Italy Calendar
Italy Transportation: Getting There and Around
Driving in Italy: The Agony and the Ecstasy
Rome Transportation: Getting There and Around
When to Go to Italy: Tourist Seasons, Weather, and Holidays
Italy Hotel Recommendations
Italy Tourism Board Links
Top Cities and Regions
Italian Cities and Regions
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Italy
Designer Outlets in Italy: Where to Shop for Discounts in 2020
Coffee Table Books About Italy
Marble Run: Shopping for Traditional Marbled Products in Italy
About Italofile
Melanie Renzulli at Trajan's Markets/Mercato di Traiano in Rome
I'm Melanie and I've been obsessed with Italy for most of my adult life.
It's hard to pinpoint when my affection turned into an obsession. My journey has not been a straight line. But I have had the good fortune to experience Italy in so many different ways, as both a traveler and a resident.
I've been a broke au pair in Rome. I've traveled around Tuscany and Umbria while working as an eager (still broke) guidebook writer. And for four glorious years, from 2014-2018, I lived and worked in Italy while my family was posted to the U.S. Embassy in Rome.
During my four years in Rome, I got to experience Italian life as a resident, as a mom, and through the eyes of my school-aged sons. I did more traveling than writing during that time and I am still trying to make up for that by writing about the many places my family and I visited on daytrips, weekend jaunts, and extended holidays.
I am no longer living in Italy. But I am still obsessed with it, still writing about it, still keeping up with current events, and still dreaming and scheming about when I will be there again. I think this adds yet another layer to my blog, a perspective that many Italophiles can relate to — that wistful feeling of planning a trip to Italy and making it come true.
When I started Italofile, in 2006, it was one of the first travel blogs exclusively about Italy.
An Italophile is a lover of Italy, an admirer of Italian customs, traditions, and food. When I created Italofile, I wanted to build a resource — a file, if you will — where I could save, share, and write about my passion for Italy travel, art, culture, and living.
I have been writing about Italy for more than 20 years. I've written and edited guide books for Frommer's, Michelin, and DK, and I've also written for dozens of other print and online publications, including Bell'Italia, Travel Channel, The Washington Post, and Saveur.
Some of my favorite posts on this site include:
Best Places to Kiss in Rome
Finally Ferrara: Postcard from a City That Called Me Back
A Special Harvest: Anatomical Theaters in Italy
Visions of Veronese Green in Venice
A Little Greek / Yogurt in Paestum
More Than a Mocha: Torino's Sweet, Rich Bicerin
A List of What I Ate in Palermo
How to See a Soccer Game in Italy
Contact Italofile
Contact me if you have questions about travel to Italy or if there is a topic you'd like for me to cover on Italofile.
You can follow Italofile on Facebook and Twitter.
I occasionally write a newsletter, Italy In Your Inbox, which includes links to my posts and other Italy travel news. You can subscribe to my newsletter here.
If you'd like to discuss advertising or sponsorship opportunities, let me know.
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