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| Why Didi Lorillard? Why Newport?
Newport is one of the birthplaces of American culture. Newport’s historical and cultural background has made it a year-round tourism destination for people who are looking for cultural and historic enrichment, and not just their Colonial roots. Newport was founded in 1639 to foster freedom of religion which gave the young Colonial city unusual demographics. Snuggled around the harbor, Quaker, Congregational, Episcopal and Jewish colonialists side-by-side erected clapboard houses and reinvented the way people behave. Side by side, they built the oldest synagogue in the nation, the oldest operating library, the nation’s oldest tavern. There are over four hundred eighteenth century buildings still in use. And all within a mile radius. These early settlers of many faiths learned to honor each other’s space and opinions and in doing so invented a way to behave and get along with people of unfamiliar cultures. In the Gilded Age of the late nineteenth century, robber barons vied for property (on this island the size of Manhattan) to build replicas of chateaux they had coveted in Europe to show off their new collections of art, antiques, and fancy horticulture. This culture of manners became a role model for everyday modern etiquette. Didi Lorillard is a born and bred Newporter. While living in New York City for many years, she published two books, Guide New York, New York: A Counter Chic to Manhattan and Buy the Best. After raising two daughters, she moved back to Newport with her husband, the historian and author, Robert Cowley. |
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If
you’re wondering, who is Didi Lorillard and what does Newport
have to do with manners, I’ll tell you.