Michelle Damiani
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  • Spello Visiting Umbria Travel in Italy Around the World
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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/
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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.


November 18, 2025

A Deeper Look at Alberobello

November 18, 2025/ Michelle Damiani
A Deeper Look at Alberobello

A heartfelt travel journal entry exploring Alberobello's history, trulli architecture, and connection. With a pinch of home cooking.

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November 18, 2025/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
italy, puglia, travel, food
Italy, food, tra, pu, cooking
October 27, 2020

Alberobello: They're not Smurf Houses

October 27, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
Alberobello: They're not Smurf Houses

Our visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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October 27, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ 9 Comments
travel, italy
Puglia, Travel, restaurant, food, history
November 02, 2018

Bologna is more than Porticos and Parmesan

November 02, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
Bologna is more than Porticos and Parmesan

Learn why Bologna is known as “the learned, the fat, and the red.” And also why it needs to be on your bucket list.

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November 02, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ 2 Comments
italy, travel
food, Travel, history
September 06, 2018

At Home in Abruzzo

September 06, 2018/ Teresa Mastrobuono
At Home in Abruzzo

Part of the Local Guide Series, Teresa Mastrobuono leads us in a discovery of undiscovered Abruzzo.

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September 06, 2018/ Teresa Mastrobuono/ 2 Comments
italy, travel
Local Guide, Abruzzo, restaurant, food
August 05, 2018

Dining on a Trabocco in Abruzzo

August 05, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
Dining on a Trabocco in Abruzzo

Dining out over the Adriatic has never been this extraordinary.

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August 05, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ 6 Comments
travel, italy
Abruzzo, Vasto, beach, restaurant, food, wine
August 05, 2018

Ristoro Mucciante in Abruzzo

August 05, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
Ristoro Mucciante in Abruzzo

A DIY restaurant with views for days.

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August 05, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ 3 Comments
travel, children, italy
Abruzzo, restaurant, food, hike
July 31, 2018

Trieste? Where's That?

July 31, 2018/ Eyrnn Laurie
Trieste? Where's That?

Part of the Local Guide Series — Discover a jewel in Italy’s northern crown with writer Erynn Laurie.

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July 31, 2018/ Eyrnn Laurie/ Comment
travel, italy
Italy, travel, Trieste, Local Guide, food, Friuli Venezia Giulia
October 29, 2015

To the Adriatic

October 29, 2015/ Michelle Damiani
To the Adriatic

During our summer trip to Italy we realized that Le Marche is like Umbria’s pool. Or at least Spellani’s pool. Almost everyone we talked to had just been to Le Marche, went when we were there, or was planning a trip. Most of those we talked to went to Numana, and so, like true Spellani, that’s where we set our sights.

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October 29, 2015/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel, blog
day-trip, Le Marche, food, travel
  • 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.

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Funny that as many posts I see about Japan, few mention the jaw-dropping, staggering beauty of the countryside. If you want views for days, Nagano prefecture is worth considering. Plus, a guy from New Zealand I ran into at the convenience store told
Arrived at Shibu Onsen, a hot springs town where you can buy eggs cooked in the hot springs water. More importantly, a stay gets you a key to the nine public bathhouses. You can buy a towel for a few dollars that you stamp at each of the nine bathhou
Scenes from a morning in Nagano 🇯🇵
I’ve already started eating all the things 😂🇯🇵😂 Picked up this bento box at the train station for less than $7 USD and happily ate on the train to… well, you’ll see tomorrow!
Tokyo bound 🇯🇵
Photos from our 2016 family trip to Asia. I have a feeling next week’s photos will be quite different. Check stories for a link to my post about how to survive a long haul flight. I know I’ll be revisiting those tips!
When I moved to Italy, I had to relearn the calendar — not by months, but by vegetables.
Somewhere along the way I’d convinced myself artichokes were a summer thing (why? who knows). And then February arrived and the markets exploded with
A year ago we toasted Valentine’s Day with this view, our feet plunged in warm sand after swimming around enormous starfish and before kayaking to a bioluminescent bay under a canopy of stars. This year we’re surrounded by the dregs of la
🙋🏻‍♀️Raise your hand if Angelo is your favorite “character” in my memoir of living in Italy. PS, did any of you note the dedication in my last book? I can’t wait to bring it to him in October ❤️ PS check out the video in my st

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”