With Effortless Elegance: Cipriani

Arrigo Cipriani is an elegant gentleman, but also someone who doesn't mince his words. As the boss of the legendary Harry's Bar in Venice, the 91-year-old likes to lash out: against the French tire flicker, whose restaurant guide has destroyed the gastronomic scene; against politics, which could do more for Venice; and against tourism, which is destroying the city. However, when it comes to the legacy of his father Giuseppe Cipriani - the bar where Bellini and Carpaccio were invented and where Charlie Chaplin, Woody Allen, Greta Garbo, Tom Cruise and Ernest Hemingway sat - the disgruntled signore becomes a softie. Because the world's still perfect in Harry's Bar. Here, Cipriani is happy to sign one of his books or get carried away with a chat. Occasionally, he even serves Carpaccio or Bellinis himself. He doesn't want to change anything here; the bar should remain as his father once conceived it.