The Caprotti family and the animals: Giorgina Venosta on her honeymoon, 1958

Love for animals, and dogs in particular, has always been a constant in our family. Mum always had a little dog in her arms as soon as she could, as in this photograph, part of a series taken by my father Bernardo, which shows her on her honeymoon in France (they were married in November 1958) with a puppy on her lap. Because of this love of hers, one of the projects of the Guido Venosta Foundation, which I chair, supported the Fondazione Progetto Arca Onlus, which was able to buy a farmhouse in Baggio to turn it into a reception centre for homeless people with dogs, usually rejected by other institutions.

The Caprotti family and animals: Teo, 1970s

They do good, animals, they save from many things. This is why one of the projects of the Guido Venosta Foundation, named after my maternal grandfather and which I chair, financed the Fondazione Progetto Arca onlus, which was able to purchase a 500 square metre farmstead in the Baggio district of Milan to start up 'Cascina Vita Nova - Giorgina Venosta', to be inaugurated in 2021, an important reception project for homeless people with dogs, usually rejected by other institutions and never abandoned by their 'humans'.

Giorgina Venosta catwalks for Emilio Pucci

"Giorgina has no money, and must live. Beautiful and with an elegant figure, she could not fail to be noticed: and an old, faded newspaper page still from 1964 shows her, full page spread, as a mannequin (this was how catwalk models were defined at the time, with an eloquent Frenchness). She is wearing a rich and resplendent dress, and the person who finishes 'adorning' her is Marquis Emilio Pucci, one of the founders of 'made in Italy' fashion and an absolute genius of creativity, who certainly did not choose his models at random'.

The Caprotti family: Giorgina Venosta with little Giuseppe in St. Moritz, 1964

The beauty of the mountains and the snow, as well as our passion for skiing (they used to put snowshoes in our hands as soon as we could walk on our own), were the stage for unforgettable family moments, like this shot with my mother Giorgina in St. Moritz in 1964. It was there, at the home of her father, Grandpa Guido, that we children were able to see her most often after the separation from our father.

The Caprotti family and the cinema: maternal grandmother Luisa, remarried Theodoli, with Silvana Pampanini, 1951

Luisa Quintavalle's fortunes dissolve during her second marriage. Luisa and Niccolò Theodoli maintained a very high standard of living, and their investments proved disastrous in both real estate and cinema, although they produced films by famous directors such as Mario Soldati and Gianni Franciolini, with whom Niccolò managed to win the David di Donatello for Racconti romani.

The Caprotti family: holidays and gifts, which always have a meaning

One Christmas in the early 1970s, I received a small electric train from Dad. It is beautiful but trains and mechanics don't interest me, they are his passions. I exchange it for some Violetta's succulent plants. Bernardo however uses this episode to repeat a recurring idea of his: Violetta is smarter than me, 'she is a future businesswoman' he says. Instead I am referred to as 'the thinker'. I don't dislike the term, but I believe that Bernardo basically despises literati, journalists, professors, whom he lumps together with the left-wing intelligentsia that his ex-wife Giorgina frequents. In the case of the little train, what counts for our father is only the material value of the object, which is certainly higher than that of the plants.

The Caprotti family: Giuseppe as a child, c. 1966.

With our father, we also experience beautiful and carefree moments. With him we listen to music, we talk, we laugh, we joke, we watch some television, we even go on holidays and trips together. But around the age of 10 something already starts to go wrong. I look a lot like my cheating mother, I also have a good relationship with her, and Dad doesn't get that. I also miss physical affection so much: never a hug or a caress from him.

The Caprotti family: Carla Fossati Bellani Venosta, 1958

Carla Fossati Bellani Venosta (1924 - 2019), was my grandfather Guido Venosta's second wife. She was an internationally renowned designer. In 2000 he promoted the establishment of the 'European Foundation Guido Venosta, the man against cancer' (today 'Fondazione Guido Venosta'), whose aim was and is, 'to honour Guido Venosta's memory and borrow his experience, to promote and contribute to raising public education towards the highest cultural ideals and solidarity'.