Dani Heywood-Lonsdale discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.
Dani Heywood-Lonsdale is a writer with family roots in Hawaii and the Philippines. She holds a Doctorate in Education and teaches English Literature in Oxfordshire, having previously taught in Florence and London over the past decade. Before pursuing a career in academia, she worked for a nonprofit in New York City and studied social policy and development at LSE. The Portrait Artist is her first novel, and she is an alumna of the Faber Academy.
1. Adoration of the Magi by Leonardo da Vinci in the Uffizi museum, Florence
An unfinished masterpiece. Da Vinci was commissioned by the monks of San Donato in Scopeto in 1481, but he left for Milan the following year leaving it unfinished. Ghostly, mesmerising and not nearly as famous as some of the Uffizi’s other treasures (i.e. Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’, Caravaggio’s ‘Medusa’ on a wooden shield, Tiziano’s ‘Venus of Urbino’, da Vinci’s ‘Annunciazione’)
2. Ristorante Academia. In Piazza San Marco: quiet, unassuming, unpretentious, DELICIOUS authentic food. The kindest, friendliest staff; every friend I have sent raves about it (and often returns). Wine-and-dine menu is something to behold; my favourite dish is the pappardelle with wild boar
3. The dark, sad and beautiful origins of the original Peter Pan text by JM Barrie James Barrie lived in his brother David’s shadow until he was 6. In 1867, David died in a skating accident, age 14; Barrie forever tried to cheer his devastated mother—who eventually found comfort in the idea that David would remain a boy forever. Barrie had a realisation much later: ‘When I became a man…he was still a boy of thirteen.’
4. Wired to Create by Scott Barry Kaufman ‘Offers a glimpse inside the “messy minds” of highly creative people. Revealing the latest findings in neuroscience and psychology, along with engaging examples of artists and innovators throughout history, the book shines a light on the practices and habits of mind that promote creative thinking.’
5. Molokai hot bread A secret delicacy on the tiny island of Molokai, Hawaii: Down a dingy alleyway at 10pm for freshly baked bread, served by an utterly terrifying man (as my childhood memory serves and to my cousins’ entertainment). A rival between cinnamon-sugar hot bread and strawberry-cream cheese hot bread.
6. Archimede ceramic shop in Ortygia, Sicily In a deceptive location (right by the cathedral and seemingly touristy), this shop has the most exquisite works of art: the traditional moor heads of Sicily with their own twist: 4x baked, pearlized, 24c gold snakes on variations of nontraditional Medusa and Poseidon.
Better Known 