entertainment — Travel in Italy — Michelle Damiani

Here’ll you find trip reports from up and down the Boot, from Turin to Sicily, from Cinque Terre to Puglia. If you want new wanderlust stories delivered to your email inbox once a month, make sure you sign up for my newsletter, the Grapevine. As a special welcome gift, I’ll send you an e-copy of my bestselling novel, Santa Lucia. Imagine that! In a few keystrokes, you’ll be transported to the landscapes, the cities, and the beauty of Italy. No passport required.

October 08, 2020

Your definitive Italian restaurant manual

October 08, 2020/ Michelle Damiani

New language, new rules—it can be hard to navigate Italian dining. But follow my easy instructions and you’ll have the time of your life.

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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In 2017, I did one of the best things I’ve ever done in my whole life. I held a fundraiser for International Neighbors (a local agency that provides support to our refugee community) designed around the power of breaking bread together. I recru

I gotta say, after 3 days in Jerome Arizona, I have half a mind to set a new cozy mystery in a 19th century mining town. Old west vibes, a messy but fabulous medley of characters from foreign lands (Croatia, Ireland, Scotland, China, Belgium, and Ita

Kind of a profound experience to bring our three generations to a historic sight like the Tuzigoot pueblo.

“Making a Killing in Aramezzo” is off to my editor! What does an author do when a manuscript leaves her desk? First up, laundry. Then more laundry. I am seriously behind in laundry (and emails). And then I’ll have a meal that’

As the weather warms, I have a profoundly important question for you. Aperol, Campari, or limoncello spritz?

Do you believe that the same person made both of these renderings? A drawing of “swallows” (which my children call “squali”, Italian for sharks, for some reason the Italian word has stuck in our brains and we pull it out more

One of the beautiful things about visiting a place more than once is you can capturing it in new ways. Venice’s colors are so inspiring, it never would have occurred to me to photograph her in black and white, but on our last visit, I got more

Between Spello and Assisi lies Monte Subasio, a bald mountain composed of pink stone that gives both cities their characteristic hue. It’s a fascinating mountain, in that it seems like fifteen landscapes stitched together, Frankenstein style. T

As the weather warms, my thoughts turn towards the arrival of swallows in Italy. How I loved watching their morning show as I sipped my coffee. Fun that now, as spring arrives, the bulky socks come off and the swallow tattoos around my ankle also get

Umbrian artist Norberto was known for his tiny, hooded monks wandering vast landscapes. Each image is humble, timeless, and full of contemplative whimsy. Inspired by Norberto’s work, when my son was seven he created his own tribute, an attempt

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”**

Featured speaker on panel discussing Romance for “Santa Lucia”