5 Ways to Escape to Italy from your Living Room

Hello all! I didn’t think it was fair to only post about COVID-19 so I thought it would be nice to write about escaping COVID-19. You can even escape it in your own living room, in those pajamas you’ve been wearing since yesterday. Its ok. I don’t judge. Here’s what you will need. A screen. It can be your phone, a tablet, computer or even a smart TV. You also need an open mind. You’re not going anywhere with a bad attitude. This part is optional but a glass of wine or a shot of espresso. Depends on the time you are escaping. Please escape responsibly. Here we go.

1. Books

The best way to go to Italy is through books. Books can not only take us to Italy, they can take us to Italy in any time period we choose. I mean talk about range here. I have some favorites that I highly recommend for your trip. If you are looking to go to Naples, I recommend Only in Naples by Katherine Wilson. Although this book is non-fiction, Wilson writes about her life in a story like way. It took me half way through the book to realize she was writing about her actual experience. If you always wanted to move to a foreign country and see what life would be like if you did, I highly recommend reading this book. Katherine Wilson is an American writer, who currently lives in Rome. I also recommend following her on Instagram if you are looking for even more of an escape. Another non-fiction book I recommend is An Italian in Italy by Beppe Severgnini. This book takes you from Northern Italy to Southern Italy all through the eyes of an Italian man. If you are looking for a cultural experience, Severgnini definitely delivers. Next I recommend the author rather than the book because she has written several books about Italy. Want to know the best part? She is currently offering all of her novels on kindle unlimited! If you have kindle unlimited please look up C. De Melo. She is an Italian author, currently living in Florence, who writes novels in English. Her books are historical fiction so if you are looking to escape to another time, I highly recommend her novels. She writes anywhere from the gothic era of Verona to the early modern era of Naples. My current favorites are Sabina, Allegra and Imposter. My last recommendation is a book related to Milan, Italy. If you have not read Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan you need to and now. This novel takes place during World War II in northern Italy with a young man who struggles with coming of age during war. Who should he be loyal to in a divided country? Mark wrote this book after hearing about an Italian man at a dinner party and he just couldn’t believe the story. Trust me you won’t either. This book is also on kindle unlimited. It’s a long read but completely worth it. Those are just some of my favorites. I am also open to any other recommendations. I also enjoy a good escape. Now if you are still reading this and books just aren’t what you are looking for, don’t worry. I got you.

2. Social Media

Another great way to escape is through social media. Remember that open mind I asked you to have, keep it, you will need it for this part. Here are some of my social media recommendations to help you escape. My number one is YouTube. There are a lot of drone videos being uploaded of empty Italian towns. It is stunning. You are able to see full cities, their landmarks and you can even hear the cities. I mean how often do you hear the city when you are traveling. Now you can, on your sofa. Roma Caput Tour made a great one that I highly recommend checking out. There are also videos for other major cities like Milan and Florence. You know what else you can use YouTube for? Cooking! Or if you’re like me watching other people cook. I recommend searching for a specific dish. If you can understand Italian, I can recommend some Italian chefs but really all you need is good food to be taken away to Italy. If you are feeling Roman, I recommend pasta alla carbonara. Please watch Jamie Oliver’s tutorial here. If you want to go more South and Naples is what you want, pizza. Pizza from scratch though and let the dough rise for at least 24 hours. Here is another great tutorial. Trust me you will not be disappointed. The more you watch the more you will be inspired and taken away. If you are brave enough to face the kitchen I recommend cooking these meals to get the full experience. Italian cooking, when done correctly, is very simple. I just prefer to let my Italian man do the cooking, wink wink. I love youtube and all it has to offer but another great way to escape is through virtual tours. Italy is full of history and beautiful sights why not see them from your bed or couch, which ever you prefer. Here in Milan, my favorite museum, the Pinoteca di Brera is offering a virtual tour as well as Fondazione di Prada. The Pinoteca di Brera is very classic and original art while Fondazione di Prada is more modern. I do recommend checking out both. Why not? We have got time. Other very important places with some virtual tours or activities: Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence, The Vatican Museums in Rome, and Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte in Naples. I also recommend checking out Instagram accounts of these museums, they post often with videos or fun information. And if your super into social media a lot of these places have created Tik Tok accounts recently if you need a good laugh. I am currently following the Uffizi account on Tik Tok. If social media accounts are not your thing, there are some blog sites I recommend for some more reading pleasure. If you love Florence ( I know I do) please read The Girl in Florence. This blog is written by Georgette Jupe, an American writer. She writes about all things Florence as well as Italy and many of her travels. Another great blog is Doing Italy. This blog is written by Thea Duncan Prando. She is also an American writer based in Milan, Italy who loves to cook. On her blog you can find some great suggestions in Milan for once we start traveling again. If you’re not the reading type also check out their Instagram’s. They are just as informative but with more beautiful pictures. Let’s keep escaping.

