The writers we read
Italy, written by people who live it. These are the newsletters we read and recommend on Substack, in five lists. Each list shows its newest pieces first, then everyone on it. Every link goes to the writer.
Small-town Italy, from the inside
People who live in the Italian towns most travelers skip, and write about what a year there is really like.
A ‘Bread of Miracles’: Hazelnut Soda-Bread ‘Focaccia’ for ‘San Patrizio’
My Beautiful Fortress in Italy.
The Long Way to Belonging
Waitlist Open: Le Marche Uncorked
Closed for the Afternoon
Intreccio
Everyone on this list (19)
- A Brit in Ferrara A Brit in Ferrara, on the small absurdities of settling in, from beer to the permesso.
- Being in Italy Everyday life in Italy, lived more or less gracefully, post office rants included.
- About Little Things Bridget Christine on travel, connection and Le Marche, and probably artichokes.
- Farm Table Italy David Gabrieli on agriturismos, producers and the farm food culture most visitors never find.
- Eating Clouds in Italy Faustina on the slow life in Northern Italy, one season and one table at a time.
- Italian stories Maarten, a Dutch writer, on life in a tiny borgo between Bologna and Florence, with detours into history and food.
- Italicus: a writer's life in Italy Cheryl Ossola on life in an Italian hill town: language, travel, writing and books.
- Jeff Curto - At Home In Time Jeff Curto, photographer and teacher, on images, travel and our sense of place in Italy.
- The Painted Palazzo Mary Jane Cryan, sixty years in Italy, writing from her palazzo in central Italy on history and everyday life.
- Michelle Damiani Michelle Damiani, a writer with Italy at heart, on finding a place to belong.
- Piccolo Centro One story a month from Le Marche: the crafts, traditions and quiet places that survive.
- Time to be Italian Barbara on Le Marche: travel, traditional recipes, and speaking Italian without fear.
- Abruzzo Unpacked An online magazine for anyone curious about Abruzzo.
- My Beautiful Fortress in Italy Annette Joseph, cookbook author, on life at a twelfth-century fortress in northern Tuscany.
- Letters from a 300-year-old-Italian farmhouse. Letters from a 300-year-old farmhouse in a Piemonte hill town.
- Adventures in Italy Family, food and community in the Sibillini mountains, from a sixty-year love of Italy.
- Itch.world An American family's fourteen years in a tiny Tuscan village, delights and surprises included.
- Bitter & Sweet A Sicilian-Australian author on Sicilian traditions, family and renovating a Sicilian house.
- Liguria Letters The Italian Riviera and the villages inland, from someone who knows them.
Moving to Italy, from people who did it
The paperwork, the houses, the first year and the tenth: Italy from people who moved here and stayed.
How I find books to read
Billy Joel Is Watching Me- 20 Years of Blogging Florence: What Changed, What Didn't With Elena Farinelli
🏡 Friday Finds for November 13th, 2026
Rome's Newly Reopened Crypt: 10,000 Bones and a Very Small Door
The sales have started, plus a 20-minute savory sweet potato soup Andre thought was persimmons.
Everyone on this list (15)
- A Renaissance Life Alecia Stevens on beginning again at any age, now in Italy, with the nuts and bolts of the move.
- Missives from a Metropolis Sheila Pierce on Italy, motherhood and expat life in the big city.
- Quotidian Vignettes Elizabeth Djinis on the joy and the travails of everyday life in Rome.
- Life Lived Italian Eric, a New Yorker in Italy, on the adventures and mishaps of a life lived Italian.
- Honest Conversations with Georgette Georgette Jupe, an American in Italy, on motherhood, writing and finding a village.
- Lisa Ellzey's Substack Lisa Ellzey, a film producer living in Italy, on the ordinary and the extraordinary.
- Letters from Rome Michelle Ciani on place and belonging, and remembering how to be Italian.
- Olive and Pine | Homes in Italy Angie Smith's weekly pick of Italian homes for sale, with tips for buying and living here.
