February 25, 2019

Will the real Santa Lucia please stand?

February 25, 2019/ Michelle Damiani

Behind Santa Lucia’s curtain stands a real-life town that got under my skin in surprising ways.

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.

The Silent Madonna: Book Two of the Santa Lucia Series

A ruined castle. A town picking up the pieces. And a mysterious stranger who could change everything.

The Road Taken: How to Dream, Plan, and Live Your Family Adventure Abroad

Loaded with inspiration and practicality, “The Road Taken” will set your feet on the path to your family dream, and show you how to make it happen. Because you owe it to yourself and your family to consider discovering the world together.

Santa Lucia: Book One of the Santa Lucia Series

Santa Lucia is the contemporary saga of an Italian town on the brink of change, and the villagers that call it home. Awarded a place in the 25th annual Virginia Festival of the Book

Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center

By Michelle Damiani

A year in Umbria transforms an American family. Read how it all began. Did you finish IBC and want to know what happened next? Get the FREE Epilogue by clicking the button below! Awarded a place in the 2016 Virginia Festival of the Book

Free Epilogue

Featured speaker on panel discussing Romance for “Santa Lucia”

Follow me on Instagram!

Hey #bookworms, come to a reading at @chopsueybooks this Saturday at 7 PM! I’ll be reading from “The Silent Madonna” and @douglawson will read from “Bigfoots in Paradise”... so you’ll get romance / suspense in an Italian village AND fast moving and touching stories about awkward, lost adults who just won’t grow up. #freevent #rva #weekendplans #bookworm #localauthor #bookevent #freereading

Sometimes family can be the biggest, and most wonderful, trip of all. #dorayalfonso #magicalwedding #sisters #family

Sometimes the Sonoran desert is so ridiculous it doesn’t even seem real. Do you know places like that? #desert #nogales #arizona #exploremore #travelgrammer #instatravel

Scenes from the border... #nofilter #travelgrammer #travel #mexico #arizona #nogales #bordercrossing #exploremore

For the bloom where you are planted files... spring in #Charlottesville reminds me how wonderful a home base can be. #flowers #dogwood #spring #bloom #cville #beauty

Travel means food adventures! Here’s Gabe tucking into food that just might bite him back in Sicily. #foodtraveler #familytravel #travelwithkids #sicily🇮🇹 #favignana #foodiegram #travelgrammer #travelblogger

What is there in the world more beautiful to see than teenage Buddhist monks frolicking in a waterfall? #laos #buddhistmonks #luangprabang #waterfall #exploremore #travel #traveling #familytravel #postcardplaces #seetheworld #theroadtaken

This photo sums up so much about what I love about #italy... pink stone walls,quiet alleys, hidden devotions, ancient spaces, and freedom. #italy🇮🇹 #italyiloveyou #italian #italiandays #italiandays🇮🇹 #familytravel #familytravels #travelwithkids #ig_italia #ig_italy #igers_italia #igers_italy #spello #umbria #theroadtaken #travelmemories #travelholic

Our last adventure was a year in an Italian village. Our next will be a year around the world. It means more novelty and discoveries, but also less connection. I know we won’t be able to build the relationships we did in Spello, like this one with my beloved Italian teacher, at our favorite pizza restaurant. Will the constant exploration make up for the lack of settled relationships? I wonder... #spello #umbria #familytravel #familytravels #globalcitizen #exploremore #travelblog #italian #travelwriting

The best thing about #familytravel is that kids can make even icicles funny. #whistler #travelwithkids #travel #exploremore #traveling #travelinglife #lovemykids

Well, hello gorgeous. #whistlerblackcomb #whistler #britishcolumbia #beautifulbritishcolumbia #springbreak #mountains #explore #theroadtaken #canadatravel

My fictional town of Santa Lucia lived in my heart, but not until a reader entreated me to make a map did it occur to me to create a representation of my little Italian village. I think this little map brightens the book, don’t you? #bookstagram #santalucia #michelledamiani #bookstoread #bookclub #booklaunch #epicreads #bookworm_insta #bookworm #bookworms #writersofinstagram #authorsofinstagram #authorlife #romance #escape #travelreading

