In the inaugural episode, I’ll preview three types of episodes: 1) practical travel advice from Italy experts, 2) engaging stories that enrich the travel experience, and 3) trip consultations recorded at Red Sauce Studios in Manhattan’s Little Italy, home of the Italian American Podcast.

Additionally, I’ll introduce our new Italy Trip Planning Community for subscribers. I will moderate it with weekly opportunities for questions, resources, and post-episode discussions with me and other subscribers.

All episodes of Tante Belle Cose are free, but our community is paid, so I can give your questions the attention they deserve and ensure you get the best advice possible.

Show Notes

I discuss how social media algorithms shape our travel experiences, oversaturating popular destinations and leading to over-tourism. I outline the three types of episodes. The first is advice-driven discussions, where I will invite my favorite friends and colleagues in Italy to share tips and ideas.

The second is in-depth storytelling inspired by Anthony Bourdain. Expect to hear untold stories about Italy's lesser-known destinations so you can experience sightseeing and meaningful interactions that will reveal Italy’s magic. These episodes are designed to make you fall in love with places you never even knew you wanted to visit.

Finally, listeners can apply for a live trip consultation with me in New York City this November, December, and January. I’ll be posting a call for applications soon.

00:00 Welcome to Tante Belle Cose

00:30 The Birth of Tante Belle Cose

00:46 The Problem with Modern Travel Media

01:52 Overtourism and Its Consequences

03:24 The True Essence of Italy

04:19 Experiencing Italy's Less Well-Known Destinations

05:38 The Future of Travel and Overcoming Overtourism

06:22 What to Expect from Tante Belle Cose

07:32 Stories to Inspire Your Italian Journey

13:21 Join Our Italy Travel Community

14:55 Stay Connected and Subscribe

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the poll I sent out in my last newsletter. The top request for 2024 was for more posts on travel planning, closely followed by a podcast.

Since it’s officially trip planning season, let’s start there.

Here’s a direct transcript from my most recent Trip Consultation, which succinctly illustrates what happens to most people when they start self-planning their Italy trip. My client said:

“I think we probably fell into the trap that everyone does. 

We've never been to Italy. 

So you read a little bit and then you book some things because that's what's popular. 

And then after you book it, you read more and then you're like, oh my God, should I just go somewhere I've never heard of? 

And so I'm just in the middle of that decision and I'm at the point where you read too much and everyone has a different opinion. And so…I don't know if I'm making good decisions!”

The solution

If you want to cut through the noise of all the information and opinions you have absorbed, answer these two questions:

* What are the experiences you most want to have?

* What is your budget?

My client and I continued talking, and she said that she had chosen three locations for her two-week trip: Venice and Rome because they are iconic, and Sorrento for a full week. When we discussed experiences, she said she wanted to see famous sites, especially the Sistine Chapel, but she chose Sorrento as a place to relax, not have any real plans, avoid crowds, swim, wander, and explore quaint seaside villages. Unfortunately, this vision does not align with the reality of tourist-heavy Sorrento, even though that’s the image the mass tourism market sells you.

So we moved on to the next question: what is your budget? With that in mind, it was very easy to choose a different location where she could have the easy, relaxed experience she wanted.

Get specific

If you’ve spent too much online, this question might confuse or even annoy you. Aren’t there things you must see, like the Colosseum or Michelangelo’s David? Aren’t the Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast unmissable destinations? If these are the ideas guiding your trip planning, I invite you to list the things you are truly interested in doing and seeing without worrying about anyone else’s judgment. Be honest about how you feel about heat and crowds, and don’t expect nice hotels or skip-the-line tickets to solve those issues completely.

A few months back, I had clients who had chosen Rome as the single destination for their one-week vacation, and they were having a hard time choosing the right neighborhood to book an apartment stay. Their list included:

-Want to see a local tradesman/artisan shops

-Interested in buildings and architecture more than churches

-Unique food experiences: We don’t care about social media favorites; we prefer family-run places with true, authentic character. We hate lines and don’t want to have to make all of our reservations ahead of time.

Rome has always been a capital and a pilgrim city, not an artisan hub. The bigger problem is that few decent restaurants are in the city center, all requiring reservations made two months ago. This couple wanted to do everything on foot, so traveling each evening by taxi to the restaurants where Romans eat did not match their vision.

I suggested they instead consider Modena, where they could wander around the Mercato Albinelli, take the train to Parma to admire the architecture and decide where they wanted to eat spontaneously without receiving the dreaded laminated menu with photographs. After the trip, they told me that it was the perfect location, that they barely scraped the surface of all the wonderful things to see and eat, especially in Parma, and they plan to return.

Che emozione

Italians frequently use the expression “che emozione” which does not translate well into English. Literally, it means “what an emotion,” and you may see tours that promise to “give you emotions” or the spa menu in a hotel lists “an emotional shower.” The sentiment conveys something more akin to “how thrilling” or “how moving.” So, when considering the experience of Italy you want to have, ask yourself what makes you feel awe and wonder. Is it art, music, or being in nature? A suit cut to your exact measurements by a Neapolitan tailor or simply being in the company of interesting people? Identify what you want to experience, and you’ll escape the FOMO trap.

Let’s talk money

This is frequently an uncomfortable question, and I’m still surprised by how often people don’t want to think about it. But it’s critical, even if your budget is open-ended, because the luxury market is especially rife with hollow experiences.

A huge mistake is to shop the travel market like a grocery store. If you find yourself on Viator or GetYourGuide, you’ll feel inclined to price shop for Colosseum tours and “pizza and gelato” cooking classes and be led in circles by the algorithms and reviews. Like at the grocery store, you may splurge on one or two items, but overall, you feel assured you are spending a reasonable amount of money based on what the Internet tells you are the best things to do in Italy. Don’t do this.

There’s no average cost for a trip to Italy, and the best experiences in Italy are not on those platforms with outrageous commission structures that are slowly gutting small businesses.

This is where the two questions meet and show you the way: Do you really want to see the Colosseum? Maybe so, but don't if you only buy those tickets because you feel you must. The money and time spent might be better used on an experience of something you think you can’t afford, but it makes you say, “Che emozione!”

A few ideas

Here are a few experiences that made me feel Italian emotions:

* The Vatican Key Master’s Tour is outrageously expensive yet worth every penny for an art history nerd like me.

* The tripe sandwiches at Tripperia Pollini in Florence. Nope, I'm not kidding.

* Seeing the ragù pot at Antica Trattoria di Pietro. (I was moved to tears.)

* The Temple of Mercury at Baia. My jaw is still somewhere on the floor.

Was this helpful? Let me know what you’re thinking about in the comments.

The last day to register for my Spring Food & Wine Workshop in South Italy is February 5th! If you’re considering joining us but have questions, get in touch so we can make an appointment to chat by phone or Zoom.

Episodes are always free, but to join our Italy trip-planning community, subscribe on Substack at danielleoteri.com.

In this episode, I sit down with Francis Cratil and Cathy Lee, owners of Le Virtù, a South Philadelphia restaurant dedicated to Abruzzese cuisine. We explore the ancient Panarda, a 40-course feast held annually since 1657 in Villavallelonga, a tiny village in the Abruzzo mountains. The episode delves into the region’s rich traditions, including the ancient January fire festivals and the incredible food culture that remains largely undiscovered by tourists.

00:00 Introduction to Tante Belle Cose

00:55 Meet Francis and Cathy: The Heart of Le Virtù

01:55 The Abruzzo Connection: Francis’s grandfather and the old South Philly

03:44 The Birth of Le Virtù Restaurant: “Everything you don’t do”

08:01 La Panarda: A Feast of Tradition, a 40 course feast that has become a hot ticket every since Domenica Marchetti wrote about it for the Washington Post.

09:45 The Magic of Abruzzo in Philadelphia

15:58 The Mayor's Visit and a Special Invitation

19:08 A Magical Keyhole in the Cold Abruzzese Winter

30:12 Conclusion and Invitation to the Travel Community

Subscribe on Substack to join our Travel Planning Community.

Before entering the travel business, I was a professional art history nerd. I was a lecturer at the Met Cloisters for 16 years and had the opportunity to hone my craft as a tour host and speaker, and it has made me very selective about the tours I choose for my travels. There’s a lot of junk out there, and knowing where to invest your time and money is not straightforward. For this episode, I chatted with Petulia Melideo of Context Travel about the overcrowding of the most famous sites and how to get the most out of your trip. It’s an honest, straightforward conversation that I hope will provide you with fantastic value.

00:16 My Journey from the Met Cloisters and the Secret of the Unicorn Tapestries

00:53 The Art of Being a Tour Guide

03:19 Choosing the Right Tour

05:44 The Impact of Over Tourism in Rome and Florence

10:38 Exploring Off the Beaten Path in Ostia Antica

21:26 Traveling with Kids in Italy Is So Much Easier Than You Think

26:29 A Slice of Local Life Near the Pantheon in the Piazza di Pietra

29:24 Conclusion and Invitation

Last week, I helped one of my relatives harvest olives at Borgo La Pietraia. Giovanni reflected on his memories of when women collected olives entirely by hand and would place them in the folds of their aprons. We discussed this while watching the gardener use a mechanical weed whacker designed to knock the olives loose from the tree, and he said something wise. (Giovanni has many wise things to say; I call him my Italian Yoda.)

He said that we're no longer at the end of an era. We're firmly at the beginning of a new, very long era. And changes are occurring that we can't barely imagine. But we're also still at a place where we can look back and see how people have lived for centuries, especially in these small villages around southern Italy.  And they are very much worth looking back at because they have so much to teach us.

In this week’s episode, I’ll take you for a walk around Trentinara, one of my favorite small towns in Italy, and share how I look and notice all the small details that reveal so much.

00:17 Harvesting Olives with Giovanni

01:11 Exploring Small Villages in Italy

01:44 A Walk Through Trentinara

03:33 The Charm of Small Towns

08:06 The Wisdom of Small-Town Living

11:53 Revitalizing Small Villages

13:41 Finding and Visiting Small Villages and the Borghi Piu Belli

21:56 Conclusion and Community Invitation

Planning an Italy trip is difficult, especially considering the incredible range of experiences you can have in a geographically small country. This challenge is paired with many misconceptions that can lead you astray. In this episode of Tante Belle Cose, I’ll discuss the most common ones and give you a more accurate picture of iconic experiences like the Tuscan Villa and Amalfi Coast. I will address practical challenges such as driving necessities and hidden costs of renting a villa while debunking fear-mongering myths, particularly around pickpocketing.

I’ll also discuss why August can be the best month for travelers seeking a truly authentic experience of Italian life for those willing to leave the bucket list behind and get into Italy’s small towns in the mountains and along the coast.

It also offers strategies to navigate the crowded, popular sites impacted by cruise tourism, with tips on visiting during off-peak times and exploring lesser-known regions. And for the early-bird planners who fear that Italy is already sold out for 2025, I’ll explain how the sausage is made in the travel industry and why you’re not too late to book your trip.

00:12 Common Misconceptions About Italy Trips

01:13 The Tuscan Villa Experience

03:07 Challenges of Driving in Italy

05:00 The Reality of the Amalfi Coast

07:36 Navigating YouTube Travel Advice

11:11 August: A Controversial Travel Month

11:21 Debunking August Travel Myths

11:45 Discovering Authentic Italy in August

12:32 Exploring Italy's Summer Festivals

13:52 Tips for Visiting Italy's Small Towns

15:50 Navigating Italy's Tourist Hotspots

19:22 Planning for Your Italian Adventure

21:41 Join Our Subscriber Community

Do you want a one-on-one evaluation of your Italy travel plan?

Trip Audits are a professional evaluation of your travel plans and/or self-planned itinerary. Within 48 hours, you’ll receive a detailed video packed with my advice, recommendations, and tips.

Trip Consultations are a 60-minute conversation on Zoom with Danielle Oteri about your trip. It’s ideal for those overwhelmed by trip planning to skip the learning curve and get right to the best answers.

