Why I started Truly Italy

Get to know your Italy Experience guide

Ciao! I’m Kate.

My passion was and still is wandering through the narrow cobblestone streets of Florence.

In 2002, I found myself exploring a city where I didn’t speak the language. Physically and mentally, I wanted to get lost in this beautiful new life in my new city. When I got lost, I found myself exactly where I needed to be; in the present moment. I always found the right street at the right time or gained my bearings. See when I saw a big piazza or the Duomo peek out from around the corner behind a palazzo. I was never really lost. I was finding my way using all my senses: listening to the church bells, smelling the cafes, seeing the Duomo, all while dodging cyclists.

I left my map at home on purpose so I had to find my way back home.

Intentionally ditching my map made me find my own way home.

Getting lost taught me to keep searching because you never know what’s around the next corner. Looking back, those study abroad days in 2002 foreshadowed how I would spend the rest of my life.

I’m embarking on a new adventure pairing travel and presence.

My intention is to awaken people to step out of their own culture and travel into unique experiences in Italy.

I’m continuing to take the road less traveled because that is where I feel most myself. My free-spirited self. No rules. Just me, myself, and I. That’s where life is the most beautiful. When I listen to my gut, not my head.

How does traveling make you feel?

DIMMI! (Tell Me!)

Like Robert Frost famously wrote (my most favorite words!)...

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference”

I'm an Italy Experience Guide & Designer

Italy runs through my blood.

My Nana was born in Emilia Romagna and grew up in Italy during World War II. Even though my Nana never spoke or taught us Italian, I’ve always wanted to experience Italy and the culture.

From a young age, I always followed my heart’s desire. I’ve been living on and off in Florence since 2002 when I studied abroad through university. I’ve got almost 20 years under my belt of taking trains, buses, and visiting the most beautiful, secluded places in Italy. In order to live in Florence legally, I went as far as getting UK citizenship to obtain residency in my most favorite city in the world. It was well worth the wait. My heart leapt with joy once I made Florence my permanent home from 2009-2013.

During those years, I was lucky to find the love of my life. Stefano and I have a strong love for Florence & Tuscany. Being a Florentine, his heart, like mine never left. On our retreats, you'll meet Stefano who will be our driver and part-time chef.

Since moving back home, my goal has been to keep Italy in my life any way possible, and thus, Truly Italy was born!

Ready to chat more about wine tastings, retreats, or trip consulting?

Contact Me!