- Renovating Italy Club Thirteen years ago they moved from Australia with $20k and four suitcases. Now they renovate houses and show how.
- Rootless in Italy Cassandra Tresl's unfiltered guide to the highs and lows of building a life in Italy.
- Barrett and The Boys Weekly recipes and dispatches from a family kitchen in Italy, with three boys growing up abroad.
- Dolce Lingua with Veronica Practical Italian and guidance for the B1 exam that Italian citizenship asks for.
- Escape to the Bookshop Opening a bookshop in Italy, from the first idea onward.
- Noon by Saghar Setareh Saghar Setareh on life and food in Italy, her Iranian roots and being an immigrant woman.
- Rachel in Italia Rachel moved her family to Italy. Why, how it is going, and whether they will stay.
Italian food and wine, from people who cook it
Recipes, producers and wine from writers who cook and drink in Italy, region by region.
Delicious Errands
The Olives Can’t Wait- Italian Bakeries and their Specialties, with Domenica Marchetti and Giovanna Solimando
- What Makes Italian Food Italian?
November is my favourite month in Tuscany
Uliassi giù
Everyone on this list (24)
- La Sprezzatura Annie Replogle on Italian food, wine and the places that make life worth living.
- Buona Domenica Domenica Marchetti on Italian food, wine and travel, with a recipe every Sunday.
- Tasting Life Twice Crystal King, novelist, on food, history and Italy.
- Simply Divina- My Tiny Tuscan Kitchen Judy Witts Francini, an American cook in Tuscany, becoming more Italian one recipe at a time.
- Elizabeth’s Newsletter from Italy Elizabeth Minchilli on food and travel in Italy, not necessarily in that order.
- Olive the things Giuseppe and Skyler with your nonna's favorite recipes, every week from Italy.
- Letters from Tuscany Giulia Scarpaleggia's stories and recipes from her Tuscan kitchen.
- Laurel’s Kitchen Laurel Evans, cookbook author based in Northern Italy, with seasonal recipes and stories.
- SAPER VIVERE Massimo Bernardi on choosing better: food, wine, restaurants and hotels, in Italian.
- Our Italian Table Michele Becci on food, wine and wanderings in Italy, with plenty of recipes.
- Robert Camuto: Italy Matters Robert Camuto, veteran wine journalist, on wine and culture from his home in Italy.
- Dash of Prosecco by Sinù Fogarizzu Sinù Fogarizzu on the simple home cooking of Venice.
- Sipping Italy with Tino Tino Masecchia on Tuscany and beyond, one glass and one story at a time.
- Wendy Holloway's Flavor of Italy Wendy Holloway on Italy's food and wine culture, written from living it, not passing through.
- Andiamotrips’s - Campania Italy with Karen Phillips Karen Phillips, after 30 years in Naples, on Campania's food, wine and travel.
- Simposio: Food, Rituals & Lived Italy Food, rituals and conversation drawn from lived Italy, every week.
- Notes from Emiko’s Kitchen Emiko Davies's recipes, travel tips and family life between Italy, Japan and Australia.
- Taste of Liguria A food writer on Liguria: recipes, people, places and products.
- Food Notes from Bologna Stories and recipes from an Emilia-Romagna food writer.
- My half Apulian table Italian food beyond the familiar: regional recipes and stories, mostly from Puglia.
- MADONNA DEL PIATTO Italian food, its culture and identity, from a kitchen in Rome.
- Memorie di Angelina Italian home cooking from one of the best-loved Italian food blogs, now on Substack.
- Savoring Italy The food, wanderings and everyday life of Italy.
- Spaghetti ABC The flavors of Puglia, with all the senses.
Rome, Florence and the cities, by people who live there
Where to eat, what to see and how the big cities really work, from residents and licensed guides.
Why Do Italians Hate Chicken?
San Saba: A Peaceful Corner of Rome, Far from the Crowds
The Italy Briefing: November 15 to 30, 2026
Why the Baths of Caracalla Are Worth Visiting
Reinventing a Fading Fixture of Italian Life
One day in Rome; When it rains
Everyone on this list (17)
- Paradise of Exiles ~ Insider Italy Chandi Wyant, a licensed Florence guide, on trading rushed tourism for an unhurried Italy.
