Audrey A Roma in book form

The last big news item on Audrey Hepburn was an exhibit in Italy showcasing Audrey's life in Rome. The exhibit was sadly short-lived, yet still managed to raise nearly $100,000 for UNICEF! If you couldn't make it out to Rome to visit the exhibit, but desperately wanted to see the displays of Audrey's clothes, personal belongings, and candid photographs, never fear: a special book curated by her son Luca Dotti has been released with 192 pages of text and pictures for your enjoyment.

If you are in Europe, you can order the book through Amazon's Italian page here, or try your luck at local bookstores, as they have been spotted out and about. If you are in the U.S., the book is harder to find, but not impossible. A few sellers on Amazon have copies at around $30 (plus shipping), and would cost you near the same amount to order a copy from overseas and have it shipped to you. The best part is that all royalties from the sales go directly to the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund.

In an extra bit of news: if you are on Twitter, so am I! You can now get all your Audrey news in 140 characters or less. See you there.

Audrey A Roma

Exciting news! There will be a new exhibit on Audrey Hepburn in Rome, Italy, running from October 26th through December 4th. While there will be photos and personal items of Audrey's on display, this exhibit is different from Timeless Audrey, the exhibit that has been displayed in Germany and Japan and select other locations. Audrey A Roma is a special exhibit showcasing the years Audrey lived as an Italian housewife whilst married to her second husband, Andrea Dotti.

The exhibit will have extremely rare home videos of Audrey in Rome, as well as personal and paparazzi photos of her - the paparazzi often mailed Audrey the photos they had taken of her - and when possible, the very clothes she was wearing in those pictures will be on display as well. For those who have seen Timeless Audrey, it sounds like there will be enough new material to make this exhibit worth your while, and if you haven't yet seen Timeless Audrey, then here's a sneak preview for you!



Information is still trickling in at this point, but I can give you some basics, plus a lot of lovely links to look through. The Italian branch of UNICEF, which is working with The Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund, has a new mini-site up about Audrey's work with UNICEF and the exhibit, which you can see here. 25% of ticket proceeds will go towards UNICEF Italy's ongoing mission in Chad, Africa. Not only that, but there will be a special card designed just for this Italian exhibit, and the purchase of this card turns into a donation for a course of vitamins and minerals for a malnourished child - though if you can't make it to the exhibit but would still like to help in the name of Audrey, you can buy the card online here. A really lovely blog that's heavy on pictures has been set up on Tumblr, so if you're already on there, it'll be very easy for you to follow and get a daily dose of Audrey. You may also read more about the intentions behind the exhibit, and Sean and Luca's thoughts on it, on the Children's Fund website here. And while I don't have a link yet for this last bit, I can tell you that a picture book called Audrey A Roma (Audrey In Rome) will be on sale at the exhibit and elsewhere, designed by Audrey's son Luca Dotti. It will be in Italian bookstores and the Italian Amazon, but before you complain, word is that the book is being translated into English, French and German, and will be released sooner rather than later! Stay tuned.

As for the details ... if you can make it to the exhibit, here's what you need to know: The exhibit is at the Ara Pacis Museum Lungotevere in Augusta, Rome, and runs every day but Mondays from 9am to 7pm (no entries after 6pm). Admission is 10€, but discounts can be had, and there are certain cases for free admission.