When you meet someone with a passion for the Italian lifestyle—food, wine, family, history, culture, heritage—you just know. There is something special about La Bella Italia that creates an immediate bond between people who have been influenced by her charms – and sometimes a shared smile says it all. This is how we felt when we met Eleonora Baldwin, the food and wine writer behind the popular Wednesday Wines series here on The italyMONDO! Blog. Eleonora, or Lola, writes about Italian food and wine with an infectious enthusiasm and warm simplicity that just invites readers to knock on the door, pull up a chair and join her for dinner. (And we know it would be a delicious dinner!) So pull up that chair, raise your glasses and join me in welcoming Eleonora Baldwin to the italyMONDO! family!

Born in America, but having grown up in Italy from a young age, Eleonora learned all about Italian family cooking from her mother who was born in Rome. Just like many Italians, her grandmother’s cookbook is a cherished family treasure. Eleonora’s heritage in Italy is from the region of Piemonte—birthplace of her maternal grandmother—and from the city of Sora, Frosinone in the heart of “La Ciociaria,” (Where my great-grandfather was born as well, making Eleonora and me paesani!”) Raised in a bilingual family, Eleonora has a natural talent for languages and now speaks four—English, Italian, Spanish and French—a real advantage in her career as a script supervisor in the film industry. Having come from a family with a strong film making tradition, after a career in graphic design Eleonora eventually felt herself drawn to explore this path – and it’s certainly one with plenty of excitement and adventure!

When asked if she feels Italian or American, Eleonora answers, “I feel Italian.” And her passion for Italian cooking, traditions and culture certainly comes across in her writing for The italyMONDO! Blog and on her personal blogs where she writes regularly on a variety of topics. At her food blog, Aglio, Olio & Peperoncino, you’ll find tempting recipes accompanied not only by charming stories and also a wealth of information about true Italian home cooking. Over at her restaurant review blog, Forchettine (in Italian), you’ll find reviews of Eleonora’s favorite restaurants. And avid photographer as well as writer and blogger, Eleonora also shares a glimpse of daily life in Rome at her photo blog Roma Every Day.

What drives Eleonora’s passion for sharing good Italian cooking? Having cooked her whole life, she realized one day she hadn’t ever fully celebrated the importance of it in her daily life. It was all bubbling up inside until it finally found an outlet through blogging. She shared with us that she was hooked from the first post, and now can’t stop – which is very lucky for all of us Italy-loving readers!

Having cooked her whole life, Lola realized one day she hadn’t ever fully celebrated the importance of it in her daily life. It was all bubbling up inside until it finally found an outlet through blogging.

Here on The italyMONDO! Blog, Eleonora brings a fresh view to the sometimes daunting topic of Italian wines in her weekly Wednesday Wines column. She teaches us about the richness of Italy’s wines while at the same time reminding us that there are no set rules when it comes to wine. It’s not necessarily the name on the label or the price tag that determines a good bottle of wine, but instead it’s what your own taste buds tell you. Or, as Eleonora tells us, “Wine is meant to go well with food, like a good marriage.” Be bold, be daring, try new wines, and don’t be afraid to break some of the rules out there. After all, red wine can be very good with fish.

In the end, Eleonora’s writing reminds us to have fun and enjoy your wine with family and friends when possible. That’s often the best combination – and to us, the true definition of La Dolce Vita.

Stop by every Wednesday to learn more about Italian wines as Lola continues to share her insights, tips and passion for one of the most important elements of the Italian table – a good glass of vino italiano!

Can’t get enough of La Dolce Vita? Visit Lola’s other blogs!
Aglio, Olio & Peperoncino – All about Italian cooking
Forchettine – Italian Restaurant Reviews (in Italian)
Roma Every Day – Rome Photo Blog

Welcome to a special Saturday Spotlight here on The italyMONDO! Blog where we are turning the floor over to Michele Carbone, author of Venerdì Sera, Friday Evening: Creating La Dolce Vita, one bite at a time. Michele was pleased to sit down and answer a few of our questions and share with italyMONDO! readers about her love of Italy, travels in the bel paese and how she plans on bringing La Dolce Vita in her home for this Christmas season. Welcome, Michele!

