PESARO, Italy: In this small town on Italy's Adriatic coast, the owner of the Ratti boutique is thumbing through the freshly minted Balmains and Balenciagas with a hand that has felt its fair share of crepe de chine.
"Bring this to Giovanna's mother!" Silvana Ratti happily exclaims, plucking a thigh-grazing Marchesa chiffon number off the racks. An obliging saleswoman, one of the 78 immaculately groomed who live to serve on Ratti's gilded floors, trots off with the costly confection in search of someone's mother.
Although it boasts prime beachfront real estate, Pesaro has never been one of Italy's great travel destinations. It does not offer the booming nightlife of Rimini. It does not have the posh hotels and crystal waters of Portofino. The town, with its 80,000 inhabitants, is a classic example of the Italian province.
