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Ciao Amici– Grazie mille for all your wonderful comments/answers to the Who Inspired Your Love for Italy question. I’ve loved reading each of them–from beautiful stories of nonnas, parents to teachers, children, friends, chefs, neighbors, Dante!–what amazing paths bring Italy into our lives! My husband drew names from a pasta bowl today…Allora…Drumroll… Here are the Book and Dream of Italy subscription winners: Trena Johnson = 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go, by Susan Van Allen Margery Holdsworth = How to Eat in Italy…if Chicken Parm is Your Favorite Italian Dish, by Carol Coviello-Malzone Christine Reinhardt = Italy: Instructions for Use, by Nan McElroyRead More →

To Celebrate the Holidays: ITALY BOOK GIVEAWAY! FIVE BOOKS ABOUT ITALY & AN ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION TO THE DREAM OF ITALY NEWSLETTER  WITH BONUS 2013 ITALIA CALENDAR Will be given away to commenters selected in a RANDOM DRAWING It’s NOT a CONTEST, anyone who comments can win! TO PLAY: Complete This Sentence In The Comment Section Below: Someone who inspired my Love for Italy was/is ________________________ Write the first thing that comes to your mind, for example… My Nana, who emigrated from Molise, traveled back to Italy, and sent letters that intrigued me  OR Iolanda, the signora in Montefollonico (Tuscany) who taught me to roll pici  OR TheRead More →

“Texan by birth, Italian by accident,” is how Kate Little describes herself. For Kate, a sciopero (strike) became a life-changing event. In 1989, she was traveling through Italy, got stranded in Monterosso al Mare (Cinque Terre) because of a train strike…and never left. She now lives in Fontana, a village between Monterosso and Levanto, with her husband, son, 2 dogs, 2 cats, 8 chickens, a turkey, and 2 awol land turtles. I discovered Kate through her Little Paradiso blog, where she writes great insider posts about her area, including a recent one about Monterosso’s prized lemons. Kate is an authorized Italian tour coordinator, a licensed sommelier, and holds a master’s degree fromRead More →

Andi Brown’s Once in a Lifetime blog sparkles with her lively passion for Italy. You’ll always find stunning photos there, and she covers the range of Italian experiences from recipes to rock bands, to one of her recent posts, that had me nodding along and smiling: Top 10 Cheap Thrills in Italy.  Though Andi’s traveled all over the globe, she has always been drawn back to Italy. She brings her love and decades of experience traveling there to her Consultation Service, where she customizes Italian travel itineraries, designing fabulous trips to fit any budget, giving visitors the chance to experience authentic Italy–from family run businesses,Read More →

There’s a new book on my reading list: Memoirs of a Solo Traveler – My Love Affair with Italy, by Margie Miklas. Margie is an Italian-American writer, photographer, and critical care nurse, based in Florida. Her memoir recounts her dream-come-true-3-month trip to Italy, where she visited 50 towns, from Val d’Aosta to Sicily, and also searched out her grandparent’s village, meeting long lost cousins. Brava Margie! I also recommend checking out this Italofile’s blog, Margieintaly, which features a mix of up to date Italy info and her beautiful photos, some of which she’s turned into notecards and sells in her Etsy shop. I’m so grateful she’sRead More →

We’re moving on to the region of Liguria, that enchanting crescent on Italy’s northwestern shore. Last spring, I spent a few dreamy days in Portovenere. The Romans believed that this spot is where the Goddess Venus rose from the sea. In early May, before the summer tourist crowds, it was heavenly. A lovely way to get there is by ferry from La Spezia, bobbing past fishing villages on the Gulf of the Poets, and then the Portovenere harbor appears…Click here for ferry schedule–the ride is about 45 minutes. Start your day with a buon capuccino at the Bar Lamia, right at the marina, where youRead More →

Lake Garda, Italy’s largest lake, is a gorgeous spot for relaxing and discovering charming towns. The jewel of them all is Sirmione, on a peninsula at the lake’s southern edge, surrounded by water on 3 sides. If you dash in for the day, or on a weekend in the summer tourist season, you may get turned off by the throngs of travelers. But if you wander away from il centro, and spend the night after the tourists have gone, you’ll experience paradise. The entrance to Sirmione is magical: you leave your car behind to enter this pedestrian-zoned town, and cross a moat that leads to the medieval Castello Scagliero. IfRead More →

For a beautiful experience of country life, check out Rowena Castelli’s Rubber Slippers in Italy blog. Rowena is originally from Hawaii, now enjoying life in the Province of Lecco, north of Milan, on the southeastern side of Lake Como. Her byline is, “You can take the girl out of the island, but you can’t take the island out of the girl.” Rowena’s posts lead us to discover off the beaten path spots around her home province and beyond, such as one of my recent favorites about a Sagra del Riso  in Valle Lomellina. She also gives great restaurant advice and her recipes are fab. “Go take aRead More →

I have loved traveling in Italy with Sandy Cutrone–we’ve explored and enjoyed delicious meals together in Abruzzo and Sardinia. Sandy is the award-winning President and founder of Vista Travel Consultants, a Virtuoso leisure travel agency and European Connection, a Specialty tour operator. She travels to Europe at least 10 times a year to keep her finger on the pulse of what’s happening, so her ideas and advice for hotels, restaurants, guides, and off the beaten path experiences are always current and exciting. Sandy has a great passion for Italy (her parents were born in the southern town of Caserta), and she brings her knowledge of history,Read More →

Star Meyer’s My Milan (Italy) blog is the perfect place to discover unique historic details of the city, find practical links, and get info on up to the minute happenings–such as her recent post about events to support the much needed restoration of Milan’s Duomo. Her passion for art shines through in her Milan posts–(she has a Ph.D. in art history)–and you may also enjoy her needlepoint blog, where she incorporates Italian art and architecture into her designs. She’s been living in Milan since 1996, works at the city’s Bagatti Valsecchi Museum, and teaches English at the John Peter Sloan School. I’m so grateful she’s joined in to giveRead More →