What is the Italian connection in your family? What part of Italy does your family come from?
My husband’s family live in the Val di Non near Trento in Trentino/Alto Adige (his grandmother and grandfather on his mother’s side emigrated to the US) and in Piana degli Albanese outside of Palermo in Sicily (his grandmother and grandfather on his father’s side emigrated to the US). We have a family tree that goes back many generations on both sides, and includes the Italian-American descendants here.

Where have your travels in Italy taken you? And do you have a favorite place to visit?
We have been to Milan, Venice, the Val di Non, Florence, Rome, Sicily. I think if I would come back to Italy to live I would pick somewhere in the north, perhaps the lake country or the Italian Riviera. I like to be near water. I love Florence and Venice because of the history, culture and art. I would like to be a few hours away from our relatives. But Rome, all roads lead there…

How have the different landscapes, regional cooking and travels in the bel paese inspired your cooking?
One of my most inspirational moments is when I asked my cousin what kind of cheese we were eating, and he answered, “Our cheese, from here.” It really made me realize that Italian food tastes so incredible because it is always fresh; it doesn’t need to travel anywhere but directly to your table. Once, I saw a open pickup truck filled with lettuce driving in the hot sun. I thought to myself, “I can’t believe they are not using refrigerated trucks.” They didn’t need to preserve that lettuce; they were going to eat it that night! The other thing is, they take the time to make things from scratch, so their food is always better. We asked where could we get a good bottle of Grappa to bring home, and they told us, “You can’t buy good Grappa, you have to make it.” Here, in the States, we are tending to buy everything prepared. (Not me, of course.) The quality is always sacrificed if it is made ahead of time.

What aspects of la cucina Italiana are the most important part of your family cooking?
Striving to create perfection…making the dinner an art form…spending time at the table with my loved ones, sharing great food, a glass of wine, a cold piece of melon, and stimulating conversation…and chocolate.

How will you bring la dolce vita into your daily life and for your family for the Christmas and holiday season?
In a nutshell, enjoy fewer things, but make them of the best quality we can. We will give up some of the frenetic pace items that we often feel compelled to do even though we don’t want to do them. We will slow down, take long walks, catch up with our younger daughter who is returning from college. We will spend more time in conversation, bake something together, enjoy popcorn, prepare many feasts and savor them. Use the crystal and the china.

How would you describe the perfect venerdì sera?
The perfect venerdì sera starts at 8:15 am with friends and dogs; followed by a trip to the farmer’s market, the butcher, cheese shop and bakery. Around 3 pm, I’ll start prepping the food, with anything roasted being slow cooked in the oven. When everyone else arrives between 5 and 6:00 pm, I’ll pour them a glass of wine, too, and I’ll start preparing the antipasto. We’ll sit at the table around 7 pm, starting with soup, a pasta course, the piatto principale, insalata, and finally the dolce…Somewhere around 10:00 we will leave the table and I’ll start the dishes; luckily, I can see the TV from the kitchen. Some Grappa, Porto, or Vin Santo…

Tante grazie, Michele!

To purchase your copy of Venerdì Sera today, please visit Pentola Press.

For this week’s Saturday Spotlight, we’re heading all the way down the boot and into Italy’s “toe” to shine the spotlight on a fellow admirer of Calabria’s charms. The italyMONDO! Blog has introduced us to an entire world of Italian blogs as well as the enthusiastic and passionate writers behind them. It has been a wonderful experience to meet so many people—both online and in person—who share our deep passion for Italy and Italian culture, and as a result it has been equally rewarding to be able to introduce you to our new friends through this new weekly column. Stop by again next Saturday as we shine the Spotlight on yet another fellow Italophile!

Way down south in Calabria you might not expect to meet a Texan, but that is just one of the delightful surprises of Cherrye Moore, a freelance writer who lives in Catanzaro. Also called the “City of the Two Seas” for its location between the Ionian and the Tyrrhenian Seas, Catanzaro is the capital of the region of Calabria and the province of the same name. Cherrye write about her bella vita in bella Calabria at her aptly named blog, My Bella Vita.

With her charming Texan accent and sweet nature, Cherrye is the picture perfect example of southern (Italian!) hospitality. In fact, she and her husband keep busy managing the Il Cedro Bed and Breakfast, which they opened together in 2007. Surrounded by a citrus garden (by the way, a cedro is a type of citrus fruit that looks like giant lemon!), the four-bedroom bed and breakfast is located right in the heart of Catanzaro. Cherrye loves how the bed and breakfast offers the chance to meet new people and to introduce them to the treasures of Catanzaro and Calabria.

