Marta Mondelli
Actress
Director
Writer
&
Founder of “Festina Lente”
My first encounter with Marta Mondelli was at the historic Cherry Lane Theater in the West Village.
I was there to see the latest play she had written, Tuscana, Or What I Remember, a haunting work about a Tuscan native and her paraplegic husband as they return to the small Italian town where she grew up. Distinguished by its incisive and stirring dialogue, Tuscana illuminates the fractured quality of memory, and the production sizzled as Marta performed in its lead role and directed the play she had written.
Talk about a kaleidoscopic mix of talents.
One year later I had the good fortune to see her again in the Kairos Italian Theater production, The Worth of Women, in which Marta performed the role of Lucrezia. Married but a bit disillusioned, Lucrezia finds herself in the phase of life where she still has dreams of what can be achieved by a woman, despite all the obstacles that women have faced and do face, and yet, she has also lived enough to know that maybe those are just dreams. Marta’s transformation on stage rivetted me to my seat as her Lucrezia spun through the psychological complexities of being a woman today. She is not jaded. She is a realist. She is a sarcastic, funny, even tragic fighter who knows how to navigate society. And, at times, this woman gets lost in a fantasy world where women win, where dreams come true, and where love, true love, is possible.
Her performance transcended age, time, and place.
We finally met in person at a West Village café in 2018 just as she’d embarked on yet another endeavor: the launch of Festina Lente, her brand of eco-luxury home fragrances.
As she handed over the gorgeous candles I’d purchased for Christmas gifts, she explained the name to me. Perhaps it was the caffeine rush or the specificity of her words, but I drew an immediate connection between the name Festina Lente and the revelations that unfolded for me as I watched her on stage about memory and the unassailable spirit of women.
I hope her words will reveal her spirit to you, too.
“ancient Latin mottos are a collection of wonderful ways of seeing the world, some of them anonymous, some written by very accomplished writers. Festina Lente was most likely one of the former. It means Make Haste Slowly. And I am very Festina and not so much Lente, so I thought that having this expression in front of me every day would inspire me to evolve. and it has.”
Gabriella Contestabile:
Marta, tell us how you came to choose Festina Lente as a defining concept for your first line of candles. The name has an interesting history as well, I hear.
Marta Mondelli:
First of all, let me tell you how glad I am I can talk to you about all this: you were my first customer, and I will never forget that!
Well, in college I graduated with a major in Ancient History. I have always been interested in ancient wisdom, poetry, art. The Romans were fascinating. Famous for their military tactics and their engineering expertise, they have always seemed very practical, almost brutish, especially if you compare them to the impressions we have of the Greek philosophers.
But, in fact, ancient Latin mottos are a collection of wonderful ways of seeing the world, some of them anonymous, some written by very accomplished writers. Festina Lente was most likely one of the former. It means Make Haste Slowly. And I am very Festina and not so much Lente, so I thought that having this expression in front of me every day would inspire me to evolve, and it has.
I’m one in line of people who was driven to this motto. Augustus, the first emperor of Rome, liked it so much, he had gold coins minted with the motto and the symbols of a crab and a butterfly to render in image this paradox. And then there were the Medici family of Renaissance Florence and the printer Aldo Manunzio printer of Renaissance Venice… It’s a great expression.
GC:
From what I’ve seen and read about you, Marta, you are a woman who follows her passions and her beliefs. You are very much “in the moment.” What prompted you to launch this eco-luxury initiative? In 2017, I believe it was?
MM:
Oh yes… I started pouring candles in my kitchen in New York in the summer of 2017. I was pregnant with Orlando, my second child, who is now almost six. I have always been fascinated by the sense of smell in general. How poetic, almost mystical it is, so personal and so universal, luxurious but animalistic, divine and carnal… and then I remember thinking that I really wanted to start making something by hand. As an actress and a writer, I have always played with the ephemeral, the non-tangible. I started to more fully appreciate my Italian heritage of centuries of craftsmanship. Because Italians don’t really realize what they have. They don’t see their country with the same eyes as the rest of the world. But after almost 20 years in New York, I learned to appreciate what we take for granted. I started to be drawn to that world, to the world of objects made by hand.
GC:
In this small booklet that accompanies each fragrance collection, you write that scents are the language of memory and emotions. Their silent presence enriches our life and lets us travel through time and place.
You then describe beautifully each of these collections, and I love their names: Casa, Carezze, Mistero, Il Viaggiatore, La Signora, Prima Luce, Borea, Hic et Nunc, Carpe Diem.
How did you come up with all these impressions?
