Fammi una domanda January 2025

New year. Same me.

Buon Anno! Happy New Year!¹ It’s still January. Does this month feel exceptionally long to anyone else? This is a good time to re-introduce myself to all of the new people here. Welcome! Last year I talked to a lot of fellow writers about all kinds of things. By all kinds of things I mean I mostly talked about living in Rome and Venice and what I like to eat and see and do in my two homes.

I talked to

Alicia Kennedy

for the first installment of her new How do you eat series. For an hour on Zoom our conversation rambled from global and local food systems and what is like shopping and eating and living in towns where visitors and their desires vastly outnumber residents and their needs.

Samantha Childress

of Caravanserai! is an inspiring storyteller who weaves tales of her life in Egypt and Jordan with thoughtful prompts that ask you to think about how you travel. I adore how she told my story.

Tom Fish

asked me a question in his Speedy Boarding series that I had to really think about. It took a few long walks to come up with an answer. Now it is a question that I ask other people at cocktail and dinner parties. Where is a place that you would never go back to?

My Q&A with

Emily

at A Week in Paris is the most traditional of the interviews. I talk about a wide range of things starting with how I came to live in Rome and the life I had before that to the basics of buying a house in Venice. I also tell you what places and meals would be a part of my perfect day in Rome.

Here is one more with Inside Venice that is beautifully interpreted by

Valeria Necchio

.

This end of month newsletter is usually for paid subscribers only. For this first edition of 2025 I am removing the paywall and opening up my comment section to everyone. This is your chance to ask me your Italy travel questions.

Museum of the Month

Nobody likes being squashed in a crowd. It is certainly not fun to be squashed and hot and stuck waiting in a long line. That can often be the experience when visiting the big sites here. If you are coming to Italy this summer I have a suggestion for you. This after hours tour of the Basilica San Marco² that Mark and I did on a cold late December night is super special.

We met our guide in the Piazza San Marco where she gave us a brief history of the famous square and bell tower and then we learned about the mosaics and marbles on the facade and the story of doctrine and power that they told before going in a side door to a completely empty church. In a dim light we found a seat and then all of the lights were switched off and it was completely dark. Like you can’t see your hand in front of you dark. And then, the lights were turned back on. Slowly the glittering gold mosaics above us revealed themselves. It is a true goosebumps moment. After a good long look from our seats we then moved on to a brief tour of the rest of the Basilica, including the Pala d'Oro and the underground crypt where the relics of Saint Mark the Evangelist, the patron saint of Venice, were originally kept. For obvious reasons there is very little underground in Venice so this is really a thrill. The other thrilling thing about this tour is that you really have the chance to see the marvelous floors.

What I am reading, watching, and listening to

Given how the first few weeks of 2025 have gone, I am paying close attention to Lunar new years traditions.

Listen to this song made from the sounds of Venice.

Thanks to

Natalie Serber

I watched Moonstruck again. I recommend you do the same. And here is Cher’s Desert Island Disc episode.

ER was one of my favorite TV shows. I enjoyed the first 2 episodes of this new medical drama. I am curious about this American re-make of an Italian show.

I love an art crime tale. We are only just beginning to learn the scale of creative work and art that has been lost in Los Angeles.

Italians communicate almost exclusively via WhatsApp. It is also an actual lifeline.

Take a break in the northern Italian countryside with this lovely short film.

My newsletter pal

Alastair Leithead

’s audacious project in Portugal is launched! If you are looking for a groovy eco place for workshop or family reunion, this is it.

And now?

This final section of the newsletter has been something different with every year.

In 2022 I shared the newsletters that I liked to read.

In 2023 I wrote about the best thing that I ate that month.

In 2024 you got to come along on my rollercoaster ride of finding and buying and renovating a little house in Venice.

And for 2025? Is there something you like to hear about? Something new? A wine I tried? My grocery store staples? Something I bought or is on my wishlist? Tell me what you would like to see here every month.

1. Fammi una domanda: March 2024

2. I was invited by Walks and receive a small commission if you book a tour with this link