DIOGO MAYO of SCALA REGIA on GIVING

So pleased to have Diogo contributing to this holiday's Little Augury list of special things to Give—or Get. Diogo has been a longtime blog friend and he has parlayed his successful blog SCALA REGIA into a simply stunning magazine. It's something to keep and revisit—my latest copy of the magazine holds pride of place in the living room. It's quite an achievement—each page beautiful, meaningful & memorable.

1

This is a wonderful novel by my favourite Portuguese novelist, Eça de Queiróz. I must have read and reread it about 5 times since I was 16 years old. More than being overflowing with dashingly visual passages, the pages of "A Cidade e as Serras" (The City and the Mountains) are bursting with fine irony and sense of humour. The rest I leave you to discover... Mine is a very worn-out edition from the 1950s that before belonging to me belonged to my mother and before her to my grandfather. It can, of course, be found on Amazon here.

2

I've been coveting this series of engravings - "Roman Heroes" - by Hendrick Goltzius for a few years now. Although his main work can only be found in museums around the world, his engravings, very popular in his day, can easily be spotted in galleries and antique shops. In case there's someone out there asking for the perfect Christmas present to me I will leave a link here...

3

Claus Porto is a centenary Portuguese brand that sells the most wonderful creams, soaps and colognes in the world. I am addicted to their colognes— "Oriental Bloom" is my current scent but their entire range of products is irresistible. Find Claus Porto here.

4

If you think that listening to "La Traviata" is already a staggering experience, you should try it with the voices of Teresa Stratas and Plácido Domingo with the spectacular, really SPECTACULAR, sets and costumes that Franco Zeffirelli conceived in 1983 for his jewell-like film rendition of Verdi's masterpiece. Find the DVD here.

5

I am a collector of Vista Alegre porcelain and the happy owner of several of their biscuit figures. Of course, there are still a lot of pieces that I lust after. Just in case...find it here. 

Diogo's own collection—Perfection.

As the actual date—hurtles toward us. Amazon is more than willing to "get it there fast," so you should be good on a number of Diogo's suggestions. Since books are irresistible—I'll start there. Another suggestion couldn't be easier—GIVE Scala Regia, here.