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/
P1260820.jpg
Michelle Damiani

writing with Italy at heart

Visiting Umbria

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 insights into Umbria, culled from living in Spello for two years, as detailed in my memoir Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center, which you can download right here or at your preferred marketplace here or you can find it on Amazon here. Buy it now to read about how our family of five abandoned life in the United States to clink glasses with local communists and join the village all-nighter decorating cobblestone streets with flower petals. You’ll also read about embarrassing language minefields and a serious summons to the mayor’s office. Ultimately, though, Il Bel Centro is the story of how travel can change you if you let it.


November 17, 2020

Deruta's Past and Present

November 17, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
Deruta's Past and Present

I’m thrilled another post in my Local Guide series, about a delightful aspect of Umbria—ceramics! You might have heard of Deruta, it’s famous the world over for its contributions to the ceramic arts, but here is a chance to hear about the craft, and the history, from one of the families that made Deruta great.

Read More
November 17, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
italy, travel
Local Guide, Umbria
April 16, 2018

A Guide to Umbrian Festivals

April 16, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
A Guide to Umbrian Festivals

Festivals are Italy distilled. Here is your guide to celebrations in Umbria throughout the seasons.

Read More
April 16, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ 5 Comments
travel
Umbria, Italy, festivals
April 14, 2018

Gubbio, Umbria

April 14, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
Gubbio, Umbria

Gubbio is…different. See what makes this evocative town stand out from other cities in Umbria.

Read More
April 14, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel
Italy, Umbria, Gubbio, restaurant, festival, Perugia
April 14, 2018

Cascate delle Marmore

April 14, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
Cascate delle Marmore

Our 2013 visit to the famous waterfalls of Umbria

Read More
April 14, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel, umbria
day-trip, children, Umbria
April 13, 2018

Pranzo in Trevi, Umbria

April 13, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
Pranzo in Trevi, Umbria

Trevi, Umbria: A little village with big atmosphere.

Read More
April 13, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel, dining
trevi, Umbria, restaurant
April 09, 2018

Serpillo, an Italian Gran Bouffet

April 09, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
Serpillo, an Italian Gran Bouffet

Not all buffets involve endless sneeze-guards and noodles congealing in cornstarch baths. Discover this gem tucked away in the hills above Bevagna, Umbria.

Read More
April 09, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
dining, travel
bevagna, Umbria, restaurant
April 01, 2018

Orvieto, on the other side of Umbria

April 01, 2018/ Michelle Damiani
Orvieto, on the other side of Umbria

Where to eat in Orvieto, Umbria

Read More
April 01, 2018/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel, dining
Orvieto, Umbria, Restaurant
April 13, 2017

Love in Bettona, Umbria

April 13, 2017/ Michelle Damiani
Love in Bettona, Umbria

A restaurant recommendation in Bettona, Umbria given with my whole heart.

Read More
April 13, 2017/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
travel, dining
Bettona, Umbria, restaurant
  • 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!

Twelve years ago we were preparing to leave Spello. Lunch with friends, a swim and spontaneous dinner with our landlord’s family, one more reveling at the beauty of the life we built in our medieval village.
As promised, I’m back in Aramezzo! And just came up with the most fun, totally Italian clue! I wonder if you’ll be able to spot it when you read “Making a Killing in Aramezzo” in the fall 🇮🇹 Speaking of, for my Book Club wit
So what’s your favorite gelato flavor?
After the Dolomiti, my family returned home and I continued on to Padua with a friend. What a find! Every corner revealed surprises—a sudden piazza filled with life, a painted arcade, a riot of color. I think many people give Padua a pass becau
I’ve shown you dramatic landscapes, fabulous meals, adventurous moments, the contrast between small charm and towering beauty…but maybe the most awe-inspiring aspect of our trip to the Dolomiti was that it happened at all. I am awash wit
You know a destination must be pretty incredible if it takes me this long to get to the food. Eating in the Dolomiti bears little resemblance to the rest of Italy, mostly because of the Austrian influence. It’s a funny thing about a country tha
I made some friends in the Dolomiti.
After a week of botanical drawing and painting in the Pyrenees earlier in the month, Keith and I felt inspired by the alpine flora of the Dolomiti. My daughter Siena as well, but she’s an artist, therefore inspired by a gum wrapper if the light

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”