A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life

"But now my will and my desire were turned, as wheels that move in equilibrium, by love that moves the sun and other stars" - Dante Alighieri, Canto XXXIII "Welcome to Episode #146: Dante Alighieri wrote the Divine Comedy Divina Commedia over many years and completed the work late in his life. He died a few years later in Ravenna, Italy.  Many find comfort in his words, “In the midd...

"There is only one way, and that is your way" - CG Jung Welcome to Episode #145: This share is all about reflecting on a recent milestone of seven years of podcasting and sharing stories and conversations about this Italian Love Affair - it has been a journey of living between two worlds and cultivating a sense of meaning from my journeys to Italy and being at home in Australia.  I share...

“France had long been at the center of her philosophy. She had made France a touchstone in her writing, in which she alchemised life, love, and food in a literary genre of her own invention” - Luke Barr on MFK Fisher, Provence 1970 Welcome to Episode #144: Today I share why going to Europe for art, writing, philosophy and liberation has been a necessary evolution for many artists and writers. I co...

"There is magic in cooking, and in cooking Italian food there is alchemy" - Old World Italian by Mimi Thorisson Since our lives contain multitudes, yes an American poet once said that, I feel to step away from the noise is to disarm the outside influences that are at times necessary and sometimes it is just kind of ridiculous. So the remedy is to open a cookbook and read a recipe and mak...

"I am reading six books at once, the only way of reading: since, as you will agree, one book is merely a note to another book" - Virginia Woolf Today I share some beautiful moments while reading a few books on my table that have given much pause for thought. So I open a few on the fly and chat about the book, the author and what I Loved about the pages.... Teach Us To Sit Still by Tim Pa...

"A soul's journey through this uniquely itchy epoch requires a far more nourishing approach" - Sarah Wilson, This One Wild and Precious Life  Sometimes you cannot see the forest for the trees, but that is the writers life. It is a process. And maybe it will all work out in the end. And if it doesn’t work out, well I guess, it is not the end. Today I share some of my trials and tribu...

 “The large paintings envelop the viewer and invite him or her in, it is an invitation to a self contained world where one can lose oneself and perhaps in the process find oneself. And for all their grandest of scale it is an intimate experience, a world unique to that particular encounter” - Christopher Rothko, Mark Rothko and the Inner World Welcome to Episode #140: In Italy, Mark Rothko (1903-1...

"Fortunately for us art and travel lovers, science has caught up with what we have felt inside, what we have experienced" - Michelle Johnston In more recent years the science of ‘neuro-aesthetics’ has given us much to ponder in terms of understanding the importance of art and beauty in our lives. I share my personal experience and sound research on the positive side effects that seeking...

"Everything had been made honestly, quickly, without frills, but as it should be. It was wholesome, life giving...We had eaten well; we felt well. As we sat in the piazza inhaling our black half inches of double espressi, I felt very happy" - Sybille Bedford, Pleasures and Landscapes Welcome to Episode #138: Today I share some gastronomic highlights from the table in Italy. Italian food...

"Happiness is a byproduct ultimately of being in right relationship with your own soul” - James Hollis Welcome to Episode #137:  There are places in Italy that are so beautiful they make you want to weep. When life occasionally does not go to plan, sometimes you just need to throw the cards in the air and do something for yourself. When circumstance and fate isn’t favoured, here and there it...

"Italy, you win!" - J.J Martin, Mamma Milano Welcome to Episode #136: Today I share some inspiration from the book Mamma Milano by J.J Martin.  J.J Martin is a visionary, creative and designer that lives in Milan. She moved to Italy many years ago and later started her fabulous fashion empire and lifestyle brand La Double J.  Today is just some musing over this beautiful book, making a l...

"Italians strongly believe that being surrounded by beauty is beneficial to a happier life" - Riccardo Illy Welcome to Episode #135, Milan is a city of Art, Design, Architecture, Innovation and Commerce. It is full of great art and history. And a wonderful place to discover more about Italian culture.  Here is Part 2 on some of the fabulous places you can visit in Milan Italy - Da Vinci’...

