I’ll be honest and say that I initially didn’t peg Milan as a city of books, but I was glad to be proven wrong when I found myself surrounded by a strong bibliophilic culture. It seemed as though they’d built the whole city around its love of literature – from book cafes to little libreria-slash-hostels even to tea-ware houses filled with novels on love and art and meditation!

Over the course of my time in Milan, I must have visited dozens upon dozens of bookshops – or at least, little negozi which also happened to be stuffed full with books. As such, I decided to curate the perfect bookshop tour of Milan – and it only takes an hour and a half to walk from one end to the other! Please, save your dedicated praises until later.

ANNAMARIA FUMAGALLI

First of all, I want to quickly mention my favourite person in Milan. I met Annamaria Fumagalli on my first full day in the city, and let me tell you, I sure am glad that I did. She is an official licensed guide for GITEC (the Association of Italian Guides for Tourism and Culture), and was the perfect person to introduce us to the city.

She was so warm, friendly, and welcoming, that it felt simply as though I was meeting up with my grandmother. Effortlessly Milanese with her fashionable mirrored glasses and a vintage red dress, she was the know-all-end-all for the the finest places to visit in the city. When we met up, her words brought Milan to life, offering local insight and gossip whilst pointing out things such as the Sforzesco Castle, the Duomo, the fashion district, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

She pointed out little things that we would blindly have ignored, and told us about how the city has changed over the years (and more recently, due to coronavirus) – little tidbits that really made the city feel more alive and personal. One of my highlights from my time with Annamaria was when she treated us to a typical Milanese coffee inside of the beautiful Camparino, where we shared anecdotes from our lives and gazed at the beautiful architecture  and tile-work around us.

We left knowing a lot more about the city and it’s rich history, tummies full of strong Italian coffee from the best bar in Lombardi, and several handpicked brochures that Annamaria presented us. After the tour, I asked her if she could recommend any bookshops in the local area, and as it turns out, there was a helluva lot. It was from these suggestions that this book tour really came to life – without her local insight, we would absolutely have missed out on some of the gems that really shaped our trip. And so for that, thank you Annamaria – this post wouldn’t exist without you.

KATHAY

I think that Kathay has to be the best place to start a bookshop tour – and not just because it is genuinely my favourite place in the city (which also happens to be in my favourite area). Whilst not technically a ‘bookshop,’ Kathay is a kind of all-purpose store, featuring delicious culinary goods, intricately detailed homeware, and the most concentrated amount of tea-ware I have ever seen in my life. I felt exactly like a kid in a candy store, surrounded by gorgeous matcha bowls, beautiful displays of Chinese gaiwans on vintage green tables, and endless books on Korean cooking, Feng Shui, kombucha, reiki, and the art of tea – along with every other cool subject you could possibly learn about. I’m not being dramatic when I say that I could quite easily have spent the whole day there, wandering through the isles and running my fingers across the fine china. Never have I been so tempted to buy out a whole store before – and it’s definitely the first place to welcome yourself into the city.

TEMPO RITROV LIBRI

Meaning ‘Time Rediscovered Books,’ this adorable little libreria is filled with black and white framed photos of old film stars, magazines on African food and travel photography, and of course, a comprehensive collection of independent books by small publishers. They have the cutest collection of Children’s illustrated travel books, including intricately designed copies of Libro Giungla and Bella e la Bestia.

The owners of the bookshop believe that, ‘especially in Italy, the importance of reading should be affirmed and supported effectively every day. We therefore put ourselves at the service of the city together with the many other independent bookshops born in recent years, and we propose ourselves as a new and further garrison in which everyone can find time for themselves and others by isolating themselves, for a few moments, from a citizen of chaos.’

GIUNTI AL PUNTO

This is one of the many bookstores that I stumbled upon by accident – and boy, am I glad I did. Enticed by the free literary magazine, Il Libraio, drawn in by their many eye-catching discounts (because who doesn’t love a literary classic at 50% off?!), and fully reeled-in by their little knickknack sections full of explorer gear, pretty pens, and stunning notebooks, it was pretty obvious that I wouldn’t be spending less than an hour in the store. Check it out – you’ll soon understand it for yourself.

