroque poet. Here is Pietro Metastasio at the height of his career at the Austrian imperial court.
After its first publication in 1733 Metastasio's L'Olimpiade libretto was wildly popular.
So wildly popular indeed that it has been used by more than 50 (fifty!) composers for their own operas. Among them: Vivaldi, Pergolesi, Hasse, Cherubini, Cimarosa. Speaking of worldwide success.
We find Pergolesi's rendition to be particularly enchanting. Giovanni Battista Pergolesi died very young, at the age of 26. Here is what he looked like.
The recording we have used, with permission, comes from this rare CD.
