54th Gran Gala Unicef Ragno d'Oro 2010

Unicef Ragno d'Oro Gran Gala at Villa Cesi, Nonantola

Ferrari is a world unto its own as we all know. While the Golden Age (during Jean Todt's time) of garden parties and expensive gifts is definitely over, Hub sometimes still gets invited to a few small events taking place in the Modenese landscape. Last evening's 54th Gran Gala Unicef Ragno d'Oro 2010 held at Villa "Cesi" in Nonantola was one of them.

The invitations

Dress code was black. I was thinking of black woollen pants and a black sweater, but Hub wouldn't hear of it. He was there when I bought my black lace and silk dress from Twin-Set a few weeks ago and he remembered it (whereas I've actually forgotten its existence). Nobody cared if I'd freeze in it. I wore it with a beige pashima shawl (the colour of my silk dress lining that can be seen through the black lace), skin-coloured fishnet stockings and brown leather heels from Hugo Boss. I couldn't be bothered to collect other pieces of jewellery from the bank so I just wore my daily diamond necklace and rings, my new Antica Murrina bracelet watch and Misaki pearl earrings. Told Hub I needed more bling because most of the women there were walking jewellery.

Outer shell

We may be getting blasé about free dinners galas. I told Hub what to expect for dinner even before we read the printed menu. It wasn't difficult since for some reason they tend to rotate between 2 caterers for these events and I've eaten enough of their dinners to know what they usually serve.

Dining area (outside villa under a tent) and a ceiling inside

The Villa Cesi was worth the visit though. A lovely Villa belonging to the Neri family, you could rent it for private events and when Hub's last boss left, he did his farewell there. I wouldn't mind a Villa like that. We like throwing dinner receptions and I could do with space like that.

One of the reception rooms

Pre-dinner drinks and finger food circulated in the reception rooms and we noticed that almost everyone there was d'un certain âge. We shared a table with a couple our age (the guy's Hub's colleague) and 3 old couples. They tried to sell their company's products to Ferrari through Hub. I had to make small talk all evening in Italian and was brain dead by 10pm. And the Gala was programmed to last till 1am.

Place setting

I was wondering what Unicef had to do with old people. Then of course you need rich, important people to do things to help raise funds for the kids. And Modena is full of these notables. In fact, Modena is the second most important city in the whole of Italy when it comes to the amount of money raised.

Pasta with sausage and tomatoes

Pork with roast potatoes and onions in Balsamic vinegar

Gelato di crema with chocolate cone and berries

There was a raffle but we didn't win anything. Or we didn't pay any attention to whatever was going on on the stage. They gave out prizes to this year's winners of the Ragno d'Oro - Modenese (by birth or adoption) who have honoured Modena with their actions in the Arts or the Sciences. Those winners then made speeches and the Gala was filmed all the time by 2-3 television stations. My consolation is that we probably wouldn't make our way to one of those horribly brainless racy Italian socialite magazines because of the age factor. Plus Modena is not Milano or Roma. Then there was a Cabaret - but we only caught the beginning where a 25-year old Bulgarian tenor (an ophan saved by a charity linked to Unicef) sang (really beautifully). Then we left. It was after 11am and we were starting to fall sleep at the table. The strong expresso I drank after dinner didn't work at all.