LIBRERIA DEL MONDO OFFESO

An independent Milanese bookshop, the Libreria del Mondo Offenso also doubles as a cultural centre promoting initiatives and events. The name of the place roughly translates to ‘The Bookshop of the Offended World’, from the book Conversazioni in Sicilia by Elio Vittorini, which is in essence a journey of discovery of an ‘offended world’, forcing one to take responsibility. It is a place to meet, discuss, and dream, in a haven filled with books, storytellers, and passion. They offer contemporary Italian fiction, theatre books, out-of-print novels, poetry, and gorgeous little travel books.

GINORI 1735

Despite the fact that I was stared at incredibly intensely by the shopkeepers the whole time I wandered through the shop (it was just like that infamous shopping scene in Pretty Woman), I still found myself transfixed by the beautiful pieces in front of us. Surrounded by the finest (and presumably most expensive) fine china I have ever seen, beautifully crafted and intricately painted, I felt as though I was in a Julia Gregson book. They are all absolutely beautiful and definitely something to go out of your way to see, even if to merely begin to plan your future living room – even through the intense eye contact from the staff.

The man behind the name, Carlo Ginori, began to manufacture porcelain pieces in 1735 in his workshop in Doccia, Tuscany. It soon spiralled into a prestigious company of luxury home decor objects, where it was run by the same family until 1896, when it was sold to Richard of Milan and the brand was created.

AMERICAN BOOKSTORE

Their website states, ‘Since 1981, the bookstore has been the perfect place for all lovers of American culture, thanks to the American Bookstore’s in-depth literary knowledge and American and English traditions’ – and whilst I’m not the biggest fan of these so-called American and English traditions, I did really like the store.

Their collection of books is pretty impressive, featuring more or less any genre that you could ever need (although as it is an ‘American bookstore’, I would maybe stay away from the cooking section!). Along with English books, they also offer antique prints, ancient maps, and ‘many objects and curiosities of the ancient American tradition – inside our bookshop you will be transported to a world you thought you knew, but which hides a very deep soul.’ They also sell Christmas decorations and American calendars which is pretty hip.

F. PETTINAROLI & FIGLI

Again, this is another one of those not-actually-a-bookshop bookshops – but I loved it so much that I simply had to include it! It’s the cutest little shop filled with matte vintage globes, thick leather-bound notebooks, intricate Victorian-esque ink-writing sets, shiny compasses, endless antique maps of the world, and chunky pieces of cream paper which were covered in sketches by men long gone. It’s a truly beautiful place. Apparently, it also houses the ‘widest’ selection of charts, vintage prints, antique maps of Italy and the world, as well as government charts and globes for enthusiasts and collectors. Pretty cool for a not-bookshop, eh?

MONDADORI BOOKSTORE

Mondadori has a super neat red theme running throughout the store, making it perfect for those much-desired Insta shots. It’s a big and open bookshop, and is filled with glossy modern books, super vibey music, the most passionate staff ever, and a large collection of travel, art, and architecture books. Highly recommend.

LA FELTRINELLI

La Feltrinelli is actually the first bookshop that I spent quality time in in Milan, and I liked it a lot. We stayed here for a couple hours and drank tea, slowly rummaging through their collection of photography books and black-and-white autobiographies, merely letting the world meander on by. Over the next few days, we discovered that there’s actually another Feltrinelli store in the area called La Feltrinelli Express, and a more niche one called La Feltrinelli Libri e Musica. My favourite definitely has to be that first one though, because it was both the first libreria that welcomed us, and also the place where I discovered Cleo Le-Tan (and her father)’s work for the first time. Of course, this one – like many others, was recommended to me by Annamaria. The woman really does know quality bookshops, I tell you.