MM:
Oh, thank you! Yes, scents are so powerful. So immediate, and with them you travel in time and space. So really what I wanted to do was to draw an ideal map, in which each of our scents was a specific place: Casa is my mother’s home in Bologna, her open balcony and the scents of fresh laundry; Carezze is a bubble bath with vanilla and raspberry macaroons; Mistero is an century-old, dusty chapel in the countryside; Il Viaggiatore is a remote cabin where we sip mulled wine; La Signora is a rose garden in the shade; Prima Luce and Borea are two distinct forests: the former is a Mediterranean pine forest pierced with warm morning sun, while the latter is a fir wood up on the Alps. And then there is the “Poetica” collection where we have other Latin mottos, so Hic et Nunc means “Here and Now” (it’s a powdery, floral, energizing accord), and Carpe Diem is, of course, “Seize The Day,” which is a dark, warm, intoxicating perfume with vetiver, tobacco, and pepper.
GC:
Each of these scents transports us to a special place. When I first smelled La Signora, it took me back to my mother’s garden when I was growing up. It reminded me of what a rose really smells like. Exhilarating and sensual and reminiscent of so many things. How did you imagine this fragrance composition in its earlier phases?
MM:
This is one of the best things that can happen in my job: when somehow my impression of an accord is the same as others who feel with it the same emotions. I wanted to honor the Lady of Flowers, the rose. But I didn’t want to overpower the nose with heavily sweet notes. So, with my incredibly talented “nose,” Beatrice Dorizza, we decided to support this delicate but fierce flower with sandalwood and patchouli, giving it structure while at the same time preserving its magnificent soul.
“Perfume needs a poem to describe it.”
GC:
Borea captured my attention because you describe it as a dark afternoon with the scent of fir needles and resin, notes of eucalyptus. It tells us to take deep breaths while brisk air reddens our cheeks and snow creaks under our steps. And then everything is silent, illuminated by bright stars.
Ravishing. This paints a picture and has us walking outside in the snow. There is movement and sensory joy. It enfolds you in the moment.
MM:
I think that here is where my other careers (actress and writer) help me. Because, as an actor, you work on sensory experience all the time. You’re open to it. You use senses to guide you during the preparation of your role and also for the performance. And writing is so important when describing a scent. Words are the only things we have to convey the impressions of a perfume. This is why smell is such an interesting sense: you need metaphors and similitudes. You need a poem to describe it.
GC:
Often when I’m feeling stressed, when I struggle with my writing or other projects, I re-read your definition of Festina Lente. It grounds me. It tells me to push through whatever writer’s block I’m inventing in my head.
Since you are an actor and have such a distinctive voice can you read it to us?
MM:
That’s so nice to hear: to know that what I wrote can touch somebody else. What inspires me can inspires others. You!
Here it is:
Make haste slowly
Have a purpose, but don’t rush.
Fly with your imagination but keep your feet on the ground.
Even if it’s urgent, take your time
Savor every moment
And enjoy them.
GC:
This does read like your life’s mantra. You seem to move with purpose but never in a way which ignores or disregards people or surroundings or the sensory images those experiences evoke. You “stop for wonder,” as I say.
And when I speak with you, Marta, I also feel you stay in the moment. The conversation is meditative and thoughtful. How do you do this? Does it come from your experience as both a writer and an actor?
MM:
Thank you, this is a great compliment because I have worked very hard at this. Yes, being an actress and a writer might help, but I think at some point in my life I realized that we have such a little time on this planet. Life is short. I know—not really groundbreaking. But if we don’t stop the constant wandering and reminiscing of our minds, if we don’t pause and experience what we have in front of us as much as possible, it flies by. It flies by anyway, but I feel like I slow down time when I am present to what I live. And I can always go back to a happy or an interesting time and relive it. It’s not easy. Our minds are wired to forever wander, but it enriches you. And then there are the children: they bring you into the moment like nobody else. You must be present when you’re with them.
GC:
When did you first start writing or imagining yourself as a stage and screen actress?
MM:
I have always written. I started writing diaries in elementary school, and I remember loving essays and imagining stories. Also around that time, I started directing plays with my cousins in the summer. I remember directing a play in fifth grade. The entire school came to see it because in Italy at that time nobody had ever done that. I loved it. And I naturally acted in it.
GC:
Did directing and film production follow naturally from those experiences?
MM:
Oh yes. Movies are one of the best things in the world for me. I just adore cinema, so imagining stories and shots and scenes comes very natural to me.
GC:
Tell us a little of your history from when you graduated the University of Bologna with a degree in Ancient History.
MM:
While in college, during my third and fourth year, I applied for the acting school of Bologna. So, for me ancient history and drama are powerfully intertwined. Some of my best friends to this day come from that time in my life. They are my extended family. By some standards, I’m sure that I was a complete nerd: reading ancient Greek and quoting Pirandello, watching the Marx Brothers and writing a thesis on the Hope still remaining in Pandora’s Box. I was a very bookish twenty-something.
“My personal values automatically became my brand’s values, so sustainability is at the core of everything we do.”
GC:
Now let us talk about the evolution of Festina Lente into Festina Lente Home. I can’t emphasize enough how much I love your candles and diffusers. I’m working on having one in every room. There are moments over the day when a note stops me, tells me to breathe. And then I start to write again, with a new perspective. Imagination takes hold, and the writing takes off into a new and unexpected direction.
