Michelle Damiani
  • Buy my books
  • Blog
  • Spello Visiting Umbria Travel in Italy Around the World
  • Books and Movies Food and Drink Gabe's Blog Italian Cats and Hidden Madonnas
  • Coaching
  • About
Michelle Damiani
  • Buy my books/
  • Blog/
  • Travel/
    • 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/
P1150417.jpg
Michelle Damiani

writing with Italy at heart

Travel in Italy

Michelle Damiani
  • Buy my books/
  • Blog/
  • Travel/
    • 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/

From alpine lakes to sun-drenched coastlines, this is where you’ll find stories from my travels across Italy—the hidden corners, the unexpected delights, the journeys that stay with you. Want new wanderlust in your inbox once a month? Sign up for The Grapevine.


March 19, 2026

Cowbells and Speck: Finding Italy’s Alpine Soul in the Dolomiti

March 19, 2026/ Michelle Damiani
Cowbells and Speck: Finding Italy’s Alpine Soul in the Dolomiti

If the rest of Italy sings opera, the Dolomiti ring with cowbells.

Read More
March 19, 2026/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
italy, food, dolomiti, children, travel
dolomiti, Food, Travel, Italy, agriturismo
January 10, 2026

A woman alone in Bari's fish market

January 10, 2026/ Michelle Damiani
A woman alone in Bari's fish market

Walking Bari alone led me to its fish market, street food, and daily rhythms—an intimate look at food, sound, and life in Puglia.

Read More
January 10, 2026/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
italy, puglia, food, travel, blog
Food, Travel, Puglia, bari, markets
December 07, 2025

Roots of Puglia

December 07, 2025/ Michelle Damiani
Roots of Puglia

Dive into Puglia’s heart—winding through storied caves of ancient ceramics, tasting centuries-old olive oils, and sipping bold Primitivo, this region blends history, art, and flavor like nowhere else.

Read More
December 07, 2025/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
italy, puglia, travel
Puglia, Travel, wine, ceramics, olive oil, Food, winery
December 11, 2023

Seven Reasons to Add Turin to Your Bucket List

December 11, 2023/ Michelle Damiani
Seven Reasons to Add Turin to Your Bucket List

Got a trip to Turin planned? Lucky you.

Read More
December 11, 2023/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
italy, language, Piedmont, travel
Turin, Torino, Spello, Food, win
January 24, 2021

A new perspective on Venice

January 24, 2021/ Michelle Damiani
A new perspective on Venice

How a beloved children’s book changed how I think about Venice. With loads of recommendations to help you enjoy even an off-season visit to La Serenissima.

Read More
January 24, 2021/ Michelle Damiani/ 6 Comments
italy, blog, travel
Venice, Veneto, Travel, Italy, Food, restaurant
October 19, 2020

Mangia Pesce in Gallipoli, Puglia

October 19, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
Mangia Pesce in Gallipoli, Puglia

How Gallipoli takes the Italian concept of “mangia pesce” and turns it into a lifestyle and an art form.

Read More
October 19, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ 15 Comments
italy, blog, travel, language
Puglia, Travel, Food, restaurant
October 16, 2020

Five days in Torre Chianca, Puglia

October 16, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
Five days in Torre Chianca, Puglia

I bet you’ve never heard of Torre Chianca. Will you want to go there after reading this post? Let’s see….

Read More
October 16, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ 11 Comments
travel, italy, blog
Puglia, Food, restaurant, Travel
August 05, 2018

Stupidly Speechless in Abruzzo

August 05, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
Stupidly Speechless in Abruzzo

How I lost my breath and found it again in Abruzzo.

Read More
August 05, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ 6 Comments
italy, travel, blog, children
Abruzzo, Travel, Food, Sulmona, Celano
  • Buy my books/
  • Blog/
  • Travel/
    • 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.

Get Santa Lucia, a novel set in Italy, FREE by signing up for my monthly newsletter, The Grapevine. Recipes, travel tips, and free wanderlust stories delivered right to your inbox.

get book!

No results found

Follow me on Instagram!

Flashback to gathering wild asparagus outside Spello 🌸 one of those flavors I miss!
Anyone else more than a little in love with Bologna? The city’s unofficial motto is “the red, the fat, and the learned”… what is your favorite aspect of Bologna?
Happy birthday to Rome! I love you for your old bits and your new bits. You make aging an inspiring thing.
What nobody tells you about Japan is even when you’re too early for cherry blossom, there are plum blossoms. Plus, Japanese gardens are glorious with no blossoms at all.
As a person who grooves on food and connection, the Omicho Market Tour and Cooking Class offered by In Kanazawa House was one of the most satisfying and delicious experiences I had in Japan. Our guides Naoko and Kazuko (tagged in stories) introduced
Remember yesterday when I mentioned the Japanese alpine town that taught me how fall in love with sake? That town is Takayama. Known for sake, Edo era architecture, and a kind of beef so excellent that my husband, after an entire meal of steak and su
I wasn’t sure how I’d take to Japanese sake culture considering I, you know, wasn’t a fan of sake.

For those who need a refresher, sake is one of the many ingenious ways the Japanese make use of their most abundant crop—rice.
The most important word in a foreign language…

“Thank you” is polite. “Hello” is excellent.

But to my mind, if you want to connect, learn the word for delicious. 

In Japanese, it’s oishi. 

When I said “o

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”