Last year, Michele Iorio gave me the most delicious olive oil I ever tasted. I was fresh off an overnight flight and had just stepped out of the shower when Arianna, my cousin and business partner, sent me a messagino to come say a quick hello to her friend. He, too, had a business with his American family.

Seeing my wet hair and tired eyes, Michele said, “I speak English!” which was a relief. He told me a little about his new olive oil company, Ventiolivi, which means twenty olives. Over one hundred years ago, his great-great uncle left Italy when he was just 16 years old to work in the Pennslyvania coal mines. He sent back money that allowed the family to purchase land with twenty olive trees and change their fates. Michele had stopped by Borgo La Pietraia to give samples to Arianna and Chef Mario Stellato, and he also gave me two small bottles.

Back home, I carefully rationed every drop of olive oil because not only did it taste brighter or fresher than anything I could buy in the US, but it also tasted like the herb-strewn land of Cilento—the place I love best and where my own family tree is rooted.

In this episode, I speak with Michele, who makes this olive oil from the thousands of olive trees that followed those first twenty. In June of 2024, we met again at Borgo La Pietraia to discuss his company and oleo tourism, which connects tourists with olive oil producers to have experiences similar to wine tastings and more deeply connect to Italy’s food culture. Michele is also a professor of oleo tourism at Università degli Studi Roma Tre.

Then, in August, I chatted with his American cousin, Michael Yorio. Michael met Michele when he traveled to Italy to run a half-marathon. He decided to go up in the hills and find his grandfather’s village. A local cop spent the afternoon digging through the village’s records and reconnected the family who had lost contact for decades. I spent the afternoon with Michael at The Cloisters in New York City, where you can hear birds chirping in the background.

I hope you will be inspired by this story, which taught me how beautiful life can be when you give attention and appreciation to the earth and all her gifts.

Vittoria Colonna was the most influential woman of the Renaissance, known for her 'male brains' and collaborations with Michelangelo. The discovery of a mummy in Naples may explain what happened to her body when she died and reveal an even more significant, history-changing secret.

00:00 A Love Story for the Ages

01:05 Exploring Naples and Ischia with Rita

01:44 The Aragonese Kings and Their Health Secrets

02:41 The Mysterious Mummy Discovery

03:53 Unraveling the Mystery of Vittoria Colonna

05:44 A Personal Journey to Ischia

08:57 The Life and Legacy of Vittoria Colonna

12:58 Michelangelo's Obsession

22:15 The Androgynous Ideal in the Renaissance

31:14 The Final Mystery and Conclusion

Last year, I wrote “Authentic Italian Food Is Not What The Internet Thinks It Is” about the unlikely places where traditional Italian cooking is found. One is Antica Trattoria Di Pietro, which opened in 1934 in the village of Melito Irpino. When an earthquake destroyed the ancient town, the government built a new Melito designed by Brutalist architects. The trattoria moved into its new home, where it remains today.

Since last year, I’ve gotten to know Anita Di Pietro a little better, and I was honored she opened the doors for me on their day off to record this episode. Officially, she is the chef but doesn’t feel comfortable with that title, which she’ll explain in this episode. Her mother, Teresa, who helmed the kitchen before Anita returned home at 27 years old to take over, was also there testing a new recipe while we chatted. Crescenzo, Anita’s father and one of the fiercest stewards of traditional Italian cuisine, was out shopping with Rafi Bildner, an American chef who fell deeply in love with the Di Pietro family, and you’ll hear all about his restaurant called Hilltown, which will recreate a piece of Melito in the Berkshires. You’ll also meet Sarah Pompei, a passionate ambassador for Irpinia’s food and winemakers who have so much to share but are challenging to find in the tourism marketplace.

I intended for this episode to explore traditional recipes in depth, but when you’re in Anita’s “magic circle,” you go where the conversation takes you. It’s an episode full of laughter, clanking forks, and a cameo from my dog Lenù, who ate her weight in steak that day.

We do also discuss dishes like minestra maritata, from which the Americanized “Italian wedding soup” derives. In Irpinia, it’s made with seven different kinds of wild greens, inexpensive pork cuts, and a crunchy piece of polenta. You’ll also hear me gush over the delicious involtinti di verza and cabbage-wrapped cheese, and I’ve included the recipe for our paid subscribers.

The episode also discusses the massive changes in Italian food culture, including the impact of the passing generations and the importance of local food and food makers.

00:24 Discovering Melito Irpino

01:16 Inside the Trattoria

01:41 Traditional Italian Recipes

04:22 The History of Antica Trattoria di Pietro from Melito to South Africa

06:32 Anita's Magic Circle

10:48 Cooking Classes Are Part of a New Era For the Trattoria

17:39 Why Anita Does Not Want To Be Called A Chef

23:07 Reflections on Simple Living

If you enjoy this episode, please share it on social media! This is a new podcast, and I want it to reach all those who will appreciate these stories about Italy's hidden treasures.

When I sat down to update our free guide, Five Essential Things to Know Before Planning Your Italy Trip, I realized it deserved more than a refresh—it needed to become a podcast episode that could be easily shared. With overtourism’s effects becoming increasingly visible, it’s important to have a realistic picture of what to expect so you can plan well. This episode distills the guide into actionable advice with fresh insights added.

I’ve also decided to offer a live Q&A for our subscribers. Put December 2 at 8 PM ET on your calendar. I’ll answer your travel questions live, and if you can’t attend, put your question in the subscriber chat, and I’ll answer it. Subscribers will also get a link to the Zoom recording the following day.

If you're already a subscriber, you don’t need to do anything. I’ll send you the Zoom link before the call—just mark the date. And if you’re not yet a subscriber…

00:38 Upcoming Changes for 2025

02:14 Trip Planning Essentials

03:07 Overtourism and Pricing

04:57 Exploring the Amalfi Coast

09:24 Rome Travel Tips

12:42 Venice Is Not A Day Trip

14:24 Wine Tasting Beyond Tuscany

16:31 Debunking Myths About Naples

18:45 Bonus Round!

20:04 Conclusion and Q&A Reminder

Note for subscribers: Our monthly Zoom is on January 21st at 8 pm ET and the link is the Tante Belle Cose community. If you can’t make it, email me your question. I’ll answer it live and share the recording the next day.

Florence is experiencing some of the world’s worst over-tourism, with wine windows and big sandwiches overshadowing the best reason to go there: art. In this episode, I hope to inspire you to step into the world of the Renaissance by introducing you to the Tornabuoni family. They were the second wealthiest family in Florence, next to the Medici, and their lives can be easily compared to those of the billionaire class of New York City or Silicon Valley.

In particular, you’ll meet 14-year-old Ludovica Tornabuoni and learn how she would have used horse urine to dye her blonde hair and the toxic herb belladonna to dilate her pupils, conforming to the beauty standards of her day.

This deep dive into the Renaissance offers a few solutions to Florence's toxic tourism. We can play a vital role in preserving Florence's cultural legacy by shifting focus from fleeting social media trends to the city's enduring artisanal traditions—be it leather crafting, paper marbling, or art restoration. If you think you’re not an “art or museum person,” give this a listen, and let me know if I’ve changed your mind in the comments.

00:38 Falling in Love with Florence

00:57 The Art of Florence

01:49 Experiencing Art in Its Original Setting

02:45 Overtourism in Florence

04:43 A Different Perspective on Florence

04:59 Exploring Santa Maria Novella

08:18 The Tornabuoni Chapel

18:18 Beauty Ideals in Renaissance Florence

24:14 Florentine Artisan Heritage

27:28 Conclusion and Subscriber Community

In this festive episode, I delve into the origins and traditions of the Feast of the Seven Fishes, a cherished Italian American Christmas Eve celebration. Joined by Patrick O'Boyle from the Italian American Podcast, I explore the history and myths surrounding the 'seven fishes' notion, its sudden popularity in the 1980s, and how different fish dishes evolved. We share personal anecdotes, regional variations, and insights from chef Anita DiPietro on the significance of numbers in Italian culinary traditions. The episode also features a detailed account of Christmas Eve preparations and recipes from my dear friend Jennifer Federico, spotlighting the cultural richness and adaptability of Italian American holiday customs.

00:00 Introduction to the Feast of the Seven Fishes

00:39 Origins and Theories of the Seven Fishes

02:44 Italian American Traditions and Memories

05:37 Post-War Changes and Modern Adaptations

08:40 Cultural Significance and Personal Stories

19:28 Conclusion and Future Plans

This episode features a live trip consultation with Krista Senatore over Zoom. We discuss her upcoming trip to Italy with her 13-year-old daughter. We explore logistics, including traveling to Naples, renting a car, and visiting historical sites like Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, Matera, and various coastal towns in Cilento and Puglia. I provide detailed recommendations on accommodations, transportation, and unique experiences, such as the underwater archaeological site in Baia. We also discuss potential beach destinations and how to incorporate authentic cultural experiences into their trip.

The episode aims to offer valuable insights and practical advice for anyone planning a trip to Italy, mainly focusing on less touristy and more enriching experiences.

00:00 Welcome to Tante Belle Cose

00:14 Live Trip Consultation Introduction

01:33 Meet Krista and Her Travel Plans

03:15 Travel Logistics and Flight Options

05:45 Exploring Matera: The Cave City

15:13 Pompeii and Surrounding Archaeological Sites

22:30 Driving in Italy: Tips and Advice

25:43 Navigating Matera: Parking and Hospitality Tips

26:21 Exploring Matera: Hotels and Walking Tips

27:20 Discovering Matera's Historical Sites

27:44 The Murgia Valley: Cave Churches and Ancient Footprints

28:28 The Cave of the Original Sin: A Unique Experience

31:37 Exploring Altamura and Nearby Beaches

34:44 Puglia: Beaches, Cities, and Budget Tips

41:58 Returning to Naples: Must-See Sites and Tips

46:33 Planning Your Trip: Final Tips and Resources

If you’d like to book your Trip Consultation, visit: https://www.feasttravel.com/travel-consultation

In this FAQ episode, I address travelers' most common questions about planning a trip to Italy, drawn from a deep dive into Google Analytics.

Topics include what to wear, how much Italian you should learn, budgeting for your trip, safety concerns, the best times to visit, hidden gems, cash needs, gluten-free dining, and Italian cultural quirks. Additionally, I offer tips on respectful conversations about politics abroad because, let’s face it, things are different now.

00:00 Introduction

00:49 Why Planning an Italy Trip is Challenging

01:49 What to Wear in Italy

08:59 How Much Italian Should You Learn?

10:29 Budgeting for Your Italy Trip

15:52 Safety in Italy

16:44 Best Time to Visit Italy

20:25 Hidden Gems and Authentic Italy

21:33 Handling Money in Italy

23:31 Dietary Considerations in Italy

25:14 Why Italians Don’t Drink As Much Water as Americans

26:31 Conclusion and Additional Resources

This episode explores the rich history and luxurious experiences of ancient spas, from the newly discovered private spa in Pompeii to the ancient thermal baths of Baia and the renowned Baths of Caracalla in Rome. I’ll also take you to Ischia's hot springs and Nitrodi, the oldest spa in the world. Learn about the technological marvels of Roman baths and how to incorporate these rejuvenating experiences into your own Italian travel itinerary.

00:00 Special Announcement: Chef Mario Stellato will visit New York on February 28, 2025, for a dinner at the James Beard Foundation’s Platform at Pier 57. Buy tickets here and use code cheffeb10 for a 10% discount.

01:59 Road Trip and Pompeii's New Discovery

02:59 The Wonders of Ancient Roman Spas

03:57 Exploring Pompeii's Private Spa

07:26 Baia: The Roman Elite's Luxury Escape

12:15 The Baths of Caracalla in Rome

16:56 Ischia: The Island of Hot Springs

19:41 Nitrodi: The World's Oldest Spa

24:41 Conclusion and Future Episodes

Want more ideas for your self-planned itinerary? Join our subscriber community here to access our monthly Zoom calls or book a one-on-one Trip Consultation. 

