About The Italian Way

Italy is one of the most visited countries in the world – but there’s still so much of it that most people never get to see.

The Italian Way was created to change that.

I grew up in North Devon in the UK and didn’t travel much when I was young. My first time leaving the UK was in 2013, on a trip to Rome. My partner Sara suggested it, knowing I’d long been fascinated by Roman history, and drawn to Italian food and culture. That visit sparked a lasting connection and over the following years it became clear that Italy would play a much bigger part in our lives.

At the time, I was living in Bristol and had started a personal project called Bristol #PROSPECTUS, which aimed to spotlight the best of the city’s independent businesses through reviews, recommendations and collaborative content. That work led me to connect with several Bristol-based organisations who shared similar values around thoughtful, place-based engagement.

At the same time, my curiosity about Italy was deepening. Soon, Sara and I found ourselves returning frequently, not just to Rome, but also to Campania, Sicily, and Sardinia.

In 2014, I began working with my first Rome-based client – a partnership that continues to this day – and I began learning Italian casually the following year. Around that same time, I left my traditional office job to persue a career in digital strategy. I joined a small agency in Bristol where I developed my existing skills in website design, alongside learning new specialisms such as email marketing and marketing automation.

In the summer of 2018 I moved on from agency life and went freelance, opening up more space to pursue work with a focus on Italian travel, history, and culture.

In 2018, I co-founded a small team that collaborated with the Monumental Garden of Valsanzibio in Veneto. Together, we refreshed their online presence, setting up a new website complete with a custom ecommerce system to enable visitors to the garden to purchase tickets online. In 2019, Sara was offered the opportunity to open a visitor kiosk inside the garden so we decided to move officially to Valsanzibio.

We didn’t leave the UK because we were unhappy. We came to Italy because we loved it: the culture, the history, the food and wine, the weather, nature – the list goes on. We saw a chance to do something creative and purposeful, and we took it.

Since then, we’ve lived in both northern Italy and Rome (our home since 2021), and we’ve travelled through all 20 of Italy’s regions, spending time in each. Speaking Italian, I’ve been able to build meaningful relationships with local businesses, especially in Rome, Naples and Sorrento, where some collaborators have since become close friends.

In 2024, I co-launched Napleswise with Sara – a travel site focused entirely on Naples and the surrounding area which now draws tens of thousands of monthly views. I’ve also written or directed content strategy for sites including Romewise, Florencewise, Casa Mia Tours and Flavor of Italy.

With The Italian Way, I want to bring all of this experience together. The site is for travellers who care about how they travel, who want to understand the places they visit, and who value local culture, history, and everyday life.

It’s also a response to the effects of overtourism in many parts of Italy. This website is a reminder that travel can (and should) be more respectful, more sustainable, and more enriching for everyone involved.

The values behind this project are simple: respect, authenticity, honesty, clarity, and usefulness. I hope the guides, tips and stories you find here help you explore Italy with more insight, more connection, and a greater appreciation for everything this country has to offer.

This is The Italian Way.