Michelle Damiani
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Michelle Damiani
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aperol spritz, spello, umbria, italy
Michelle Damiani

writing with Italy at heart

Food and Drink

Michelle Damiani
  • Buy my books/
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    • Visiting Umbria
    • Travel in Italy
    • Around the World
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Explore the best of Italian food and drink—classic recipes, regional specialties, and culinary travel stories from across Italy. Get even more tips and inspiration delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for the Grapevine.


November 09, 2025

Pears poached in Wine: An ode to Autumn

November 09, 2025/ Michelle Damiani
Pears poached in Wine: An ode to Autumn

In Italy, fall isn’t just a transition — it’s a feast for all senses. To celebrate that abundance, I suggest this recipe for pears poached in red wine.

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November 09, 2025/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
recipe, food, italy, italian food
dessert, food, Italy, Piedmont, wine
December 12, 2023

Chocolate, orange, and hazelnut biscotti

December 12, 2023/ Michelle Damiani
Chocolate, orange, and hazelnut biscotti

My three favorite flavors, in one swoon-worthy cookie.

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December 12, 2023/ Michelle Damiani/ 2 Comments
food, recipe
food, recipe, cooking, Italy
April 19, 2020

Tigelle: How to dress up your antipasti with Bologna style

April 19, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
Tigelle: How to dress up your antipasti with Bologna style

On our trip to Bologna we discovered tigelle—like a cross between a pancake and an English muffin, they are the perfect vehicle for salted cured meats like prosciutto, capocollo, and Bologna’s staple—mortadella. And so easy to make!

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April 19, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
food, recipe
recipe, Italy, food, antipasti
  • Buy my books/
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    • 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/
  • 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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NOT ONLY will October’s Book Club with a View go to Umbria, but also Florence (tour is full, but let me know if you want a spot on the waiting list!). I wonder if you can guess what’s on our reading list 🤗 PS, you’re gonna see this
So excited to return to Umbria in October, this time with our Book Club with a View! The trip filled soon after I announced it in January’s Grapevine (check my link in bio to not miss a trick), but let me know if you want more information or a
This snowstorm is the perfect time to begin my dozenth book. What, dozenth isn’t a word? As someone on her dozenth book, I feel like we can also use it as a verb “I am dozening” “I’ve dozened.” I stand by it! Dozen
From the top of the Boot, to the tip of its winsome heel, and everywhere in between…what I love about Italy is the layers. Of history, of humanity, of color, of rock. Glorious, isn’t it? Photos 1) Spello 2) Dolomiti 3) Polignano a Mare.
Twenty year old me, backpacking through Europe. When Keith snapped this photo in the alps thirty-plus years ago, we had no idea how prescient it was.
A pandoro is a star-shaped, vanilla powder sugar dusted, cake/bread hybrid traditionally from Verona. It’s buttery and rich and the perfect way to ring in a new year! Have you had your 2026 pandoro?
Bari doesn’t hide everyday life indoors.
Curtains instead of doors means the intimacy of daily routines spills onto the street. You hear the chime of forks on plates, a TV on in the background. Laundry hangs on a rack in the road. The whine of

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”