I just got back from a quick trip to Italy—11 days, which is about the average stay for most of my clients. In doing so, I had the chance to better walk in your shoes and check and challenge the travel planning advice I offer.

Now that I’m home and have had time to reflect, I’m doubling down on my advice for what to do on arrival day, the maximum number of locations you should have in a 10-day trip, and where to find the best food experiences. I’ll also offer a little preview of my trip to Turin, which will be the subject of a forthcoming episode. Finally, I discuss the view of Americans in Italy right now in this strained political moment and share my advice on how to navigate it.

00:17 Experiencing a Short Trip to Italy

00:56 Dealing with Jet Lag

04:37 Traveling Between Cities via Train

08:05 Restaurant Reservations in Rome

10:28 Exploring Authentic Italian Food Culture

12:09 The Charm of Torino

14:06 Perceptions of Americans in Europe

16:47 Community and Subscription Information

This episode features an interview with author and journalist Helene Stapinski about Basilicata. I discuss Helene’s remarkable investigation into a family mystery in her book Murder in Matera, which blends Italian history, true crime, and personal discovery. We delve into Basilicata's beautiful yet lesser-known area, exploring its pristine beaches, ancient ruins, and local culture. Helene provides insights into where to stay, where she had the best meal of her life, and about the completed untouristed ruins and beaches along the Ionian coast. 

We also discussed the arduous journey of Italian immigrants from small towns to Naples before setting sail for America, which she beautifully described in her book.

This episode is packed with personal anecdotes, like why so many Southern Italians don’t know how to swim, travel tips for getting around Basilicata by car and train, and a deeper understanding of Italy’s hidden treasures like the extraordinary gold wreath at the archeaological museum at Metaponto.

00:00 Introduction to Helene Stapinski’s writing

01:23 Murder in Matera: A Deep Dive

02:53 Exploring Matera and Basilicata

03:40 Interview with Helene Stepinski

04:18 Hidden Gems of Basilicata

08:37 Cultural Insights and Personal Stories

22:03 The Emigrant Experience

35:01 Conclusion and Future Plans

Read Helene’s New York Times story about the Ionian Coast

Read A History of Hunger Lies Beneath Italy’s Food Culture in Time Magazine

Turin is one of Italy’s major cities. It’s an affordable, walkable city full of history, culture, centuries-old cafes, and chocolate shops. Prestigious locations like Barolo and Alba surround it, yet the city has no mass tourism. Did I mention it’s only an hour by train from one of the biggest airports in Europe? Or that it has the largest open-air food market in Europe?

This episode introduces Turin, drawing from my explorations there in late March 2025. Research is the best part of my job, and testing out cafes, cocktail bars, and chocolate shops was one of the better assignments I’ve ever given myself.

As you’ll hear, I recommend you start your visit at Cafe al Bicerin, and then let your Turin adventure unfold from there. To expand more on food in Turin, especially the truly amazing Porta Palazzo Market, I interviewed Marco Romeo, founder of Streaty Food Tours, who recently launched a tour in Turin. His marketing agency said there aren’t many searches for food tours in Turin, so it may not be a good market for business, but he says it is all the better for those who visit because Turin is the real Italy.

The next “Ask Me Anything About Italy” is happening on May 15th at 8pm ET. Paid subscribers will receive the Zoom link via email on May 14th, along with a link to add your question if you can’t join us live. The session will be recorded and the replay sent to subscribers the following day.

In this episode, I discuss the unexpected passing of Pope Francis on Easter Monday and its significant historical context given the ongoing Papal Jubilee. For insight into what to expect, especially for those wondering if their Vatican tours will be cancelled, I spoke with Margherita Capponi, our most trusted guide in Rome. She is an archaeologist and a seventh-generation Roman, who provides insights into the historical traditions and logistical arrangements for the forthcoming papal funeral and the election of a new pope. The episode covers the special ceremonial events in Rome, the role of pilgrims during the Jubilee year, and the impact on Vatican tours. We also discuss the conclave process, and Margherita answers my burning question about what the cardinals will eat while they’re in Rome!

If you’re coming to Rome, or want to know more about this piece of history about to be written, listen first to Margherita.

00:00 Breaking News: Pope Francis Passes Away

00:30 Interview with Margherita Capponi

02:48 Understanding the Papal Jubilee

05:41 Upcoming Events and Changes in Rome

09:12 The Conclave: Electing the New Pope

13:28 Touring Rome During the Jubilee Year

22:31 Final Thoughts and Travel Tips

If you'd like to explore Rome with Margherita, please get in touch! We work together to organize tours of all the major sites, but highly recommend getting off the beaten path with Margherita as well. Last June, Margherita took us on a tour of the Museum of the Walls, the Via Appia, the catacombs, and then finally to lunch in Testaccio for a classic Roman meal. Nothing was crowded, and we learned so much.

This podcast is free, but if you become a paid subscriber on Substack, you’ll gain access to our monthly Zoom calls, where you can ask all your trip planning questions.

If you'd like to delve deeper and have me strategize your entire trip, consider a Trip Consultation. In just one hour, I will save you months of research, eliminate confusion, and provide you with all the resources you need to book your ideal trip to Italy.

The second part of Episode 17 takes you inside the Ipogeo dei Cristallini, which has only been open to the public since 2022. Italy is full of tombs and catacombs, and while each one holds fascinating stories, I appreciate that it can be challenging to connect with archaeological sites like these, especially when compared to something more relatable, like the Colosseum. To bridge the gap, I’m offering you a deeply personal story about the secrets in my family’s mausoleum, which isn’t much different than the ancient Greek one on Via Cristallini.

The podcast is available and always free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. If you would like to join our trip planning community, become a paid subscriber right here on Substack, and get access to our monthly Q&As where I’ll personally answer all your trip planning questions.

00:00 Introduction: Brief recap of Part 1 of Episode 17 and Introduction to Ipogeo Cristallini

28:59 A Link To My Family History

29:21 Connecting People Across History

29:33 Archaeological Discoveries in the Ipogeo dei Cristallini, Including 700 Objects, and Bones

30:02 Rinascita (Rebirth)

30:09 Conclusion

Finally, if you’d like to watch the video reconstruction of the Ipogeo, it’s available on YouTube.

Paid subscribers, our April “Ask Me Anything About Italy” meeting will be on April 17th at 8 pm ET. Subscribers will receive the Zoom link the day before. This is your opportunity to ask all your trip planning questions, or other questions you may have about art, history, and food in Italy. If you can’t join us live, you can email me your questions and I’ll answer them on the call. I send out the replay and resource list the following day.

This two-part episode will explain why I think Naples is Italy's most vibrant, fascinating city. We’ll visit the Rione Sanità, a working-class district next to the Centro Storico. When Naples was a Greek, and then a Roman town, the Sanità was just outside the city gates and was where people buried their dead. The early Christians built catacombs in this district, carved out of the soft tufa stone deposited in Naples by ancient volcanic eruptions. In the Middle Ages, mudslides covered these ancient structures, and another city developed on top. During the glory period of Naples in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Sanità was home to noble palaces and artisans whose shops lined Via Cristallini. Then, the area fell into decline and was the territory of the Camorra, the loathsome mafia of Naples, especially in the 1980s and 90s.

Today, Sanità remains a working-class neighborhood inhabited by artists and a local community invested in preserving and sharing its many treasures, from the early Christian catacombs to the Blue Church, which local artists recently reclaimed.

In this episode, you’ll meet Ines Sallemi, co-owner of Atelier Ines. This boutique hotel provides travelers (not tourists) an entryway to the creativity and mystery that define this neighborhood. Together with her husband and artist Vincenzo Oste, whose art studio is inside the palazzo, they’ve taken the spirit of the place, which used to be an open-air theater that lets guests have an authentic experience of the city.

Directly below the wine cellar at Atelier Ines is the Ipogeo Cristallini, a 2,300-year-old Greek mausoleum. Though it was discovered a century ago, it has only been open to the public since 2022. I’ll take you inside the Ipogeo in part 2 of this episode, which will be available next week.

00:00 Introduction and Monthly Q&A Announcement

01:10 Exploring the Historic Center of Naples

02:00 Discovering the Sanità Neighborhood

02:54 Ancient Temples and Modern Art in Naples

04:23 A Visit to Atelier Ines

06:39 The Duality of Naples: Beauty and Danger

07:54 Life and Community in Sanità

09:07 The Unique Hospitality of Atelier Ines

19:39 The Rich History of Naples

30:06 A Personal Connection to the Past

31:42 Conclusion and Next Episode Preview

Upcoming Events for Paid Subscribers🗓️ Ask Me Anything About Italy – Wednesday, July 24 at 8 pm ET - The Zoom link will be sent to subscribers on Thursday afternoon!🗓️ Destination Deep Dive: Florence – Wednesday, July 31

If you're a paid subscriber, you'll receive access to both Zoom events — ask your travel questions live on the 24th, and then join me for an immersive cultural deep dive into Florence, its Renaissance treasures, and its hidden gems on the 31st.

💌 Not a paid subscriber yet? Subscribe here to unlock all Italy travel resources, including itineraries, deep dives, and replays.

This week’s question comes from Kristin on Instagram, who asks, “What the heck is a UNESCO World Heritage Site?”

Whenever I help someone plan their trip to Italy, I try to include what I call an Indiana Jones moment. This place invites a sense of wonder and curiosity, where history comes alive and you're completely immersed in the experience.

One of the best places to look for ideas? Italy’s UNESCO World Heritage list.

In this episode, I discuss the stories behind some of the most famous sites, including the historic centers of Rome and Florence, as well as lesser-known places like Matera, the Arab-Norman architecture in Palermo, and the monumental Certosa di Padula monastery in the Cilento.

You'll hear why these sites matter, how they got their designation, and what happens after — including both the benefits and some of the criticisms of the UNESCO system. I also discuss what it means for travelers like us and how to find meaningful experiences, not just the Instagrammable ones.

So if you're looking for inspiration — especially something a little more adventurous — this episode is a great starting point.

00:00 - 02:00: Introduction to UNESCO and its role in preserving cultural heritage.

02:01 - 05:00: Italy's prominence with 59 UNESCO sites and what it means.

05:01 - 08:00: The transformation of Matera and its historical significance.

08:01 - 11:00: Discovering the Certosa di Padula and its architectural wonders.

11:01 - 14:00: The Arab-Norman cathedrals in Sicily and their cultural fusion.

14:01 - 17:00: The impact of UNESCO designation on tourism and preservation.

17:01 - 20:00: Tips for visiting and incorporating UNESCO sites into your itinerary.

Subscribe to support this podcast and get access to exclusive monthly Zoom Q&As and Destination Deep Dives for just $8/month or $80/year at danielleoteri.com.

This week, in honor of the 4th of July, I’m taking you to a piece of Italy in the United States—Little Italy in the Bronx, better known as Arthur Avenue.

This episode also celebrates the publication of A Shopper’s Guide to Arthur Avenue, which I wrote to help you discover the best bites in each of the historic, family-run Italian food shops in Little Italy in the Bronx.

My great-grandparents opened a baccalà shop there in 1918. Their son John took it over in 1950 and turned it into a butcher shop, which was also used for the opening scenes of Marty, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1955. It remains a butcher shop today, now known as Vincent’s Meat Market.

In 2010, I started Arthur Avenue Food Tours to help people experience the rich legacy of this unique neighborhood and help support and sustain this enclave of family-run food businesses. But as a historian, I was also curious to learn more about the origins of the neighborhood.

The “official” story of Arthur Avenue’s foundation is that the area quickly became an Italian enclave after Catherine Lorillard Wolfe donated land to form what is now the New York Botanical Garden and also sold tracts of land to the city of New York. It was first published in a 1984 history book by the Bronx Historical Society that she had requested that the main thoroughfare be named after Chester A. Arthur, 21st President of the United States.

Upon examining old maps, it was immediately clear that this story was false. The urban grid you see today was there as far back as the 1870s, and Arthur Avenue was named Arthur Street before Chester Allen Arthur was even born. Moreover, Catherine Lorillard Wolfe never owned any of this land, though ancestors who were not in her direct line of descent did own farmland in the area.

