Ciao, mi chiamo Bridget.

My love affair with Bella Italia began way back with high school Italian lessons, it wasn’t really the grammar, that captivated me, but the lure of delicious Italian food, ancient architecture, renaissance art and modern italian style.

I went on my first Italian exchange at 16, with a wonderful family in Liguria. I didn’t really know what to expect, but after two months immersed in everyday life I was hooked. I went on to study Italian language, art and architecture in my undergraduate degree, and spent extensive periods living in Milan and Northern Italy and the layers of culture unfolded and expanded for me.

I love the links between food, culture, beauty, fun and family that underpin Italian life. Learning to pound the basil in the marble mortar that we purchased from the weekly market, sipping a dark and sweet caffe after a well paced meal in the small piazza, embraced by burnished apricot and rose pink palazzi.

Exploring hill towns and and verdant terraces overflowing with geraniums, joining in with the locals on their passeggiata or sipping an aperitivo, all these small moments of joy embrace the pleasures of Italian life;

“These individual intense joys frame the deeper pleasure of learning to live another kind of life,” F MAYES.

These many tiny moments fill our senses and leave the memories imprinted in our souls. Holidays are for pleasure and fun but they are also a time to reflect and grow, a time to deepen the joy in our own lives and routines.