A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life

By Michelle Johnston

Personal Journals Society & Culture Arts Places & Travel

What's A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life about?

A Podcast about Italy, travel, writing, books, gardens and food.  

Celebrates creative living, beautiful conversations and the journeys we need to make along the way.  

Interest in slow living, slow food, creativity, art, cooking, books and ultimately living the good life!

Download our free app to listen on your phone

A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life episodes:

06.20.2024
Children of the Volcano with Travel Writer and Author Ros Belford
"Time in Italy seemed less linear than it was at home, more of a space waiting to be filled with whatever delights the day might bring – exquisite miniature pastries behind the etched glass of an art nouveau window, a...
05.19.2024
Strange Fruit, Italian Lessons, Dreaming of Sicily
"Perfection is static, and I am in full progress" - Anais Nin Welcome to Episode #95: Today I go on a whimsical journey through my process! Reading and working on my book. The book is done! Yet, I am most keen...
05.15.2024
Rome’s Last Noble Palace, Cafe Culture and Great Writing Advice with Fiction Author Kimberly Sullivan
"Be kind to yourself and just get going, because even if you are just writing a little bit, for a few hours a week - it adds up" - Kimberly Sullivan Welcome to Episode #94: Today I have a conversation...
04.21.2024
Writing our lives - A Poetic Ramble and Musings
"One's destination is never a place but a new way of looking at things" - Henry Miller Welcome to Episode #93: Today a share a meander through the creative landscape of writing and my process and the discoveries on the creative...
04.09.2024
The Flavours of Liguria with Food Writer Enrica Monzani
"Ligurian cuisine is often defined as a "poor" cuisine, of humble, rough origins because it was born in the homes of fisherman and farmers who had only simple, seasonal and low-value ingredients available. Yet, it is also sophisticated due to...
03.28.2024
Universe I Trust You - With Roberta Mussato
"You have not a right, but a duty to be happy" - Roberta Mussato Welcome to Episode #91: What a privilege it is to talk to women and share their stories. Women lead such fascinating lives. I continually notice this,...
03.20.2024
The Big Leap - Solo Travel in Italy with Cookbook Author Nadia Fragnito
"We travel, initially to lose ourselves, and we travel, next to find ourselves" - Pico Iyer Welcome to Episode #90: Today I have a special conversation with Nadia Fragnito from The Vegan Italian Kitchen. Nadia is here to talk about her...
02.24.2024
On Italy, and Following the Charm...
"Italy was more than a subject, it was a tool of resurrection and empowerment" - Michelle Johnston “Can a place be an archetype? Or pertain mythical qualities? Emily Dickinson never left her home in New England to travel, the Italy she...
02.23.2024
Dolce Amaro - Bitter Sweet
"You cannot lose what really belongs to you, even if you throw it away" - I-Ching Here I talk about the bitter sweet few months that have been, reflecting on life, books and events, and the books and writing adventures...
12.31.2023
In Good Company
"One will never forget the sudden transcendent quality of ordinary things, the glow of the fruit in its own leaves, the purple and green of artichokes with bushy tales, the delicacy of the sea creatures, silver, lilac - pale and...
12.28.2023
Allison Zurfluh and the Venice Lagoon - La Mia Arte
"Some things are here for our souls, not our interests, and every land has its pockets of wild. Let us leave then there for the birds, for the night watch, for the person who needs and longs for a creeping...
12.09.2023
Cucina Povera & the Art of Making Do with Food Writer Giulia Scarpaleggia
“Cucina Povera is not just a unique approach to cooking and ingredients; it’s the highest expression of the Italian arte delle arrangiarsi - the art of making do with what you have got" - Giulia Scarpaleggia, Cucina Povera Welcome to Episode...
10.28.2023
Cookbook Author Tessa Kiros: Now & Then
"I travel and collect things that I love. Memories, tastes, colours and stories. I bring them home and make the beautiful meals I had, so we can live them all over again" - Tessa Kiros, Now & Then: A collection...
10.21.2023
On Living a Bigger Life
"Much testing, much reflecting, much living must intervene before we can say 'My soul is my own'" - Madonna Kolbenschlag, (from) The Spiritual Sampler by Sue Monk Kidd Welcome to Episode #83, While in the middle of a big year, I...
10.04.2023
Luca Spaghetti - Anything is Possible!
"My grandmother always used to tell me your last name is going to bring you luck. When people meet you it makes them happy and a little bit hungry too" - Luca Spaghetti, Un Amico Italiano - Eat Pray Love...
09.09.2023
Ms Britaly and Life in Southern Italy as an Expat
"I just knew that I had to figure it out for myself, step by step" - Claire Hearn, My Five Year Journey in Italy.... Welcome to Episode #81, This week I share a conversation with Ms Britaly from Palermo in Sicily. ...
