Danny Puff

NEW YORK (Reuters) - British television celebrity and best-selling cookbook author Nigella Lawson recalls that when the other girls wanted to be French, she wanted to be Italian.

"As a teenager, what drew me was the combination of familial warmth and glamour that was somehow both earthy and chic," Lawson said about Italy, where she lived between high school and college.

Her eighth cookbook, "Nigellissima," focuses exclusively on 120 Italian-inspired recipes.

"Somehow by speaking Italian, I came into the person I am," the 53-year-old, Oxford-educated cook added.

London-based Lawson, who is appearing in the U.S. cooking show "The Taste," spoke to Reuters about creating recipes and about how her most joyful moment in the kitchen is opening the fridge, seeing what is inside and trying to make something taste good from it, which she admits is "absolutely the antithesis of a cookery book."

Q: Is this your first Italian cookbook?

A: "It sort of is, and isn't. It's the first that's just Italian, or Italian-inspired. Because Italy has been such a big influence in my life, in my cooking life, there are actually more Italian recipes in my other books. But this is the only time I've done a book with such a narrow focus geographically."

Q: How would you describe your take on Italian cuisine?

A: "I suppose what I bring to it is a slightly more contemporary, urban edge in the sense that I live a busy modern city life, whereas so many Italian recipes come from a time when women were expected to spend a long time in the kitchen. I suppose I bring a kind of temporary impatience because it's the way I live now."

Q: How did you learn to cook?

A: "I've never learned to cook. I just cooked from when I was a child, always. I come from a large family and my mother believed in child labor, so I've cooked since I was about six. I do come from a food-obsessed family. That helps. I did have to teach myself how to cook weighing and measuring. It was an education in itself, and an interesting one."

Q: Do you create the recipes in your books?

A: "Well, they're mine, and if they're not I will always say. I think it's improper not to credit recipes. Often I credit someone even if I've changed it enormously because I feel for the reader it's very interesting to see the evolution of a recipe. So I will go back through the mists of time (to trace) how this recipe evolved."

Q: How does being a home cook, rather than a professional chef, influence your approach to preparing food?

A: "Cooking for me is in part an evangelical zeal that I want to share. If I've loved a book that I've read, I want to share that as well. A chef needs to feel they're being original. I just have the home cook sensibility: not wanting to waste money or time.

"Generally I make sure that if I buy a certain stash of ingredients, I can cook many different dishes. Cooking is not about heaping in ingredient after ingredient after ingredient. If I read a recipe and I'm exhausted by the time I finish reading the ingredients list, I know I'm never going to cook it."

Q: Did you enjoy co-hosting the reality TV show "The Taste?"

A: "I had a certain amount of trepidation but I really enjoyed it ... Because it was really about the taste of the food and not about personalities, I didn't think it was going to descend into the cruelty of some reality TV, that would appall me."

Sicilian Pasta with Tomatoes, Garlic & Almonds

Serves 6

1 1 4 pounds fusilli lunghi or other pasta of your choice

salt for pasta water, to taste

8 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes

6 anchovy fillets

2 tablespoons golden raisins

2 cloves garlic, peeled

2 tablespoons capers, drained

1/3 cup skinned almonds

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil leaves from small bunch

basil (approx. 1 cup, packed )

Put abundant water on to boil for the pasta, waiting for it to boil before salting it. Add the pasta and cook following the package instructions, though start checking it a good 2 minutes before it's meant to be ready.

While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce by putting all the remaining ingredients, except the basil, into a processor and blitzing until you have a nubby-textured sauce.

Just before draining the pasta, remove a cupful of pasta-cooking water and add 2 tablespoonfuls of it down the funnel of the processor, pulsing as you go.

Tip the drained pasta into your warmed serving bowl. Pour and scrape the sauce on top, tossing to coat (add a little more pasta-cooking water if you need it) and strew the basil leaves on top.

(Editing by Patricia Reaney and Philip Barbara)

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LONDON (AP) Bruce Springsteen is returning to headline the London Hard Rock Calling festival, a year after authorities pulled the plug on his duet with Paul McCartney for violating a curfew.