My Bella Vita was born in 2006 when Cherrye first moved to Catanzaro. Like many expatriates, she was eager to keep in touch and share her new life with family and friends back home. While My Bella Vita began as a personal journal online about learning to live in Calabria, through it Cherrye also began to meet other expats living in southern Italy who became fast friends. Blogging was an introduction to a community of people sharing similar experiences across Italy, and writing about life in bella Calabria has introduced Cherrye to many people who share her interest in exploring the region.

My Bella Vita was born in 2006 when Cherrye first moved to Catanzaro. Like many expatriates, she was eager to keep in touch and share her new life with family and friends back home.

Recently re-launched with an attractive new design, My Bella Vita is where Cherrye shares her passion for writing, a job path she has really enjoyed developing here in Italy. Over the years, My Bella Vita has evolved from a personal journal to a multi-featured blog focused on sharing travel tips, tidbits of Italian life in Calabria, recipes, and fun stories about her daily life running the Il Cedro Bed and Breakfast.

Cherrye is quick to add that the friends she has made and the meetings with fellow expats were priceless in helping her as she adjusted to her new life in Calabria, and that adjusting to life in southern Italy has had both its challenging and charming moments, Cherrye now cherishes the fact that Catanzaro isn’t touristy or crowded. She relishes the “authentic Italian experience,” as she describes it, that she’s been able to experience in Calabria. There is something captivating in the fresh Calabrian air, and Cherrye says that she “loves where she lives and wouldn’t trade it for anything!” I look forward to meeting Cherrye on my next trip through Calabria, but until then I’ll continue to enjoy following My Bella Vita and reading stories of Cherrye’s life in southern Italy.

Welcome to Saturday Spotlight, our newest weekly feature on The italyMONDO! Blog. Here we will shine the spotlight on those who share our deep love of Italy and passion for the Italian culture. Over the past few months the Italian blogging community has warmly welcomed us into their ranks. Through this weekly feature, we look forward to spotlighting many of the friendly and interesting bloggers living and writing from Italy or around the world, as well as expatriates who have chosen to call Italy home. We also look forward to introducing you to great businesses both here in Italy and around the globe that promote the appreciation of the Italian culture in all of its forms—from family-run bed and breakfasts, agriturismi and restaurants to Italian language schools and various online boutiques

So start your weekend out with a healthy shot of Italian culture with our weekly Saturday Spotlights, and be sure to return next Saturday as we shine the Spotlight another fellow Italophile!

I recently had the pleasure of enjoying a sunny afternoon at one of the many cafés surrounding Sorrento’s busy Piazza Tasso chatting with Leanne, a cheerful Australian expat who has been living in Italy since 2006, and italyMONDO! blogger Laura Thayer. Leanne is also a blogger, maintaining the popular blog From Australia to Italy. Through her blog she has taken her readers along on her journey working in Rome, Taormina, Sicily and, most recently, Sorrento. Born in Melbourne, Australia, Leanne comes from a large Italian-Australian family with roots in both Calabria and Puglia. When I met up with Leanne (and her bel ragazzo!) in Sorrento she regaled us with her family stories, her experiences living and working in some of Italy’s most famous spots and her decision to return to the country her family left behind.

Leanne first visited Italy in 2002 and immediately felt that something inside her changed the moment she set foot in Rome. After spending a month traveling around Italy, including visiting the small town in southern Italy where her family had come from, she realized why she felt so at home here. Growing up in an Italian-Australian family, she often felt like she stood out for her expressiveness and what her friends described as her “tendency to be loud.” (Any other Italian can relate, right?) During her first visit to her grandparents’ hometown in Puglia, it hit her – the people were just like her! This sense of belonging inspired her to pursue a job that would allow her to follow her dream of living in Italy. Along the way she met her bel ragazzo, and the rest of the story you can read about by diving into the archives of From Australia to Italy.

