Aussie expat turned Italian real estate expert Nikki Taylor wants your help to smash a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the Largest Online Photo Album of Handwritten Notes.
She is calling on the world of Italy lovers to unite after this intense period of disconnection and suffering, and express love for the bel paese via contributing a handwritten note to make history.
In normal circumstances, Italy is one of the most visited countries on earth, and for good reason.
But the struggles of the past 2 years have hit hard – not only severely affecting tourism in Italy, but also weighing heavily on the hearts of the millions of people around the world who hold a deep connection to Italy and their travels there.
“We all adore Italy, it’s why millions of people are connected in thousands of Italy-focused social media groups – it’s something that gives us all a sense of the best parts of life. To watch Italy (and the world) struggle so much over the past couple of years due to the pandemic has been absolutely tragic.” Said Nikki.
“I wanted to do something inspirational, that connects us all as a global community, united in our love of this beautiful place. And attempting a Guinness World Records title seemed like a beautiful project.”
She’s also not stopping at the general public, and wants to see the most notable Italian-loving celebrities put their pens to paper. George Clooney, JLO, Elizabeth Gilbert and Julia Roberts are all in her sights, as is Elon Musk who is currently in Florence.
And if anyone can do something that cheeky and courageous, it’s Nikki.
With a former career in corporate investment banking, then travelling the world and making a name for herself in the issue-fraught world of Italian real estate before branching out to her own self-run real estate business, Nikki is no stranger to adversity.
She has been living and working in Italy for almost 7 years, is fluently bilingual, and has now settled in the Puglia region with her husband Corrado, and their two beautiful boys Lorenzo and Santiago. The love affair with Italy goes deep.
In fact, Nikki has stated that the first time she landed in Florence 21 years ago, she remembers feeling instantly “at home” and heard herself saying “I’m going to retire here.”
And it’s a feeling that is definitely repeated in the online spaces of Italy lovers currently separated from the place they love to visit yearly.
Nikki’s work in real estate focuses on helping to educate foreign buyers to avoid the surprising and expensive pitfalls of Italian property purchase. She has helped clients save over €2.6 million dollars this year alone.
Because of this work, Nikki is connected to many thousands of Italy lovers online every day.
“In our groups hundreds of people are regularly posting about their desperation to return and how “homesick” they feel for Italy.” Said Nikki. “It’s like a physical pain that people experience. I’ve never seen a reaction like this to any other country, and it’s something I can relate to myself.
I think it’s really important for us to keep hold of the things we truly love in this global moment of difficulty, and to take actions that feel really good. This is one small thing we can all do to connect with each other right now, today.”
Nikki is asking Italy lovers to hand write a note to Italy that is very personal to them, contributing to the creation of the world’s largest online photo album of this kind.
“We’re looking for 35,000 people to express their love for Italy through a letter. I think this is a beautiful return to letter writing and also a way to use technology to connect us even further all around the globe.”
Not one to shy away from an enormous challenge, Nikki has given herself just 2 months to hit this very ambitious goal.
“I’m going to need absolutely everyone’s help!” She says. “We need 35,000 notes sent in and I know we can exceed that. I want to show the world how much we all love lately and that we are all stronger together. I know we can hit this goal!”
The notes are already flying in, and it’s a beautiful confirmation of exactly what Nikki is saying – that people all around the globe have a truly deep reaction to Italy, the country that holds a powerful place in their hearts.
“Italy became my heart home when I spent 3 months there healing from heartbreak.”
“I love that the sea is never far away and the ancient streets that lead the way.”
“Each time I visit, I feel as if I belong there. My 4 Italian Nonni seem to manifest their presence, telling me not to leave. Bella Italia beckons me “home” to stay.”
The romantic power of Italy to invoke deep feelings in people seems not to have been at all diminished by the difficulties of this pandemic experience, in fact, if the notes coming into the world record attempt are anything to go by, it has only intensified.
Nikki wants to see as many people get on board with this attempt as possible, and is gifting an exclusive ebook bundle of The Ultimate Secrets Of Living In Italy to everyone who enters as a thank you for helping her to make history.
To join the official world record attempt for free and be a part of this historical event, simply write a short note to Italy, take a close up photo of the note and then head to italyworldrecord.com to fill out the form.
You can follow the progress of the official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ attempt on Instagram and Facebook.
Article By: Nikki Taylor