The American rock star brings The E Street Band back to the event that is moving to a new location at the city's Olympic Park.

Concert organizers Live Nation are leaving Hyde Park amid friction between fans and the neighborhood's well-heeled residents, many of whom gripe about the late-night noise.

Springsteen had already exceeded the 10:30 p.m. curfew by half an hour when he welcomed McCartney on stage last July. They sang the Beatles hits "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Twist and Shout." But officials turned the microphones off, and they were forced to leave the stage in silence.

Springsteen will headline the second night of the two-day festival on June 30. Other acts include Kasabian, Paul Weller, the Black Crowes and Alabama Shakes.

Live Nation Entertainment is holding a series of concerts at the former Olympic venue this summer including the Hard Rock Calling and Wireless festivals after gaining exclusive rights to the venue.

The 560-acre (227-hectare) site of the 2012 Summer Games is due to reopen to the public in stages between July and early 2014.

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LONDON (Reuters) - Canadian singer Justin Bieber apologized on Tuesday after fans booed him for turning up nearly two hours late to a London concert, blaming technical issues for his late performance.

The 19-year-old teen idol had been scheduled to take the stage at London's O2 Arena at 8.30 p.m. but said in a Twitter message that the time was pushed back to 9.35 p.m. due to "some technical issues".

Many fans, and the venue itself, appeared not to have got the message after complaints poured in that Bieber was nearly two hours late when he finally appeared at around 10.20 p.m..

"Last night I was scheduled after 3 opening acts to go on stage at 935 not 830 but because of some technical issues," Bieber wrote on Twitter, the micro-blogging site where he boasts the largest following of more than 35 million people.

"I got on at 10:10..so...I was 40 min late to stage. there is no excuse for that and I apologize for anyone we upset. However it was great show and I'm proud of that."

In the third of four tweets, he vowed to run on time on Tuesday, and in the final message said his relationship with the media, which picked up on fans' displeasure following Monday night's concert, was "not always easy but I'm trying".

The popular Sun tabloid newspaper said many fans, some of them as young as five years old, had gone home by the time Bieber began while others voiced frustration.

There was no on-stage apology, although the O2 Arena did later address fans, popularly known as "Beliebers", apologizing in a Twitter message to "all the Justin Bieber fans for the lateness of his show tonight".

Bieber is due to play the same venue on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Many people voiced their frustration at having to wait, while others reacted angrily to the headlines.

"Justin Bieber is my fave person but 2 hours late on stage is a joke!" fan Jess wrote on Twitter. "Does he realize that he has fans under the age of 10?"

Others jumped to his defense early on Tuesday.

"Feel really bad for @justinbieber now! Yes he was late but he put on a flipping good show! It was amazing," said one.

Not all reviewers were quite so kind for the singer who was named by Forbes magazine in 2012 as the third most powerful celebrity in the world.

London's Evening Standard awarded the "Baby" singer two stars, saying he turned "victory into defeat".

"By the end, the O2 was barely half-full and when Bieber asked 'Who's seen me play before?', he might have been better wondering who would spend time, money and adoration on seeing him again," wrote critic John Aizlewood.

Bieber's visit to Britain has probably not been his best.

On March 2, the day after he turned 19, he tweeted "worst birthday" amid reports some of his entourage were turned away from a London nightclub because they could not supply adequate proof of their age.

Bieber, who was discovered on YouTube in 2008, last month became the youngest artist to land five chart-topping albums in the United States following the release of his latest record, "Believe Acoustic".

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

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PRAGUE (Reuters) - A Czech court on Tuesday acquitted the frontman of U.S. heavy metal band Lamb of God of manslaughter charges in the death of a fan at a concert in Prague three years ago.

The prosecution had accused Randy Blythe, 42, of pushing 19-year-old fan Daniel Nosek off the stage, causing him to hit his head when he tumbled onto the floor. He was taken to hospital where he died several weeks later from his head injury.

The presiding judge ruled that Blythe's actions did not constitute a crime. No further explanation of the verdict was immediately available. Prosecutors immediately appealed against the acquittal to the Czech High Court.