Leanne is just the type of person I really enjoy meeting, since I love hearing stories of how rediscovering your family roots in Italy can be such a life-changing experience. Of course it is not only Italian Americans that can experience the joy of uncovering their Italian heritage. Italians have emigrated all over the world, including Australia, Canada, South America and throughout Europe. In fact, Italians form one of Australia’s biggest ethnic groups. As Leanne shared stories about growing up in Melbourne, I was reminded of the countless similarities to growing up as an Italian American—the big families, the wonderful home cooking, the big Italian meals and, above all, the strong sense of community. It is these similarities that bind us as a community, and the reason why I called the company italyMONDO!(Mondo meaning World).

Leanne is just the type of person I really enjoy meeting, since I love hearing stories of how rediscovering your family roots in Italy can be such a life-changing experience.

Leanne could write a book (and hopefully will someday!) about her family and their journeys from southern Italy to Australia. She describes herself with the fun saying: “Half Calabrese + Half Pugliese = 100% Australian. You do the math, but that’s me.” Leanne’s maternal side of the family comes from the village of San Marco in Lamis, northeast of Foggia in the region of Puglia. Her father’s side of the family comes from the small village of Policastrello, a frazione (hamlet) of San Donato di Ninea. (Policastrello is so small, in fact, that she couldn’t find it on her first visit to Italy!) In 1956, Leanne’s grandparents decided to leave Policastrello to attempt to give their eight children a chance of a better life in Australia. Her father was 14 years old at the time, and set off for a new beginning in Australia, not returning to Italy again for 52 years. Since moving to Italy, Leanne has been back to visit both Policastrello and San Marco in Lamis, each time discovering a little piece of her family’s heritage in Italy.

While Leanne has just left for a vacation back home in sunny Australia (It’s summer there, you know!), be sure to follow her blog From Australia to Italy to follow along on her adventures. Tante grazie to Leanne (and her bel ragazzo, of course) for sharing her family stories and enthusiasm and love for Italy. I’ll be looking forward to the next time!

This week I’d like to introduce you to another member of the italyMONDO! family. Christine Cantera has a marvelous way with words, and she has been adding her inspiring touch to the italyMONDO! website since early 2009. (Check out the all–new Our Services page and see for yourself!) In her writing Christine shows a sincere passion for what italyMONDO! does for its clients, a passion that comes from growing up in an Italian-American home and her own adventures discovering her family’s Italian heritage.

Continue to visit our blog in the coming weeks as we begin to introduce other members of the italyMONDO! family and learn more about what inspired their love of Italy, their backgrounds, their talents, and what makes each one a unique addition to our family. But without further ado, it is my pleasure to introduce Christine—whose love of travel and the Italian way of life are an inspiration for all.

One cannot earn a name like “The Internet’s Leading Enabler of Travel Addition” without being a passionate traveler and writer. Meet Christine Cantera, a freelance writer and author of the popular travel blog Miss Expatria, where she has been tempting readers with luscious travel tales from Rome and the South of France since 2002. She often delves into the philosophy of travel and focuses on inspiring people to pack their bags and “follow their dreams to the arrivals gate at their favorite destination.”

Christine knows something about following dreams, the challenges of making them happen and just how nice the view truly is from the other side. Italy was calling, and in 1999—while working at an ad agency in New York—she visited Rome and fell in love suddenly and completely with the Eternal City. But this was no small case of wanderlust. Christine felt at home the moment she arrived in Italy, and knew it was where she belonged. With epic doses of gumption she set out to make it happen, at first by taking her job remotely and eventually making the jump into freelance writing. While Venice holds a magical place in her heart, “Rome is home” for Christine, and is where you’ll find her a healthy portion of each year.

Growing up in an Italian–American family on the Jersey Shore, Christine was raised on family stories. She has especially fond memories of her great–grandmother’s tales of “The Old Country,” and like many Italian-American families, life often centered on good food, family meals and monumental Sunday dinners. As a young girl she was instilled with the appreciation and value of her Italian heritage. Therefore it came as no surprise to her family when she broke the news of her plans to move to Rome, and they encouraged her to travel, experience life in Italy and to explore her family roots.

Seeing how passionate Peter is about his work has been a real inspiration. And remembering my own adventures has helped me to explain to others just how life-changing the italyMONDO! experience really is. I’m so proud to be a part of the team.”

