Michelle Damiani
  • Buy my books
  • Blog
  • Spello Visiting Umbria Travel in Italy Around the World
  • Gabe's Blog Food and Drink Books and Movies Italian Cats and Hidden Madonnas
  • Coaching
  • About
Michelle Damiani
  • Buy my books/
  • Blog/
  • Travel/
    • Spello
    • Visiting Umbria
    • Travel in Italy
    • Around the World
  • What I Love/
    • Gabe's Blog
    • Food and Drink
    • Books and Movies
    • Italian Cats and Hidden Madonnas
  • Coaching/
  • About/
kenny and friends ilb.jpg
Michelle Damiani

writing with Italy at heart

Blog

The journey continues.

Michelle Damiani
  • Buy my books/
  • Blog/
  • Travel/
    • Spello
    • Visiting Umbria
    • Travel in Italy
    • Around the World
  • What I Love/
    • Gabe's Blog
    • Food and Drink
    • Books and Movies
    • Italian Cats and Hidden Madonnas
  • Coaching/
  • About/

Chronicling our return home from a year in Umbria and the preparations for our around-the-world journey.

October 27, 2024

The 2024 Gift Guide for Italy-Lovers

October 27, 2024/ Michelle Damiani
The 2024 Gift Guide for Italy-Lovers

Your guide for how to give the gift of Italy this season.

Read More
October 27, 2024/ Michelle Damiani/ 4 Comments
Gift Guide, italy
Italy, Gift Guide, gifts, books, Food
November 25, 2020

The Joyful Gift Guide

November 25, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
The Joyful Gift Guide

A Gift Guide with heart—sure to wow the Italy-lovers in your life, as well as supporting artists, makers, and farmers in Italy who have been impacted by the pandemic.

Read More
November 25, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ 6 Comments
Gift Guide, pandemic
gifts, Gift Guide, Holiday, Italy, Umbria, art
November 14, 2018

Gifts for Italy-Lovers, from Simple to Spectacular

November 14, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
Gifts for Italy-Lovers, from Simple to Spectacular

This year I offer eight highly-curated gift ideas for the Italophile on your list, with variations to create a thoughtful present for any budget. If you have a loved one who has a passion for food, wine, history, art, or more—you’ll find a worthy gift idea here.

Read More
November 14, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ 4 Comments
blog, Gift Guide
Gifts, Italy, travel, Gift Guide
  • Buy my books/
  • Blog/
  • Travel/
    • Spello
    • Visiting Umbria
    • Travel in Italy
    • Around the World
  • What I Love/
    • Gabe's Blog
    • Food and Drink
    • Books and Movies
    • Italian Cats and Hidden Madonnas
  • Coaching/
  • About/

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.

Get Santa Lucia, a novel set in Italy, FREE by signing up for my monthly newsletter, The Grapevine. Recipes, travel tips, and free wanderlust stories delivered right to your inbox.

get book!

Follow me on Instagram!

Then our last day dawned. After a final stunning breakfast with cheeses and meats and a chocolate-hazelnut spread that Max insists is better than Nutella—and could be, I would have liked three more pots to decide—we piled into the van for
I’m now in Brisbane, but have to tell you about Portofino. On our first day in Sestri Levante, @max_brunelli of @ciaoandiamo pointed out how the cradle of the Ligurian Sea stretches to Portofino. Visiting Genova, Camogli, Recco, Sestri Levante
Sestri Levante. Oh, this town now holds my heart. No wonder @max_brunelli of @ciaoandiamo made sure we passed a few days here. Sherbet colored buildings, a welcoming beach (especially as the storm subsided and the water regained its blueness), and
The rain caused flooding and damage all over Italy (see yesterdays reel for dramatic visuals). Wave after wave of storms. We had to scrap our boat trip to the island convent because rivers had poured so much debris into the Mediterranean, the sea had
In case you need a reminder that the world is a wide place, with an abundance of beauty, here is what my iPhone tells me is an Australian water dragon feasting on a found fry. I’ll drop more images of beautiful Australia in my stories.
Then our last day dawned. After a final stunning breakfast with cheeses and meats and a chocolate-hazelnut spread that Max insists is better than Nutella—and could be, I would have liked three more pots to decide—we piled into the van for I’m now in Brisbane, but have to tell you about Portofino. On our first day in Sestri Levante, @max_brunelli of @ciaoandiamo pointed out how the cradle of the Ligurian Sea stretches to Portofino. Visiting Genova, Camogli, Recco, Sestri Levante Sestri Levante. Oh, this town now holds my heart. No wonder @max_brunelli of @ciaoandiamo made sure we passed a few days here. Sherbet colored buildings, a welcoming beach (especially as the storm subsided and the water regained its blueness), and The rain caused flooding and damage all over Italy (see yesterdays reel for dramatic visuals). Wave after wave of storms. We had to scrap our boat trip to the island convent because rivers had poured so much debris into the Mediterranean, the sea had
The rain began. It began days ago, to be fair. But that was an ordinary rain. The kind that prompts travelers to wish for blue skies. A petulant rain. That petulant rain turned churlish over breakfast, as I discussed with my intrepid group of tra
 
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”