LIBRERIA BOCCA

The oldest bookshop in Milan, I could have easily have spent a few hours here. The store has the coolest decorations, with postcards and bookmarks hanging down from the ceiling (which has a cool abstract painting on it), and stays true to it’s antique roots with it’s old-fashioned decor and overall feel of the place. The bookshelves start at the floor and wind their way up, brightening up the place with Taschen and Assouline. Located in the middle of the very commercialised Gallerie, this little homely store feels like a secret haven away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It’s filled with art, from the very outside in, and they specialise in books by the most exquisite, famous artists of the past to the more vibrant artists of our current generation, even shedding a light on those teeny little backstreet artists that thrive quietly. It’s a wonderful place to immerse yourself.

HOEPLI INTERNATIONAL BOOKSHOP

Because I couldn’t possibly miss out the largest bookshop in Italy! Housing over 500,000 titles of fiction and non-fiction and everything-in-between-fiction books, they also offer rare antique novels and books in their original languages. There are five floors in this bookish oasis, so there’s plenty of space (and volumes) to lose yourself in – I can promise you that you will come in here with the intention to merely browse and finger a couple copies, but will leave with every book you never knew you needed.

LIBRERIA ANTIGONE

I feel as though we didn’t find the gay bookshop, the gay bookshop found us. It was such a cool place to visit with my girlfriend – the energy was distinctly different to the outside, and it was so warm and welcoming, a real nice atmosphere. The whole aim of the store is to create a safe space free from prejudice for all minorities, sexualities, genders, and everything else; a bookshop built on respect and understanding. It’s a really lovely place to be, and they encourage curiosity and inclusion, with the kindest staff around.

Quoting from their website, ‘the Antigone bookshop wants to be a meeting point, a place for building relationships, intended as the only indispensable tool for the cultural and human growth of one another… aimed at maintaining a safe, pleasant environment [which is] useful, accessible by anyone.’ Now I don’t know about you, but that’s the place that I want to be.

Not only do they have some of the coolest books ever (and magazines, and essays, and educational texts), but I found myself irresistibly drawn to their exquisite magnet selection. And oh, the magnets! Made up of all styles and colours, depicting numerous environments and situations, I frankly wanted them all. Antigone, if you’re reading this, I wouldn’t complain  being sent one!

I never thought that I would find a bookshop dedicated wholly to the dissemination of LGBTQ+ and feminist culture and subcultures, but I am so glad that I did.

MILAN WOMEN’S LIBRARY

Although only recently established (in 1975), the Milan Women’s Library is such a cool place to visit. It’s a non-profit libreria that is both a bookshop and a meeting place, housing film screenings and even political discussions. They have a very comprehensive selection of feminist books, and similar to the Antigone, they are dedicated to the dissemination of multiple media subcultures – and in my personal opinion, there’s nothing quite as sweet as a bookshop that makes you think. The staff are all volunteers, and the place runs on pure love, respect, and passion – which if you think about it, is how every good bookshop should be.

WHERE TO STAY

At night, we stayed at the marvellous Babila Hostel and Bistro. Built in 1895, this former Catholic school is now one of the coolest places to hang out in the heart of the city.

It was such a nice place to spend the evenings, with their big clean kitchen, cosy communal room where we could kick back on the sofas and watch Netflix, and their absolutely beautiful veranda where we could watch the sun set over the city – but, fitting with the theme of the post, the highlight has to be the sheer amount of books they had.

Every corner had a shelf stacked with both antique manuscripts and shiny new novellas, where you could either take one off to the bedroom to read, or swap one of your own loved books for someone else’s loved book. They had travel guides, autobiographies, fictional novels, books on aliens – what else could you possibly need?

Mix this with their incredibly comfortably beds, the complimentary drinks you get on arrival, cool board games and boxes of Jenga, and the pool tables, and you have a place that I probably could have spent a few weeks. They do the most delicious mocktails and breakfasts, too – and all in all, I’m definitely glad I stayed here. I may have had my toothpaste and key stolen, but hey, you win some, you lose some, right?

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One spare afternoon, one of the sons suggested that we spend a day or two exploring the local town of Susa. I asked him what exactly there was to do in the area, to which he responded, “Nothing. It is just, cómo se dice? Pretty.” I was sold.

As it happens, this is the first ever blog travel guide to Susa – and, not entirely by default, the best. Divertirsi!

