The Mandarin, in all its guises is one of the most photographed houses in la Basilicata. The Arabic arches, now fully revealed are just the perfect photo op for bride and groom. My first beautiful bride Federica, spent the night before her wedding day here with her sister, the morning of, photographed while hairdresser and make up artist worked and then family and close friends arrived to see her off in a shower of rice and loose change after feasting on homemade lemon tart,

2017 was a year of highs and lows as far as The Mandarin was concerned. The beginning of the year saw snow, the like of which in Tursi is only seen every 20 years or so. Temperatures of minus 8 every night for a week and well over a foot of icy, slipperiness. Followed by the inevitable burst pipes and influenza. Work stopped for a month. The Mandarin was just a shell; a husk with nothing inside. Problems too complicated to explain meant further halts in the work to iron out '