Dreaming of Italy 🍕🍷🍝 (Again)

Plus what author Katherine Sherbrooke is reading 📚

Photo by me, 2022

We’re desperate to get the hell out of Dodge, so of course, I’m planning a trip to Italia again soon (Roma, Venezia, and Lucca). To that end, I’m immersing myself in everything about il bel paese to whet my appetite. My husband has been avidly watching the webcams to find out what’s happening at the moment (note: they are six hours ahead of EST). Skyline Webcams has a really great network of cams around the world, and there are a whole bunch of them all over Italy, whether it’s the Colosseum, a volcano in Sicily, Piazza San Marco in Venice, or even a cam from Juliet’s balcony in Verona. Watching the cams during festivals or on New Year’s Eve is especially fun.

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Suggested Italy Reading

I’m also always reading up on what’s happening in Italy. The following publications help me stay up-to-date on everything from art, culture, and politics and how I might fulfill a dream of living, at least part-time, in Italy. I follow a lot of Italian language publications, but I will focus primarily on English here.

• The Local IT - A subscription publication, with its main audience being expats, but I find it ever informative for wannabe expats too.

• The Guardian: Italy - One of the best English language non-Italian newspaper coverages of the country.

• Wanted in Rome - Italy’s news in English. A fantastic resource.

• Italy Magazine - Everything from living in Italy, learning the language, or tips on travel.

• The Florentine - All things Florence, especially handy for expats.

• Dream of Italy - If you are thinking about moving to Italy for la bella vita, then this is super handy resource.

My Favorite Italian (and Italophile) Substacks

I read a LOT of substacks about Italy (which are much more fun than anything on social media these days). Here’s a sampling of some of my favorites, in no particular order.

• Understanding Rome

• Gillian Knows Best (Everything Rome and Venice)

• The New Roman Times

• The Week in Italy

• Tante Belle Cose

• The Painted Palazzo (historian Mary Jane Cryan)

• Linda Lappin in Italy

• Cecelia’s Perfect Artichoke

• Elizabeth Minchilli’s Newsletter

• Escape to the Bookshop

• Italian Disco Stories

• Letters from Rome

• Letters from Tuscany

• Buona Domenica

• Life Lived Italian

• Simply Divina

• La Befana’s Table

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What We’re Reading

Katherine Sherbrooke is the award-winning author of three novels, Leaving Coy's Hill, The Hidden Life of Aster Kelly, and Fill the Sky. You can find her at www.kasherbrooke.com, on Insta @kazzese and BlueSky @ksherbrooke.bsky.social.

What I Just Finished Reading:

Ring by Michelle Lerner. Set in an unconventional sanctuary in the remote tundra of Western Canada, this is a stunning meditation on grief, how it can paralyze us, and what helps us heal. This novel asks important ethical and moral questions about the value of each of our lives and left me hopeful and inspired by the power of the simplest forms of human connection.

What I’m Currently Reading:

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. I'm always interested in reading whatever book is all the "hype" and a friend told me it kept her guessing until the end. I'm enjoying the portraits of each character so far and am intrigued by the central mystery. We'll see whether or not I can figure it out before I get to the end!

What I’m Looking Forward To Reading:

In the Weeds, Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain, by Tom Vitale. My husband and I have long been Bourdain fans and I'm fascinated (and bracing myself) for insights about this wildly talented and mysterious person from his long-time producer/director. My husband says it's hilarious one moment and deeply emotional the next, just like the man himself.

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Where I’ll Be - TONIGHT! February 20th

I’ll be in conversation with Olivia Kate Cerrone at the best bookstore in the country specializing in Italian books (and books set in Italy), I AM Books in Boston’s North End. Snag your free ticket here.

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What’s Bringing Me Joy

Christopher Walken never fails to entertain or impress.

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Thanks for Joining Me

If you love food and love Italy, and haven’t read THE CHEF’S SECRET or FEAST OF SORROW, click the links to learn where to buy your copy! And now you can order my latest, IN THE GARDEN OF MONSTERS!

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