Michelle Damiani
  • Il Bel Centro Santa Lucia Series The Road Taken
  • Spello Visiting Umbria Travel in Italy Around the World
  • Coaching
  • Blog
  • About
  • Gabe's Blog Food and Drink Books and Movies Italian Cats and Hidden Madonnas
Michelle Damiani
  • Books/
    • Il Bel Centro
    • Santa Lucia Series
    • The Road Taken
  • Travel/
    • Spello
    • Visiting Umbria
    • Travel in Italy
    • Around the World
  • Coaching/
  • Blog/
  • About/
  • What I Love/
    • Gabe's Blog
    • Food and Drink
    • Books and Movies
    • Italian Cats and Hidden Madonnas
poppies.jpg
Michelle Damiani

writing with Italy at heart

Spello

Umbria

Michelle Damiani
  • Books/
    • Il Bel Centro
    • Santa Lucia Series
    • The Road Taken
  • Travel/
    • Spello
    • Visiting Umbria
    • Travel in Italy
    • Around the World
  • Coaching/
  • Blog/
  • About/
  • What I Love/
    • Gabe's Blog
    • Food and Drink
    • Books and Movies
    • Italian Cats and Hidden Madonnas

Every Italian town has its charms, yet by virtue of the fact that it became home, Spello has achieved almost mystical importance in my life. I hope this helps you discover the Spello I fell in love with—and perhaps a shade of Spello that's all your own.

July 31, 2018

How to Visit Spello

July 31, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
How to Visit Spello

Your guide to an idyllic vacation in Spello, Umbria.

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July 31, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ 16 Comments
travel
Spello, Umbria, restaurants
July 31, 2018

Along the Aqueduct

July 31, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
Along the Aqueduct

There are many walking paths through the groves that surround Spello. The aqueduct walk is our family favorite. This post is particularly special because Siena took all the photos, surprising us and also herself with her unerring eye.

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July 31, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel, umbria
Umbria, Spello
April 01, 2017

Where to Stay in Spello

April 01, 2017/ Michelle Damiani
Where to Stay in Spello

Your guide to Spello accommodations.

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April 01, 2017/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
Umbria, Spello, accommodations
  • Books/
    • Il Bel Centro
    • Santa Lucia Series
    • The Road Taken
  • Travel/
    • Spello
    • Visiting Umbria
    • Travel in Italy
    • Around the World
  • Coaching/
  • Blog/
  • About/
  • What I Love/
    • Gabe's Blog
    • Food and Drink
    • Books and Movies
    • Italian Cats and Hidden Madonnas

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. 

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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”

Featured speaker on panel discussing Romance for “Santa Lucia”

Follow me on Instagram!

