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

"Perhaps my vision has been somewhat romantic but who out there has not been lured by an Arcadia unlike our own? It seems it has been a thing for centuries..." - Michelle Johnston, Substack Welcome to Episode #121: Today I share a podcast I made last month while contemplating the after glow of being in Italy and sharing new adventures writing on Substack - At My Table.  I read an excerpt...

"The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind" - Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations Welcome to Episode #120: "Be a Traveler, Not a Tourist!" - Today I explore this wonderful statement by the late Anthony Bourdain. I hav...

"The money was always for a dream of sorts, an Italian dream, and now it's one we get to keep living" - Jac Beagley Welcome to Episode #119: Many of us dreaming about a home in Italy, a place to enjoy la dolce vita. The big question is, can you do it on a conservative budget and find something special?  The answer is - Yes you can! Australian couple Jac and Josh Beagley spent $32,00...

"Italy taught me to readjust my focus" - Judith Valente, The Italian Soul Welcome to Episode #118: Today I talk with Author Judith Valente about her recent book The Italian Soul - How to Savour the Full Joys of Life.   In Judith’s introduction to The Italian Soul she writes, “I depart Italy with the same feeling: I found what I was looking for”. Judith shares not only practical advice on...

"If you could write about anything you want to write about what would it be?".... Welcome to Episode #117: I am excited to introduce you to Janet’s Constantino’s beautiful debut fiction novel 'Becoming Mariella’. This is a deep and rich conversation about her gem of a book and writing journey. We discuss in depth Janet’s Sicilian-American heritage, navigating traditional values and...

"What we can be in control of we should be, especially when it comes to creativity" - Tracey Emin, Strozzi Gallery Florence - Documentary  Welcome to Episode #116: This podcast share has been percolating for some time. Over the year I have found myself musing about creativity and the importance of opening up space in our busy lives to not only make beautiful things but to be available to...

"I adore the spirit of Rome" - Michelle Johnston, In the Shadow of a Cypress - An Italian Adventure Welcome to Episode #115: More and more I realise there is just something about Italy. This podcast is a culmination of an eventful solo journey in Italy and Paris, and the culmination of the days wandering around Italia has me feeling very open to the beauty of the day and those last preci...

"The brittle crust off the present fractures; my feet sink into the quicksand of antiquity" - Anthony Doerr, Four Seasons in Rome Welcome to Episode #114, A spontaneous moment sipping an Aperol Spritz sitting at a caffe/wine bar on the corner of a busy side street close to Via Nazionale has me musing over some beautiful moments in Rome, purely sunny days full of grand adventures, being l...

"Sometimes you just have to move forward and lead the way" - Michelle Johnston Welcome to Episode #112, From the Campo Sofia between the gondole and the Strada Nova while sipping a macchiato I share some travel stories and adventures of my days in Italy, it’s full vibrant cafe life and feeling that Venetian light soaking into my skin while musing over events, places, journeys. Enjoy x Fi...

"Solitude is a place I like to go" - Tracey Emin Welcome to Episode #113: Today I share some beautiful moments in Bologna and Florence while sitting at a cafe close to Mercato Centrale in the centro storico of Firenze. Exploring art and culture was at the forefront of my experience in Italy on this recent travel adventure and there is no doubt there are many moving parts on this journey...

"Now & again I am able to live expansively, to feel expansive, with nothing & no one to do it for. Then I am happy, or happier than otherwise"  April 18, 1951 Patricia Highsmith, Her Diaries and Notebooks Welcome to Episode #111: This episode comes after a week of travelling solo in Italy reflecting on events and pivotal moments that led me to taking time in Italy to restore bala...

"We travel not to escape life, but for life to not escape us" Welcome to Episode #110: Italy beckons...  Today Nadia and I talk travel moments and her soulful Tuscany Cooking Retreat in Tuscany this year, see links below to book yourself something special in Italy this coming November-December…. Tuscan Escape with Nadia Fragnito Hortulanus Villa in Tuscany Support the show

"Does the ever- evolving desire for beauty at home derive from a super sense of conviviality?" - Frances Mayes, A Place in the World Welcome to Episode #109: Some of the most delicious parts of this journey over the many years of loving Italy is the way it slowly became a part of my every day life.  At home I see the art, the ceramics, the candle holders, the table ware, the cookbooks, t...

