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#5 | 📕 'The Dream of Solomeo' by Brunello Cucinelli: beauty, dignity, and humanistic capitalism

Episode · The Comma Project · After months of searching, I finally found 'The Dream of Solomeo' by Brunello Cucinelli...for $500. But I simply had to read it. I loved it so much that as soon as I finished it, I booked a round-trip ticket to Italy to go see Solomeo - the home of the company, and the man who built it.

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Chapters

• (00:00) 'The Dream of Solomeo' by Brunello Cucinelli

• (01:41) Brunello Cucinelli’s origin story: human dignity as a driving force

• (03:42) Combining ethics and aesthetics

• (04:04) Solomeo: a home, and a source of inspiration

• (05:43) A guardian and a steward for the future[

• (07:44) Beauty is truth

• (09:18) "Humanistic capitalism"

• (10:02) Comma: modern philosophy to catalyze transformation

• (11:46) World-building

• (13:34) Building a school for the next generation

• (15:52) Gracious technology and humanism for the future

• (17:26) A new era is coming: the Transformation Economy

• (18:04) Quality, craftsmanship, creativity, exclusivity, beauty

• (20:32) Optimism for the future

• (21:07) Beauty is an expression of our humanity

• (22:07) Brunello's dream: joining the beauty of the past with the beauty of the future

Brunello Cucinelli’s origin story: human dignity as a driving force

I was very struck by his unjust grief; I felt helpless, since I could not defend my father, but one thing inside me became instantly clear: even if back then I did not yet know what I would do in life, I knew that I would definitely live and work in order to foster the moral and economic dignity of man.

This is why humanity is the driving force behind my actions as a man and entrepreneur. Striving to respect human dignity might sound daring, something that not everyone can achieve. I however believe that such attitude is within the reach of everyone because it does not concern the quantity but the quality of our actions, whose value is rooted in the intention more than in the actual deed.

Human dignity is truly the cornerstone on which I base my life as a man and a businessman. It is the inspiration for the vision of the world that everyone needs in order to look at the future with hope.

Combining ethics and aesthetics

...step by step, I was moving towards my future, which would combine ethics and aesthetics.

Solomeo: a home, and a source of inspiration

I do not create, I hand down...This is why I have always thought of myself as a guardian, and today also as a true ferryman commuting from the past to the future.

To buy the castle meant to achieve three great objectives: working in an ancient, beautiful place with its own charm; providing a dependable guarantee to banks - a monumental property instead of an industrial building; and finally revamping the castle and the village, which over the years were likely to experience a strong increase in economic value and also in terms of a better quality of life.

Beauty is truth

Beauty is not decoration, an external attribute, something that appears just on the surface: it is the form of the inner quality of people. Where there is beauty, there is almost always truth; in most cases, it coincides with simplicity, which in turn is not a shortage of ideas or resources, but the sum of great inner wealth. When people are surrounded by simplicity, everything is clearer, they can understand beauty, and every human quality is brought to its fullest expression.

“Humanistic capitalism"

We also discussed something we decided to call 'humanistic capitalism': we imagined a business embodying the rules of ethics in their noblest form, those rules that mankind has defined over the centuries. I dreamt of a form of contemporary capitalism, rooted in strong ancient values, where making a profit should never harm or offend people or things, and where part of the earnings should be earmarked to promote initiatives aimed at concretely improving the conditions of human life; the common good should be the purpose of careful yet courageous actions; finally, the human being should be at the center of any production process, because this is the only way to restore dignity, since quality cannot exist without humanity.

World-building

I told my friend: 'I think I've come up with another visionary idea: shall we build a theatre for the next generations of the coming 500, 1,000 years?' His answer was 'What a brilliant idea! However, we shouldn't build just a theatre, but rather a whole area for spirituality and culture, a forum of the arts, an amphitheatre, a philosophers' garden, a library, an academy.'

...the castle could now be used in a manner that was ideologically more in line with its artistic and historical character. Indeed, it became the seat of our School of Arts and Crafts, one of the most important ways to improve people and society.