Blythe, who was charged with causing an injury leading to death, admitted to shoving a fan off the stage during the 2010 Prague show but said he believed the person was unharmed.

He said he did not learn of Nosek's death or the prosecution over the incident until police arrested him at Prague airport when the band returned for another gig in June last year.

Blythe was released on bail and travelled back to the United States, but returned for his trial. He would have faced up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

(Reporting by Jan Korselt; Writing by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Academy Award winner Geena Davis on Monday waded into the ongoing controversy over this year's Oscars ceremony by saying host Seth MacFarlane's routine was disrespectful to women, particularly the performers who were being honored.

The "Thelma & Louise" star said MacFarlane's much-criticized routine last month overshadowed the win of an animated film with a strong female character.

"It's a shame that that triumph was enveloped in an awards ceremony containing disrespect for women," Davis told members of the California Assembly during a ceremony in Sacramento. "But it helps illustrate how tone-deaf we can still be regarding the status of women."

She commended "Brave," which won best animated picture, as setting a positive example for girls.

Davis, who won a best supporting actress Oscar for "The Accidental Tourist" in 1988, was in the state capital as one of 11 California women honored for their achievements.

She is chairwoman of state Commission on the Status of Women and Girls and founded a nonprofit that promotes gender equality in the media.

Last week, two female state lawmakers sent a letter to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences asking it to condemn MacFarlane's quips about nude scenes and the attractiveness of several female actresses as degrading toward women. At one point during the Oscars ceremony, MacFarlane performed a song about "boobs" and referenced several rape scenes among his list of movies with actresses appearing topless.

The academy issued a general statement defending MacFarlane and saying the award show is about "creative freedom."

Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, a Santa Barbara Democrat who co-authored the letter, said Monday that she was disappointed the academy did not address her concerns.

"I might say after last Sunday's Academy Awards, we need you more than ever," said Jackson, referring to Davis' work on gender issues as she introduced the actress and other honorees on the Senate floor.

In her remarks to Assembly members, Davis said much work remains to ensure equal opportunities for young women. The state commission she leads is focused on the areas of women and families in the military, in business, health and safety, education, and gender equality in the media.

Davis also referenced Lavonne "Pepper" Paire-Davis, a women's baseball league star in the 1940s and the inspiration for "A League of Their Own." The Los Angeles native, who passed away last month, once described playing baseball as being as second-nature to her as breathing, she said.

"Every girl in California should be able to pursue a dream that's as natural to her as breathing," Davis said. "We need to support them to make sure they have the messages and the tools to get there."

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MOSCOW (AP) Police have detained a suspect in the January acid attack on the artistic director of the Bolshoi ballet, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

Sergei Filin was left with severe burns to his eyes and face when an unidentified attacker threw sulfuric acid in his face on Jan. 17 as he was returning home from work. He is now undergoing treatment and rehabilitation in Germany.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that a suspect in the attack was detained on Tuesday and is being questioned at a Moscow police station. Police officers are also searching the suspect's home, the statement said, without providing any details on the suspect.

Bolshoi Theater spokeswoman Katerina Novikova said she does not know if the suspect is related in any way to the famed theater. She said police were not present at the theater on Tuesday.

The Bolshoi Theater is one of Russia's premier cultural institutions, best known for "Swan Lake" and the other grand classical ballets that grace its Moscow stage. But backstage, the ballet company has been troubled by deep intrigue and infighting that have led to the departure of several artistic directors over the last few years.

Filin's colleagues have said the attack on the former ballet star could be in retaliation for his selection of certain dancers over others for prized roles. Filin told Russian state television before he checked out of a Moscow hospital that he knew who ordered the attack but wouldn't give names.

In a February interview with the Snob magazine, the Bolshoi's general director, Anatoly Iksanov, said the attack on Filin was inspired by longtime leading dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze.

"I don't blame that particular crime on him, but I'm accusing Nikolai of escalating the situation at the theater, of putting psychological pressure on the theater's staff and management, on Filin, on myself and teachers," he said.