The real founder of Little Italy in the Bronx was an Italian immigrant named Pietro Cinelli. He bought land, developed apartment houses, and petitioned the Archdiocese of New York for an Italian church. He also fought off threats from the Black Hand, a vicious criminal syndicate with its origins in Southern Italy that was the precursor to the Italian mafia that rose during and after World War II.

The big question is this: Why was Pietro Cinelli written out of the official record? In this episode, I’ll share with you the story of his daughter’s kidnapping, and then invite you to help me figure out the larger mystery.

00:00 Introduction to Little Italy in the Bronx

00:37 The Historical Significance of Arthur Avenue

05:36 The Mystery of Pietro Cinelli

12:27 Uncovering the Truth Behind Arthur Avenue's History

20:58 The Importance of Personal Stories in Immigration History

—🛒 A Shopper’s Guide to Arthur Avenue is now available on Amazon🎧 Paid subscribers get full access to my travel deep dives, including this month’s focus on Florence📍 Subscribe at danielleoteri.com

In this new Q&A episode, I answer three listener questions with the candidness you've come to expect from me. :)

* You keep saying Cilento, but the rest of planet Earth says Amalfi. I believe you, but I’m not convinced. What’s the deal?(Let’s talk about commissionable networks, affiliate travel content, and why repetition creates false assurance.

* My flight lands in the morning — should I plan something for that first day?(Short answer: no.) But I’ve got a surprising answer about what you should do.

* What about renting a car, and is driving in Italy totally insane?(It depends on where you’re going.) Additionally, I share with you what you need to watch out for when driving in Italy, coming from someone who learned to drive from a New York City bus driver!

You’ll also hear about this month’s Destination Deep Dive: Cilento, available for free now. Starting in July, Deep Dives will be available only to paid subscribers, beginning with Florence.

👉 Support this work and get access to all Deep Dives by becoming a paid subscriber at danielleoteri.com

🎙️ Have a question you’d like me to answer? Record a voice note on your phone (under 60 seconds) and email it to: danielle@feasttravel.com

I’m thrilled to introduce the Destination Deep Dive — a live Zoom session where I will unfold one destination or itinerary in Italy.

This isn’t a tidy region-by-region breakdown a la Stanley Tucci. (No offense to the Tooch, he’s great.) Instead, these are strategies for people like you who are planning meaningful trips that may include popular spots like Rome or Florence, but who want to go deeper and live their own story.

Each session will discuss:

* Why the destination is worthy of your time and money

* What to see, eat, drink, and also what to skip

* Lots of history and stories, as well as practical tips

* A downloadable itinerary so you can make this trip your own

This month’s session is free for all subscribers, and we’re starting in Cilento — my second home and one of Italy’s best unsung places. We’ll cover the temples of Paestum, the origins of the Mediterranean Diet, the Cilento Coast’s best villages and beaches, and where to find the most heavenly buffalo mozzarella.

➡️ Join us live on Zoom or watch the replay, which will be sent out on June 20th.🗓️ Thursday, June 19th at 8 pm ET📍 Click for Zoom link

Paid subscribers will also receive a full itinerary after the session. Starting next month, these Deep Dives will be available only behind the paywall, so now’s a great time to upgrade if you’ve been thinking about it. As the archive grows, so does the value.

Hope to see you there!Danielle

Cooking classes are now on nearly every Italy itinerary—and for good reason. Food is one of the most intimate ways to understand Italy’s culture and traditions. But as tourism to Italy has exploded, so has the number of cooking classes—many of them aggressively mediocre experiences offering pizza, pasta, and gelato in every city.

In this episode, I explore what it means to take a meaningful cooking class in Italy—one that connects you to a region’s real foodways, people, and stories. You’ll hear from two women who offer exactly that:

Pamela Sheldon Johns has been living and cooking in Tuscany for over 20 years. She has written a large pile of books on Italian cuisine and teaches classes rooted in cucina povera. Pamela was running her own cooking school in Santa Barbara, California, when she started leading culinary tours to Italy in 1992. In 2001, she made the leap, bought a farmhouse, and moved her family to the Tuscan countryside, the beauty of which still amazes her.

Giovanella Russo runs Masseria Battaglini in Puglia, where she teaches traditional regional recipes as well as historic dishes passed down from the Neapolitan monarchy. After a career in Naples’ corporate world, she now grows lentils and chickpeas and hosts guests from around the world in her trullo. Giovanella has “big baronessa energy,” and a cooking class with her is the experience of a lifetime.

We also touch on:

* Why “pizza and gelato” classes are everywhere—and why I don’t like them

* How regional food in Italy differs dramatically

* Why tiramisu isn’t actually a traditional dessert

* How to choose a cooking class that gives you a deep cultural experience

If you're planning a trip and want to have an experience that’s truly local and memorable, this episode is for you.

Listen to discover what to look for in a cooking class—and why these two women are my go-to recommendations.

00:00 Introduction to Italian Cooking Classes

00:39 The Evolution of Italian Cuisine

01:05 The Importance of Regional Specialties

01:52 Meet Pamela Sheldon Johns

03:10 Pamela's Tuscan Lifestyle

07:48 The Shift in Tuscan Food Culture

16:10 Meet Giovanella Russo

18:25 Giovanella’s Culinary Journey

22:01 Traditional Pugliese Recipes You Don’t Know

29:22 Conclusion and Additional Recommendations

In this episode, I share personal conversations with two independent and savvy travelers - Matt Littlejohn and Caroline Rausch. Matt's Italy trip began with a Zoom call with me during the COVID lockdowns, which gave me an idea for a new business offering that, over time, evolved into my signature Trip Consultations. His recent trip to Naples was preceded by months of reading books and watching movies in anticipation of his trip, which he explains made it richer for both him and his family.

I met Caroline shortly after I formalized Trip Consultations into a service and launched it on another Italy podcast. We worked out the details for a trip to Cilento and Calabria to search for family roots. Caroline is a master planner who loves considering every detail, but the most memorable thing that happened on her trip is an experience that could never be anticipated — and it will give you chills!

I’m sharing these conversations because both Matt and Caroline love research and planning, and yet they hit the same walls that everyone hits when trying to travel beyond Venice, Florence, Rome, the Cinque Terre, and the Amalfi Coast. I enjoyed geeking out with them and hope you will also enjoy listening and take inspiration from how their deep dives into history and culture made their trips unforgettable.

00:00 Introduction 00:10 Matt Littlejohn: The First Consultation

01:37 Caroline Raush: Heritage Trip to Calabria

02:33 The Importance of Research in Travel

03:41 Matt's Journey to Naples

08:03 Falling in Love with Naples

09:46 The best part of Naples: The People

16:46 “One of the best things I ever saw”

22:26 Exploring Naples: A Blend of History and Modernity

23:01 Planning the Perfect Trip: Research and Preparation

24:30 Buying a suit in Naples

26:04 Discovering Calabria: A Journey to the Roots

27:08 Falling in Love with Italy By Cheating on France

29:22 Deep Dive into Italian Culture and History

30:44 Uncovering Hidden Gems

38:41 The Magic House in Calabria

42:06 Reflections on Travel and Culture

45:05 Conclusion: Crafting Meaningful Journeys

Warning: this episode contains grisly descriptions of a historical double murder.

Episode 25 looks at the brilliant and violent life of Carlo Gesualdo — the Renaissance prince who murdered his wife and her lover, then retreated to his castle in rural Southern Italy, where he wrote music and had himself flagellated, among many other strange activities. Although Gesualdo faced no legal punishment, his crimes haunted him and manifested in his music, which was both beautiful and weird, and wildly ahead of its time.

This episode features my conversation with Michael Cirigliano II, author of the newsletter Shades of Blue, who explains how you can hear Gesualdo’s emotional breakdown in music that was also wildly innovative, it wouldn’t be fully appreciated for another 250 years.

We also discuss:

* The official report of the murders in Naples, the horrifying scene, and the eyewitness’s account of Gesualdo’s actions.

* Gesualdo’s exile to his hilltop town of Gesualdo in Irpinia and the spooky, isolated life he led there.

* The two creative periods in his output: the refined madrigals written in Ferrara at the Court of Este, and the sonically weird madrigals written at the end of his life.

* Why twentieth-century composers like Stravinsky re-discovered him and why his music continues to fascinate performers and listeners.

* How to travel to Gesualdo’s castle, and the Sansevero Chapel in Naples (home to the Veiled Christ) with Gesualdo’s music playing in your AirPods.

I also discuss Werner Herzog’s absolutely bonkers 1990 documentary and how local lore and modern storytelling shape what we think we know about Gesualdo. The episode weaves music, travel, and history.

And if you want to go deeper into Gesualdo’s life, Alex Ross’s article in The New Yorker is an exciting read and an excellent summation of decades of scholarship.

Thanks to Michael, here is a concise listen to Gesualdo’s descent into genius and madness:

I. An example of Gesualdo's early madrigals:Book 1: "Baci, soavi, e cari" (1594, written in Ferrara)

* Text and translation

II. Two examples of Gesualdo's late, chromatic, nightmarish madrigals:Book 6: "Moro, lasso, al mio duolo" (1611, written in Gesualdo)

* Text and translation

Book 6: "Beltà, poiché t'assenti" (1611, written in Gesualdo)

* Text and translation

III. And an example of his rare foray into sacred music. Here, Gesualdo is more conservative in his writing, likely because he's seeking penitence and absolution (this was published shortly after he commissioned Il Perdono di Gesualdo)"O vos omnes," from Tenebrae Responsoria: Responsory at Matins for Holy Saturday (1611, written in Gesualdo)

* Text and translation

Finally, Michael and I reconnected after working on this essay about Manhattan Castles for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Years later, I wrote this essay, which features Henryk Gorecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, which Michael explains here.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a subscriber. I want to continue creating episodes that can deepen your experience of Italy and provide you with stories that you can transform into your own travel adventures. They require lots of research and editing, and the more support I receive through subscriptions, the more I can offer.

Let’s talk about how late 2025 is the perfect time to think about your trip, before you start planning it.

A Rare Invitation: October 2025 Research Trip

Before diving into my trip-planning strategy, I have something special to announce:Next month (yes, October!) I’m going on a research trip and I’d like to invite you to join me.

* See the awe-inspiring temples of Paestum, where we will go deep into discussion rather than just “touring.”

* Bake bread with Chef Mario Stellato and his grandmother.

* Taste wine at my beloved Tempa di Zoe vineyard.

* Geek out on medieval history with me in Salerno and go shopping.

You can also extend the adventure with two nights in Matera and a final night in Naples. Because it’s last-minute and at the magical end-of-season pricing, this is an opportunity I cannot repeat in another season. There are 4–5 spots filled, and I’m capping at 10.

All the details are here.

Why You Should Dream NOW (Not Just Plan Later)

So many clients arrive to me stressed and glazed over. They’re paralyzed by too much information, and the most challenging part of planning an Italy trip is knowing how to sift through it all, but I can help you.

Why start now? Because dreaming early lets you clarify:

* What do I want to FEEL on this trip?

* What experiences genuinely matter most to me?

* What can I afford to spend (and what’s realistic for 2026 Italy)?

Starting with intention and honesty is the secret to coming home fulfilled instead of overwhelmed or overspent.

Hard Truths: Logistics & Budget

* Don’t overdo it: If you have 10 days, pick a maximum of three bases. Don’t be swayed by fast trains or bucket lists. Trenitalia won’t deliver you straight to the Amalfi Coast or Tuscan countryside—you’ll need transfers, ferry rides, or a car rental for rural adventures.

* Timelines matter: The big cities (Rome, Florence, Venice) are best in the off-season (think February or early December). Prices drop and the crowds thin, which can be a dream for the right traveler.

* Regional closures: Places like Amalfi and Puglia shut down after November 1st.

Budget-wise, don’t assume Italy is the cheap-and-cheerful destination it was in the days of the lira. The cost has shifted—especially for Americans. Get clear on your comfort zone and be upfront about your priorities: a great trip can be planned on any budget if you’re realistic from the start.

