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

"One summer morning, my husband, son, and I arrived by car from Sirmione and spent the day wandering through the city’s walkable center. Verona revealed itself slowly, with Roman ruins beside medieval churches, Renaissance palaces glowing in the sun, and piazzas alive with the laughter of locals. The soft pink of its buildings shimmered in the warmth, giving the city a dreamy, romantic air" - Katerina Ferrara, Venice and the Veneto Ultimate Festival & Travel Guide

Welcome to Episode #122:

Today is a fun conversation with Katerina Ferrara about her connection to Italy and how she immersed herself in traveling and exploring the many places you can go in Italy on a unique travel adventure. 

We talk about Katerina’s journey falling in love with Italy, learning the language and discovering the magic of the festival days while on holiday in Italy. There is much to enjoy and celebrate. Soon after Katerina researched the many traditions, the food and wine festivals, the holy days and the saints days for her Travel Guides on Italy. 

Katerina loves to immerse herself in a place and discover the heart of the location. Katerina has captured the magic of the festival days and the time to celebrate with the locals while in Sicily, Puglia or Venice. Katerina is great traveler and seeker of Italy and shares her experiences and discoveries on the Immersion Travel Podcast and on there is so much more on her information packed website.

Enjoy this Conversation and do check the Shownotes below for all of the special details and places that were mentioned in today’s show.

Shownotes at MichelleJohnston.life

Visit - Katerina Ferrara 

Instagram - Katerina Ferrara

Get your hand on Katerina’s Travel Guides for Immersive Travel and Festivals in Italy

Immersion Travel Podcast on You Tube

Immersion Travel Podcast on Apple Podcasts 

Immersion Travel Podcast on Spotify

Shownotes at MichelleJohnston.life

A Writer in Italy Instagram

Substack - At My Table

Michelle’s Books

A Writer in Italy is about travel and life. A place to share the beautiful travel journeys and the discoveries along the way. 

Italy has many attractions - art, design, architecture, history and the wonderful food culture. Michelle shares her love of books on Italy and the places and regions that have inspired her along the way.

Michelle Johnston lives in Australia with her family.

A Writer in Italy Podcast respectfully acknowledges that this work is created on the country of the Ngambri peoples and culture, and pays respects to their Elders, past and present.

© 2025  A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life
Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2025

Support the show

"Perhaps my vision has been somewhat romantic but who out there has not been lured by an Arcadia unlike our own? It seems it has been a thing for centuries..." - Michelle Johnston, Substack

Welcome to Episode #121:

Today I share a podcast I made last month while contemplating the after glow of being in Italy and sharing new adventures writing on Substack - At My Table. 

I read an excerpt  from Two Castles in Italy, that weaves together Italian moments and books I have enjoyed and the life moments that have happened along the way. Italy continues to be a creative catalyst, opening new doors and perspectives. There is much inspiration from the journey of podcasting, and the travel and writing adventures in Italy.

"Life is good when you travel and experience the beauty you seek"  Substack - At My Table

A Writer in Italy Instagram

Michelle’s Books

Shownotes at MichelleJohnston.life

© 2025  A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life
Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2025

Today's end music - 'Chances'

Richard's Music is available on Spotify and Apple Music - Album 4240

Support the show

"The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind" - Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations

Welcome to Episode #120:

"Be a Traveler, Not a Tourist!" - Today I explore this wonderful statement by the late Anthony Bourdain.

I have been going around in circles for years musing over this whole thought about the traveling journeys and contemplating moving beyond being a complete tourist and embracing more of the unknown as a traveler. 

Sometimes it is sheer spontaneity and sometimes I go in headstrong with my grand expectations. There are moments of awe and beauty and sometimes it is a real spectacle and a few lessons are notched on the belt. 

How to lean more into creating space for surprise and possibility and throwing the itinerary out the window for the afternoon. I thought I would muse over this whole topic and what it means to be a traveler and some things I have discovered along the way, no doubt the hard way but that was part of the fun!

Enjoy, 

Shownotes at MichelleJohnston.life

A Writer in Italy Instagram

Substack - At My Table

Michelle’s Books

© 2025  A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life
Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2025

Today's end music - 'Ghan'

Richard's Music is available on Spotify and Apple Music - Album 4240

Support the show

"The money was always for a dream of sorts, an Italian dream, and now it's one we get to keep living" - Jac Beagley

Welcome to Episode #119:

Many of us dreaming about a home in Italy, a place to enjoy la dolce vita. The big question is, can you do it on a conservative budget and find something special? 

The answer is - Yes you can!

Australian couple Jac and Josh Beagley spent $32,000 Euros (approx. $50,000 Australian dollars) on an apartment in a medieval hilltop village in Umbria. Their holiday home is located in the Centro Storico of Amelia only one hour from Rome. This is their story of buying and renovating a small apartment in a romantic medieval village in Italy. Jac shares that she had no idea what she was doing but they made it happen anyway. Later in the conversation Josh shares his journey and the new adventures in Italy.

We began the conversation reflecting on Jac’s walking tour on the path of San Francesco in Umbria, the Way of Saint Francis. It turns out, the journey she made as a solo traveler would plant a seed that Umbria had property that was not inflated and potentially affordable. And so close to Tuscany!! 

I enjoyed listening to Jac’s story of traveling solo very much and this was a wonderful segway into way happened next- suggesting to her husband that they should possibly buy a place in Italy!! The rest is in this wonderful podcast conversation….

Enjoy x

Shownotes at MichelleJohnston.life

A Writer in Italy Instagram

Michelle's Substack - At My Table

Michelle’s Books

© 2025  A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life
Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2025

Support the show

"Italy taught me to readjust my focus" - Judith Valente, The Italian Soul

Welcome to Episode #118:

Today I talk with Author Judith Valente about her recent book The Italian Soul - How to Savour the Full Joys of Life. 

