Business Abroad: The Cloak & Soutane Trade

In Rome's St. Peter's Basilica four new princes of the church, clad in magnificent scarlet robes, knelt last week to receive from Pope John their red hats, symbolic of their elevation to the College of Cardinals. Besides their rank and faith, the new cardinals had something else in common: the same tailor. Every stitch of their elaborate garments, from scarlet silk stockings to matching skullcap, came from Bonaventura Gammarelli, 61, the most prestigious name in the Roman Catholic cloak and soutane trade. From his small shop in the shadow of Rome's ancient Pantheon, Gammarelli sends out the robes...

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