"Relationships among siblings don't follow precise rules. Rather, they follow the ups and downs of life, like waves on the sea. You come together, you separate, you grow apart, and then together again. You play it by ear. Through calm seas or storms. Someone person falls overboard and someone else rescues them. You either reach the harbor sailing smoothly, or you're forced to flee, chased by sharks. If I had to choose what was and still is the most extraordinary aspect of my life, even more than the success I've achieved, it was this navigation. I followed the wind, the winds of our family. I learned to live from my parents, I've encouraged Gianni and Donatella's projects, I've protected our assets."
These are the words of Santo Versace, poetic words but always measured as is his nature. And in these pages he tells us his journey to here. An adventure that began in Reggio Calabria and led him to Milan and then on a conquest across the whole world. The story of a man who lived a thousand lives, handled power, wealth, fame, was not afraid to take a chance, believe in dreams and passions, was able to think big and go through adversity without being broken. And above all, he has never escaped his role: that of the older brother. He supported Gianni all his life and helped to translate his art into a company that the three siblings together turned into a myth. He was at the helm even in the darkest nights, when the pain and tragedy overwhelmed the family, because this is not only the story of one man but also that of a family: Versace.
Gibby, Siân: - Siân Gibby is Writer-Editor at the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute in New York City. She is the translator of Intimate History of the Great War: Letters, Diaries, and Memories from Soldiers on the Front, by Quinto Antonelli; The Indiscreet, by Elisabetta Rasy; Resistance Rap, by Francesco Carlo; and The God of New York, by Luigi Fontanella. She is a co-editor of Diversity in Italian Studies and of This Hope Sustains the Scholar.
Santacroce, Tania: - Tania Santacroce was born and raised in the US. After graduating from the University of Michigan, she worked in Marketing for several years in Chicago before moving to Milan to get her MBA from SDA Bocconi. After 10 years as a Finance Director in a large multinational, she decided to switch gears and has been working as an English professor and translator since 2015.
Versace, Santo: - Santo Versace (Reggio Calabria, 16 December 1944) was a basketball player in his youth; he graduated in Economics, worked as a bank employee and then as an accountant. In 1976 he moved to Milan to work alongside his brother Gianni. Together they founded and led Gianni Versace, one of the most important names in fashion. Elected in the 2008, he became a member of parliament for the entire 16th parliamentary term. Founding President of Altagamma, an association that brings together the most important Italian brands, Versace was also president of the Camera della Moda. After the sale of the family business in 2018, he continues to work as an entrepreneur with an eye on the future. Among the various activities, he is now president of the foundation that bears his name and of the film production and distribution company Minerva Pictures.