Tsiskaridze, a long-time critic of the theater's management, has denied the allegation and accused Iksanov and his allies of fueling the dispute.

Many ballet stars, including Anastasia Volochkova, have sided with Tsiskaridze. Alexei Ratmansky, the Bolshoi ballet's artistic director from 2004 until 2008, likened the atmosphere at the theater to "a disgusting cesspool" and said that the attack stems from "by the lack of any ethics at the theater."

Ratmansky is now an artist-in-residence at the American Ballet Theater.

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FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) Arizona tribal members say they're shocked by a television sitcom that made fun of one of the most pervasive social ills on American Indian reservations alcoholism.

One of the characters on the CBS show "Mike & Molly" joked about drunken Indians in Arizona, a state that is home to 21 federally recognized American Indian tribes. Although drinking and selling alcohol largely is banned on reservations, it can easily be found in border towns, brought in by bootleggers or sneaked past authorities.

No one disputes that public intoxication is a problem on and off the reservations, but tribal members say alcoholism often is linked to poverty, hopelessness and a history of trauma within American Indian families that is hard to overcome. American Indians and Alaska Natives die at a higher rate from alcoholism than other Americans, according to federal data, and authorities say alcohol fuels a majority of violent crimes on reservations.

"You can see somebody who is drunk and tripping over themselves and it's easy to make fun of them," said Erny Zah, a spokesman for the Navajo Nation, which extends into Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. "But the disease itself isn't funny, the coming home late at night, possibly beating on family members, the absence of family members, the fear it instills in a lot of children."

The Native American Journalists Association called on CBS to apologize, saying it's inexplicable for a highly entertaining show to resort to humor at the expense of Arizona tribes. The group urged screenwriters to think twice about what might offend minority groups and to work to overcome stereotypes.

"I think a lot of times people make excuses for when they do those type of jokes or sarcasm," said NAJA President Rhonda LeValdo, who is from Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico. "To me, it's not funny making fun of a minority group. Are we supposed to be the entertainment for mainstream?"

The joke about American Indians in Arizona last week was brief and made by Mike's mother on the show, played by Rondi Reed. The show that airs on Mondays debuted in September 2010, starring Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy as a couple who found love at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting.

CBS spokesman Chris Ender declined to comment.

Not all viewers were offended by the joke, with some posting on the show's Facebook page that anyone who didn't like it can tune out.

Racheal Povatah, a member of the Hopi tribe in northern Arizona, didn't watch the episode that included the joke but heard about it and was offended. Despite a strong cultural and traditional background, she said tribal members turn to alcohol, drugs and self-destructive behavior to mask the pain of trauma they have suffered.

"Sometimes it's a decision it doesn't seem like we can make on our own, it's just there," she said. "There's so much that goes along with it."

Zah said an apology won't fix the negative perception of American Indians that the show perpetuated, and joking about alcoholism disregards the progress tribes have made or their contributions to address alcoholism.

"I would hope the rest of the country would be educated enough to understand we are more than what that comment made us out to be," he said. "We have educated people who are in the highest parts of the government, science, everywhere within this country."

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(Reuters) - Cellphone users should be allowed to switch their devices to any mobile carrier, the White House said on Monday in response to an online petition against the recent banning of the practice.

More than 100,000 people signed the petition protesting the ban on switching imposed by the Library of Congress, which took effect in January. At issue is whether cellphone buyers, who get new devices at a heavily subsidized price in return for committing to long-term contracts, should be able to take their gadgets with them when they change carriers.

Many in the telecoms industry argue that cellphones should be "locked" - or prevented from moving freely across networks - because of the massive subsidies that carriers provide, effectively putting the devices in the hands of more people.

The petition argued that preventing "unlocking" reduces consumer choice and resale value of phones, which can cost hundreds of dollars without subsidies from carriers like AT&T Inc, Verizon Wireless and Sprint.

"The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties," R. David Edelman, a senior advisor for Internet, Innovation, & Privacy to the Obama administration, wrote in the White House's response.

"This is particularly important for secondhand or other mobile devices that you might buy or receive as a gift, and want to activate on the wireless network that meets your needs - even if it isn't the one on which the device was first activated. All consumers deserve that flexibility."

