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/
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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.

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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.

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November 25, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ 6 Comments
Gift Guide, pandemic
gifts, Gift Guide, Holiday, Italy, Umbria, art
November 10, 2020

Second Wave

November 10, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
Second Wave

Italy’s second wave is upon us. Find out what that means.

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November 10, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ 18 Comments
blog, pandemic
pandemic, Italy
August 06, 2020

Flying to Italy in the Pandemic Era

August 06, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
Flying to Italy in the Pandemic Era

The road has been brutal. This was the final hurdle.

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August 06, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ 25 Comments
blog, Around the World, travel
Italy, travel, pandemic
June 01, 2020

Chasing Open Borders

June 01, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
Chasing Open Borders

The book was going to be about how people open the day through breakfast, around the world. Now? It’s all about finding doors thrown open to welcome our family. So welcome to the working title of my next book.

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June 01, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ 27 Comments
blog, Around the World, travel
Global Year, citizenship, Italy, kids, pandemic
April 23, 2019

Hold the telefono

April 23, 2019/ Michelle Damiani
Hold the telefono

I’m having second thoughts.

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April 23, 2019/ Michelle Damiani/ 10 Comments
blog, Around the World, Family
kids, travel, Global Year, Italy
January 08, 2019

Hello, Italian Passports

January 08, 2019/ Michelle Damiani
Hello, Italian Passports

Our big news!

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January 08, 2019/ Michelle Damiani/ 2 Comments
Family, blog
citizenship, Italy
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.

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November 14, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ 4 Comments
blog, Gift Guide
Gifts, Italy, travel, Gift Guide
October 11, 2018

Top 10 Reasons to Send Your Teen to Language School

October 11, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
Top 10 Reasons to Send Your Teen to Language School

When Siena returned from her two week stint at language school in Arezzo, I realized that what she got from the experience was far more than an increase in Italian knowledge.

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October 11, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ 15 Comments
blog, travel
Teens, language, travel, Tuscany, Italy
July 23, 2018

My Italian Life

July 23, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
My Italian Life

Seven ways I keep Italy alive while on home soil.

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July 23, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ 2 Comments
blog
Italy, life
September 01, 2016

Let's Talk about the Earthquakes

September 01, 2016/ Michelle Damiani
Let's Talk about the Earthquakes

Getting beyond the rhetoric, and thinking about how to actually help.

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September 01, 2016/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
blog
earthquake, Italy
  • 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.

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After a week of botanical drawing and painting in the Pyrenees earlier in the month, Keith and I felt inspired by the alpine flora of the Dolomiti. My daughter Siena as well, but she’s an artist, therefore inspired by a gum wrapper if the light
What I didn’t expect about hiking in the Dolomiti in the summer is that ski resorts become paradises of outdoor fun. We rode individual bobsleds through alpine meadows, mountain carts (a three wheeled, low riding bike with no pedals and respons
We went to the Dolomiti in search of beautiful hikes. We sure found them. But we found more… the agriturismo experience I posted about yesterday and thrills and still moments I’ll share in upcoming posts.
Less than 24 hours in Venice meant we didn’t really consider what a magical interlude it could be. Luckily, Venice reminded us.
First stop in Italy…Venice! My husband, eldest, and I flew from Bordeaux and waited for my youngest’s flight from Dublin (my daughter arrived the next day from Houston, for our family trip to the Dolomiti), then we dashed to our Venice a
Last photo from France before we hop over to Italy (but I do have a reel coming about epic seafood experiences centered on Île de Ré). I wonder if you’ll miss my French photos as much as I’ll miss posting them?
The nice thing about needing a stopover somewhere in France to break up a drive between two friends’ homes is it allows you to discover gems like Cahors, a medieval market town with great food, a great market, and great life. See my stories for
When you speak twenty words of a language, it’s a major triumph when you crack a joke. At this tucked away restaurant in Cahors, I decided on the menu shown, awed that the meal would cost as much as a sandwich back home. When Keith ordered, he
You can imagine the dreams I had the night we spent in this castle.

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”