The extravagant residence Castello di Sammezzano sits on top of a hill in Tuscany, Northern Italy. Originally it was built in the Moorish style in 1605 for Ximenes d'Aragona and then re-designed between 1853 and 1889. After the war the castello was used as a luxury hotel until closure in the mid to late 1990's. It was abandoned until April 2012 when the FPXA committee was formed, aiming to promote and enhance the castle.

Nathan Sawaya is a New York-based artist who creates awe-inspiring works of art out of some of the most unlikely things. His recent global museum exhibitions feature large-scale sculptures using only toy building blocks. LEGO bricks to be exact. Photo: “Blue man sits in chair”. (Photo by Nathan Sawaya/The Art of the Brick)

Rose oil production in Bulgaria's famous Rose Valley is set to increase by 25 percent according to a mid-season estimate by experts in spite of the climate changes and economy crisis. Bulgaria is traditionally one of the biggest world exporters of high-grade rose oil along with Morocco and neighboring Turkey, with clients mostly from the United States, France, Germany, United Kingdom and Japan. Rose oil is the most commonly used essential oil in the perfume industry.

Photographer Howard Schatz had an idea: place actors in a series of roles and dramatic situations to reveal the essence of their characters. Such was the premise behind his book, In Character: Actors Acting, which captures some of Hollywood’s most emotive stars in the act of, well, making faces. Luckily for us, he continued the tradition for Vanity Fair. Here are some of the best.