In Judith’s introduction to The Italian Soul she writes, “I depart Italy with the same feeling: I found what I was looking for”. Judith shares not only practical advice on how to savour the daily details, but what she has learned from her ancestors and her time in Italy with friends and family. While on retreats to pilgrimage sites in search of beauty and the contemplative life, from history, the monastics, the sense of community and conviviality that is a part of the every day life in Italy - Judith shares how we can create balance in our lives when we bring some simple pleasures into the every day, wherever we are in the world.

If you would like to deepen your interior life or appreciate the sacred in daily life, Judith’s book - The Italian Soul is a wonderful Invitation. Enjoy this conversation…

Book - The Italian Soul by Judith Valente

Visit Judith Valente

Shownotes at MichelleJohnston.life

A Writer in Italy Instagram

Michelle’s Books

Michelle's Substack - At My Table

© 2025  A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life
Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2025

Support the show

"If you could write about anything you want to write about what would it be?"....

Welcome to Episode #117:

I am excited to introduce you to Janet’s Constantino’s beautiful debut fiction novel 'Becoming Mariella’. This is a deep and rich conversation about her gem of a book and writing journey. We discuss in depth Janet’s Sicilian-American heritage, navigating traditional values and family expectations. 

There are many wonderful tangents in this conversation - we talk travel and Italy and how place can be a powerful magnet without really know why, yet something deep inside of us resonates with certain places. 

We go on a true journey navigating her book ‘Becoming Mariella’ and our personal experiences of following our own paths and breaking free! 

Get ready for a beautiful conversation with two women talking about life, writing, Italy and the journey of Becoming Mariella! 

Visit Janet Constantino - Becoming Mariella

Instagram - Janet Constantino

Find all Shownotes at  MichelleJohnston.life

A Writer in Italy Instagram

Michelle’s Books

© 2025  A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life
Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2025

Support the show

"What we can be in control of we should be, especially when it comes to creativity" - Tracey Emin, Strozzi Gallery Florence - Documentary 

Welcome to Episode #116:

This podcast share has been percolating for some time. Over the year I have found myself musing about creativity and the importance of opening up space in our busy lives to not only make beautiful things but to be available to our creativity as a way to keep steady as technological advancements continue to shift our lives in various directions. 

I love that we get to have this experience and make choices along the way. Do you remember dial up Internet and how slow it was? And now we can use this incredible resource to our advantage. We can make things happen. We can be many things, all at once. It is exciting and yet, to thrive we will need to create beautiful openings in our lives to not let it undermine our ability to be creative, to be sovereign and unique as life moves us forward. 

I guess this conversation is about many things. It is about the necessity of creativity and the fact that great art and writing and books are beautiful things to hold onto and to be a part of. I want to share this sense that I have, that being on a creative quest is important and vital and nourishing as the noise around us gets louder vying for our attention, that we do have our own bounty of inner resources to tap into. 

Regardless, I am feeling that it is time to get creative and make beautiful things. That could be our legacy as things leap and change and grow in the coming years...

Enjoy x

Find all Shownotes at  MichelleJohnston.life

A Writer in Italy Instagram

Michelle’s Books

© 2025  A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life
Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2025

Support the show

"I adore the spirit of Rome" - Michelle Johnston, In the Shadow of a Cypress - An Italian Adventure

Welcome to Episode #115:

More and more I realise there is just something about Italy. This podcast is a culmination of an eventful solo journey in Italy and Paris, and the culmination of the days wandering around Italia has me feeling very open to the beauty of the day and those last precious moments in Rome…

Enjoy x

Find all Shownotes at  michellejohnston.life

My book:  In the Shadow of a Cypress - An Italian Adventure

Book Link for  MichelleJohnston.life

© 2025  A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life
Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2025

Support the show

"The brittle crust off the present fractures; my feet sink into the quicksand of antiquity" - Anthony Doerr, Four Seasons in Rome

Welcome to Episode #114,

A spontaneous moment sipping an Aperol Spritz sitting at a caffe/wine bar on the corner of a busy side street close to Via Nazionale has me musing over some beautiful moments in Rome, purely sunny days full of grand adventures, being lost but absolutely happy in Italy…

Find all Shownotes at  michellejohnston.life

My book:  In the Shadow of a Cypress - An Italian Adventure

Book Link for  MichelleJohnston.life

© 2025  A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life
Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2025

Support the show

"Solitude is a place I like to go" - Tracey Emin

Welcome to Episode #113:

Today I share some beautiful moments in Bologna and Florence while sitting at a cafe close to Mercato Centrale in the centro storico of Firenze. Exploring art and culture was at the forefront of my experience in Italy on this recent travel adventure and there is no doubt there are many moving parts on this journey of mine. I discover much more than I expect seeing Tracey Emin at the Palazzo Strozzi and the restored artwork of Plautilla Nelli - The Last Supper c.1560 at the Santa Maria Novella.

I mention the Strozzi Gallery and seeing Tracey Emin Sex and Solitude and The Time for Women exhibition that are currently showing in Florence, yet would also like to add while in Milan I went to I am Leonor Fini at the Palazzo Reale and loved her work and the beauty of her rich artist life in Italy and France. It came as quite a surprise to see such a femme de force of art after perusing the NovoCento in Milan, a wonderful museum of 20th and 21st Century modern art, yet certainly I noticed that 99 percent of the work was the art of men, a legacy that obviously reflects something more pertinent to art history and Italian culture. These observations left me pondering the times and the culture of art in Italy and perhaps my own experience as a woman forging ahead in difficult times in the 21st Century.

Enjoy x

Find all Shownotes at  michellejohnston.life

© 2025  A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life
Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2025

Support the show