The Most Important Question: What Truly Inspires You?

Everyone always skips this step, so let me insist:

* Do you crave outdoor adventure?

* Dream of sitting in a Roman piazza like a Ripley character?

* Want to reconnect with family or celebrate a milestone?

Clarifying how you want to feel will make all the difference.

My Four-Ingredient Recipe for a Great Italian Trip

Mix these in for the perfect adventure:

* Plug In: See something iconic and take it in deeply—think Colosseum, Florence’s Duomo, or a UNESCO heritage marvel.

* Unplug: Plan unstructured downtime—a wine tasting, a soak in thermal springs, or a two-hour people-watching session with a notebook in a piazza.

* Indiana Jones Moments: Seek real adventure—ruins, archaeological wonders, challenging hikes, or a boat trip beneath ancient cliffs.

* What You Love, Italian-Style: Bring your passion (cooking, fashion, sports, spirituality) and live it the Italian way for a fresh perspective.

Two Final Notes: Budget & Flight Myths

Be honest and up-front about your budget. Don’t feel guilty about your number—it’s your trip. Prioritize accordingly. If Venice is your dream, go all-in on one destination during the low season for a richer experience. It will likely be better than a three-city trip with a bigger budget.

And on flights? When you find a fare you’re satisfied with, book it and move on with your life.

For Paid Subscribers…

Sept 11th at 8 pm ET, I’m offering a live Zoom Destination Deep Dive on Matera (with replay available for three days).

Last month’s Florence Deep Dive, including a very detailed 5-day itinerary, is now available to purchase.

This episode is about the magic of Fra Angelico, the Renaissance “angelic painter” behind Florence’s most tranquil and moving frescoes. I’m joined by historian Alexandra Lawrence, who shares the thrill of experiencing art in its original context, and what visitors can expect from Florence’s major fall exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi and San Marco.

Plus: personal stories about being transformed by Italian art, teaching and learning through travel, and a candid conversation about the difference between Florence and Naples.

* Here’s the link to join Heaven Bound: The Life and Art of Fra Angelico, Alexandra’s online course that starts on September 4th.

* Subscribe to Alexandra’s newsletter Illuminare

* Finally, are you planning a trip to Florence and want insight, not just information, plus a detailed itinerary that you can modify for your trip dates? Get my brand new Destination Deep Dive: Florence.

Paid subscribers, tonight is the premiere of the Naples Destination Deep Dive! See you at 8 pm ET. The replay will be sent out tomorrow and will be available until Monday. The Zoom link was sent last week and will be posted again in the subscriber chat.

This week I have a quick video episode to share with you some of my new programs for 2026.

I share that I have developed four hybrid experiences, all during the quieter off-season, in Florence, Naples, Venice, and Rome.

* One guided tour each day, so you get to see the good stuff with the smartest guides, without feeling over-programmed.

* Four shared group meals—think real conversations at local favorites. We’ll talk about books, politics, truth, beauty, and all the things we’re discovering in the city when we’re not together.

* Pay only for your time with me and what’s included: the tours, entrance tickets, and the four shared meals.

* Freedom to choose your own lodging, whether that’s an Airbnb, a five-star, or use the Marriott Bonvoy points burning a hole in your pocket. Stay wherever best suits your budget and vibe.

* No single supplements or “forced group activities.” Bring a partner or friend, and let them do their own thing while you spend time with us. (Perfect if you have a cranky spouse.)

Each city’s experience is built around what I think makes it unique:

* 5 Days in Florence, January 20-25: All about art. We’ll be at the Fra Angelico exhibition during its final week and dig deep into Renaissance masterpieces.

* 5 Days in Naples, January 27-31: A journey from ancient times to today, including a special day trip to Herculaneum and Villa Oplontis. The intensity of a city positioned between two active super volcanoes without the heat. Be sure to read some Elena Ferrante before the trip.

* 5 Days in Venice, October 27th-31: Venice is a fever dream, and I’m designing this itinerary to draw out its inherent magic. This is Venice for people who hate selfies.

* 5 Days in Rome, November 3-7: More focused, for travelers who love art with a dramatic edge. Caravaggio, Baroque drama, and all the classic Roman dishes.

I’m also excited to share the dates for the next artist retreat with Jenny Kroik at Borgo La Pietraia. This will be the fourth time we host this special week focused on peace, calm, and the chance to reconnect with your creativity. Jenny welcomes everyone—total beginners, working artists, and anyone who just wants focused time to enjoy making art. Daily sessions are relaxed and supportive, with inspiration from the landscape, local food, and easy day trips. The only thing you need to bring is the desire to create and be inspired—no experience required.

Also, this retreat has the best food ever. Chef Mario Stellato prepares most of our meals, and it is just BEYOND.

If the idea of exploring Italy with structure but not rigidity appeals to you, I think you’ll find these trips hit the mark. You can look at all the trips here.

Purchasing a home in Italy is a dream of many. In the 1990s, Tuscany was the most popular region, as well as a more affordable alternative to France, following the publication of the 1989 book “A Year in Provence,” which inspired the rustic farmhouse fantasy. Many British and American citizens began buying old farmhouses surrounded by cypress and olive trees, while in the US, people renovated their kitchens with a “Tuscan farmhouse” theme. Then came Frances Mayes’s memoir, “Under the Tuscan Sun,” which chronicled the complex but romantic work of renovating a house in Cortona, and an industry fully bloomed.

Today, Italy’s hot spot for expats is Puglia. When Tuscany was taking off in the 90s, the region of Puglia was struggling even to welcome tourists, but all that has dramatically changed, and prices there have risen sharply.

I regularly receive questions about where to find the best home-buying opportunities in Italy. (My answer: Le Marche, Abruzzo, and Cilento.) I can help you hone in on where to settle in Italy, thinking about lifestyle, access, and budget, but I know nothing about renovating a house. If I ever do buy a home in Italy, I will have a budget dedicated to hiring someone who has the skill and patience to navigate the commune for me, because permits and paperwork are not my thing.

To offer you a more informed perspective, I interviewed Massoud Katebeh, a licensed engineer in both the United States and Italy. Originally from Tehran, he studied engineering at the University of Florence, where, like me as an art history student, he had the opportunity to study right inside the Duomo. We discuss the intersection of engineering and art, as well as the rigorous process of becoming a professional engineer in Italy.

We then discuss the challenges of renovating homes in Italy, why it is necessary to engage professional architects and engineers, and what makes a home renovation project different in Italy than in the US. Finally, Massoud shares his thoughts on whether it’s best to buy a new home with all the modern conveniences built in, or take a chance on renovating an ancient structure.

If you’d like to get in touch with Massoud for a nuts and bolts perspective on your Italian dream home, you can find him at mgkengineering.com

The Destination Deep Dive devoted to Florence is now available.

It includes a 45-minute video that guides you through everything you need to know, including highlights, tourist traps, the best time of year to visit, what to see, where to eat, and where to take a day trip, as well as a detailed 5-day itinerary.

You can easily modify this to suit your travel dates. If you want a well-researched and thoughtful trip but don’t have 30 hours of research time available, this is the shortcut. That’s about how much time it took me to put this together, and that doesn’t include the year I lived in Florence and many times I’ve returned since. There are also two bonus cheat sheets, one devoted to the foods of Florence – because it’s not the pizza and pasta people typically associate with Italian food – and a second dedicated to lesser-known sites where you can truly access the soul of the city.

If you’re a paid subscriber, you are invited to the launch for each month’s destination deep dive for free, which includes a Q&A, and then later, when the presentation is formalized, along with a detailed itinerary and bonus content, you get 50% off. I’m about to publish the Matera Deep Dive, and on October 15th at 8 pm ET, I’ll be debuting the Naples Deep Dive.

I’m back from my research trip and have so many interesting things to share with you.

Before I tell you all about Ostia, here’s a reminder for my paid subscribers that Thursday November 13th is the next “Ask Me Anything about Italy.” It’s happening at 8:00 p.m. ET on Zoom, and if you can’t make it, please send me an email with your question. I’ll answer it live, and then you can watch the replay the following morning.

Then, on November 20th, I’ll be premiering the next Destination Deep Dive on Rome. I spent 5 days in Rome just to research this Deep Dive.

Here’s how it works. If you’re a paid subscriber, you’re invited to the live premiere on Zoom. It will be available to paid subscribers until I finalize the version, which will then be made available for sale along with a complete itinerary and bonus resources. And paid subscribers get a 50% discount.

Last Sunday, I was wandering around Ostia Antica, desperately searching for the restroom. Not the modern one, which was located right next to the entrance of the archaeological park, but the ancient one, where Romans would take care of their essential personal business sitting, uh… cheek to cheek.

The communal toilets are the most famous thing in Ostia, but they aren’t marked on the map or any of the signage. I knew they were part of the bath complex that was adjacent to the forum.

Today, the ancient city of Ostia is located near the airport, but 2,000 years ago, it was also an industrial hub where goods came in and out, due to its strategic position where the Tiber River meets the sea. The experience is similar to Pompeii, but Ostia wasn’t buried by a volcanic eruption; instead, it sank into the silt and turned into a swamp fiercely guarded by malaria-carrying mosquitoes until it was reclaimed in the 1940s.

Today, it’s a well-tended but little-visited archaeological site. It’s easy to reach from the center of Rome, and easier to traverse than Pompeii, with lots of spots to sit on ancient stone beneath lush umbrella pines that stretch their lush branches in all directions like they slept late and just got out of bed.

After winding my way through the Forum baths, the gym, the hot room, and the cold room, I found the famous toilets. The engineering is all exposed, including a channel where water would constantly flow to flush away waste. The openings in the marble bench where people sat are about as close to each other as the indents on the New York City subway.

Being shocked at the lack of privacy is not something most people, throughout most of human history, would have even noticed. Today we are awash in privacy and convenience that we take entirely for granted. And while the pleasures of indoor plumbing, kitchens, washing machines, and air conditioning eliminate much of the drudgery of life, these conveniences have fundamentally reshaped our society. The more privacy we enjoy, the less we need the public square and each other.

I always discourage people from taking a day trip to Pompeii in favor of a much easier trip to Ostia Antica. While yes, it’s possible to take the fast train, and there are lots of bus tours offering this, it’s a very long and expensive day of getting there and back for what is necessarily a swift and shallow experience of Pompeii, which deserves a good, long visit. Ostia Antica offers the same experience, allowing you to walk through a Roman city along the same roads as everyday citizens, past their homes, shops, and public buildings.

Also, it’s so peaceful.

Even though it’s extremely easy to get there, just $3.50 on the very pleasant Metromare train, only the most interested travelers go there, along with school groups, so you can take your time gazing at the mosaics of sea horses and the gods of the sea in what were the baths of Nerone. You can explore a thermopolium, a typical Roman quick-service restaurant, as only the wealthiest Romans had kitchens, and enslaved people to prepare meals for them at home. There’s a theater, a district of warehouses, as this was a port town where the work of shipping across the Roman Empire was done, and the oldest known synagogue in Europe. Just outside the archaeological park is a castle and a cobblestoned district of restaurants where you can eat very well. Or go one more stop on the train, or grab a quick taxi ride to be right on the beach and enjoy a perfect dish of spaghetti and clams for lunch.

Ostia Antica was diverse, like most Roman cities. As armies conquered lands across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, people captured as slaves during wars across the empire were brought back as war booty and put to work. There were also the indigenous people who had founded cities, including Pompeii, before the Romans took over. They continued to speak their own languages and imparted many of their customs to the Romans, which have been passed down to us today without the appropriate label.

Life for most Romans was extremely public. Homes weren’t much more than places to sleep. The baths were places to work out, get clean, and, most of all, socialize, and all levels of society would encounter each other at the baths. And everyone, even the wealthy, would eat at the many fast food restaurants you find in every Roman city. Studies by bioarchaeologists at Pompeii have discovered that all Romans, regardless of social class, ate the same fish, grains, and meats; the primary differences were the settings in which meals were served. They would have to to public fountains for their drinking water. Everyone in a Roman city had to do their laundry, and would take their clothes and blankets to storefront laundries. The Forum was always the center of the city, with all the administrative bodies in place, as well as a large communal piazza where crowds could gather.

