4. What are your favorite painters?

 I am fascinated by those painters who know how to grasp the realism, in some cases the hyper realism, of reality;  those painters who capture the intensity, the light, the atmospheres of life, thanks to the power of the gesture, the meticulousness of the introspective analysis of people, objects or moments depicted.  The list of artists would be long and the space for writing on them unfair, but two in particular I love deeply: Antonello da Messina and his knowing how to grasp the soul through the light of the eyes and the delicate and gentle gestures of the portraits;  and Ivan Konstantinovič Ajvazovskij, an artist born in the Crimea, active during the second half of the nineteenth century, whose large-scale works tell of the power of light and water, famous for its storms and shipwrecked ships, in which it manages to make  the transparency of water and air with a sublime and incredible brushstroke.

 5. What is the historical period that most fascinates you?

My specialization in Byzantine and Persian art is undeniably not only the passion of historical-artistic research but also the starting point for the creation of my cultural journeys.  In about 25 years I have investigated almost all the Byzantine works of art – also for scientific research – existing on a territory that goes from the capitals of the cathedral of Coimbra in Portugal to the Armenian monasteries of Azerbaijani Iran, from the frescoes of the churches of the Ring  Russian gold up to the Coptic architecture of central Ethiopia.  Unfortunately, since Byzantine art is not considered by anyone, over time, starting from Southern Italy, the Balkans and Greece, which preserve the most beautiful and rich things, I thought of inviting people to see them, know them, appreciate them  .  Here is the initial germ of the series of “Dorian Cara’s travels”, a stylistic and content figure of my activity.  Persian art, declined between Iran, Uzbekistan and North India was the natural evolution, as well as an interested tourist market, also due to the rich cultural assonance connected.

 6. What impresses you the most about the people you accompany on your cultural journeys?

 The aspects that strike me most in the people who come with me are above all the enthusiasm for the unknown, for the desire to discover things that can enrich them.  Undeniably, those who make the choice of a trip with me already have in mind, without even saying it, that they will take part in an absolutely comfortable, friendly and rich in cultural content, having to put away sunbeds, umbrellas and static relaxation.  In my travels, in which we generously donate ample cognitive, visual and cultural experiences together with my local partners, it always emerges from the customers the desire to be surprised, also from the simplicity of the existences and the places they meet.  Everything always seasoned – but this is my character – from a friendly and attentive way, never exaggerated, on the logistics and well-being of the journey itself.

 7. How do you imagine yourself in 20 years?

 Obviously with less physical energy, but not mental, given the abundant training in the search for knowledge and the desire for beauty.  Never having abandoned the historical-artistic research activity, I will most likely continue my activity in this sector, perhaps doing travel consultancy and in any case trying to help build cultural travel programs in the best way.  The journey can never be stopped or betrayed;  we started at birth and we are obliged to continue it always, perhaps with different roads or visions, but never interrupt it.

 8. When was the last time you thought “Life is wonderful”?

Every moment life is wonderful. A precious gift that is renewed every moment and for this we must live it with extreme awareness, aware that everything is a gift and that nothing should be wasted, not even a moment.  And life is even more wonderful when we constantly share the beauty that surrounds us, helping us to recognize it, live it, open our eyes to everything even about what we do not understand or that generates pain.  Certainly there is a bigger, better and inscrutable design that gives strength and value to all this.

 9. The 3 favorite songs?

 Pat Metheny Group – Letter From Home; 

Pino Daniele – Jesce juorno; 

the theme Amores Perros + Atacama by Gustavo Santaolalla of the film Amores Perros by Alejandro González Iñárritu. 

Soundtracks for any journey of the soul

 10. What do you think about the place where you live?  Have you ever thought about changing and moving elsewhere?

Milan is my city and I love it tremendously.  I like everything about it, even if every now and then, beyond business trips, you have to leave it to re-oxygenate and to feel the lack and return to it.  His continuous excitement that involves you even if you are in total stasis is vital and pulsating soul for those who know how to recognize their multiple value and possibilities.

 11. Which is the worst journey you’ve ever done?

I would never say worse trips.  Maybe difficult and tiring, but from any journey comes out enriched with different experiences and visions.

 12. Do you believe in God?

 Very very much.  I would never have fallen in love with the beauty that He created and I would not have dedicated my existence to seeking out its creative forces, from art to nature, from the thought of men to their offer to humanity through the most noble works;  a sign that the greatest gift made to us, life, is the exchange of a gift in offering it to others with one’s own qualities.

 13. I have read that you have also worked on projects for the enhancement and conservation of cultural heritage.  Can you explain what it is?

 I have been involved in the enhancement and conservation of works of art for almost 30 years, through projects for cataloging works of art (18 years with the Italian Episcopal Conference in the census of assets between Lombardy and Piedmont, Banca Unicredit, Fondazione Cariplo, SirBeC of the  Lombardy Region, some Municipalities), I founded a cultural association for the development of the Monastery of San Paolo d’Argon in Bergamo and I take care of territorial development projects in Sicily, Calabria and Puglia.  I also curated several art and photography exhibitions, writing some catalogs and art books.  In short I do not miss anything and I enjoy it as well as reward myself professionally.

