I studied Art & Design and some years ago, out of a sudden urge to revive my knowledge of the classical arts, I traveled to Italy. Two days before my departure I decided to spend my final weekend in Naples…
Upon my arrival at the train station, I was approached by an old woman who tried to sell me a lottery ticket. At first I declined, shaking my head and saying “no” without actually making a sound, and kept on walking. But then, feeling sorry for this seemingly sympathetic woman, I turned around and bought a ticket from her.
The ticket didn’t turn out to be a winning stub, but the next day, browsing through a bookseller’s booth at the Mercato Di Porta Capuana (the “Sublimation of Curiosities”), my attention was drawn to an old booklet on numbers…
This booklet, called “La Smorfia” (the grimace) by the Napolitans, contained theories on the significance and meaning of numbers. It looked as if it had passed through numerous hands, but it still maintained a peculiar air of authenticity. I’m sure I paid too much for the booklet, feeling sorry for the vendor who said he needed the money to buy a new leg prosthesis (he supposedly lost his leg to a shark while swimming off the coast of the Isle of Elba…). I stacked the booklet away in my already jam-packed shoulder bag and instantly forgot all about it.
Looking back today at this seemingly insignificant occurrence, I realize that this was a crucial milestone in my life.
Unpacking back home, I was again intrigued by the appearance of this numbers booklet, and took a closer look. Its contents were as simple as they were intriguing; each number was given a meaning like “the dead man that speaks”, or “from the mouth of the villain” with a short explanation of how this particular meaning was indisputably, Cabala-like, linked to this or that specific number. In the same booklet an attempt is made to make numerical associations to specific dreams.
A week or so later I played for the first time in a local Lottery, using the numbers from the booklet that to my feeling reflected the situation I found myself in, at that particular stage of my life. I’ve been reasonably successful from the start, but then, just when I got the feeling the numbers in my booklet where starting to live a life of their own, I won the jackpot (an obscene amount of money) in the national Lottery!
Once I got over the initial shock and regained my bearings, I started to dedicate my life to writing, cooking and creating healthy recipes, especially geared towards weight loss. Because of my newly developed lifestyle, I also became exceedingly fascinated by good wine. Before winning the Lottery I already had a taste for and basic knowledge of wine, but now that my budget for luxury articles is almost unlimited, good wine became an intrinsic part of my life. At the same time and pace my interest in luxury travel and wellness in addition to fashion and similar lifestyle items is increasingly taking up my attention.
The additional value to my stories and recipes, may be the numeric suggestions I will keep supplying while writing my stories. Through my recipes, matters of the heart and accompanying thoughts, I will use this magazine to share my good fortune and my recipes with YOU.
I want to welcome and express my personal gratitude to all the people and institutions that contribute to the content and integrity of this magazine.
Affectionately,
Angie
(Angelica Pastorelli)
P.S. Take this with a grain of salt 