"In Milan, one feels at once the charm of a great city and the sweetness of Italian life" - Stendhal (Marie-Henri Beyle) Welcome to Episode #134: Today I share some fabulous things to do if you are on a budget or just a savy traveler and why Milano should not be ignored. It is one of the most charming and underrated cities in Italy and very beautiful too. So I want to share my favourite...

"All I wanted was time" - Tracey Emin, Strozzi Gallery Documentary Welcome to Episode #133 Today I share a travel story for International Women’s Day about a glorious art and life moment in Florence from 2025.   There are beautiful things that happen along the way that stay with you. I reflect on my experience and joy while walking in the Centro Storico of Florence and discovering that t...

"The let them theory is about freedom" - Mel Robbins, Let Them Theory Welcome to Episode #132, I wanted to share this personal story of something that shifted in me in a great way to create an expansive and special experience while traveling in Italy I thought might be helpful for other people on their travel (and life) journeys, particularly if solo traveling. Enjoy this share, Michelle...

“The meaning of the river flowing is not that all things are changing so that we cannot encounter them twice but that some things stay the same only by changing” - Heraclitus, The Cosmic Fragments Welcome to Episode #131, Today is just some musing over art, philosophy and life while I get started on my projects for the year.  Be prepared for many tangents and a casual monologue on life and Italy....

"Around the middle of the fifteenth century, not so long after the first written references in Europe to cards of any kind, an artist named Bonifacio Bembo painted a set of unnamed and unnumbered cards for the Visconti family of Milan", Origins of Tarot, Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Tarot Journey to Self Awareness by Rachel Pollack  Welcome to Episode #130, Did you know that the ro...

"A book can never disappoint you" - Cinzia Ferri Welcome to Episode #129: Just a little rumination about books and life as the new year arrives! Enjoy x The Substack Post that inspired this podcast: A book can never disappoint you! MichelleJohnston.life for the Show-notes A Writer in Italy Instagram Substack - At My Table Michelle’s Books Musical Scores by Richard Johnston © 2025  A Writ...

“Bologna was unique in championing the professions of women. The home of Europe’s oldest university, which has supported female students since the thirteenth century, the city considered women artists integral to its development” - Katy Hessel, The Story of Art Without Men Welcome to Episode #128: Bologna is one of those places that has that quintessential Italian feel. A medieval city with wonder...

"Live the journey as faithfully as you can"  💥James Hollis  Welcome to Episode #127: A notebook from Bologna led me to contemplate the profound effect that Italy has had on my psyche these past few years. The journeys and the moments that have awakened a lively contemplation.  I share my story of healing through the ups and downs and how Italy made everything sing.  Michelle x Episode #...

"I fall in love with places" - Cy Twombly Welcome to Episode #126, While still reflecting on the life of Cy Twombly, I muse over a few artists that have been influenced by Italy (and my artistic process). There is just something about the visual beauty and the history of Italy that seems to impact many artists, writers and creatives.  I go further into thoughts on the art of Cy Twombly a...

"I am a Mediterranean painter" - Cy Twombly Welcome to Episode #125: In 1952 Robert Rauschenberg photographed his friend and fellow artist Cy Twombly standing with a thin notebook next to Constantine’s colossal hand while on holiday in Rome. They were together on a traveling arts scholarship. They traveled extensively for months in Italy and North Africa.  Five years later Cy Twombly mov...

“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world. You are surrounded by adventure. You have no idea of what is in store for you, but you will, if you are wise and know the art of travel, let yourself go on the stream of the unknown and accept whatever comes in the spirit in which the gods may offer it....."  Baghdad Sketches, Freya Stark Welcome to Ep...

"There's just something about sitting at a cafe, and the food, and the culture that just, it's not like anything else in the world" - Erica D'Arcangelo Welcome to Episode #123, Today I share an enriching and beautiful conversation with Erica D’Arcangelo, host of Pizza Story Podcast. So this is a tale about pizza, family, heritage and Italy.  Erica’s first book was written...

"One summer morning, my husband, son, and I arrived by car from Sirmione and spent the day wandering through the city’s walkable center. Verona revealed itself slowly, with Roman ruins beside medieval churches, Renaissance palaces glowing in the sun, and piazzas alive with the laughter of locals. The soft pink of its buildings shimmered in the warmth, giving the city a dreamy, romantic air&qu...