I made Thai curry for dinner tonight and offered up yet another word of thanks for this cooking class we took on Koh Phangan. For our family, cooking classes are the best souvenirs because a) no clutter, b) they teach us about local cuisine which helps us appreciate our stay more, c) we meet interesting people, and d) we can recreate those wonderful flavors at home and remember our trip. Does your family take cooking classes? What are your favorite kind of souvenirs? . . . . . #familytravel #familytravels #travelmemories #cookingtogether #cookingclass #kohphangan #kohphanganisland #thailandtravel #thailand #thailandfood #souvenirs #explore #theroadtaken #travelblogger #traveling #travelling #travelwithkids #foodie #foodiesofinstagram #foodietravel #familytrip #igersthailand #welovetravel #travelthailand

One dramatic aspect of travel is realizing how amazing PEOPLE are. The world is full of them, making their meals and dreaming their dreams or, like this one, dancing flamenco. Before she started dancing, I thought she seemed ordinary enough... then she started dancing. And this intensity, this glory, just came shining. It took my breath away… (post about how to find a performance like this on my website under travel). . . . . . #nofilter #flamenco #spain #spain🇪🇸 #spaintravel #spain_vacations #spainstagram #sevilla #seville #sevillespain #travelmemories #explore #exploremore #dance #andalucia #igersspain #travel #travelblogger #travelphotography #travel #traveling #europe #destination #people #dancer #flamencodancer

As excited as I am about our global year, sometimes I think I’d prefer a year just exploring Italy. We only had one day to enjoy the volcanically warmed waters of Ischia, it could have easily been a month. Then another in Sicily, Puglia, Rome. Sigh. Where would you like to spend a year discovering?… . . . . . #ischia #italy #italia #italy🇮🇹 #italytravel #italytrip #island #travelkids #familytravel #familytrip #explore #welivetoexplore #traveldeeper #traveldeep #igersitalia #igers_italia #igers_italy #travelmemories #travelblogger #travelbloggers #travelblog #theroadtaken #aroundtheworld #travelmore #travelmoments #igerstravel

Confession. I love cheese. It’s like an embarrassing crush So when we do our year around the world, I kinda sorta would be happy migrating through a cheese map of France. Since that’s not in the cards, where else in the world has fabulous cheese? … . . . . . #paris #parisfrance #parisfrance🇫🇷 #cheese #cheeseworldtraveller #foodie #foodies #foodiesofinstagram #travel #travelblogger #traveling #france🇫🇷 #france #cheeseshop #theroadtaken #explore #exploretheworld #exploretheglobe #digitalnomad #travelforfood #travelling #travellife #travelgram #cheeses #cheeseplease #cheeselovers #cheeselover #writersofinstagram

When I travel, I usually like to eat in restaurants as much as is affordable so that I get a real sense of the cuisine. But the markets in Normandy are so astounding that we had these glorious picnic spreads for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (and calvados time, because hey, it’s Normandy!). The advantage of picnics? Sometimes you make new friends… . . . . . #normandy #igersnormandy #france #igersfrance #picnic #french #foodiesofinstagram #foodie #TRT #frenchcountry #france🇫🇷 #france_holidays #france4dreams #francetourisme #explore #familytravel #familytrip #travel #travelblogger #foodbloggers #foodblog #exploremore #aroundtheworld #theroadtaken #travelling

Follow me on Twitter!

Michelle Damiani, Author

Hey #bookworms, come to a reading at chopsueybooks this Saturday at 7 PM! I’ll be reading from “The Silent Madonna”… https://t.co/WbWSwrHAhu
about a day ago
Michelle Damiani, Author

RT @douglawson: Bigfoots sighting in Richmond, Virginia: Come join me and writer Michelle Damiani for a reading chopsueybooks on Sa… https://t.co/T8Z3T7kVyN
about 2 weeks ago
Michelle Damiani, Author

When I was trying to get pregnant, I did a lot of calculating. Now that I'm trying to push out books, I do a lot of… https://t.co/oxkFxmHtG9
about 2 weeks ago

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

Blog

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

Will the real Santa Lucia please stand?

Michelle Damiani

Follow me on Instagram!

Follow me on Twitter!