08.26.2023
The Travel Journal - how and why you should make one!
“And we are of course, each one of us, the historians of our own lives” - Hisham Matar, A Month in Siena Welcome to Episode #80; In this episode I share pages from ‘Italian Hours’ a travel journal I am in...
07.26.2023
Casalvento: House of the Wind with Author and Winemaker Gudrun Cuillo
"I thought I had the perfect life in New York, but fate had something different in mind for me. I've fallen in love with this place and what it has to offer" - Casalvento: House of the Wind by...
07.15.2023
Emiko Davies - Tuscan Life and Enoteca Marilu
"We will cook together, you’ll don an apron and get your hands dirty, learning about local traditions on the way. We eat and drink together, tasting wines chosen by Marco. Afterwards, in the late afternoon and evenings, you are free...
06.28.2023
R is for Rome - The Writers Life with Michelle Ciani
"R is for Rome. Roma is my Lupa, the She-Wolf. She is mother and my muse" - Michelle Ciani, Letters from Rome Welcome to Episode #77: Michelle Ciani lives in Rome, Italy. Through her writing and journals, she explores...
05.23.2023
In Sardinia: An Unexpected Journey in Italy with Jeff Biggers
“Far from a fleeting moment in history, or a stack of stones, the open museum of Sardinia recounted a story of foundations; a story of birth and rebirth, of endurance and resilience, and re-use, and a story of rituals and...
05.20.2023
The Road Less Traveled - Eat Pray Love - A Book Journey
"What if you could somehow create an expansive enough life that you could synchronize seemingly incongruous opposites into a world view that excludes nothing?” - Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love Can a book be mythical and kind of a life time...
05.19.2023
Italian Inspiration - An Invitation....
“And I do believe that Italy really purifies and ennobles all who visit her. She is the school as well as the playground of the world.” – E. M. Forster Welcome to Episode #74 Q.. Do you have a story you would...
05.07.2023
Less is More, Except when it comes to Books! With Laura Botten...
"The Thing about Rome is that it always manages to give you something special" - Luca Spaghetti, Un Amico Italiano - Eat Pray Love in Rome Welcome to Episode #73: Italy seems to find its way into many people’s hearts whether...
04.05.2023
The Art of Devotion and the Black Madonna with Stephanie Georgieff
"The Black Madonna represents a time of direct connection. She is the spiritual connector. She is the energy behind creation. We are to bring our thinking into our heart and have this influence our deeds" - Stephanie Georgieff, The Black...
03.28.2023
Drink Wine and Be Beautiful with Kimberly Sullivan
"It was only decades later, in my little house here in the shadow of the Apennines, that I was completely free to forge my own path" Shadow of the Apennines, Kimberly Sullivan Welcome to Episode 71: Kimberly Sullivan works in International...
03.02.2023
Art and Love: Peggy Guggenheim (Part 2)
"In writing about Peggy, it's important to listen to one's own instincts. Don't listen to critics. What do they know? What one should say about Peggy is, simply, that she did it. That no matter what her motivations were, she...
02.17.2023
Art & Love: Peggy Guggenheim (Part 1)
“I have never been in a city that gave me the same sense of freedom” - Peggy Guggenheim, Out of this Century: Confessions of an Art Addict Welcome to Episode #69: Are you dreaming of visiting Venice and one of the...
12.07.2022
Love in a Tuscan Kitchen with Sheryl Ness (Part 2)
"The old cypress trees along the ancient noble roads stand tall as if to welcome you into their home" - Sheryl Ness, Love in a Tuscan Kitchen Welcome to Episode #68, This week I share Part 2 of my conversation with...
11.26.2022
Love in a Tuscan Kitchen with Sheryl Ness (Part 1)
"Everything around me gave me a feeling that I was at home, from the foods to the people and the unique landscape. I was falling in love" - Sheryl Ness, Love in a Tuscan Kitchen Welcome to Episode #67, Today I...
11.18.2022
Sumptuous Venice with Margie Miklas
“The appeal of this floating city built on stilts in a lagoon is real. Venice remains a place always beckoning me to return. Far from perfect, this island shaped like a fish entices me” - Margie Miklas, Introduction, The Venice...
11.03.2022
Windows into Italy: Lets visit Padova in the Veneto
"And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again - to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more" - Pico Iyer, 'Why We Travel' Welcome to Episode #65: The thing is Italy has so...
10.15.2022
Book Lovers & Artists Unite…Here are a few of my favourite things
Welcome to Episode #64: I couldn’t resist but share a few books and artists that are truely inspiring me and feeding my spirit in the realm of Muse Italia. Enjoy, The Art of Excellent Products: Enchanting Customers with Premium Brand Experiences...
10.07.2022
Have you ever wondered why you feel attracted to a certain place? Let’s talk Locational Astrology with Lynnette from Cosmic Moves