3. Music

When I think of Italy, I hear music and I see rolling green hills. Anyone else? Now let’s escape with some tunes. It is highly recommended to escape by music with a glass of wine in your hand. Just a suggestion of course. Music is great because you don’t have to understand it to enjoy it. Let the music take you away with some of these recommendations. My first artist of choice is Ghali. He came on the music scene here in Italy in 2018 with his first album. He lives here in Milan and his songs are catchy. At the moment my favorite songs by Ghali are Good Times, Boogieman and Happy Days. His songs have all the good vibes one needs. If you want to groove check him out. Another hot artist at the moment is Mahmood. He won the Sanremo competition in 2019 with the song Soldi, which means money. He has had some other popular songs since his win in 2019 and I highly recommend listening to all of them, even the songs he was just featured on. I mentioned the Sanremo competition. For those who don’t know this is a singing competition held every year to celebrate Italian music. This event is considered an honor for many artists. I highly recommend looking up Sanremo playlists. Many hit songs in Italy come from Sanremo. Spotify has the latest playlist from this year. Summer is coming up and I have some songs that will take you to the beaches of Italy. Here are some of my favorite Italian summer hits: Italiana by Fedez and J-Ax, Calipso by Charlie Charles, Amore e Capoerita by Giusy Ferreri, and Playa by Baby K. Trust me there are a lot more so if you would like some more recommendations don’t be afraid to contact me. These are more recent artists and songs that I listen to regularly. However, there are lots of different kinds of Italian music, for example Neapolitan. Pasquale really enjoys this one because well he is from the area and two he thinks he can sing like them too. So here are some of Pasquale’s suggestions for some Neapolitan artists. Liberato, who is anonymous, no one knows his true identity. His most famous song is Nove Maggio. Nino D’angelo is another singer considered to be one of the classic Neapolitan singers. He has a lot of great songs so Pasquale couldn’t suggest just one but if you have Spotify I suggest you his albums on shuffle, they are all great. If you have checked those out and foreign lyrics just aren’t for you, you can never go wrong with some Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin. Shall we continue?

4. Films and Series

Films and series are great ways to escape because you get to see the place you are visiting. Here are some films to get you started. Under the Tuscan Sun is one of my favorites to see Italy. Why, because it has beautiful scenery, some Italian language and really beautiful messages. You really don’t need anyone to move to Italy, just the courage. The Lizzie McGuire movie is also a great choice. Is it a little young? Yes, but who doesn’t want to see Rome on the back of a Vespa with a cute Italian boy? Plus, it has music, need I say more. Another lovely film is Letters to Juliet. I recommend this one if you need a good love story and want to see a different part of Italy. I know everyone recommends this one so I will add it to the list, Eat Pray Love. Although this is a lovely film, Italy is only a small part of it. I will say that this film does an excellent job of showing off the food. I think we can all relate to buying bigger jeans after eating the food Italy has to offer. If you are looking for Italian foreign films, yep you guessed it, I have some recommendations. Benvenuti al Sud is a comedy set in the South of Italy and really emphasizes the differences from North to South. Another comedy is Quo Vado? featuring Checco Zalone. I recommend this because anytime it is on Pasquale makes us watch it. It is funny and pokes fun at Italian cultural and work ethic. Checco Zalone is a comedian and writer who has several movies that poke fun at Italians and Italy in general. His latest film, Tolo Tolo, which I saw in theaters, poked fun at immigration and how Italians generally handle it. If you can find any of these films, please watch. Now for some series. Unfortunately for series I can’t recommend any that are originally in English. If you know some series set in Italy that are in English let me know, I would love to check them out. Here are a couple of the most popular series here in Italy which also happen to be my favorites. My number one is Gomorra. This series is huge here. It is only filmed in Neapolitan dialect which means the rest of the country watches it with subtitles. This series is intense and a bit serious but it will keep you on your toes. There are currently 4 series and episodes are almost an hour long so this will take up some of your time. Another series that is similar to Gomorra is Suburra. This series is set in Rome and yes it deals with drugs and territory like Gomorra but, plot twist, the Catholic Church is involved. It is good. It is a Netflix Italy original series so outside of Italy it may be hard to find but I recommend looking for it. There are currently two seasons available. These are series that I have personally watched and really enjoyed. If you can think of more let me know. I will never pass up a new series. On to our final adventure.

5. Make a Spritz

If you started reading this with a drink, I hope you have finished it because I have another drink for you to make. If you really really really (ok one more) really want to escape to Italy, I suggest making yourself a Spritz. This is THE Italian happy hour drink. Italians, generally, don’t drink a Spritz with a meal but rather as a starter. So get your happy hour snacks ready and a glass. For your spritz you will need ice, Aperol, prosecco and some soda (for the bubbles). Also some orange slices to really make it look nice. I don’t want to tell you how to make your drink because each their own, but the actual recipe is a lot of ice (full wine glass), equal parts Aperol and prosecco and a little splash of soda. Add orange slices and stir. Now you are truly enjoying happy hour in Italy. Cheers. Buon Viaggio! Have a safe trip.