Paulo (The Gentile Giant) –

How we know him – We refer to him as the “Gentle Giant” and never has a nickname fit someone better. I think that it’s fair to say that he is the strongest guy we know. His form when training is impeccable. He knows more about working out than all the private trainers at the gym and he happens to be one of the nicest and most sincerely kind men we have ever met anywhere. Words really can’t describe how we feel about Paulo Nannoni, he’s simply a prince.

I guess it was Anna who first said hello to him at the gym last fall. Like Anna, Paulo is more the shy type, so the conversation didn’t go very far. Months later (Perhaps in February) Anna asked me to see if Paulo would give her some tips on exercise routines. I approached him with a few questions and he was happy to oblige. From there our friendship slowly evolved.

What He does – Paulo runs the Excelsior Parking Garage in the Center of Florence. Not a bad guy to know when you want to be able to park in the center of the city during the day! His father of 83 years is a well known artist in Florence.

Our Friendship – I started asking Paulo for help quite a bit while working out. After a bit of time I asked him if he wanted to have lunch. We decided instead to drive to the country with his girlfriend Elena and Anna, to a little trattoria overlooking the hills of chianti. The meal was terrific, the view insane and the company better still.

He has taken quite a liking to Anna and Trey as well. Basically he is now Anna’s personal trainer, not letting her out of his sight when we are at the gym in the morning. He has written a complete workout routine for her to follow. It’s so funny how nice he is to us. The other day as an example, he said to us “Before I leave, I want to show you a new “ab” workout.” (All in Italian of course as he speaks no English!) He took us to the stretching room and we all rolled out mats and proceeded work our abs to the point of them cramping!

He has also become quite attached to Trey. Paulo doesn’t have any kids and it seems that his affection for Trey is that of the son he never has had. He brings him little gifts all the time, including Fiorentina soccer paraphernalia. One day, he just showed up at the castle with pastries for Trey and Olivia from Georgio! Another time, he stopped by to bring Anna and I an original oil on canvass of his fathers!

He is a friend that we will all truly miss very much.

Interesting Quip – As Anna puts it, “Paulo is the freshest smelling guy that I know!” Heck one night at dinner he even offered me a squirt of the sample bottle of cologne he had in his pocket! Not knowing what to do, I took it!