Michelle Damiani
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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

Il Bel Centro

A Year in the Beautiful Center

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/
April 16, 2018

Il Bel Centro

April 16, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
Il Bel Centro

A synopsis of the beloved tale of family transformation in an Umbrian hilltown. Available in e-book, print, and audiobook.

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April 16, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
books, expat, Umbria
Umbria, expat, Spello, IBC
April 16, 2018

Editorial and Reader Reviews

April 16, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
Editorial and Reader Reviews

See what people say about Il Bel Centro.

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April 16, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
books, Umbria
IBC
April 16, 2018

Book Club Questions

April 16, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
Book Club Questions

Questions to guide your book club reading of Il Bel Centro.

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April 16, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
books, Umbria, expat
book club, IBC, expat, travel
April 16, 2018

FAQ's

April 16, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
FAQ's

Answers to all of your questions about Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center.

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April 16, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
books, expat, Umbria
travel, expat, kids, Spello, Umbria
April 15, 2018

IBC Video

April 15, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
IBC Video

Watch the video made by Umbria Center about Spello's celebration of Il Bel Centro.

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April 15, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
Umbria, books
video, Spello
April 15, 2018

IBC Podcast

April 15, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
IBC Podcast

Listen to Michelle and Keith discuss their year in Italy with The Expat Chat, and find other great expat stories.

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April 15, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
books, Umbria
podcast, expat, Umbria, Spello
April 13, 2018

IBC around the Web

April 13, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
IBC around the Web

Find places Michelle has discussed IBC and expat life on other sites.

Read More
April 13, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
books, Umbria
expat, IBC
  • 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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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.
Do I love a market? Mais oui.
Just two cozy mystery writers wandering Narbonne, plotting murders while choosing cheese to refill the supply I already depleted.
If a trip to Pau is in your future (and it should be, this city at the feet of the Pyrenees has a worn-in elegance and unstudied grace that makes it a total winner), stop in at the tourist office for Pass Gourmand tickets. With the tickets you get a
Traffic jam, Pyrenees style.
Big news, friends — I’m swapping out my original idea for a travel writing tour in Puglia and leaning into something I’m even more excited about: Book Club with a View! Picture this: a week of book discussions under the sun 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”