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Welcome in “Nel Castello di Carta”!

A website to leaf through like a book…

I’ve always been a private person, and it took me years to find the courage to open up. But I feel now is the time to tell a little about myself. My life hasn’t always been easy, but I’ve always searched for the lesson and growth in every experience. On this page, I share a short summary of my journey, using self-irony as a lens and as a symbol of the lightness I am reaching for.

🌌 Brushes, Microscopes, and Space Travel

I was born in February 1961 in Turin, under the sign of Aquarius. I can assure you that I possess all the wonderful traits—and, alas, the little flaws—of this sign… mostly linked to a deep sensitivity that often, in cynical or overly rational environments, tends to protect itself behind a mask of apparent detachment.

Add to this the influence of my Virgo ascendant, further emphasized by the Moon, Pluto, and the North Lunar Node, all aligned right at the ascendant…

What a blend of energies! The vast, uncategorizable creativity of Aquarius, combined with the precision and meticulousness typically found in those born under Virgo!

The result is… hard to define! Perhaps that’s why, during the first thirty years of my life, I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to do. Deep down, I knew, but the strict upbringing of my family environment—as was often the case in the legendary “Sixties”—somewhat clouded my ability to make decisions.

In an elementary school essay, I wrote that I wanted to be a scientist, a painter, and an astronaut—all at the same time.

You can easily understand my final aspiration: it was the era of the first Moon landings and The Jetsons cartoons, and I already envisioned myself taking the “Space Bus” to commute between Earth and the Moon. As a scientist, I was ahead of schedule: I asked Santa Claus for a microscope, with which I spent countess afternoons observing hair strands, insect wings, dust specks, and many other “rare” tiny materials found around the house…

Painting, however, was my true passion. Perhaps my ultimate one. Tubes of tempera, blocks of modeling clay, and Das were constantly in my hands. I went through truly impressive amounts of them.

🩺 From Numbers to Care: Searching for My Path

So, you must have gone to Art High School, right?

No. In those days, high school art academies were attended by “unserious youth”—according to my family’s protective standards—so it was decided I would take a secure, quiet… utterly boring accounting course. Far too quiet for my more humanistic and creative nature!

I first earned a professional diploma, followed by enrollment in Nursing school, because I simply refused to work in an office. However, I had to reckon with my own sensitivity and sense of justice: back then, in the hospital where I attended the course, nursing and care techniques—especially for the elderly and lonely—were rather crude and inhumane. I would have had to fight daily to defend bedridden grandmothers from anything but professional attitudes.

Halfway through the second year, disappointed by both the teaching and care systems, I decided to leave—taking with me, however, many magnificent and touching life experiences of suffering, human connection, and… departure. I discovered that in the face of pain, I possessed courage, empathy, and the ability to bring relief, bringing a smile to those who were suffering.

I resumed my studies independently and earned my Accounting Diploma with great marks, notably achieving a “9/10” on my Literature essay: what a satisfaction!

🏢 The Office, the “Shell”, and the Sudden Turning Point

The choice fell on a small stationery shop specializing in collectible pens and stamps in the city center. I stayed in that shop for about 9 years, an experience that allowed me to break out of the employee mindset.

I was 32 years old, and watching a continuous procession of doctors and nurses coming to look at “the girl with leukemia” was certainly not encouraging.
On the morning of the fourth day, the medical team looked in through the door and, all together with huge smiles, said: “The blood count results are completely normal!”
No one ever uttered the word “leukemia” again. The worst-case scenario had been ruled out. I wasn’t going to die just yet!

💡 The Illuminating “Jolt” and the Rediscovery of LIFE

The emotional storm of those three days sparked a wave of deep reflection… The anguish hadn’t come from the fear of dying, but from the realization that if I were to die at 32, I would run out of time to do, say, and achieve all those things I hadn’t done simply because I was actually afraid to LIVE!

📚 From Paper to the Bookstore, and into Works of Art

My thirst for knowledge exploded: I devoured books on spirituality, psychology, archaeology, and science. I decided I wanted to share this knowledge with others.

I looked for a larger space to begin crafting handmade art: bookbinding, cartonage, and decoupage became my work. Photo albums, hand-bound notebooks, and custom boxes took shape under my hands.

To avoid wasting leftover paper, I started creating papier-mâché sculptures and artwork.

One day, a customer asked me where he could buy one of the books I was talking about. I was about to send him to a bookstore when a flash of inspiration hit me: I asked my father to build a wooden shelf to display books in my shop. That is how my BOOKSTORE was born! A place to host cultural events, workshops, and lectures.

While I dedicated myself to growing my business—which increasingly reflected my soul’s desire to expand—Life presented me with a series of special encounters with furry beings. Through a series of unexpected events, I found myself caring for 6 cats and 2 dogs. The craziest and most magnificent thing I have ever experienced!

The arrival of each of them represented a moment of deep reflection and growth. In the presence of a abandoned or injured animal, I found and healed parts of myself. However, this didn’t become fully clear to me until a few years later, when my beloved pets began to leave this Earthly Plane. Each time, the pain was devastating—I am not ashamed to admit it. And I am certain that anyone who has faced this final goodbye with a pet knows exactly what I mean.

Later, through meditation, fluid acrylic paintings were born—blending paint, glitter, and water—inspired by Masaru Emoto’s research on water memory and human emotions.

🧮 But… did that Accounting Diploma ever come in handy?

Since I dislike wasting past efforts, over the years I made the absolute most of that diploma:

• I kept the bookstore’s double-entry bookkeeping;
• I gave private lessons in mathematics, accounting, history, and literature;
• I learned HTML code to build the very first version of my website!

…And here we are today!

🤖 The Arrival of “Artificience” and the Dream in the Paper Castle

Life continues to bring new surprises. A few years ago, I was forced to close my beloved bookstore: the rise of online shopping was inexorably changing consumer habits.

As I was coming to terms with the end of that thirty-year commercial journey, my parents fell ill. Those nursing skills I had learned so many years prior were dusted off and applied in caring for them in their final days… a full circle of love closing.

Yet my desire to learn has never faded!

• I completed an 800-hour certified ceramic technician course;
• I studied interior design and 3D modeling (AutoCAD and 3ds Max);
• I took English language courses and qualified as an instructor for fire prevention training with the Fire Brigade.

And now, together with “Artificience” (my affectionate nickname for Artificial Intelligence), I am learning to code the brand-new look of my website on WordPress.

But the most extraordinary thing is that, thanks to Artificience, I am finally fulfilling one of my biggest childhood dreams: making cartoons!

Through my YouTube channel, I create short, delicate, and lighthearted videos. Here too, my love for my “furry companions” fuels my enthusiasm, aiming to share with sensitive souls the splendid emotions that stem from our relationships with animals.

From here on out, my biography will be written “live” together with you. I hope this new website, the blog, and the YouTube channel will offer opportunities for growth, serenity, and new awareness to cultivate together.

Stay tuned, because the adventure… continues! 🌿🎨🐾✨