The Library of Congress, which among other things is responsible for setting rules and deciding on exemptions related to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, said on Monday the issue would benefit from further debate and that its intention was not to supplant public policy discussion.

The Library of Congress got involved late last year during a rulemaking session conducted by the Register of Copyrights, which advises the organization. Unidentified participants in the rulemaking process, a technical, legal proceeding that allows members of the public to request exemptions to the copyright act, raised the issue then.

The Library of Congress subsequently decided that cellphones should no longer be exempted from the relevant section of copyright law, triggering the January ban on "unlocking."

(Reporting by Edwin Chan in San Francisco; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

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ZURICH (Reuters) - How much are the words "Made in Switzerland" worth to consumers increasingly vigilant about the provenance of everything from what they eat to what they wear? The answer, luxury watchmakers say, is "a lot."

Protecting the label is essential to the industry's image, profitability and future growth, many luxury watchmakers say, and studies by St. Gallen and Zurich universities do show the tag can almost double a luxury watch's price.

But as with so many other products in a globalised world, there is a gray area around what makes a watch Swiss, and that lack of clarity has consequences for quality - and revenues.

The issue is part of proposed new legislation before Switzerland's parliament to regulate the use of the label for foods, services and industrial products.

With politicians and lobbying groups fighting over designations on products as diverse as cheese, pocket knives and textile machines, the chances for passage this year are dimming, however, and many watchmakers are growing anxious at the delay in solving what they see as an urgent problem.

"This law is (like the debate over) the Loch Ness monster," said Richard Mille, whose ultra-light watches are worn by tennis player Rafael Nadal.

"I'm not sure if there ever will be a solution."

In the first discussions in the two houses of parliament, the lower house has argued that 60 percent of the value of an industrial product must originate in Switzerland for it to be labeled "Made in Switzerland", in line with the draft law proposed by the government, while the upper house holds that 50 percent is sufficient.

If no compromise is found over the percentages and a myriad other issues, two more sets of debates may be held in each house over the next half year. If no agreement is reached, the bill fails.

Both versions are stricter than the 40-year-old "directive" currently governing the use of the "Swiss Made" stamp used for watches, which says at least 50 percent of the value of only the watch movements must be made in Switzerland.

This means cost-conscious watchmakers in the lower-priced segment can import 100 percent of the cases, dials, hands and straps and still mark their watches "Swiss Made" as long as half of the parts of the watch movement are made at home.

The directive also has little-to-no heft in international trade disputes, making it a blunt sword in the fight to protect the reputation of "Swiss Made", luxury watchmakers say.

"Thanks to current weak Swiss laws, watches produced almost entirely in China can be sold legally under the "Swiss Made" label," Jean-Daniel Pasche, chairman of the Swiss watch federation (FH), said in a telephone interview.

"This is going to harm the label over time as consumers nowadays want to know what they are buying. Some complain their Swiss watches are not as Swiss as they should be," he said.

Erich Mosset, head of movement maker Ronda, which makes some parts for its Swiss quartz movements in its factory in Thailand, said the new law meant a "massive tightening".

Stepping up pressure ahead of the next parliamentary debate on March 11, the Swiss watch federation announced last week it was leaving business lobby economiesuisse because of what it called its "lack of support" for the tighter rules, an unusual move in a country where consensus is the guiding principle of public life.

Economiesuisse decided only last year to back the 60-percent limit for the watch industry, which the federation said came too late to help them in their lobbying efforts.

CHEAP CHINA

The debate over how high to set the threshold is partly due to concerns that producing more in Switzerland, where salaries and prices are high, could hurt small and mid-sized firms' margins, already squeezed by a strong Swiss franc.

Some watchmakers agree.

Ronnie Bernheim, head of the maker of Switzerland's railway clocks, Mondaine, said a threshold as high as 60 percent could compel makers of lower-priced watches to buy cheaper components abroad.

"If you import a lower price component, also of lower quality, the Swiss percentage goes up ... Lower-quality products would qualify for 'Swiss Made'. It is paradoxical," said Bernheim, on behalf of some 25 watchmakers opposing stricter rules.

