There is only so much pizza, spaghetti and bolognese sauce one can take in their life before they start craving ratatouille, coq au vin and baguettes. Since 2002 we have tirelessly covered il Bel Paese - leaving no village unvisited and no espresso blend untasted - but today we have to face the facts and admit to ourselves that "basta!" is the only Italian word that easily comes to our lips.
We are packing up, shipping out and moving across the borders to the proud land of the French. Enough of those pretty Italian villages where there isn't a single English speaker other than us, where people actually love the quaint English customs of tea, muffins and marmalade. Where you are admired at the mention of "Londra" and overwhelmed with requests for the best places to visit and where people still think that most of the UK is just like Agatha Christie described it.
From today onwards we want to be known not as "gli inglesi" but as "les rosbifs". We want to do our bit to strain the Entente Cordiale and join the more than half a million British that call France their maison (or 2nd maison). So it is with determination that we bid adieu to ITALY Magazine and shout a cheerful Ciao Bella! to France. Banished are the stylish Armani suits and the trendy Dolce & Gabana shirts - "j'adore dior" is all we care to say!
We invite all of you to join us across the border - let this April 1st mark the end of La Dolce Vita and the start of joie de vivre - C'est la vie, no?