The Susa Valley is an absolutely beautiful slice of Italy, situated between Turin and France. It has a long history spanning back thousands of years, with the town of Susa having originally been established by the Celts. From there, it became a voluntary part of the Roman Empire, and then an important political hub in the Middle and Modern ages. 

Susa, also known as ‘the oldest of Alpine towns’, has been used for centuries as a pilgrimage route for Catholics, merchants, soldiers, and artists on their way to the Holy Land. In 1167, the Holy Roman Empress Beatrice escaped from Pontremoli to hide away in Susa, but when her husband (Holy Roman Emperor Frederick) found her disguised as a horse servant, he decided to pillage the town. Apparently, she quite enjoyed that.

All in all, this little Italian gem has seen a lot of history, leaving a helluva lot to be explored.

ARCO D’AUGUSTO

The Arch of Augustus was built in 9BC to mark the transition of power between Marcus Cottius (king of the Celtic and Ligurian inhabitants of the Cottian alps) and the Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar. It is one of the oldest surviving Roman arches in the world.

This is one of my absolute favourite places to visit in the town, as not only is it an important remnant of history, but it is also surrounded by the most beautiful views: gorgeous old stone houses, Roman ruins, and the rolling green hills of Piemonte. I’d recommend beginning the trip with a picnic right beneath this arch, letting thousands of years of human history unwind around you.

VÍA AL CASTELLO

Have you ever fancied taking a stroll through a well-preserved Roman passage? If so, then boy, is this the place for you! As you wander through the passage, you will be engulfed by intricate stone walls that have oftentimes been depicted in old Roman paintings, leading to amphitheatres, cathedrals, and ruins – and of course, as the name suggests, a neat little castle.

ZUCCHERO DI CANNA

After all that walking and wandering, you’re probably going to be in need of a sugar boost. What better way to do that than with a cone of wonderful Italian gelato? Frankly, this is my favourite gelateria in the town, partly due to the fact that they have a million flavours, partly because they have endless vegan options, and partly because of the incredible views. And I mean, incredible views.

My suggestion is that you shovel some blackberry, chocolate, coconut, lemon, and rice ice-cream and sorbets into a cone, and then simply sit back in the warm Italian sun and stare out at the pristine white chapel and the golden mountains around you. Such bliss.

VISIT A CHURCH

Susa, whilst relatively small for a town, has a real abundance of religious buildings. From gothic cathedrals to clean white chapels to Romanesque churches depicting very skinny Jesus’, there are so many options for the pious. Some of my personal favourites are:

⁃ Chiesa di San Carlo, located in the foothills of the Piemonte mountains, it has the best atmosphere out of all churches in the world (probably).

⁃ San Saturnino Church, a very pretty and yet timid little church.

⁃ Bridge Church, the gorgeous pristine church located opposite the gelateria, also happens to be attached to the museum of religious art.

⁃ Santa Maria Maggiore Church, pretty neat, pretty central.

MUSEO DIOCESANO DI ARTE SACRA

Do you recall the museum of religious art I mentioned, oh, fifteen seconds ago? As it happens, it’s a super interesting place to visit, and for children under 18, residents of the Valley, disabled people, and journalists, entrance is free!

(The entrance fee for the average layman is €6, and for those ages 18-25 or over 65, or who are disabled carers, officers, or soldiers on duty, it’s €3).

The museum houses the stone remains of a Middle Age walkway, and you can whittle away the hottest hours of the day staring at the numerous marble crosses, wooden statues, and stained glass windows. The staff members are all super helpful and lovely, and when I visited, they gave me a free pack of Halls throat sweets ‘because of the pandemic’. All in all, it’s a pretty neat place to visit.

PORTA SAVOIA

Nestled between two gorgeous Piazzas – the Piazza Savoia and the Piazza San Giusto – this porta is one of the main doors into the historic centre of the town. It is a beautiful reminder of Susa’s enchanting Roman past – and it’s right by some of the best cafes in the area.