The trend is likely to be accelerated by a move by watch industry major Swatch Group to get out of the business of selling movements and movement parts to other watchmakers, which will compel some players to source more parts from Asia, at least in the short-term.

LVMH's biggest watch brand TAG Heuer has been one of the few to publicly admit buying movement parts from Japan's Seiko while stressing this would not hurt its "Swiss Made" image.

Buying less crucial watch components such as cases, straps and dials from Asia, mainly China, has been common practice for decades. While luxury players and big groups can afford to make these parts in Switzerland at a higher cost, smaller and mid-sized firms in the lower-priced segment cannot, said one Swiss movement maker who asked not to be named.

"You can find these components in a very good quality in Asia," he said. "They are not better if you make them in Switzerland."

JOBS AT STAKE

Mondaine's Bernheim said Switzerland would lose its competitiveness if it adopted rules that were too strict. But Pasche said the special reputation and value of Swiss watches justified tougher rules.

Italy voted tighter rules for applying the "Made in Italy" tag to clothes, footwear and leather goods in 2010, asking that two stages of manufacture should take place in Italy. But the new law is awaiting European regulation on the matter.

The European Commission has proposed origin labels for both EU-made and imported goods, defining the origin as the country in which the last major step in the production process occurred.

To better protect Swiss products abroad, the draft law proposes to extend an existing register for "geographical indications" for agricultural products to all goods.

Interested groups will be able to win certification that their products meet strict technical and aesthetic rules and have qualities unique to their location, for example "Geneva" for watches, and register a geographical trademark which will help defend its holder's rights abroad.

One of the first such geographical marking systems was France's "appellation d'origine controlee" (AOC) applied mostly to cheeses and wines.

"There are no such rules at the moment. This makes it very expensive and often impossible to take legal action against free riders abroad and have them punished," said Anja Herren of the Swiss federal institute of intellectual property (IGE).

Mondaine's Bernheim fears stricter rules will threaten his business and force him to cut jobs. But the watch federation says the rules will preserve jobs in the industry, which currently employs about 53,000 people, and make it impossible for foreign companies to buy watch firms for the "Swiss Made" label only to relocate production abroad.

Pasche says if parliament fails to pass the new laws, watchmakers will work on strengthening the industry directive, which it has held off doing while the legislation is debated.

Julien Marchenoir, brand equity and heritage director at Richemont's 260-year old Vacheron Constantin brand, said the "Swiss Made" label as well as the "Geneva hallmark" will help keep watchmaking knowhow in Switzerland.

"There are lots of different economic interests involved but people shouldn't be short-sighted."

(Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

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MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Amancio Ortega, elevated by Forbes to become the third richest person in the world, may have discovered fashion's secret of eternal youth.

The "fast fashion" tycoon's estimated net worth of $57 billion is built on a formula of endless renewal, with dresses and blouses displayed in thousands of Zara stores worldwide for only a few days before they are taken off the rails and replaced with an even newer line of must-have garments.

Customers know they have to buy the clothes quickly if they want them because they will not be available for long. The now-global strategy also encourages shoppers to return frequently to see new ranges and trends.

In a country with sky-high unemployment and businesses going to the wall, Spain's richest man is a rare self-made mogul amid a corporate culture dominated by family dynasties.

Ortega overtook U.S. investor Warren Buffett and luxury group chief Bernard Arnault of France to become the third richest person on Forbes' 2013 annual ranking of billionaires on Monday. Ahead of Ortega are Mexican telecoms boss Carlos Slim at No.1, followed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

The aggressively managed Inditex has more than 6,000 stores in some 90 countries and includes such brands as Ortega's flagship Zara, Zara Home, Massimo Dutti and others. It is the world's biggest fashion retailer ahead of Gap and Hennes & Mauritz, making 840 million garments a year.

Inditex says it does not advertise, and with celebrities such as Kate Middleton - wife to Britain's Prince William - wearing Zara clothes, it may not have to.

