La Verna: a contemplative Tuscan sanctuary For the updated version of this post, go to my Substack
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Christmas Festivals in Florence
As someone who grew up without religion in a California beach town, I was intrigued when I moved to Italy by the length of the Christmas season and I was confused by some of the festivals. I learned that the season starts on December 8, with the Festival of the Immaculate Conception, and ends on January 6 with Epiphany. I assumed the conception being referred to was the one
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Why I Risked Everything to Buy an Apartment in Florence
A personal essay Not long ago I woke up and was fifty years old, with more than half my life already lived. Divorced, and without kids, essentially alone, I decided to follow my lifelong dream of living in Italy, but to do so, I had to “dare greatly” as Dr. Brené Brown calls it. I’d been in love with the city of Florence since age nineteen when I backpacked around
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A Glamorous Seaside Town and its Christmas Market
Forte dei Marmi is one of Italy's most glamorous seaside towns. It's located on the part of the Tuscan coast called Versilia and around about the 1980s it started becoming a summer destination for the rich and famous. In the town you'll find trendy boutiques, and expensive restaurants frequented by nouveau riche Russians. Locals, in understated elegance often are
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Where to Have The Most Magical Christmas Eve
To read about this unique and magical Christmas Eve event, go to my article on my Substack.
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