This concern for the future contributed to shaping the idea of a School of Arts and Crafts in Solomeo, a school fueled by passion whose aim would be to teach old crafts and make them contemporary.

We liked the idea of a school functioning as a workshop, teaching theory and praxis and paying students while they were being trained; a school that would not be physically confined in a single location, but spread all over the village, where small buildings would each house a different discipline. With its very presence, the school would help revive the village.

…and where students would learn not just a craft but also the pride of being contemporary craftsmen. This would show the value of our humanity, consisting of body, mind, and soul: a wonderful reality that hopefully will not be overruled by technology.

Gracious technology and humanism for the future

I shared these ideas and our wonderful and authentic experience when I recently visited San Francisco, where I had been invited by the leading players in the Silicon Valley's advanced technology industry: the theme of my lecture was “gracious technology and humanism.” I excitedly told these young men the following: “I am honored to be here in the historic Yerba Buena Theater, in the cradle of modern genius, since you are the new Leonardos of the 21st century. But mind you, Leonardo was a great humanist and for this reason I call upon you to be up to the challenge and make the web more humane. Being online is surely important, but this should not steal our soul; sometimes the background noise we are constantly surrounded by becomes an additional burden for the malaise we all carry in our soul. Voltaire was right: 'If you don't embrace the spirit of your time, you will be left with the worst of it.' Today, from time to time, I too feel the psychological burden of my smartphone: the idea that this device knows everything about me, and always listens to me, even when it is switched off, spoils my longing for solitude. In the future, the real luxury for our soul will be to lead a life unknown to our loyal travel mate.”

Quality, craftsmanship, creativity, exclusivity, beauty

We would like quality, craftsmanship, creativity, exclusivity, culture of beauty, and a great willingness to listen to be the distinctive features of our brand Brunello Cucinelli. Combining the ancient and the modern, the business goals and the human needs has always been our dream.

The company is first and foremost devoted to nurturing the genius of the place, with a special focus on those who will inhabit it...The new concept of time and space should help improve quality of life, in which empathy, knowledge, and the dissemination of ideas experience revival in simplicity and spontaneity. In Solomeo, a true think-tank of ideas is busy searching for values based on traditions and emotions that rule the village as a place of familiarity and conviviality. Our boutiques are located in the most exclusive streets of the most important cities of the world. Each store has been designed to be some sort of shelter where one can find calm and relax, perceive the quality of time that is so dear to us, and experience a polite and refined approach that makes up the “graciousness” our business philosophy strives for.

Our online store mirrors the character and spirit of the physical shop starting from the window, which speaks of the relationship with tradition in a contemporary way. Our website bears our mark as “humanist artisans of the web,” which is inspired by the past example of our masters but also ready to face present and future challenges. I've always maintained that the web is a great amplifier.

We think that protecting the brand is more important than promoting it. Luxury means rarity and anticipation: the company aims at highlighting the importance of safeguarding the Made in Italy from a social, domestic, cultural, or artisanal point of view.

Optimism for the future

I have understood that the legacy of the past is not a burden but it supports the bright future before us. This future includes the internet, too, which changes and will keep changing mankind for the better: it is a great gift we must be able to control. Marcus Aurelius left us possibly the most exhaustive statement: “Live as if it were the last day of your life and plan as if you were to live forever.”

Beauty is an expression of our humanity

Being able to sense beauty and wishing to know its secrets is an important expression of our humanity. Emperor Hadrian felt responsible for the beauty in the world, and each of us can feel responsible for the beauty of some part of it, maybe just our threshold, keeping it tidy and clean and perhaps adding plants and flowers.

Beauty is simplicity: this is an essential theme; simplicity does not mean getting rid of something, it means applying knowledge and choice to come up with synthesis.

Brunello's dream: joining the beauty of the past with the beauty of the future

If you have had the patience to read this book, you might have understood my dream: joining together the beauty of the past with the beauty of the future. Perhaps it's not easy, but it's not mere utopia, as the recent years in Solomeo can prove. It means combining business with family, innovation with tradition, profit with giving back, money with humanity.

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