"Forget Venus and Mona Lisa. Perhaps the most precious Italy's work of art is the beautiful Sophia Loren. First of all, she has a gorgeous, sensuous body – looking at her you can study the anatomy of feminine perfection. Then, her face – expressive like espresso with an extraordinary blend of contradictions: Neapolitan eyes that sparkle with wit or flare up with indignation; a large mouth, a smile that conveys passion and humour."¹

"Though the Vatican is against cloning, in Sophia Loren's case perhaps we could make an exception."²

Would you buy a book with such reviews? I did. A couple weeks ago I was dragging along the street during my lunch break and to hide from this terrible heat I stopped by a bookstore. And there she was, looking at me from a black-and-white cover of the book written by Warren G. Harris. I wasn't planning to buy anything but as it usually happens - ka-ching-ka-ching - and here I am with a book.

Finally at home I was about to read one more story about a girl growing up as a princess, about her wonderful, happy life full of miracles. There were miracles. But of a different kind. Raised by her mother and her big family, abandoned by her father, Sophia lived in a house with two bedrooms and seven people sharing them. At school children pointed fingers at her laughing and whispering behind her back because she was a child of unwed parents. She was an awkward, tall and skinny child.

War, overwhelming fear, poverty, hunger ... doesn't look like a fairy-tale. But in September 1947 something might have happened in the heaven's office and one of the first miracles in Sophie's life began to unveil. As she mentions it took exactly 18 months for it to happen. She was 14 and a half, and now if someone pointed a finger at her, they would do that to say: "Bella!"

The ugly duckling was gone.

If you google Sophia Loren, the results will be a bit ... boring because they are all the same: sex symbol, unforgettable, style icon, glamorous. What's more boring - I'm not going to object. She is a style icon. Feminine and curvaceous, she knows about this and uses appealing clothes and jewellery to attract and allure.

Sophia Loren is an inspiration. She inspires directors to create cinematographic masterpieces and jewellery designers to devise collections devoted to her. A few years ago Damiani created a dazzling Sophia Loren collection: earrings, bracelets, and pendants of rose gold and diamonds. Sophia is like a rose that inspires by just being there. By the way, they do cultivate a variety of roses called Sophia Loren.

Here's a picture I took last year:

Now when I'm finishing the book, I realize this time I got lucky and the cover was worth the story inside. It made me re-discover Sophia Loren: a strong woman who had ups and downs in her life, an intelligent and talented actress, a loving wife and mother.

1. My interpretation (a rather free one) of the review extract by the New York Times.
2. These words belong to Archbishop of Genoa (again translated by me).