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.


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
October 09, 2020

To Puglia!

October 09, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
To Puglia!

How a trip to Puglia is like playing hooky.

Read More
October 09, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ 4 Comments
italy, blog, travel
Molise, Travel, restaurant
October 08, 2020

Your definitive Italian restaurant manual

October 08, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
Your definitive Italian restaurant manual

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.

Read More
October 08, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
italy, entertainment
restaurant
July 11, 2019

Eight Italian Hidden Gems

July 11, 2019/ Michelle Damiani
Eight Italian Hidden Gems

Discover these destinations before the tourists do.

Read More
July 11, 2019/ Michelle Damiani/ 3 Comments
italy, travel
Italy
July 10, 2019

Finding my Joy in Liguria

July 10, 2019/ Marilyn Ricci
Finding my Joy in Liguria

Part of the Local Guide Series — Discover Liguria with Marilyn Ricci.

Read More
July 10, 2019/ Marilyn Ricci/ 11 Comments
travel, italy
Local Guide, Liguria
March 29, 2019

I have a thing for Italian street lights

March 29, 2019/ Michelle Damiani
I have a thing for Italian street lights

I love Italian details, especially light fixtures.

Read More
March 29, 2019/ Michelle Damiani/ 2 Comments
italy, blog
Travel, Italy
January 23, 2019

The Southern Marche Region, an Unknown Gem

January 23, 2019/ Dwight Stanford
The Southern Marche Region, an Unknown Gem

An American wine-guy shares why he fell in love with Le Marche, and how to explore his favorite region of Italy.

Read More
January 23, 2019/ Dwight Stanford/ 13 Comments
travel, italy
Le Marche, Italy, Travel, Local Guide
November 07, 2018

Walking Bologna

November 07, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
Walking Bologna

Walking itineraries to showcase the best of Bologna.

Read More
November 07, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ 2 Comments
travel, italy
Travel, Bologna, Italy, restaurant, walking tour, history, Emiglia-
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
September 06, 2018/ Teresa Mastrobuono/ 2 Comments
italy, travel
Local Guide, Abruzzo, restaurant, food
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
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
August 05, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ 3 Comments
travel, children, italy
Abruzzo, restaurant, food, hike
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
October 29, 2015/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel, blog
day-trip, Le Marche, food, travel
October 09, 2015

"Nothing left to wish for" in Favignana, Sicily

October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani
"Nothing left to wish for" in Favignana, Sicily

Sicily is ripe with incidental adventures. Letting them happen was part of what made our trip wonderful. And Favignana was the butterfly-shaped island that brought that into Sicilian-water clarity.

Read More
October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel, italy, children
Italy, Sicily, Travel
October 09, 2015

Wildflowers and Ruins in Segesta, Sicily

October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani
Wildflowers and Ruins in Segesta, Sicily

You'd think that since Sicily is where Keith and I began our decline, it would be associated with illness and shortness of breath. But it's not. It still seems magic—painted in bold brushstrokes and wreathed in sunshine. Such is the power of Sicily.

Read More
October 09, 2015/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel, italy, children, blog
Sicily, Italy, Travel
  • Previous
  • Next
  • 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!


Follow me on Instagram!

Cat cafés: come for the cats, stay for…everything else.

The good ones feel like a living room you wish you had—soft corners to curl up in, a drink in hand (ours had free tea and coffee), WiFi if you need it, stacks of manga if yo
As a citizen of two countries, I take my civic duty seriously x two. Voted early in Virginia (VA voter? You can vote early until April 18th! I did it well before the deadline because I thrill to have my voice counted) and am sending off my Italian ba
The thing no one tells you about Japan is that it is an island so overflowing with marvels, it can be overwhelming to plan a trip there. 

My advice? Lean into YOU. What YOU care about. Let that be your guide.

For me, it’s always food, so food
Yesterday’s post about the trendiest coffee of my life got me thinking about memorable cups of coffee. I offer for your consideration:
1. Cappuccino in Turin, where a cup brought atmosphere to a foggy morning
2. A “Snow Monkey Marshmallow
And then there was Tokyo. Being the caffeine-addled family that we are, first order of business was seeking out a trendy coffee establishment. Hence, Glitch. A place that takes its coffee so seriously, you pick a single-origin bean from the canisters
While I was soaking in hot springs and reflecting in temples and wandering the countryside, my husband, daughter, son and son’s girlfriend were skiing! Japan, you are full of wonders.
Much like yesterday’s snow monkeys I am ALL IN on Japanese hot springs! We stayed three days in Shibu Onsen where overnighting in a hotel gets you a key that opens 9 different onsen. Fun, and especially fun to traipse all over town in a yukata
Imagine walking through a frost-laced forest, turning at every rustle in the branches…was that one? Yes, you can spot the furry head resting against a tree down the hill. Then you see another. And another. A mamma carrying her baby, friends cu
An unexpected beauty of Japan? All these tucked away moments to pause and reflect and connect with something deeper.

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”