AUGUSTUS PARK

Not too far from the Arco D’Augusto is the prettiest little park, where you’ll find yourself surrounded by a classic Susa green-and-blue mountainous backdrop, tall water fountains, rock-hard statues, and precarious pastel houses clinging to the edge of cliffs (yes, it is what you’re thinking, it looks exactly like in The Emperor’s New Groove). If you’re able to clamber up to the benches near the arch, you get the best view of the town – all terracotta houses and Gothic cathedral spires.

GO SHOPPING

You’re in Italy, after all! Walking through the centre of the town with its thin, tight streets, orange and yellow houses, and mountains at either end, is a pretty unique experience. Not to mention the fact that there are some really cute bookstores in the area – one of which introduced me to the wonderful photographer Antonio Gesmundo for the first time. There are shops for shoes, shops for pasta, shops for magazines, shops for souvenirs – and it’s all here, right in the Susa Valley.

WALK ALONG THE RIVER

The clear, shallow waters of the Dora Riparia, framed by antiquated houses with metal balconies and Roman fountains, is arguably one of the most iconic sights of the town. Walking along the river with an espresso in one hand and a pastry in the other is such a bucket list experience – but be aware that if you go slightly too far, you’ll find yourself in France.

And so, that concludes the first blog travel guide to Susa, Italy, published on this here blog! (Man, do you remember the first ever Bibliophile Guide to Basel, also published here? You’re definitely on the right blog for off-the-beaten-track travel, eh?)

Let me know in the comments below if you would like to visit Susa, and if so, what you think you’ll love most!

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Even reflecting back on my time with Karen, my fight or flight instinct is triggered. She is still alive in my nightmares, and every now and then, I get flashbacks to something horrendous she said and sweat forms on the back of my neck. I had never met anybody so triggering before, and I pray to God that I never do again.

After briefly talking on the phone before our arrival to pass her selection process, we turned up at the country house expecting a very high-maintenance, graceful, Cheltenham-educated woman – presumably with long flowing blonde hair, puffy injected lips, and a flawless manicure. What we didn’t expect was a very rotund woman waddling over with a ‘HELLO DARLINGS I AM KAREN GOLDEN CRYSTAL JUNIOR!!’, naked except for an oversized white t-shirt that did nothing to hide her dark, bulbous nipples.

My girlfriend and I said our hello’s to the stranger, who pulled us both into a hug and softly kissed the top of our heads. ‘Grand tour?’ she asked, pushing us towards the kitchen before we’d even had the time to grab our things.

On arrival to the kitchen, Karen gestured dramatically at the white, high-ceilinged room, where her four cats were manically dribbling on the kitchen island next to a grand prosciutto board for lunch, licking up their food straight from the counter.

‘This is my haven!’ she declared, pointing past sticky fly traps that hung down from the ceiling and covered us all in dying insects. She turned away from the hoards of British royalty memorabilia that stood proudly in a glass cabinet, and asked us how the journey was.

‘A little difficult, because of the Covid restrictions, but–‘

She cut me off. ‘Anyway!’ She leant forward on the kitchen island, half-naked body thankfully obscured by the counter. ‘Thank God you don’t have a Welsh accent, that would have been disgusting! All I’m a taffy this, and llchchlch that, I can never understand a single thing those people say. I always pretend I’m Italian so that they stop talking to me!’

Considering I had only been on the property for about six minutes, I felt shocked, and was lowkey tamping. Considering that so many of my ancestors had been bullied into submission by English imperialists to surrender their mother tongue, and even more ancestors had been brutally attacked because of their accents, I felt my skin prick up. But, we all act strange under nerves, and perhaps the poor woman was merely anxious to have two foreign strangers wander into her home? I could only hope.

With an eager attempt to lighten his wife’s abrasive remarks, Karen’s husband stepped in with glasses of wine for us all.

‘My name is Antonio,’ he said softly, smiling at my girlfriend and I. ‘Born and raised in Rome, it was my dream to retire to the beautiful Italian countryside with a beautiful woman by my side. I have always wanted my own cabin.’

His smile beamed, lighting up the room. His skin was a dark bronze colour, with light hazel eyes and a thick, greying beard. He looked not too unlike Paul Hollywood, and I liked him immediately. Unfortunately, before he could continue with his story, Karen interrupted.

