I carried a dream of Italy with me for years.

I was always waiting for the right moment to finally go, the right partner to go with, the perfect set of circumstances. One day I simply decided: That’s it – I’m not waiting any longer. I’m going to Italy. And I booked my first trip - a solo one.

I could have used some advice when I was planning that first trip. It was a time before travel influencers on Instagram. I just had a deep sense that certain places were drawing me and sharp self-knowledge about what would create the most satisfying trip for me. That visit took me from Rome to Napoli, and from the Amalfi Coast, to northern Sicily. It’s an understatement to say I fell deeply for the country, and I came home knowing that one trip of a lifetime was going to lead to countless trips of a lifetime to Italy.

Since then, I’ve travelled Italy top to toe, gathering memories in every corner of the country. I’ve returned again and again to the intensely chaotic and beautiful streets of Napoli (truly, my first Italian love). I’ve swum joyfully in blue green waters of Liguria’s Golfo Paradiso and I’ve hid out from a summer rainstorm sipping a Brunello di Montelcino in a Tuscan trattoria. I’ve wandered half lost, half found through the ancient streets of Matera, the city of stones, and I’ve eaten seafood pulled just minutes earlier from the sea in Polignano al Mare.

Wherever I’ve gone in Italy, I’ve found paradise.

Over time friends, family, and colleagues began turning to me for Italian travel advice, and I found I had a gift for giving it. Now, I want to share my joy for travelling through the country more broadly, helping others discover Il Paradiso in their own way.

Don’t wait any longer. You’re going to Italy.

Simone