Michelle Damiani
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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/

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 09, 2025

Agriturismo Explained: Italy’s Best-Kept Travel Secret

October 09, 2025/ Michelle Damiani
Agriturismo Explained: Italy’s Best-Kept Travel Secret

An agriturismo is a farm stay, Italian Style, and the best way to slow down and savor Italy.

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October 09, 2025/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
italy, travel, dolomiti
Italy, agriturismo, dolomiti, travel
December 05, 2024

Travel & Writing in Liguria with Ciao Andiamo

December 05, 2024/ Michelle Damiani
Travel & Writing in Liguria with Ciao Andiamo

I had no idea how much teaching writing in Italy would deepen my love of both writing and Italy.

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December 05, 2024/ Michelle Damiani/ 1 Comment
liguria, italy, blog, Piedmont, travel
travel, blog, Piemonte, PIedmont
July 31, 2018

Your First Family Trip to Italy

July 31, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
Your First Family Trip to Italy

Planning your first family trip to Italy can be daunting. From getting passports to using ATM’s to planning an itinerary to asking for a highchair, I’ve got you covered.

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July 31, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ 2 Comments
travel, blog, children, italy
travel, children, parenting, Italy
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
April 05, 2018

10 Reasons to Visit Italy in the Off Season

April 05, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
10 Reasons to Visit Italy in the Off Season

I've noticed that travelers often avoid Italy in the off-season, and I'd like to put in a plug for visiting Italy when it's cold and grey. On purpose, even.

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April 05, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
travel, Italy
September 02, 2016

Tuscany

September 02, 2016/ Michelle Damiani
Tuscany

Where to get bistecca and notes about Lucca.

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September 02, 2016/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel, italy
travel, Italy
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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DON’T STRESS THE MOZZARELLA! This was my takeaway message from the buffalo mozzarella farm, our first Book Club with a View Stop. Apparently, how one cuts the mozzarella is important to avoid stressing it. I can’t give you any tips becaus
From hazelnut-filled hills of garnet and gold to whitewashed villages perched above a brilliant blue sea, this last trip reminded me that Italy contains multitudes. The luckiest part? Traveling through the Mezzogiorno with @max_brunelli of @ciaoandia
Danger is simmering in Aramezzo, and Stella is about to find herself in the middle of the pot. After all, in Umbria, pasta isn’t the only thing that’s twisted.

I’m thrilled to share that “Making a Killing in Aramezzo”,
Landing in Naples after drifting dreamily through Piedmont was like stepping off a cloud and directly into a drum circle. It’s all Italy, yes—but Italy is twenty regions stitched together only in 1861, so expecting them to feel the same i
Last year in Spello, I watched a hunter-looking guy sprint past my restaurant table, a basket of massive porcini in hand. Before I could even mourn not snapping a photo, Mirko—the owner—appeared, proudly presenting his haul.
Cut to last m
Fossano… another delightful town in Italy’s Piedmont region!
Living in Umbria for two years, I got up close and personal with Umbrian wines. I adore them. But thanks to Brenda and Graziano of @vinosofiaspello , I also got a crash course in Italy’s astonishingly varied wine terrain. Years ago, over dinner
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a person in possession of a spoon must be in want of gelato. 🍨
This chocolate-and-passionfruit duet from Genova sang like angels on a sugar high—if you squint, you might just see the halo.
And speaki
I could tell you that we day-tripped to Genova to sink into the city’s layers, its contrasts, it’s pulse of elegance and grit. But you’d know I’m lying. I went for the pesto.
This week’s post about vibe struck a chord—so many of you shared the places you’ve felt it. Sometimes in places others would swan right past. This is true of the the town that stole my heart (more on that later). I can’t imagi

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”