– Christine Cantera

Christine brings a passion to her writing for italyMONDO! that comes from having discovered her own family’s story among the dusty registry books of the town of Città Sant’Angelo, located on the coast of the enchanting Abruzzo region. She arrived in her family’s hometown, framed by mountains on one side and sweeping views of the Adriatic Sea on the other, with only a few details about her great–grandfather’s family. There at the comune (town hall), with the help of a friendly man, her family story came to life as they dug through the old books uncovering one Cantera after another. She later returned to Città Sant’Angelo with her cousin, and it was then she realized just how important this connection to her family’s past was for her. Meeting people in town who knew members of her family, she felt an immediate bond and loved watching how their interactions with her changed. She felt the bond that connects all Italians and Italian Americans, and quickly understood that comes from our shared past. The questions are always the same—“Where is your family from?” or “What is your story?”—and as tales are recounted there is an instant bond, a similar history, and an understanding that only comes from a shared way of looking at the past.

While writing the new Our Services page, Christine was reminded of how powerful her own experiences in Città Sant’Angelo had been for her. Discovering where her family came from put everything in perspective. Christine knows firsthand how life changing this experience can be, and this shines through in all her writing for italyMONDO!.

As you may have noticed, a lot of new things have been happening here at italyMONDO!. From an all–new theme for the Our Services page to compliment our unique menu of services to the redesign of the About Us and Contact Us pages, there’s an air of change at italyMONDO!—and this is just the beginning! As our company continues to grow and prosper, it seemed only natural that we add a blog to our homepage. However, I envisioned something more than just a standard “service” blog to boost search results. I envisioned a single online publication that would bring together some of the top Italian writers from the blogosphere so they could write about what they love most—Italy.

Over the next few Saturdays, I will be introducing our new team of enthusiastic and talented writers for The italyMONDO! Blog. Coming from all over the world—from Nebraska and Upstate New York to Rome, the South of France and beyond—the common bond uniting these writers is a deep passion for sharing their knowledge, experiences and love of the Italian and Italian–American culture, as well as Italy’s regional cuisine, wonderful wines, travel destinations and lively traditions.

So it’s with great pleasure that I get to introduce to you each new member of the italyMONDO! family. Read on to learn about what inspired their love of Italy, their backgrounds, talents, and what makes each one a great addition to our family.

Laura Thayer is a travel writer, art historian and photographer who calls southern Italy’s Amalfi Coast home. Born in Nebraska, Laura has studied Liberal Arts and Art History and has a deep love of art and architecture. While working on a Masters of Arts in Art History, Laura visited the Amalfi Coast on a family vacation and knew immediately that life would never be the same again. The warm southern Italian charm, friendly people, and, of course, those jaw–dropping views stole her heart at once. She finished her Masters specializing in southern Italian architecture of the 18th and 19th centuries, even writing her thesis on the façade of Amalfi’s Duomo that had captivated her so.

After graduating (and countless trips back and forth!), Laura made the leap overseas and settled on the Amalfi Coast. She now focuses on freelance travel writing, learning the rhythm and romance of the Italian language, and discovering all she can about Italian foods and the regional cooking of the Amalfi Coast and Campania. When not writing or experimenting in the kitchen, Laura is out walking the narrow streets and climbing the ancient stone steps between the towns and villages of the Amalfi Coast. With a curious nature—and camera and notebook in tow—she loves exploring the twists and turns of the Amalfi Coast one step at a time.

Completely smitten with the beauty of the Amalfi Coast, Laura shares her passion for her adopted home through her blog Ciao Amalfi!, where she writes about the area’s history, architecture, stunning landscapes and the adventures of daily life in Italy.

I am really passionate about what italyMONDO! does. I see how much it means to people to come here and to uncover their roots and reconnect with family, and I am deeply moved by that.

– Laura Thayer

Laura loves the little pleasures (and sometimes challenges!) of daily life in Italy, and knows that she’ll never tire of learning about and exploring Italy. Her experiences in Italy turned her life upside down, both deepening and strengthening her passions. Knowing from personal experience that a single trip to Italy can change your life forever, Laura is proud to be a part of the italyMONDO! family—where she can share her enthusiasm and love of Italy to inspire others to follow their dreams to Italy, uncover their Italian heritage, and let the wonders of Italy speak to them and change their lives forever.