"It's about the treasure beneath our feet, it's about the land..." - Bailey Alexander Welcome to Episode #108: Bailey Alexander lived in the region of Piemonte Italy in the small village of Loazzolo for seven years with her husband Francis. Over time the place, the land, the people, the traditions, the lifestyle, and the wonderful campilismo began to shape her life in new and c...

"The only joy in the world is to begin" - Cesare Pavese, This Business of Living Welcome to Episode #107: The writing life is full of possibilities and paradoxes, yet some times you need some tips and tricks on how to move forward, how to make time, how to get past the resistance and the limitations, and just write. Living a creative life takes a little audacity, a dose of commitment and...

"It was always in my heart" - Pinch Me, Waking up in a 300-Year-Old Italian Farmhouse by Barbara Boyle Welcome to Episode #106, Barbara shares her book ‘Pinch Me - Waking up in a 300-Year-Old Italian Farmhouse’ and the tale of traveling from France to Piemonte to discover the region of the Langhe, the place she would fall in love with, buy an old farmhouse and begin a grand restoration p...

"You actually have permission to orient your life according to your nature rather than according to your culture and what you were taught was expected of you" - Elizabeth Gilbert, Living an Imperfectly Perfect Life - In Conversation with Sarah Grynberg  Welcome to Episode #105: After three days in Sydney pondering a workshop with Elizabeth Gilbert I come away with this share. It was a gi...

"There's an immense amount of love in Italian food, and I believe this is the key ingredient that makes it stand out from the rest: a love of good food, love for those  at your table, and a love for your territory and its produce. In Italy, food is never just food. Nowadays in particular, it's so important to know what we eat and where it comes from. I found this communal passion in...

"My motive was simple and hedonistic: I was looking for beauty" - Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel Welcome to Episode #103 I have mused over limoncello, Liguria, Milano and Roma, the streets of Genova and once wrote a love letter to Padova. I have revered Giotto and Botticelli and cried over Santa Chiara in Assisi. I have interviewed many beautiful women about their lives in Italy, the...

"Solitude, I reflected, is the one deep necessity of the human spirit to which adequate recognition is never given in our codes. It is looked upon as a discipline or penance, but hardly ever as indispensable, pleasant ingredient it is to ordinary life, and from this want of recognition come half of our domestic troubles" - Freya Stark, The Valleys of the Assassins and Other Persian Trave...

"The city is beautiful at night. There's a danger but also a freedom" - Erri de Luca, The Day Before Happiness Welcome to Episode #101:  Today I go on another travel adventure and share some of the story of my Naples travel experience…. To say the least Italy is always an adventure, as it turns out so is my life. I reflect on our time in Naples and the magic of travel, friendship an...

"Perhaps in Italy, surrounded by beauty and history, we shed the layers of who we think we're supposed to be and rediscover the essence of who we truly are" - Erica Simone Welcome to Episode #100: Today on the podcast we go on a personal journey, the story of what took me to Ischia recently and what exactly I discovered there.  From the Gulf of Naples we ferried over to the green is...

"I adore the spirit of Rome" - In the Shadow of a Cypress - An Italian Adventure  Welcome to Episode #99: Today we go on an adventure in Rome… I share some travel adventures and a few details on staying in Monti, Roma.  I take a few beautiful tangents telling you all about my recent time in Italy with my family, some discoveries, some funny moments, some tricky train delays and most impo...

"The travel journey is always an interesting paradox. To spend time navigating, being, seeing, collecting and contemplating. And haphazardly wondering about the next step. Yet, to not get carried away, or in front of yourself that you miss the opportunity that is right under your nose. I like sitting here observing the morning pursuits, the cars zooming in and out of the piazza, the deliverie...

"So this is it. I am thirty nine years old. I am sitting at a table in a medieval piazza with a black moleskine journal. I am sipping a glass of Chianti Classico. I stare at the menu with none other than Luca Signorelli on the cover. I like the words Gran Caffe Signorelli . Luca Signorelli was born in Cortona in 1441. He is still revered. Signorelli’s art is in many of the museums and churche...