This article originally appeared in the March 1987 issue of Architectural Digest.
It is probably inevitable that in her presence art and decor fade into the background. Her beauty captivates from the moment she enters a room. But what roots Sophia Loren at the center of attention is an incessant fluidity of movement, a magnetic physical grace. As she talks everything is punctuated by a quiver in the voice, an amused flash of the eyes or the gestures that her hands etch expressively on the air.
In Florida, where the actress and her family have recently acquired an apartment, there is no sense of one form of beauty rivaling another. Instead, the lush landscape provides a fitting setting for her own sensibility.
Not surprisingly, privacy ranks high on Sophia Loren's list of priorities. “What I appreciate most when I'm not working is the chance to lead as normal a family life as possible,” she explains. What she was looking for was a secluded retreat, and when she decided on Williams Island, between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, it was after long deliberation with her husband, producer Carlo Ponti, and their two sons. “The wonderful thing here,” she says, “is that we all have things we like to do. There's as much sailing, swimming and sunbathing as you could want, and it gives everyone a chance to relax. I get tense during long working sessions and I have to have a place to unwind, which I can't really do unless I have the whole family around. I also love the water, and I even play tennis, but only very early in the morning when no one else can see me.”
When it came to designing the interiors, Sophia Loren says that she wanted everything to feel as much like home as possible. “Of course,” she adds, laughing, “it's true that I move around so much I don't really know where ‘home’ is. The nearest thing to it, I suppose, is our place in Geneva, because my sons, Carlo and Edoardo, were both born there and still go to school just nearby. So what I hoped for was something of that atmosphere to be recreated here, and I was very fortunate to have a designer like Ted Fine who knew instinctively what I had in mind.”
A stroll around the new Williams Island resort, with its marina and its proliferating subtropical vegetation, produces sensations somewhat different from those to which the residents of Geneva are accustomed. Indeed, a greater pair of opposites could not be found. “I know,” Loren admits. “It's a far cry from Geneva. But I brought over a great deal of the furniture specially from Europe—the master bedroom, for instance, is almost entirely furnished with things we found in France and Italy. And practically all the art is by European artists we admire, such as the Italian painter Sergio Vacchi, whose work we have in Geneva as well.”
Other European notes are provided by the Venetian harpsichord and her collection of antique silver. But holding all of this together is a truly American concern for efficiency and comfort. “I'm definitely European,” Loren says. “Better still, I'm Neapolitan. But when you've lived in America as I have, you'd never want to be without an American-style kitchen again. Not that I spend a great deal of my time slaving over the stove! But I do like to cook specialties, like eggplant parmigiana, that remind me of southern Italy.”
With the last touches having only recently been applied, the new apartment is still something of a wonder to Loren. “Though I say it myself,” she concedes happily, “we did miracles here. It really is like having the best of both worlds.” This turns out to be the leitmotiv of Williams Island: to combine the picturesque sophistication of the Italian Riviera with the natural resources of Florida. Which was perhaps one of the reasons the developers turned to Sophia Loren as a creative consultant on the project.
“From the very beginning we used Portofino—one of the loveliest resorts on the Mediterranean—as the model while the plan for Williams Island was taking shape,” Loren points out. “Whenever the developers here have asked my advice, I've been very happy to give it. I've been able to help in other ways, too. For instance, I managed to put the people here in touch with some of the best antiques dealers in Rome.”
Self-discipline and a strong sense of purpose characterize Sophia Loren's way of life wherever she is. “Ideally, I'm up very early in the morning, and by ten o'clock or so I've done most of the important business of the day. When I'm filming, of course, work goes on right through the day, and I usually give myself to it so totally that each evening I wonder how I'm going to find the energy to carry on the next day. My friends think I've got wonderful powers of recuperation, but that's not the way I feel when shooting starts again. But I'm still as excited and motivated about acting when I get into new roles as when I started out.”
Two projects are luring her out of the family haven at Williams Island. One is a television film based on Mario Puzo's novel The Fortunate Pilgrim, in which she will be reunited with her great friend Marcello Mastroianni. The other is a comedy called Saturday, Sunday, Monday. “I'm looking forward enormously to both projects,” Loren says, “because each has a special significance for me. Saturday, Sunday, Monday, for instance, has been adapted from a work by Eduardo de Filippo, who wrote the original play from which Marriage Italian Style was drawn. It will be wonderfully stimulating, but it won't make me forget the joy of being here in the sun with the whole family. That, as far as I'm concerned, is the ultimate luxury.”
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