Summary: The Tuscan hill town of Montalcino shows two faces to the world … an inward looking medieval village with its unwritten rules and strong family networks within the diverse social structure of a Tuscan hill town … and the recent fame and fortune of Brunello and the encroachment of the modern world. The social and cultural price is high as Montalcino strives to preserve a world of tradition and culture and yet keep its young people focused, living and marrying in the village. How does Montalcino thrive and survive as it attempts to maintain past culture and traditions yet flexibly accept immediate changes whilst forging a future for its families? Isabella Dusi is a polished and professional speaker whose amusing and entertaining presentations are often a memorable source of inspiration. Her presentations offer moments of tension, laughter and relief as she turns her life experiences into opportunities. Isabella’s character was no doubt shaped by dramatic events in her early life. She was shot at in Spain, chased out of Italy by the Carabinieri, the wheels of her car ran over a man with a wooden leg in Greece and she collided with a logging truck on a mountain road in what was then Yugoslavia, sleeping with the goats until help arrived. Widowed with a baby at 26 years of age, Isabella navigated the obstacles and rebuilt her life. Interior Design is the field in which Isabella forged an early career, and where she soon learned that psychology and diplomacy are vital tools of trade. Her people skills and design ability won her many coveted projects over 25 years as a design professional. Formerly a lecturer in interior design, a radio commentator on Interior Design and a teacher of interior design, Isabella is a regular columnist and feature writer for International Design magazines, observing trends and bringing Italian design to a wide audience. Her published articles on a variety of subjects appear in Luxury Home Design, Contemporary Home Design, Queensland Homes, New Zealand Herald, Otago Daily, North Shore Times, La Nazione, Panorama Italia, and Noosa Magazine. Isabella’s current passion is to understand the social structure of a medieval village in Tuscany. She has authored two internationally successful books about the life and people of the village of Montalcino. She is presently engaged on a committee in her neighborhood to save a 1000 year old historic church building in Montalcino. Her sheer determination to succeed with this breathtaking challenge has led to her motivating and inspiring others in Montalcino and throughout the world.