Ortega's empire is a cash-rich business with a market capitalization of 65 billion euros ($84 billion) that is thriving amid the deep economic gloom that is engulfing its home country. The shares rose 67 percent last year, bucking a slump in consumer spending in Spain.

Ortega, a stocky 76-year-old who favors blue blazers, open-necked white shirts and casual trousers, took home 666 million euros in gross dividends thanks to his 59 percent stake in Inditex, which is worth 38 billion euros at current prices.

He has also largely defied the gloom in Spain's property sector through clever purchases and management of real estate. His Zara stores are often positioned in premium locations near other more luxurious brands as part of his marketing strategy.

PRIVACY GUARDED

Yet surprisingly little is known about Ortega, despite the best efforts of Spain's intrusive celebrity press.

He has guarded his privacy so jealously that the company has only released one photograph of him, when the company listed in 2001. The nation's most successful entrepreneur routinely turns down interviews.

"To Amancio Ortega: he didn't open any doors, nor did he close any windows," wrote one biographer in a dedication.

According to the Spanish press, Ortega lives in a comfortable but not lavish apartment with his second wife, Flora.

His daughter Marta is widely expected to take over the fashion empire one day and has undergone training at Inditex, including working in a store, although the firm won't confirm she will be the successor.

Ortega became Spain's richest man when Inditex listed on the stock exchange but he did not attend the inaugural ringing of the bell at the bourse and never goes to shareholder meetings.

"Reclusive", "secretive" or "reserved" are the usual descriptions for Ortega, a man occasionally seen at equestrian competitions with his family, who manages to maintain his privacy partly thanks to living in the rainy city of A Coruna in northwest Spain, 300 miles from the capital.

Biographers who say they have had access to him tell a rags-to-riches story: Ortega left school when he was 12 to work as a shirt-maker's delivery boy, to help support his poor family.

He learnt fast and began making gowns and lingerie in his living room along with his first wife, Rosalia Mera.

He realized customers wanted affordable versions of catwalk trends and opened his first Zara shop in A Coruna in 1975. Over the years, he has added more labels to the business, from teen brand Bershka to the more upmarket Massimo Dutti.

Experts credit Zara with transforming the business through "fast fashion". Affordable imitations of catwalk designs can move from drawing-board to stores within two weeks -- and poor sellers are pulled off the shop floor even quicker.

ACTIVE ROLE

Ortega handed over chairmanship of the company to Pablo Isla in 2011 but is thought to retain an active role in the business, where security is tight at its headquarters.

Visitors are picked up from A Coruna in chauffeur-driven cars and taken to the company's campus a 20-minute drive away, at Arteixo in the middle of the countryside. The complex sprawls across an area equivalent to 11 soccer pitches.

Reuters was attentively shown around by members of the company's communications team, but it is the firm's policy to talk more about the company than its founder, and there are scant biographical details in the few books about him.

Ortega does, however, talk to the workers when he visits the A Coruna headquarters.

There are bright, modern, open-plan floors where designers sit close to teams who talk directly to representatives in the firm's stores, feeding back customers' reactions to the clothes.

The slickest part of the operation is found at the logistics depot, where computer-controlled overhead conveyer belts drop clothes stitched by suppliers into boxes to be sent out to shops around the globe.

The highlight of the visit, though, is to "Fashion Street", a mall within the complex that includes a Zara store and another from the furnishings brand Zara Home.

Here every window dressing and table layout is meticulously trialed and photographed, so that stores can replicate the most eye-catching displays from Madrid to Tokyo, from London to Sao Paulo, an example of the tight control practiced by the company.

"The till works but you can't buy anything here," explained an Inditex spokesman in the Zara Home store, showing Reuters around its tables of artfully arranged scented candles, folded napkins, towels and racks of bed linen.

Beyond retail, Ortega has investments in two main funds: Pontegadea Inversiones, in which he is the majority owner with 97.2 percent and his daughter Marta has 2.8 percent; and Pontegadea Inmobiliaria. ($1 = 0.7702 euros)

(Additional reporting by Tracy Rucinski, Jose Elias Rodriguez and Tomas Cobos; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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