Only the wealthy enjoyed privacy, albeit minimal by modern standards. Walking around Ostia or Pompeii, you will see wealthy homes tucked right into the urban grid next to modest or even poor homes where enslaved people resided. The larger villas were situated on the periphery of the city, offering sea views or surrounded by orchards or woods, but access to the city remained important. Even at a massive villa like Villa Oplontis, which belonged to someone of the highest Imperial class, close to Pompeii, the guest rooms that orbit the infinity pool are small, indicating they were really just for sleeping. Most of the time spent in the villa would be in the company of everyone else who lived there. And there was a working warehouse directly next to it, because showing your industriousness was a prime virtue in Roman society.

Jonathan Haidt, author of “The Anxious Generation,” frequently cites the research of Robert Putnam, which demonstrates how a major turning point in American culture during the 1990s, when people began distrusting their neighbors, was due to the widespread adoption of central air conditioning. Previously, few households had more than one air conditioner, which they would use only on the hottest days, and so people spent far more time outside with their neighbors. Television and cars in the 1950s, and then air conditioning in the 1990s, directly led to a steep decline in community engagement.

A few days earlier, when I was in Pompeii, I overheard a tour guide explaining why there were so many bath complexes among the ruins. The American guests thought it was odd that there were so many people indulging in a spa experience until she explained that Roman homes, except for the most luxurious ones, did not have either bathrooms or kitchens, and that almost nothing about daily life was private. If you were very rich and had lots of slaves to fetch things for you, he went on to say, you might have a house that was closer to the sea. The guest responded by telling the guide how he had recently bought a house in Florida. I guess he was trying to relate to the history being explained, but missed the mark.

There are many inaccurate stereotypes about the Italian dolce vita, but one thing that stands is the tighter social fabric, at least compared to life in North America. I remember going to a movie theater in Florence on a Tuesday night and choosing seats in the empty theater right in the middle. Maybe only 20 other people trickled in and sat immediately next to us, which I thought was odd, until I realized that was my American instinct to spread out away from others. Look at a Roman city, or an Italian village clustered on a hilltop. Social cohesion requires proximity. And Italy is still light on air conditioning, as HVAC units have become much more energy efficient, and European summers get hotter and hotter. If air conditioning is more widely adopted in Italy, will it erase the culture of the piazza?

The lesson is that social cohesion thrives when life is less convenient. The Roman Empire still fell, there were still terrible wars, and despots and dictators, but I believe the underpinning of the Italian way of life lies in communal experiences. The communal bread ovens you can still find in small villages, the trattorias that serve local dishes, even if they seem repetitive, which I hear travelers sometimes lament. Those dishes are anchors, and when you visit Italy, you should try to eat the most local things possible. I flinch when I see prices rising because I know young Italians enjoy a level of sociability that is so much better than in the U.S., because a spritz and a pizza are generally inexpensive.

Walking around a city like Ostia Antica is an opportunity to reflect on daily life, past and present, not just the wars and conquests of history. I get something different every time I visit an archaeological site. This time, I’m contemplating how convenience should not always be a top priority. And for people who want a deeper experience of Italy, consider sacrificing a bit of comfort sometimes, such as going off the beaten path, to experience the power of connection.

I’m receiving numerous emails about trip planning for 2026, and I’d like to share my refreshed menu of services. Though I have a special love for southern Italy, my business partner Arianna and I have a fantastic network all over Italy. We have great guides in the most famous places, and many in the lesser known ones as well.

The trip planning season will begin shortly, and here’s a quick rundown of my services in case you would like my help planning your trip to Italy.

The most affordable option is to subscribe to this podcast and newsletter via Substack and join the monthly Q&As, which happen over Zoom. That’s just $8 a month or $80 a year.

* Trip Consultation – $295 A one-hour session to discuss your interests, answer questions, and share expert recommendations. This is ideal for DIY travelers seeking professional direction. I don’t put a limit on the number of recommendations I offer – I ensure you have what you need based on the questions I ask and our discussion. Often, people are worried they won’t get all their questions answered in an hour, but trust me. All the questions that have you jammed up are what I do, so you’ll be shocked by how much we can accomplish in an hour.

* Custom Itinerary Design - $995

This personalized planning service is designed for travelers who want a thoughtfully curated trip, crafted just for them. Your journey begins with a 45‑minute Zoom call to discuss your ideal itinerary, travel style, budget, and timing. From there, we design a customized day‑by‑day plan that reflects your pace, interests, and priorities. Every itinerary includes restaurant suggestions, optional experiences, and curated recommendations delivered through a custom mobile app for easy on‑the‑go access. Once the first draft is ready, you’ll receive it by email for review. If it feels right, we’ll share direct booking links so you can confirm each experience at your own pace. For travelers who prefer private experiences over group tours, we can book expert local guides from our personal network and invoice those services à la carte. After your bookings are complete, we’ll meet again for a 45-minute follow-up call to finalize details, review daily logistics, and address any last-minute questions. The result is a seamless, personalized itinerary that leaves room for discovery while keeping every travel day beautifully organized.

* Bespoke Trip Planning – For this, we charge a fee to cover our time, which will be quoted once I know more about your trip. There’s a free call you can sign up for, where I can hear more about what you have in mind and then provide a fee estimate.

This is an all-inclusive service where we design and book everything. All tours and many of the drivers are among our most trusted and frequent collaborators who are always eager to host our guests. I handle converting and paying all vendors in Italy, and my business partner Arianna provides on-the-ground support throughout your trip, offering peace of mind from start to finish.

* You can also view the full menu of services here.

In this episode, I explain the differences between travel agents, advisors, and influencers…because I know first-hand how confusing this world can be!

You’ll hear industry insider stories, plus the simple method I give people to decide when to DIY their trip, when to get professional help, and when to trust their own gut over another influencer’s feed. I’ll also share unglamorous but essential tips picked up over the years on the road—like the realities of country driving in Tuscany or the best place to stop for gas on your way to Naples airport.

You’ll also meet my new collaborator, Angela Miklos, whom I first met in 2023 as a Trip Consultation client and who will now help me offer a brand-new hybrid service called Custom Itinerary Design. (The photo in your podcast player is the classic Forio sunset that Angela mentions.) This option is for people who love research and planning but want an expert to provide the best advice and handle the heavy lifting so that they can focus on the fun parts.

A reminder for paid subscribers that the next Ask Me Anything About Italy is on December 11th at 8 pm ET on Zoom, and the Venice Destination Deep Dive happens on December 18th at 8 pm ET.

Right now, both the Naples and Rome Destination Deep Dives are available to watch for paid subscribers. They’ll leave the website soon when the polished, final versions with the itinerary and bonus segments are ready for purchase. (Naples leaves in a week, Rome will be up for at least 2 weeks more.)

I want to wish you happy holidays and express my profound gratitude for reading, listening, and supporting this podcast and newsletter. I hope you enjoy this two-minute video reflection on the passing of the seasons, inspired by one of art history’s most enigmatic works.

I’ll see you in 2026.

In this episode, I explore the phenomenon of “collective effervescence,” a term coined by the sociologist Émile Durkheim to describe the intense, shared emotional experiences that make us feel briefly part of something bigger than ourselves.

Please support my work by taking out a premium subscription (just $8 per month).

From saint processions in Ischia to bonfire rituals in Abruzzo and the miracle of San Gennaro’s blood in Naples, I explore how Italy’s festas and sagre are a kind of emotional infrastructure—places where community, memory, and the sacred all converge. I’m joined by writer and festival researcher Katerina Ferrara, whose regional guides help travelers weave these events into their itineraries.

Together we discuss:

* How festivals in Italy layer pre‑Christian rites, Catholic devotion, and modern life

* Why small‑town saint days and harvest feasts are often the most powerful travel experiences

* The role of children and returning emigrants in keeping these traditions alive

* Catania’s identity as “the Black City” under Mount Etna

* The story and cult of Sant’Agata, patron saint of Catania and of women with breast cancer

* What actually happens during the three‑day February feast of Sant’Agata

* The emotional “wave” when the saint’s statue leaves the church, and the crowd erupts

* Festival foods you can only find on these days, including Minne di Sant’Agata and local arancine

* Practical tips for tracking down festivals and sagre when dates shift every year

I want to thank my paid subscribers, who I hope are enjoying our monthly Q&A Zoom meetings and Destination Deep Dives. So far, we’ve explored Florence, Matera, Naples, and Rome. Next up: Venice and the Amalfi Coast.

And since trip planning season is nearly here, I’ve refreshed my menu of trip planning services. From one-hour Trip Consultations to hybrid Custom Itinerary Design or full Bespoke Trip Planning, everything is explained there so you can choose the option that best fits your needs and budget.

Chapters/timestamps

00:00 – What is “collective effervescence”?02:00 – Why Italian saint festivals feel so powerful05:00 – Bonfires, solstices, and ancient roots of Italian rituals08:00 – Meet Katerina Ferrara and her festival guides11:00 – How to actually find and plan for festivals and sagre15:00 – Food festivals, fundraising, and “festifusion”19:00 – The Infiorata of Noto: a two‑day flower masterpiece24:00 – Children, memory, and passing traditions on28:00 – Catania and the Val di Noto: baroque cities under Etna32:00 – The legend and martyrdom of Sant’Agata36:00 – Inside Sant’Agata’s three‑day feast and all‑night procession43:00 – Devotion, identity, and the bond with a patron saint47:00 – Festival sweets: Minne di Sant’Agata and more51:00 – Catania’s unique arancine and horse‑meat culture54:00 – How to follow Katerina and use her guides

Guest

Katerina Ferrara – Author of regional festival and sagra guides for Sicily, Puglia, Rome & Lazio, and Venice & the Veneto. She helps travelers anchor their trips around local celebrations.

* Website: katerinaferrara.com

* Instagram: @katerinaferrara_author

In this episode, I share why I don’t pack my days in Italy too tightly, and unpack what I mean when I advise clients to leave time for walking and wandering.

This episode is dedicated to Morton Kaish, who taught me how to “walk like an artist” in Italy and how even passively taking in great art and architecture can change you for the better.

You will also hear a conversation with illustrator Jenny Kroik. We talk about why places that don’t photograph well often end up being the ones that stay with you, and how sketching can help you process complex, layered moments that don’t fit neatly into “good day/bad day.”

Finally, I walk through what is planned for Jenny’s Art Retreat in May at Borgo La Pietraia, including Chef Mario’s deceptively simple food, daily gentle art prompts, visits to the Paestum temples, a buffalo farm, Amalfi’s historic paper mill, and the turquoise waters of Cilento.

I share these details as inspiration for planning your own self‑guided trip to Italy: choosing a single home base, slowing the pace of your days, leaving room for serendipity, and designing an itinerary around the kind of beauty you want to experience.

Links

* Retreat details and booking: Jenny’s Art Retreat at Borgo La Pietraia (May 17–24)

* Jenny Kroik’s Arthur Avenue illustrations for The New Yorker

* Jenny’s website and her Substack newsletter

Happy New Year, and welcome back to Danielle Oteri’s Italy—we’re starting 2026 in Venice, the Italian city everyone rushes through, with no idea of how much they’re missing. This episode is your invitation to slow down, understand how Venice really works, and get ready for the Venice Destination Deep Dive premiering for paid subscribers on January 22 at 8 p.m. ET.​

In this episode

* Why most popular Venice advice is shallow, and how “hit‑and‑run” tourism (20–30 million visitors a year, most of them day‑trippers) is reshaping the city.​

* What changed when large cruise ships were banned, and how the new €5 day‑tripper fee on peak days actually works.​

* Why Venice is not an ancient city like Rome or Naples, but a preposterous “upside‑down forest” built on millions of submerged wooden piles in a lagoon.​

How to experience Venice without the crush

* Why a day trip to Venice is “the worst way to see it,” and why staying at least three nights changes everything about your sensory memory of the city.​

* Practical timing advice: understanding when day‑trippers flood in (roughly 11 a.m.–4 p.m.) so you can have quiet mornings and atmospheric evenings.

