I still have a hard time believing that my job description is writing about delicious food, beautiful places, and interesting people. But that’s what I’ve been doing for the last 40 years.
I started out life as an academic, working on my dissertation on sixteenth-century garden architecture. During a break from working in the Medici archives, I met my husband – Domenico – and decided that maybe I didn’t really want to go back to the States and teach undergraduate art history somewhere in the midwest. So I changed gears and very soon had a husband, babies, dogs and a brand new career writing for magazines like Architectural Digest, World of Interiors, Art & Antiques and Bon Appetit.
I began this blog in 2009, when things were starting to change in a big way in publishing. I had just published my sixth book, Italian Rustic, and the publisher suggested the trifecta of Facebook, Twitter and Blogging. At the beginning I had a hard time wrapping my head around what I wanted to say. So, rather than make any decision, I just started recording what I’m up to, day to day.
Although I started out writing mostly about design, shopping and travel, food eventually took center stage. This was a natural development, and one I didn’t have to think too much about. Food has always loomed large in my life and writing about it, day to day, has come easily. Especially when it comes to the crossroads where food and culture meet. And I continued writing about this topic dear to my heart in my most recent books, Eating Rome, Eating My Way Through Italy, and The Italian Table.
I also embraced social media from the very beginning and have been on (and off) every platform that has come and gone. Today you can find me mostly on Instagram and Facebook. You can watch some very early (and very popular) videos on my YouTube channel and I’m even considered a kind of ‘queen’ over on TikTok.
I’ve been leading food tours in Rome since 2012. What started as a way to pivot my writing career towards something more lucrative turned out to be the right road to follow. You probably don’t remember a time when food tours weren’t a thing, but back in 2012, I was one of the only people doing this in Rome. What seemed like a slightly weird idea back then (people would actually hire me to tell them what to eat?) turns out to have been a smart career choice.
I went from leading half-day market tours in Rome to hosting week-long food tours all over Italy. Along the way, the business has grown in ways I never dreamed possible. Not only have I been able to bring guests with me to explore the culture of food in places like Sicily, Puglia, Umbria, Tuscany, and Emilia Romagna, but I also have the best business partners in the world: my two daughters, Sophie and Emma.
And so Via Rosa was born. Via in Italian means road, and Rosa was my mother-in-law’s name. Via Rosa sums up what all three of us think our new business embodies:
Traveling to Italy should be about discovering new roads that lead you to the traditions that hold our life here together. We firmly believe that much of that is inextricably tied to the culture of food. Who grows it, who makes it, who sells it, and, of course, who cooks it and places it in front of you at the table to share it with you. Just like Nonna.
There is history, love, and culture in every bite. In sharing these moments, we believe that everyone’s life will be richer. You will come away with a deeper understanding of the country, for sure. But also, we hope, you will get to know the fellow traveler sitting with you at the table. We are committed to the sense of community and understanding that exists when people share their stories while sharing a meal.
You can visit the new site here, and the tour page hosts our ever-expanding tour schedule. Our brochures now live fully online, so feel free to share the links with anyone you think would like to join us.
I know many of you have missed my app Eat Italy, which I retired a few years ago. In the meantime, Sophie has been sharing much of her knowledge on apps like Thatch and AmiGo, and many of my lists are scattered on my blog and in past newsletters. We are thrilled to announce that the new website has a dedicated guide section. We will be rolling out new guides all the time. We’ve also added a nifty PDF function so you can take the lists with you when you are on the road, either digitally or as print outs. If there are any specific guides you are looking for, just let us know in the comments below.
The blog section on the website will host posts about culinary adventures as well as some of our favorite recipes we discover during our travels.
I can’t quite believe I’ve been regularly updating this blog since 2009. That’s 15 years!! 1215 posts!! While I used to update the blog 3 times a week, over the years, things have changed. Social media has become the way I share information, whether through words, images, video, or a combination of all three. Along the way, there were books, too. These days, my newsletter is where I share a lot of what I am thinking about. And so this blog got left by the wayside, and what has been pretty obvious for a while is now official: I will not be updating this blog anymore. Don’t worry; it’s not going anywhere. The full archive will remain just how it is.
We’ve set up new accounts for Via Rosa on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. We’ll be sharing information about our tours on these accounts but also creating posts that we hope will be helpful if you are heading to Italy (restaurant lists, travel tips, etc.), so please make sure you are following along so you don’t miss anything. (Sophie and I will of course continue to post on our own personal accounts)
To keep up to date and receive notice of new blog posts from Via Rosa other fun stuff make sure you are signed up for my Newsletter. The free version comes out monthly and is packed with links, recipes, and more. Premium subscribers gain first access to newly announced tours (which tend to sell out fast). You will also get extra newsletters each month, including video tutorials, meal plans, and travel tips plus full access to the archives.
The best part about growing our business is that we are able to host more tours and so meet more of you. Some of you have been following along on this adventure since before there was even an internet(!) and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. More tours mean more fun, and Sophie, Emma and I look forward to sharing it all with you in person one day.
