La Dolce Vita with Alex Monroe

This Summer, Treehouse Hotel London and Pizzeria Mozza have teamed up with Malfy Gin and luxury jewellery Designer, Alex Monroe to celebrate La Dolce Vita. 

The eponymous Alex Monroe jewellery brand is inspired by nature, and the nostalgia of a childhood spent roaming the Suffolk countryside. Every piece is conscientiously designed and responsibly handmade in England. His latest collection, La Dolce Vita is fun and fruity, evoking memories of a favourite holiday, or daydreams of a never-ending summer. To celebrate the launch, Pizzeria Mozza have created a special summer set menu with delicious plates of Datterini tomatoes and feta, shrimp with melon, mint and chilli lime vinaigrette and Amalfi lemon pizza, washed down with tipples from our friends at Malfy Gin.

We sat down with Alex to learn more about the new collection and his love for the Italian coast.  

What is the inspiration behind your new Dolce Vita collection?

I’ve spent a lot of time in Southern Italy since I was young and there is something about the warmth of the place and the people that I love. My sister lives in the mountains of Calabria and my room has a balcony by the lemon tree. In the mornings I wake to see lemons in the sunshine. We’ve been doing a series of collections based on food and gardening and self sufficiency and this time we ended up exploring the vibrant colours and passion of Southern Italy.

What does La Dolce Vita mean to you?

Sunshine! Lemons, oranges, fresh seasonal vegetables. And wandering down to the market in bright clothes and sunglasses.

What is your favourite place to travel in Italy and why?

Well I love it all. I guess my heart is really in Calabria but it’s a hard place with lots of corruption so it won’t be for everybody. The food is amazing, the people warm, and nobody speaks English so there are few tourists and I’m forced to practice my Italian!

Favourite Italian food.

Just really simple and seasonal, whatever comes out of the horto. My favourite is probably pasta with beans, it’s literally borlotti beans cooked up with pasta… but the beans need to be fresh and the oil is my sister’s own… 

What are your summer travel tips?

I’m not much of a tipster. I just go to see family in Calabria, the odd trip to Sicily… I have a brother in Biarritz too so I’m nicely sorted! I always learn the language, it’s great fun to do adult education you meet great people and it makes trips so much more fun, you can go off the tourist routes and see the real place.

How do you celebrate summer in London?

 I’m very lucky because I have a cute little boat in Suffolk and I love sailing, but also I quite like work in August! London is beautifully quiet so I just enjoy pottering on at work, lovely traffic free cycles, and I’m doing a bit more painting and fun creative stuff like that.

Beach or pool?

You probably won't see me in a pool! Beach. And you should see my beach wear… I'd make Ken look drab!

Discover La Dolce Vita collection here

Try Pizzeria Mozza's latest summer set menu La Dolce Vita for a true taste of Italy.