Michelle Damiani
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Michelle Damiani
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Michelle Damiani

writing with Italy at heart

Around the World

Michelle Damiani
  • Buy my books/
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    • Spello
    • Visiting Umbria
    • Travel in Italy
    • Around the World
  • What I Love/
    • Books and Movies
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    • Italian Cats and Hidden Madonnas
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October 09, 2016

Go in Curious (the benefits of SE Asia)

October 09, 2016/ Michelle Damiani
Go in Curious (the benefits of SE Asia)

How Asia keeps you curious, and therefore traveling more intentionally.

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October 09, 2016/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Asia
October 06, 2016

Relaxing in Southeast Asia

October 06, 2016/ Michelle Damiani
Relaxing in Southeast Asia

Asia is intense. Plan accordingly.

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October 06, 2016/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
Asia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos
October 04, 2016

Southeast Asia Pries Open our Horizons

October 04, 2016/ Michelle Damiani
Southeast Asia Pries Open our Horizons

How a trip to Asia can redefine your boundaries, and your understanding.

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October 04, 2016/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
Thailand, Laos, Vietnam
October 03, 2016

Markets in Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos

October 03, 2016/ Michelle Damiani
Markets in Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos

Exploring the markets in Bangkok, Hanoi, and Luang Prabang

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October 03, 2016/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, markets
October 09, 2015

Normandy, France

October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani
Normandy, France

Normandy is burnished like copper, like calvados in a glass, like sedge wound around a ripened round of Livarot. Simple in appearance, but sfumato in resolution. It is no wonder Monet painted in Normandy.

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October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
France
October 09, 2015

Pre-Paris

October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani
Pre-Paris

Sometimes the universe messes with the best laid of plans.

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October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
France
October 09, 2015

Tapas, Tapas, Tapas

October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani
Tapas, Tapas, Tapas

I'll be quite frank. Tapas are really one of the best parts of visiting Sevilla. Because they are tasty, sure, but also because of how marvelous the experience is.

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October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
spain
October 09, 2015

Flamenco! in Sevilla

October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani
Flamenco! in Sevilla

Andalusia is the birthplace of flamenco music and dance, and therefore going to see flamenco was a priority for our trip to Sevilla.

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October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani/
travel
October 09, 2015

Savoring Sevilla

October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani
Savoring Sevilla

Sevilla is a moveable feast, a feast for the senses. The air smells of oranges and incense and garlic, and something indefinable that is probably tapas cooking at the neighborhood bar—tapas that you can purchase with just the change in your pocket.

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October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
spain
October 09, 2015

History in Andalusia

October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani
History in Andalusia

Besides tapas and wandering and churros and wandering, we also enjoyed some historical sites during our stay in Spain. It's interesting to me how some of those really spoke to me, to all of us, and some were interesting but did not move us at all.

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October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
spain
October 09, 2015

Three Days in Brussels

October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani
Three Days in Brussels

Three days in Brussels is simply not enough.

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October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel, Around the World, blog
belgium, Travel, Food
  • Previous
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  • Buy my books/
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  • Travel/
    • Spello
    • Visiting Umbria
    • Travel in Italy
    • Around the World
  • What I Love/
    • Books and Movies
    • Food and Drink
    • Gabe's Blog
    • Italian Cats and Hidden Madonnas
  • Coaching/
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Michelle Damiani

Website for Michelle Damiani, author of Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center, the funny and heartfelt memoir of an American family living in Spello, as well as Santa Lucia, a page-turner set on the Umbria border. 

Rumors. Romance. And more than a little espresso.

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From hazelnut-filled hills of garnet and gold to whitewashed villages perched above a brilliant blue sea, this last trip reminded me that Italy contains multitudes. The luckiest part? Traveling through the Mezzogiorno with @max_brunelli of @ciaoandia
Danger is simmering in Aramezzo, and Stella is about to find herself in the middle of the pot. After all, in Umbria, pasta isn’t the only thing that’s twisted.

I’m thrilled to share that “Making a Killing in Aramezzo”,
Landing in Naples after drifting dreamily through Piedmont was like stepping off a cloud and directly into a drum circle. It’s all Italy, yes—but Italy is twenty regions stitched together only in 1861, so expecting them to feel the same i
Last year in Spello, I watched a hunter-looking guy sprint past my restaurant table, a basket of massive porcini in hand. Before I could even mourn not snapping a photo, Mirko—the owner—appeared, proudly presenting his haul.
Cut to last m
Fossano… another delightful town in Italy’s Piedmont region!
Living in Umbria for two years, I got up close and personal with Umbrian wines. I adore them. But thanks to Brenda and Graziano of @vinosofiaspello , I also got a crash course in Italy’s astonishingly varied wine terrain. Years ago, over dinner
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a person in possession of a spoon must be in want of gelato. 🍨
This chocolate-and-passionfruit duet from Genova sang like angels on a sugar high—if you squint, you might just see the halo.
And speaki
I could tell you that we day-tripped to Genova to sink into the city’s layers, its contrasts, it’s pulse of elegance and grit. But you’d know I’m lying. I went for the pesto.
This week’s post about vibe struck a chord—so many of you shared the places you’ve felt it. Sometimes in places others would swan right past. This is true of the the town that stole my heart (more on that later). I can’t imagi
✨The question filling my inbox lately…✨

As I’ve been posting details about our hunt for a new Italian town, I can feel your confusion through the screen.

Why not Spello?

After all, I basically wrote a 300-page love letter to that hill

A trip to Italy is better with language basics! Here’s my recommended course to learn Italian and make your trip fantastico!


Festival participant, speaking about “Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center”

Festival participant, speaking about “Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center”

Featured speaker on panel discussing Romance for “Santa Lucia”

Featured speaker on panel discussing Romance for “Santa Lucia”