 14. What do you think of today’s aesthetic models, in relation to the canons of the past?

 It seems to me that we are in a moment of aesthetic bewilderment, perhaps of regression, where however sometimes there are glimmers and gleams of exceptionality.  The prevailing homologation, the rude iconographic reading of the ancient, the stereotypes imposed by the market, the addiction to monitors of all sizes, undoubtedly do not help to open wide the eyes and to refine the judgments, the latter largely induced.  Finding in the genuineness and pride of some peoples, in actions and objects of extreme simplicity still some germ of hope and aesthetic recovery, evidently aimed at beauty and its confirmation in history.  We should read and travel more, as was done in the demonized and the most unknown Middle Ages, when the world traveled a great deal and with a clear conscience.

 15. Which museum does it consider absolutely unmissable?

 Certainly everyone!  Each preserves portions of our history that are essential for knowledge, aesthetics, the importance of preserved objects.  Personally, I think that, among the thousands of museums in the world, the Uffizi is an all-encompassing destination for wealth and beauty, but I also think it is limiting to think of one out of many.

 16. What was your greatest job satisfaction?

 Every time customers tell me that they were happy with the proposed trip and that towards the end of the tour they begin to learn about my future proposals.  At that moment my heart laughs and I stimulate myself to do more and better, if only to see my clients happy with the experience organized and done.

 17. What message should we learn from the past?

 I think that the most important message that the past wants to constantly convey to us is to never consider it lost and the memory of it is a daily testimony of which we can treasure it.  We must always look at the past in order to live the present worthily and intensely;  “There is no certainty of the future” (Lorenzo de ‘Medici) but certainly with the baggage of the past it can be faced, perhaps, more serenely.

 18. Are you Optimist or Pessimist?

 I heard this sentence one day from an acquaintance: the pessimist is an optimist who has informed himself.  In reality, however, I do not believe it at all;  it would be too reductive for oneself and for what surrounds us.  I am deeply optimistic, and it also fits perfectly with my religious beliefs.  Everything is a sign of Providence and can only be for us;  we must open our eyes to interpret it and make it our own.

 19. If you could talk for an hour with a person (anyone, alive or dead) who would you choose?  And what would you ask him?

 Undoubtedly my father, who is still alive and 92 years old, has always been the inspiration of my professional passion for beauty conveyed by seriousness and loving attention.  He, too, an art and literary critic taught me a lot and is not lacking every day, although his strengths are increasingly blurred, encouraging me and ultimately encouraging himself with delicate tenderness and obstinate vocation.

 20. The most important figure of the last century, do you think?

 Hard to say.  Certainly many.  Good and bad figures.  There is the embarrassment of the choice, but among all of them perhaps I would choose Pope Giovanni Paolo II, a decisive revolutionary who has disrupted walls by asking the man to open up and above all not to be afraid.  Fear today kills everything and everyone and above all does not make minds open and meet people.

 21. If you look closely at yourself in the mirror today, who do you see?

 I see a man who has the right age for not having to feel judged by what he does or thinks, happy and gratified by the activity he leads, eager to continue and always improve, in love with reality and eager to be embraced by it, helping to share it  beauty and understanding truth.  The defects are there and certainly over time they will increase, but in the heart there is always the other.

 22. What do you think about the European Union?

Great European comfort, especially from the economic point of view and the freedom to move.  But perhaps for us Italians, who have always been overburdened with laws and obligations, another body that imposes others requires us to be impatient, but this is our problem that we suffer because of the rule.  I think that beyond the economic usefulness for which many countries have adhered, we lack a common line of progress, a convinced and unanimous and courageous determination to confirm what Europe is.  And on this the world, rich and poor, plays with us.

 23. From the latest recorded data, it seems that tourism in Italy is in decline, despite our country is not culturally and landscape from less to no one else.  Why?  What to do for Italy to become “the beautiful country” again?

 Fortunately we still remain in the top ten.  It is not comforting, since we were in the top five, but it is better to always remain optimistic.  As long as we remain with high prices and inadequate services, our destiny will be irreparably downgraded.  Unfortunately, only the 10-15 most famous destinations of our country are known abroad and about 70-80% of the cultural and natural beauties are not adequately promoted and, when they are, they are reduced to stands at international fairs and websites to be discovered.  I think we lack a massive investment policy abroad on the heterogeneity and richness of our offer in favor of those stereotyped musts recognized by most.  Even the niche trips that I propose to Italian customers with lesser-known destinations in our country find little participants, amazed at the submerged wealth we have in this country and it makes me suffer, because I wonder what people are doing around the world and  he doesn’t know about the pearls of his own home.  I have hundreds of examples that can highlight the Italian problem of tourism, but it would be frustrating to look at them all, and I think it’s useless: yet another Italic lament and there are already too many.

 24. How can new generations become interested in art and culture?

 We must involve young people to fall in love with their land and make it become an entrepreneurial driving force, generating profitability.  It can only be done by working hard, studying a lot and turning into engaging promoters of one’s own beauty.  Laws and tax breaks are found to start, then rolling up your sleeves you can build a lot without having to flee.  It must also be said that, if one thinks of becoming rich with art and culture, the road is certainly wrong and that wealth will derive from something else and not necessarily the one that the world requires you to desire.

 25. A phrase or quotation that represents you?

 Sicilian: “qu nasci tundu non poti moriri quadratu”.  Who you are, you will be and nothing and nobody should change you, also because where it is written that it is better.