* Trip‑planning strategy: skipping the Rome–Florence–Venice conveyor belt in favor of flying in and out of Milan and pairing Venice with a few days in Turin.

A local lens with Gillian Longworth‑McGuire

* Meet writer Gillian Longworth McGuire, author of the Substack Gillian Knows Best, who spent many years in Rome before making the unexpected decision to settle in Venice.​

* What drew her to the “real life” of Venice: garbage boats, the total absence of wheels, and the pleasure of living in a city where everything happens on foot or by boat.​

* How she navigates living near the Arsenale in one of the last streets with mostly Venetian neighbors, and what it means when only 13 longtime residents remain on a street that once held hundreds.​

* Why her wish for Venice is simple: slow down, stay in Venice proper (not on the mainland), and stay longer than you think you “have time” for.​

Glass, budgets, and where to stay

* How to experience Murano glass without the timeshare‑style hard sell: asking your hotel to connect you with a trusted furnace, or booking with Wave, a younger collective of master glassmakers and students.​

* Honest talk about Venice pricing: why Venetians have always been merchants, why Venice is less forgiving than Rome or Florence, and why you need to research carefully and budget more here than elsewhere.​

* Hotel strategy: why it often pays to spend more for a well‑located, non‑damp, genuinely comfortable room.

About the Destination Deep Dives

* What you get as a paid subscriber: a live Zoom premiere, with Q&A, then 50% off the beautifully produced, MasterClass‑style course with video lessons and a fully detailed 5‑day itinerary.​

* What each Deep Dive covers: what makes the city special and challenging, how to tackle the “must‑sees,” and thoughtful alternatives that help you avoid lines and TikTok‑driven FOMO.​

* Existing and upcoming Deep Dives: Florence (being migrated to the new platform), Naples (available now), Rome (landing shortly), with Matera, Cilento, and Venice all in the queue.​

Every day, every single tour guide in Florence tells thousands of tourists a story that is not true. It’s the story of the construction of the dome, a feat of engineering so ingenious that even today, architects and engineers can’t understand how it was done, achieved by one single man, a goldsmith with no formal training.

But Filippo Brunelleschi’s innovation — a double-shell dome built with herringbone masonry — had been used to build mosques and mausoleums in Iran. And 15th-century Florentine merchants, who had large networks and communities in Iran, particularly Soltaniyeh, were no doubt very well acquainted with them.

In this episode, I’m discussing this incredible story with Massoud Katebeh, an Iranian-American engineer who studied in Florence. We are both fascinated with the story of Piero Sanpaolesi, the professor who first revealed these Persian models for the dome of Florence in 1971, and was ignored.

Now, a new generation of scholars, in particular Dr. Lorenzo Vigotti and Prof. Hadi Safaeipour, is building on Sanpaolesi’s groundbreaking research and adding brilliant new insights. Please learn more about DOMES: Architectural Technology Transfer on the Silk Road at iraniandomes.eu, an ongoing project that is very much imperiled by the war.

If you enjoyed this essay episode, you can subscribe for more at danielleoteri.com. If you’re planning a trip to Italy and would like some expert guidance, book a trip consultation at danielleoteri-italy.com. Lastly, you can always buy me a coffee.

Also, if you like stories about history revealed through science, listen to the episode Vittoria Colonna Had It All, and find out how the most famous woman of the Italian Renaissance had an extraordinary secret that was only revealed in the 1980s when scientists conducted tests on her mummified body.

If you enjoyed this essay episode, you can subscribe for more at danielleoteri.com. If you’re planning a trip to Italy and would like some expert guidance, book a trip consultation at danielleoteri-italy.com. Lastly, you can always buy me a coffee.

Guidebooks have several lives, and despite the internet, they have been diminished but are far from dead. That’s because they are among the only fact-checked pieces of travel material available. When you are paying for a guidebook, you are paying for knowledge. The transaction is clear.

Purchasing a guidebook is first a dream. It’s a catalog of possibilities. Then it becomes a strategic tool, a travel companion, and, when it returns home, either a beloved souvenir or totally useless. Often, people will hold on to them until they have to move or really clean and make space, and then Lonely Planet Prague has to go in the trash. And don’t even try to “donate” your 15-year-old guidebook; you know nobody wants it.

But guidebooks have another life if you hold on to them long enough. They become a time capsule — an eyewitness account that was also aggressively fact-checked about a world that no longer exists, that you can use to reflect on that world, and see just how much has changed.

That’s what has suddenly caused an essay I wrote in August of 2022 to go viral. It’s called “The Before Sunrise Generation,” and I wrote it in response to Gen X clients who were returning to travel now that their kids were leaving home and they had time and money to travel once again. They would ask if they should buy a Eurail pass or stay in a pensione, and I found myself explaining how the way they had traveled in the 1990s really no longer exists.

Then this current wave of 90s nostalgia — inspired by “Love Story,” about JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette — has the children of Gen Xers marveling at how free the 90s seemed. One hundred percent of social interactions were in real life, with total presence, nobody on their phone because they didn’t exist. Think about Jesse and Celine, the protagonists of the 1995 film Before Sunrise. They start talking while riding the train, and decide to get off together in Vienna, and spend the night wandering the city and talking. Nobody is tracking their location, and no photos are taken. Two strangers on a train, just figuring it out. If this movie were set in the present day, maybe they’d meet in line for a much-delayed Ryanair flight and maybe start talking only if they had been there so long their phone batteries died.

But the thing that today seems so old school and authentic at one point, the vulgar new thing.

We Will Simply Drift

Prior to rail travel, making the Grand Tour of Italy required private transportation, personal invitations, and letters of introduction. You had to be a person of means and education. Trains democratized travel. And then another industry emerged to meet that new tourist: the guidebook.

Baedeker guides, first published in Germany, were famous for their red cloth covers. They were comprehensive guides to cities and rural places, and they removed the need for a letter of introduction forever. They liberated people from relying solely on local guides who were only available to elite networks. The term “Baedekering” could be used with the same snark I sometimes reserve for TikTok tourism.

In E.M. Forster’s A Room with a View, “Baedeker” is a codeword for the pedantic sightseeing that Forster portrayed as typical of the English touring Italy. It’s funny that they were portrayed as kind of low-brow, because they were very dense with information on art and history, and were written by specialists. They were especially praised for their German precision, which was exactly what made them fall out of favor after World War II. German precision was uh, no longer a virtue.

Early in the story, Lucy is shown studying Baedeker’s Handbook to Northern Italy and committing “to memory the most important dates of Florentine history.” Later, she meets an eccentric lady novelist who disapproves of such solemnity and tells her, “No, you are not to look at your Baedeker. We will simply drift.”

Overtourism in 1909?

The author Henry James was not a fan of the new train-traveling tourist. In 1909, he wrote Italian Hours, where he decried that Venice was overrun by tourists, totally devoid of authenticity — that the sentimental tourist’s sole quarrel with his Venice is that he has too many competitors there. He likes to be alone, to be original, to have — at least to himself — the air of making discoveries.

Just as I can be very eye-rolly about TikTok tourism, those who had experienced the Grand Tour were disgusted by the overtourism that proliferated in the 1890s.

I have been saying for a while that, because of technology, those of us born pre-Y2K have witnessed an accelerated period of time in which technology has changed more quickly than anything else in history. But Ada Palmer, the author of the fantastic book Inventing the Renaissance: Myths of a Golden Age, articulated this in an interview, where she said people in the 1310s were nostalgic for the way it was in the 1300s, and there has always been upending innovation, even if we look back and don’t find the innovation particularly interesting. Chairs with backs, different kinds of metallurgy… people are always innovating.

Naples in the Nineties

But I fully confronted my self-important idea when I opened an old guidebook called Naples in the Nineties —about the 1890s.

The first chapter is called “Vanishing Naples.” The author, a British consul to South Italy, wrote a survey of Naples and the surrounding area for travelers. He speaks most about Naples as a place to see the last of the old world: superstitions fading, religious practices disappearing, a pre-industrial way of life giving way.

Naples had been the capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies — a monarchy — that ended with Italian unification in 1861. This was to be a good thing, economically, for everyone, but of course, nobody had any idea how much more change was barreling toward them.

The 1890s were the heart of the second industrial revolution, which came later to Italy because the Italian peninsula had always had such a robust agricultural economy — really since the Roman Empire — that it didn’t need to industrialize until it was absolutely forced to.

The monarchies of pre-modern Italy fell when Italy unified as a modern nation in 1861. Wealth consolidated in the north, with an industrial corridor developing between Milan, Turin, and Genoa. Add in harsh taxation, and Southern Italy went into economic free fall. The result was mass emigration. Cheap labor for the northern factories, plus financial support from family working abroad, helped Italy fully industrialize.

The damage to the south had begun long before Italian unification, with the industrialization of wool production. The wool and olive oil trade had fueled the Renaissance and sustained the economy of southern Italy for centuries. The Medici and the great banking houses of Florence built their wealth on wool, and the whole system ran on transhumance, the twice-yearly migration of massive sheep herds along ancient grass paths called tratturi, from the highlands of Abruzzo down through Molise to the plains of Puglia. Shepherds had been following these routes since the 3rd century BC. The families who owned the flocks built the great palaces you still find in the mountain towns of Abruzzo. Then, the first phase of the industrial revolution at the turn of the 18th century gutted the wool market. British industrialization mechanized textile production, collapsing cloth prices, and eliminating the economic reason to maintain the herds.

In the 1890s, many of these rural places in Italy collapsed. Naples, chaotic and changeable, was wobbling through it.

Eustace spends much of his book discussing the wearing of amulets and the belief in spirits and spells, which are also disappearing. He catalogs the amulets people wore to keep away evil spirits: the mermaid, the seahorse — objects that would keep away the bad air that brought cholera and also malaria. The 1870s and 1880s saw terrible cholera outbreaks across Italy, spread by standing water, an easy fix that was finally resolved in the 1890s. Better sanitation diminished superstition. The mermaid is still a symbol of Naples, but you won’t see it as an amulet to ward off the bad air. You will see the cornicello, though — a little red horn. It’s everywhere in Naples: on keychains and dashboards and restaurant walls. It transformed from a tool to a symbol of identity.

And what’s interesting is that even though so much has changed, the descriptions aren’t that different from what you’ll experience today, which is really fascinating commentary on how the spirit of a place can persist. Henry James in Italian Hours described the waterfront of Naples, the lungomare, its lazzaroni, its peasants fishing on the waterfront, and the general air of beauty and chaos. Now it’s pedestrianized, lined with hotels and restaurants, but still chaotic in that Neapolitan way — full of life. You’ll still see locals with their fishing poles in the water, right next to the port where the cruise ships dock and where millions of Italians once departed for lives abroad. It’s completely different and yet completely the same.

The Loss of the Picturesque

Naples in the Nineties emphasizes much of the advice I pass on today. Go to Ischia. Visit the ruins at Baia. Go see the stadium in Capua, which is like seeing the Colosseum, except that there will only be you and an older Belgian couple visiting. (Every archaeological site in Italy has one Belgian couple visiting. I don’t know who writes their guidebooks, but they must be good people.) Yes, Capri is full of beauty, but hardly any Caprese live there anymore because the expats have taken over. Yes, that was what he said in 1897!

He discusses Torre del Greco and how coral supplies have diminished; the fishermen now have to go all the way to Sicily, where they find far inferior coral, yet they are still selling cameos there. One hundred and thirty years later, they are still selling cameos there because the craft has survived.