The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware“ - Henry Miller Welcome to Episode #63 This podcast share is a great window into my world… Have you ever wondered why...
09.18.2022
Seventeen Cypress and a Life to Create
"Nature accompanies me, exalts me" - Henri Matisse A Serenade to a Sunday.... Reflections on a house and a garden. "I buy another five cypress. I work hard, water, pray, read them poetry. I listen to books as I dig... A...
09.10.2022
Artist's Notebooks: For the Poets and the Dreamers.....
"I think that a writer should observe the real world before imagining a non-existent one" - Jhumpa Lahiri, In Other Words In a day and age where the universe is at our finger tips and we can meander the world with a...
09.03.2022
A Musing on Lemons, Life and Limoncello......The Recipe for Limoncello Included....
“Do you know the land where the lemon trees grow, in darkened leaves the gold-oranges glow, a soft wind blows from the pure blue sky, the myrtle stands mute, and the bay-tree high? Do you know it well?” - ...
08.25.2022
The Writing Life….Travel Diaries from Liguria, Milan, Siena, London, South of France..….
"Now I know why I keep a diary. I am not at peace until I continue the thread into the present. I am interested in analyzing myself, in trying to discover the reasons why I do such & such. I...
08.20.2022
Travel Diaries, Artist Journals, Aide Memoir, and Excerpts from Paris, Italy and More….
"The only joy in the world is to begin" - Cesare Pevase What do these people have in common? Jean Cocteau, Cesare Pevase, Virginia Woolf, Thomas Mann, Kurt Cobain, Frida Kahlo, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Anais Nin and John Ruskin…. They...
08.05.2022
Table for One - On Solo Travel, Artist's Dates and Grand Adventures
"We often need to be alone to reconnect to life and to ourselves, which then allows us to connect more meaningfully to others" - Sarah Wilson, This One Wild and Precious Life Welcome to Episode 57: Solo travel is make or...
07.28.2022
The Art of Eating
“It’s not just the great works of mankind that make a culture. It is the daily things, like what people eat and how they serve it” - Laurie Colwin, Home Cooking Welcome…… There is something about food that weaves its way...
06.30.2022
Culinary Adventures in Southern Italy with Nadia Fragnito
“Recipes are like stories. Once told then re-told, they become familiar and part of our families heritage. Families would share food and recipes with one another and through this organic process a cuisine was born. Spread a little wider, and...
06.16.2022
Moments in Italy, Part 3 - Beautiful Things…The Villa Necchi Campiglio, Milano
"You can make the world beautiful just by refusing to lie about it" - Gio Ponti (1891-1979) Welcome to Episode #54: The last day of a travel adventure can be a quite distilling, generally it is a tricky day where the emotions...
06.03.2022
How the Venetian Spritz became synonymous with the Good Life in Northern Italy and beyond..
"Let us be honest: who hasn't wanted to be just a little bit Italian?' - Kay Plunkett-Hogge, Aperitivo..... Welcome to Episode #53: Have you ever wondered how the effervescent Spritz drink customarily enjoyed at Aperitivo time in Italy became a cultural...
05.26.2022
Moments in Italy: Caffes & Coffee Bars, Turin, Italy - Travel Share
“Sometimes I think we only half live over here. The Italians live all the way” - Ernest Hemingway, (letter to his sister) Welcome to Episode #52: Come with me on a journey to Turin, we will board the Italo service at 10.35...
05.14.2022
Moments in Italy, Travel Share - Part 1
“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train.” - Oscar Wilde Welcome to Podcast #51 I thought it would be great to share a little more of the adventure and what happened next...
04.10.2022
Postcard from Camogli, Liguria…Sea, Sunshine and Orange Blossoms
“Place will have its way with you” - Frances Mayes, ‘See You in the Piazza’ Welcome to Episode #50 I am sun kissed and sharing this moment with you from Liguria. I am in Camogli on the Italian Riviera, a surreal and...
04.09.2022
Postcard from Liguria, Genova…Ancient Doorways and Bitter Oranges
"Whatever it is I am trying to preserve may not be entirely real, but it isn't altogether false" - Andre Aciman.....'Homo Irrealis, Essays' Welcome to Podcast 49....And another in the moment share while traveling in Italy... Reflections on Parma, Genova, La Spezia...
04.05.2022
Postcard from Parma, Emilia Romagna Italy Travel Share
"These are the days that must happen to you” - Walt Whitman Welcome to Episode #48 Ciao from Italy, Salutations and greetings from the beautiful city of Parma in the region of Emilia Romagna, Italy. I was sitting in front of the...
04.01.2022
Postcard from the Grand Canal, Venice Travel Share
"If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine, it's lethal" - Paul Coelho Ciao from Italy. I am on the Grand Canal recording this to share with you. It is an off the cuff, on the wing travel share. I will add...