It’s our third mother-daughter NYC trip and I’m feeling unbelievably blessed. #familytravel #exploremore #nyc #chinatown #motherdaughter #traveling
It’s our third mother-daughter NYC trip and I’m feeling unbelievably blessed. #familytravel #exploremore #nyc #chinatown #motherdaughter #traveling
I’m not a dog person or a snow person but I learned in Quebec that I can be both. I wonder what new things I’ll learn about myself on our family global journey? . . . . . #mytravelgram #instatravel #quebec #dogstagram #winteradventures #familyadventure #travel #traveling #travelling #travelbloggers #globaljourney #familytravel #travelfam #familytraveller #dogsledding #visitquebec
I’m not a dog person or a snow person but I learned in Quebec that I can be both. I wonder what new things I’ll learn about myself on our family global journey? . . . . . #mytravelgram #instatravel #quebec #dogstagram #winteradventures #familyadventure #travel #traveling #travelling #travelbloggers #globaljourney #familytravel #travelfam #familytraveller #dogsledding #visitquebec
It’s amazing how you can think you know how something is supposed to taste and then you eat it where it comes from and it’s like HOLY CRAP. What I’ve called a clementine and is called a “mandarino” in Italy tastes like nothing I’ve ever imagined possible. So orange it almost tasted like pine. What flavors have surprised you when traveling? . . . . . #travelblog #travelfam #tasteoftravel #italianfruit #procida #amalfi #exploremore #igers_italy #italy #postcardsfromtheworld #foodietravel #foodiefamily #visitamalfi #travelling #travels #discoveries #italianflavour #travellingthroughtheworld #traveldeeper
It’s amazing how you can think you know how something is supposed to taste and then you eat it where it comes from and it’s like HOLY CRAP. What I’ve called a clementine and is called a “mandarino” in Italy tastes like nothing I’ve ever imagined possible. So orange it almost tasted like pine. What flavors have surprised you when traveling? . . . . . #travelblog #travelfam #tasteoftravel #italianfruit #procida #amalfi #exploremore #igers_italy #italy #postcardsfromtheworld #foodietravel #foodiefamily #visitamalfi #travelling #travels #discoveries #italianflavour #travellingthroughtheworld #traveldeeper
This is what one year out from a grand adventure looks like. Maps and atlases and guide books and Nat Geo’s everywhere. And yet, it’s still the personal connection that drives the momentum. Gabe had a teacher in his summer game theory class from Lithuania, and now he’s all about it. He even wrote a blog post for me (link in profile, under what I love, Gabe’s blog). Short story: now I know not only where Lithuania is but how it connects to Russia. And, according to Gabe, how we’ll be biking there. ‪.‬ ‪.‬ ‪.‬ ‪.‬ ‪.‬ ‪#familieswhotravel‬ #travelblog #familytravelblog #familytravelbloggers #raisingtravelers #travelfam #offtoseetheworld #roamtheworld #havekidswilltravel #maps #welltraveledkids #borntotravel #involvethekids #lithuania #baltic #exploretogether #exploretogrow #worldschooling #mapoftheworld
This is what one year out from a grand adventure looks like. Maps and atlases and guide books and Nat Geo’s everywhere. And yet, it’s still the personal connection that drives the momentum. Gabe had a teacher in his summer game theory class from Lithuania, and now he’s all about it. He even wrote a blog post for me (link in profile, under what I love, Gabe’s blog). Short story: now I know not only where Lithuania is but how it connects to Russia. And, according to Gabe, how we’ll be biking there. ‪.‬ ‪.‬ ‪.‬ ‪.‬ ‪.‬ ‪#familieswhotravel‬ #travelblog #familytravelblog #familytravelbloggers #raisingtravelers #travelfam #offtoseetheworld #roamtheworld #havekidswilltravel #maps #welltraveledkids #borntotravel #involvethekids #lithuania #baltic #exploretogether #exploretogrow #worldschooling #mapoftheworld
We’re now a year away from leaping into our year around the world! China, Belgium, Albania, Lithuania... ready for us? Find out more about our itinerary, link in profile! ‪.‬ ‪.‬ ‪.‬ ‪.‬ ‪.‬ ‪#travelmemories‬ #travelinspiration #travelinspired #luangprabang #laos #ig_laos #southeastasia #familytravel #familytravels #travelwithkids #traveling #travelling #exploremore #aroundtheworld #aroundtheworldpics #destinations #offbeattravel #travelmore #travelwriter #travelblogger
We’re now a year away from leaping into our year around the world! China, Belgium, Albania, Lithuania... ready for us? Find out more about our itinerary, link in profile! ‪.‬ ‪.‬ ‪.‬ ‪.‬ ‪.‬ ‪#travelmemories‬ #travelinspiration #travelinspired #luangprabang #laos #ig_laos #southeastasia #familytravel #familytravels #travelwithkids #traveling #travelling #exploremore #aroundtheworld #aroundtheworldpics #destinations #offbeattravel #travelmore #travelwriter #travelblogger
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
 

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  • Michelle Damiani, Author
    It’s our third mother-daughter NYC trip and I’m feeling unbelievably blessed. #familytravel #exploremore #nyc… https://t.co/3wKce9FEoD
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  • Michelle Damiani, Author
    My 17-year-old daughter and I are headed to NYC tomorrow on the train... who has a movie suggestion to get us in th… https://t.co/lSo3vdeOPP
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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”