MM:
This is so lovely to hear… I think that tuning into this sense and paying more attention to it enhances our everyday life. It reconnects us with past experiences; it makes us feel in certain ways. Festina Lente Home, which has now become Festina Lente Milano, since next year [2024] we will venture into body perfumes, allows me to use a completely different medium to tell my stories.
GC:
So, each fragrance, in candle or diffuser form, has its own story and perfume architecture. And I should note that you have a set of values that threads the stories together. Every element of production is tethered to sustainability, to re-use, and because of this, the experience for us, your clients, is better, more meaningful.
At all levels of these creations, you are telling us to make haste slowly.
MM:
Oh, yes. My personal values automatically became my brand’s values, so sustainability is at the core of everything we do. That’s why I call our products eco-luxury. All our ingredients are vegan, cruelty-free, packaged using zero plastic, and the lab is powered by recyclable energy. On top of that, our scents are CMR. They don’t contain ingredients that are carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic. Another aspect of sustainability for us is the “Made in Italy” designation. Even our packaging is Made in Italy, because it's very wasteful to have glass, which is a great material but very heavy, travel for miles and miles.
GC:
You have toggled between New York in Milan for several years now. During our last encounter at your atelier in Isola—such a cool and interesting part of Milan—you had mentioned that you very much miss New York. What is it about this enchanting and exasperating city that draws you back?
MM:
I will forever love New York. It is my city. The city that excited me in 2000 when I visited it; the city that welcomed me in 2002 when I moved there. Yes, it can be exasperating, but no place is perfect, and as places go, New York for me is as good as it gets. I will forever be a New Yorker.
GC:
I know you have a terrific team of women working with you, each with her own extraordinary talents. How does it all come together to bring these eco-luxury experiences into the world? You are also in Dubai now, from what I read. What is a typical day like?
MM:
Oh, yes, I am very lucky to have a wonderful team with me. Depending on the time of year and what needs to be accomplished, I talk with these incredibly talented women daily or weekly. Some have been with me since the inception of the brand, like Katia, our brand strategist. Others have joined a few months ago, like Allegra and Valentina. And then there is my “nose,” Beatrice Dorizza. She works with Luca Maffei, a popular Italian niche perfumer who is getting a lot of international recognition these days. "Nose" obviously is a term that people in this business use when referring to a person who creates perfumes, using their nose!
I would be lost without each and every one of them.
A typical day? I bring my kids to school and walk to work. I’m very lucky: it’s all in the same neighborhood. Then I work in the lab till 1 pm; I go to the gym; after which I usually have business lunches or meetings; then Valentina comes to work, and I stay with her till 4:30 pm when I go to get my kids from school. After that I’m only theirs: we play, draw, read, cook dinner, eat and then I go back to work when they go to sleep. And then repeat again!
GC:
That’s a bustling day! When you are ready for sleep yourself, what books sit on your nightstand right now?
MM:
That's the 10-million-dollar question. Ever since I began juggling two careers (I'm still writing and I have this creative brand), I have very little time to read. Currently I have Perfume by Patrick Suskind and Thus Bad Begins by Xavier Marias (one of my favorite writers, who sadly passed away recently through covid) at hand on the nightstand. I also have my usual stack of New Yorker issues (that I receive every week in paper form).
GC:
And what about projects that are in the works? Can you give us a glimpse of what’s to come?
MM:
Happily! Every year, I continue to host the literary festival called Capalbio Libri, where I give a reading of past or current work. Right now, my next big projects are written ones: I am developing both a TV pilot in English and a movie in Italian (on spec, nothing commissioned) with my business partner Cristina Rambaldi. Plus I just received exciting news: my Italian literary agent just called me out of the blue telling me that he might have a publisher for my second novel, which I wrote more than ten years ago and had no hope to see in bookstores! I will keep you posted!
GC:
Lastly, if you could have one wish, Marta, one wish to make the world a better place—something you care deeply about—what would that be? And imagine for a moment that it were possible.
MM:
Oh, God… there are a few things that I consider really important. But I think that first is the planet. I’m so concerned. I wish we could all put financial interest aside—plus the current space race and the over militarization—and just concentrate on eliminating plastic from the oceans and reducing their overheating… But I am also realistic. It is perhaps impossible to achieve what I would love to see achieved. Every step in that direction, however, is something I am happy with.
I’m also a strong advocate of women’s rights and civil rights in general. We need to evolve as a species… we need to incorporate more empathy and less polarization in our lives.
GC:
Marta, thank you for sharing your story with us today. You remind us that entrepreneurship, creativity, compassion and ethics can and must co-exist for the benefit of our planet and for humanity. I look forward to seeing you again in Isola very soon. In the meantime, I will follow through on your advice and order ‘Carpe Diem’ in candle and diffuser form. A presto!
Festina Lente
Via Theon di Revel, 9
20159 Milano