- Ciao Bella Erica Firpo's insider recommendations and stories from Italy, every week.
- The Italy Edit Handpicked hotels and insider knowledge from an independent journalist in Rome.
- Curiosities from Italy by Coral Coral Sisk on life in Florence without the illusions, with travel guides from Italy.
- Half Roman Frances D'Emilio, half a lifetime in Rome, explains Italy without simplifying it.
- Gillian Knows Best Gillian Longworth McGuire's guides and maps to eat, stay and shop in Italy's best known places. Mostly Venice, her home.
- Italy on Foot Practical Italy travel advice, written from Rome.
- La Storia by Jennifer Jacob Jennifer Jacob on the histories behind Italy's most interesting places to stay.
- Sharp Monica Monica Sharp's essays and cultural criticism from Florence.
- Negroni Popcorn Travel writing, historical fiction and essays from Milan.
- The New Roman Times Laura Itzkowitz on the people, places and things that matter to Romans.
- Saturdays In Rome Beppe Castro on the food, culture and beauty of Rome, for anyone planning a trip.
- Understanding Rome's Newsletter Agnes Crawford on all things Rome.
- Diary of Rome for Curious Travelers Mario Menditto, a Rome resident, on the city's history, architecture, food and daily life.
- Reflections of Venice Venice's art, history and architecture, and the past you can still see.
- Rome: Imagined and Observed Discovering Rome on foot and in the archive.
- Taste Bologna Monthly news from Bologna's food scene, with restaurant reviews and trip ideas.
Understanding Italy: culture, language and how it works
History, art, music, language and the way the country actually runs, explained by people who know it.
- Troppa salsa. The Spaghetti Verdict at Scalzotto
Which Aeolian island is right for you? An Italian’s take- 20 Years of Blogging Florence: What Changed, What Didn't, With Elena Farinelli
Hai Fatto Bene… Ma Hai Fatto Del Bene?
North and South: Italy’s Fake Border
The Enchanting Beauty of the Dolomites
Everyone on this list (20)
- Illuminare Alexandra Lawrence on books, exhibitions and cultural happenings in Italy.
- Vivace Samantha Wilson on the people, places and ideas that make Italy fascinating.
- Ciao Ciao - Italy unveiled Fia B. on the stories and places behind Italian traditions.
- Italy's Coffee Secrets Elfin Waters on learning Italian, language retreats in small towns, and coffee.
- Italian Unlocked Alex Falasca helps intermediate learners move from correct Italian to natural Italian.
- Italy Untold Italy Untold takes one thing at a time and stays with it until it makes sense.
- Italy with Antonio Antonio Cangiano, a native Italian, on culture, how the country works, and the data behind it.
- Love Italy Five minutes of Italian stories and travel tips, every weekday.
- Mamma Mia Indeed A weekly letter from an expat couple on experiencing Italy like a local.
- If You Liked Volare M. M. Fosco on Italian pop music, for the English-speaking listener.
- The Italian Advantage Language, culture and business in Italy, for students, founders and anyone relocating.
- Italy Writers Travel through Italy's twenty regions by way of the books set there.
- Danielle Oteri's Italy Danielle Oteri, art historian, on Italy's art, history, food and people.
- The ITALIAN DISPATCH By Eric J Lyman Eric J. Lyman's clear-eyed view of Italy, with affection and without cliché.
- All Things Italy . . . and a little bit more Etta Madden's research on life in Italy, past and present.
- How to speak Italian? Katarzyna Ciszewska's tested strategies for actually speaking Italian, every month.
- Italy by an Italian A born-and-bred Italian looking past the superficial picture of Italy.
- Speak Italian Like A Local A native Italian, raised between Naples and the US, on how Italians really speak.
- The Week in Italy A regular digest of Italy's politics, economy, art and culture.
- Historia Minuta The small print of Italian history.