And Torre Annunziata, he recommended trying macaroni, since all the pasta factories are there. He writes: “The principal industry of the town is macaroni making, which may be seen here in great perfection on application at any of the mills. Until recently, it was supposed that macaroni, like wine, could only be made by manual labor. The skill of modern engineers has shown this notion to be fallacious, and macaroni is now almost universally made by machinery and is not at all inferior to that made by the old-fashioned plant. We have, of course, a loss of the picturesque, but we are learning to bear this loss with the serenity acquired by habit.”

How many times have I tried to frame a photo to block out the electrical wires, or looked for a Vespa or an old Fiat to anchor my shot instead of the more ubiquitous Toyota Yaris? In many ways, tourism is the biggest thing protecting the picturesque. Nobody wants to go on a food tour that takes you to Conad or Edil.

Here’s a detail I just loved — Eustace notices “the public writers at their tables in the streets, fewer of them now, their business decidedly slacker than it was in the old days.” These “scrivani” were people who served the illiterate: filling out documents, writing letters to relatives abroad, and also frequently writing love letters.

The post office was putting them out of business by centralizing bureaucratic operations. The scrivano, who had been the human interface between the illiterate citizen and the written world, was being replaced by an institution.

Their Business Decidedly Slacker

When I was traveling in 2001 and 2002, I used internet cafés the same way — once every few days, you’d buy an hour, log into your Yahoo or AOL account, and check emails that were still being written like letters. The smartphone erased the need to make the time and spend the money, and now AI empowers anyone to be completely uninhibited in their written expression in any language.

And speaking of AI, Eustace also writes about Herculaneum, buried alongside Pompeii in 79 AD. He describes the discovery of the Villa of the Papyri, originally called “the house of the coal merchant” because of the carbon fragments found there. Later, they discovered those pieces of carbon were charred rolls of papyrus. An entire Roman library, carbonized by the eruption.

He writes: “There is no saying what literary treasures this library may not contain. Hitherto nothing of the first importance has been found, the works being chiefly philosophical, but there is every reason to hope that a wealthy man’s library, contained in 79 AD, may contain many works which have been lost to the world.”

Going Very Rapidly Indeed

He wrote that in 1897. Those same scrolls — still unreadable for over a century because they crumble the moment you try to open them — are now being decoded by AI. The Vesuvius Challenge, a project that used machine learning to read the carbonized papyrus without physically unrolling it, has already recovered text. We may yet find out what was in that library.

Eustace couldn’t have imagined it. Neither could I, really, until it happened.

As someone who attended both high school and college in the 90s, the internet just seemed to happen. We had Prodigy, then AOL, and Instant Messenger, but they all seemed like new toys for about ten years, until everything rapidly digitized in the early aughts. It’s funny, because I feel like I saw the end of the old world in Florence in the 90s, when there were still little shops on the side streets with nothing more than a pot of hot oil and an older woman frying things in it. And I yearn for that again as I see people feel morally obligated to stand in line for viral sandwiches inspired by social media.

He closes the chapter: “If we have dwelt at some length on Naples from the old world point of view, it is because we love her best clad in her old garments… but we need not blind ourselves to the fact that all this must go. Naples is going very rapidly indeed.”

I opined in my Before Sunrise essay that the internet democratized meticulous planning, but it annihilated spontaneity.

But the lesson from Eustance is: We are learning to bear this loss with the serenity acquired by habit.

We are always witnessing the end of something and the beginning of something.

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The most delicious thing you can eat in Southern Italy is buffalo milk mozzarella. Italy has earned such a sterling culinary reputation that most people just open their mouths and say yes to whatever is put in front of them. But every once in a while, someone says buffalo mozzarella, what the hell is that?

It is a strange thing to encounter, especially because the languid, enormous, but very sensitive water buffalo are cugini to the ones you’ll find in Vietnam or Cambodia, where buffalo milk mozzarella is not a thing. Buffalo mozzarella is made primarily in the region of Campania. It graces pizzas in Naples and has a different casein than most cow’s milk, so the lactose-intolerant among us can indulge. Buffalo farms abound in Caserta, near the stupendous Palace of Caserta, from where the Bourbon monarchy ruled over “the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.” Before Italy became the nation we know it as today in 1861, it was a monarchy that pioneered several industries, including a dairy industry based on buffalo milk. But even more exquisite is the stuff made at a handful of farms, a little farther south.

If you’re driving there, maybe on a day trip from Naples or the Amalfi Coast, you’ll inevitably get snarled in traffic on what locals call “the mozzarella highway” through Battipaglia. Every sign on the roadside is flashing mozzarella di bufala. The traffic is largely due to hundreds of trucks that pass through daily to pick up mozzarella and transport it to supermarkets across Italy. I’ve heard waiters in Florence extol the virtues of its freshness, boasting that it just arrived in the restaurant that afternoon. I’ve also heard waiters in New York cooing that they just picked it up from JFK that morning. Keep driving; Battipaglia is an industrial farming zone, and everything is pasteurized for export. Better things await in the town called Capaccio-Paestum.

Paestum is most famous for three extraordinarily well-preserved Greek temples. They are massive and built of travertine, a volcanic stone, then coated in plaster and painted to mimic marble, which doesn’t exist in Southern Italy. Paestum was colonized by Greeks, conquered by Lucanians, who were the indigenous people of the area, whom the Greeks employed as their security goons, and then became a Roman city. Paestum was considered very old when the Romans conquered it. The oldest of the three temples was 280 years old. The Greeks regarded everything around the temples as sacred ground, but the Romans were insatiable real estate developers. There developed markets, civic buildings, a large Asclepieion, which was the closest thing to a hospital in the classical world, and dozens of smaller temples, all surrounding the big, very old ones.

Roman Paestum was bigger and far more important than Pompeii or Herculaneum, and though it’s beyond the reach of Mount Vesuvius’s molten tentacles, it is still affected by earthquakes. The Roman Empire declined, and Paestum sank. Literally. The reason: a phenomenon called bradyseism, which is a Greek word: bradys means slow, and seismos means movement.” It’s an imperceptible but continuous slow rising and falling of the earth - a slow-motion earthquake.

When the Greeks built the temples close to the glittering Tyrrhenian sea, things were on the up. But by the third and fourth centuries, Paestum was a swamp, infested with malaria carrying mosquitos. Mal aria means ‘bad air.”

The Paestani fled for the hills. Some went to the hills just above Paestum, founding Capaccio, my grandmother’s hometown, while others went higher to the sea-facing cliffs of the Amalfi Coast. The name Positano may be related to the Paestani who settled there.

And certainly people also went to Salerno, which was a Roman city, then under Lombard rule, and in 1077 was officially conquered by the Normans, proud descendants of the Vikings, loosely related to the Normans who just 11 years earlier had taken England at the Battle of Hastings. Salerno was a luxurious city, full of international merchants, and home to the world’s first medical school. Meanwhile, once glorious Paestum, not very far away at all, must have looked like the zombie apocalypse.

Just to let you know, I haven’t forgotten we were talking about buffalo and delicious cheese; they will soon re-enter our story, but first, we need to make a stop in Salerno.

Salerno was where the Norman king built a cathedral dedicated to Saint Matthew the Apostle. It’s believed he died in either Ethiopia or Persia, but his bones somehow ended up near Paestum, and two people had a dream, alerting them to the location. They retrieved the old bones, and the cathedral was built around them. The Normans also began to adorn the area we now call the centro storico of Salerno with Roman columns from Paestum. They’re embedded in many corners, and sometimes you’ll see a sign with a dog lifting its leg and a red line across it. It may read “Questa e storia” - this is history, and don’t let your dog pee on it. The massive columns that you’ll encounter in the courtyard of the cathedral came from what must have been another enormous temple at Paestum, which was clearly functioning as an open quarry.

Why? Because using Roman columns made an architectural argument that the new power is heir to the Roman one. For someone from somewhere else, Northern France in this case, to frame himself as the legitimate successor to Roman caesars. And how did they physically pull them out of the swamp and drag them back to Salerno? With water buffalo, which are naturally immune to malaria.

Buffalo arrived on Italian soil via Arab merchants, who first brought them from Southeast Asia to Egypt for use as work animals. For roughly two centuries, Sicily was under Muslim rule, first governed by emirs from North Africa. Sicily was wealthy and well developed, so much so that the various wealthy factions dissolved into infighting, which allowed the Normans to more easily conquer them. Neither gentlemen nor scholars, they kept what the Arabs did best, including mathematics, agricultural practices, and sugary desserts, including cannoli. Buffalo thrived in the marshy lands along the Italian coast and were incredibly effective at doing the impossible work of clearing rivers. As they plod through streams, the underwater reeds that are nearly impossible for humans to remove will tangle around the legs of a buffalo sauntering through the day and easily snap and break.

Paestum doesn’t appear in the historical record again until the 1700s, during the period known as the Grand Tour. Part of a complete education was a trip to the Italian peninsula, where something astonishing had happened. Pompeii was discovered. The Bourbon kings of Naples not only founded the buffalo mozzarella industry, but also the field of archaeology, which didn’t exist. Pompeii fever swept the educated world and set off the Neoclassical movement. Paestum, though never completely abandoned, defined the word backwater, and was a more adventurous leg of the Grand Tour. In paintings from this period, you can see these beautiful Doric temples, their reflections in pools of water, and grazing buffalo all around them.

Can you imagine what a sight that must have been to citified elites from England and Germany? People who had never seen or even imagined a buffalo, or were accustomed to having their dopamine spiked by imagery hundreds of times every day?

In those paintings, you’ll also notice houses, and the locals – my ancestors – guiding the buffalo, or sitting on a hill wearing loose pants and a floppy hat, playing a flute, or some other peasanty activity. As a sidenote, I don’t understand how my lineage in this area survived long enough to produce me, as I am target number one on every mosquito’s agenda.

When you arrive at Paestum today, you will also find the very best farms producing buffalo milk mozzarella within a mile of the temples. Most well-reputed is Tenuta Vannulo, a local family-owned farm that has made artisanal cheesemaking and the highest standards of animal welfare a point of attraction. You can tour the facility and watch buffalo using state-of-the-art self-milking machines, getting massages with what look like car-wash brushes, while a guide explains how Mozart is played for them in their pens. The result is a product unlike anything on the mozzarella highway, and it is exquisite. I especially recommend the buffalo milk gelato. If you’re a coffee person, get the coffee flavor, drowned with a shot of espresso. (To the uninitiated, this is called an affogato.) That’s it, that’s the peak coffee experience of your life.

But my favorite place is Barlotti, partially because it’s within walking distance of the Paestum temples. You don’t have the full organized tour experience that you have at Vannulo, but you can hang out with the buffalo, who are very quiet and relaxed in a very Southern Italian way. Have lunch inside their beautiful glass-encased restaurant or in the garden underneath the pergola. Don’t overthink your menu choices. Get the sample plate that includes fresh mozzarella, smoked mozzarella, and a mound of ricotta, followed by a plate of cooked vegetables, a selection of whatever is growing at the moment. For dessert, a cannoli filled with buffalo milk ricotta.

After lunch, walk to the Paestum temples. The swamp was officially drained in the 1930s by the Fascists, another group that sought to legitimize itself by resuscitating Roman ruins, and the ground continues to be managed today. After the war, when malaria was eradicated, a modern Paestum was fully developed. If you walk on the right side of the road, you’ll see water running – there are ancient springs here, which certainly inspired the placement of the temples nearly 3,000 years ago. The presence of the Asclepieion, natural springs, and temples together indicates that the Greek colonists identified this as a place of healing. And you can squint past the sunlight and use your imagination to see a parade of buffalo, pulling a plough with a giant Roman column atop it, en route to Salerno. Because everything good from the old world should be used to build the new one.

In this episode, I speak with writer Susan van Allen about Ischia, the island very close to Capri that I like to call paradise for normal people. The last time I was there, Susan introduced me to her favorite place to stay on Ischia, the Pensione Di Lustro, a throwback to another era of travel and the place where Truman Capote spent 97 days living and writing “Local Color.”

I hope you enjoy it!

Links from the episode:

Episode 4: Vittoria Colonna Had It All

Naples Destination Deep Dive

Rome Destination Deep Dive

Florence Destination Deep Dive