I love Italian details.

A cat sleeping on a stone wall.

A jewel-toned spritz with a view of rolling hills.

Streetlights framing layered stone alleys.

Ornate signs announcing prosciutto within.

Flower petals scattered across ancient cobblestones.

And of course, Madonnas tucked into niches.

Because I love these Italian flourishes, I started “Italian Cats and Hidden Madonnas”, a Facebook group for people to share photos (and stories!) of uniquely Italian details. Please join us to get a breath of beauty in your Facebook feed!

Join "Italian Cats and Hidden Madonnas" Facebook Group

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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I am grateful for family and the awesome beauty of our world (and how Gabe’s hair in the wind illustrates for us how these peaks formed).

The longer I live, the more I value process. If I don’t enjoy the process, the product doesn’t matter. Which is why I created my Gift Guide for Italy Lovers. Because I don’t want to feel stressed and harried when I’m getting g

Oh hello there parrot on my porch. Fancy meeting you here! Just one of the wondrous surprises on Mount Tamborine.

There can be no greater sign of how thoroughly I sank into Australia than the fact that while in Noosa I bought myself two summer dresses. Completely forgetting that at home, we’re veering into winter. So imagine my surprise when we got to the

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

Featured speaker on panel discussing Romance for “Santa Lucia”