What's A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life episodes:

Children of the Volcano with Travel Writer and Author Ros Belford

Strange Fruit, Italian Lessons, Dreaming of Sicily

Rome’s Last Noble Palace, Cafe Culture and Great Writing Advice with Fiction Author Kimberly Sullivan

Writing our lives - A Poetic Ramble and Musings

The Flavours of Liguria with Food Writer Enrica Monzani

Universe I Trust You - With Roberta Mussato

The Big Leap - Solo Travel in Italy with Cookbook Author Nadia Fragnito

On Italy, and Following the Charm...

Dolce Amaro - Bitter Sweet

In Good Company

Allison Zurfluh and the Venice Lagoon - La Mia Arte

Cucina Povera & the Art of Making Do with Food Writer Giulia Scarpaleggia

Cookbook Author Tessa Kiros: Now & Then

On Living a Bigger Life

Luca Spaghetti - Anything is Possible!

Ms Britaly and Life in Southern Italy as an Expat

The Travel Journal - how and why you should make one!

Casalvento: House of the Wind with Author and Winemaker Gudrun Cuillo

Emiko Davies - Tuscan Life and Enoteca Marilu

R is for Rome - The Writers Life with Michelle Ciani

In Sardinia: An Unexpected Journey in Italy with Jeff Biggers

The Road Less Traveled - Eat Pray Love - A Book Journey

Italian Inspiration - An Invitation....

Less is More, Except when it comes to Books! With Laura Botten...

The Art of Devotion and the Black Madonna with Stephanie Georgieff

Drink Wine and Be Beautiful with Kimberly Sullivan

Art and Love: Peggy Guggenheim (Part 2)

Art & Love: Peggy Guggenheim (Part 1)

Love in a Tuscan Kitchen with Sheryl Ness (Part 2)

Love in a Tuscan Kitchen with Sheryl Ness (Part 1)

Sumptuous Venice with Margie Miklas

Windows into Italy: Lets visit Padova in the Veneto

Book Lovers & Artists Unite…Here are a few of my favourite things

Have you ever wondered why you feel attracted to a certain place? Let’s talk Locational Astrology with Lynnette from Cosmic Moves

Seventeen Cypress and a Life to Create

Artist's Notebooks: For the Poets and the Dreamers.....

A Musing on Lemons, Life and Limoncello......The Recipe for Limoncello Included....

The Writing Life….Travel Diaries from Liguria, Milan, Siena, London, South of France..….

Travel Diaries, Artist Journals, Aide Memoir, and Excerpts from Paris, Italy and More….

Table for One - On Solo Travel, Artist's Dates and Grand Adventures

The Art of Eating

Culinary Adventures in Southern Italy with Nadia Fragnito

Moments in Italy, Part 3 - Beautiful Things…The Villa Necchi Campiglio, Milano

How the Venetian Spritz became synonymous with the Good Life in Northern Italy and beyond..

Moments in Italy: Caffes & Coffee Bars, Turin, Italy - Travel Share

Moments in Italy, Travel Share - Part 1

Postcard from Camogli, Liguria…Sea, Sunshine and Orange Blossoms

Postcard from Liguria, Genova…Ancient Doorways and Bitter Oranges

Postcard from Parma, Emilia Romagna Italy Travel Share

Postcard from the Grand Canal, Venice Travel Share

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