Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/1538963
P H OTO BY OT TAV I A P O L I ( F E R R AG A M O) ; C O U R T E S Y O F I L B O R R O TO S C A N A t's hard not to look at Vittoria Ferragamo's shoes. She is, after all, a descendent of the famous Italian shoemaker. We are chatting over cappuccinos on a rainy morning in an impeccably preserved 19th-century Tuscan villa. "Chopin played that piano," she points at the instrument behind me. "Oh, really…" I turn and quickly glance down. It's a pair of white Superga sneakers. Vittoria is the granddaughter of Salvatore Ferragamo, who opened his first custom shoe store in Florence in 1927. Unlike many of her family members, she did not follow in his footsteps into fashion (though she did work briefly in the industry). Vittoria is far more comfortable in a horse stall than front row at a runway show. She was first called to equestrian life, and now is head of sustainability at Il Borro, a 2,700-acre working farm and Relais & Châteaux property that her father, Ferruccio, purchased and restored three decades ago. I spent a few days there last fall, and being ensconced in this Tuscan forest harkened back to a time when things moved more slowly and "artisanal" wasn't an adjective. It was just a way of doing things. Tending to the land and its creatures was crucial to survival. Ferruccio brought his family here for many years before taking ownership of the property in 1993. As a child, Vittoria would immerse herself among its majestic cypress and oak trees. "I would get on these horses and go around the property. I've always been a huge lover of animals and of nature," she explains. "What brought me to Il Borro was very often just the desire to be in nature with my dad; it was very special to me." FROM LEFT Dimora Il Borro, a historic mansion located within the Il Borro estate; Vittoria Ferragamo, the property's head of sustainability I The granddaughter of Salvatore Ferragamo is most content many miles away from the fashion flock, relishing in the role of head of sustainability at the pastoral Il Borro in Tuscany. BY KERRI ALLEN heels horseshoes to VITTORIA FERRAGAMO PREFERS BALHAR B O U RSH O P S .CO M