‘He means he has always wanted a house, a CASA, in Italy. Not a cabin! I have been trying my best to teach him English, but I fear his brain is a lot smaller than his big skull!’ She laughed to herself and knocked back her glass of wine, Antonio looking at the ground.

The rest of the day felt more than just mildly uncomfortable, as I informed Karen that I have Crohn’s Disease and as such cannot consume dairy, and she stated ‘I know other people that supposedly have that too, although none of them seem to be honest, and I HATE dishonesty’ – and continued to add a tin of cream to Andrea’s homemade carbonara. When I ate it out of politeness, despite the stomach upset, she continued to talk about her seething hatred for liars.

As the sun began to set, we had a short Italian dinner, before Karen retreated to the living room to curl up in a wine-induced slumber, Antonio reading a novel in Latin at her feet. My girlfriend and I decided to tackle the thousands of dishes in the kitchen sink, eager to leave a positive impression on our gracious hosts. Surrounded by cats and engravings of young Queen Elizabeth and Margaret Thatcher, we spent the next hour cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom. By the end of it, we were pretty spent – but ready to start the hard work tomorrow.

After a difficult night sleeping in a very hot bedroom, where fresh fox pelts glared at us from Karen’s spare wardrobe, we woke up at seven a.m. to start the day. We sat downstairs in the kitchen sipping tea when Karen came in, one giant knot of hair twisted up in the back of her head.

‘Good mooorning girls!’ She sung, wearing the same shirt from yesterday, still without pants.

‘Good morning!’ We both called back.

‘God, last night was heavy, huh?’ She said, before looking around at her newly immaculate kitchen. ‘We all really had a hard night of cleaning!’

Confused at her lack of acknowledgement, we continued sipping our teas. Karen looked at my girlfriend, at me, at our hands, which were laying on top of one another on the counter.

‘Where exactly did you two meet?’ She asked, suspicious.

‘In a cave in mid-Wales,’ I answered, taffy accent and all.

Karen frowned, the corner of her lips caving down into her chin. ‘I would really appreciate it if you two were honest with me. About whether or not you have Crohn’s Disease, or coronavirus, or AIDs.‘ She burrowed her eyebrows. ‘And also–‘

Antonio walked into the kitchen, gleaming smile and all. ‘Good morning ladies, how are we all?’

‘Good,’ we all said in unison.

‘Today I would like you two to paint the outside wall, if that’s alright?’

The next few hours were spent in the shade-free hot Italian sun, painting the outside walls of the farmhouse a gleaming shade of white. Cora and I were drenched in sweat, with the liquid running down our arms, dripping into our eyes, making deep welts of liquid in the band of our shorts, so we grabbed a bottle of water and sat at the outside dining table, recovering the lost fluids.

Karen came out with a breezy ‘afternoon, dolls!’ wearing a thin white shirt with yellow lemons printed on it, barely covering her torso and showing off her bright pink swim thongs.

‘Good afternoon,’ we chimed back, the sweat on our bodies cooling in the shade.

‘All finished are we?’ She asked, walking up to the wall and looking at it.

‘Yeah, two coats on each section.’

She held up a finger to the painted walls, suddenly dragging her finger down the middle of it.

‘That’s weird,’ she said. ‘Because my finger is dry. It doesn’t even look a different colour.’

‘You can see the newest area that we painted, it’s a brighter white but it dries to this duller cream colour,’ Emily replied.

‘I don’t think so,’ she said. ‘Don’t worry, I will paint it myself.’

And with that, she grabbed a (wet, quite obviously used) roller and began plastering another layer of paint onto the wall. Personally, I had never had someone run their finger over my paintwork in disbelief before, so that was definitely a new one.

Cora and I continued to sip our water, exhausted.

We watched her paint in the scruffiest way possible, slathering paint all over the ground and ignoring the neat edges we’d pored over. After ten minutes, the wall was once again wet with paint.

‘There,’ she said. ‘We’ll leave it to dry and come back to it later. In the meanwhile, how about we go on a trip, to see real Italy?’

Karen had covered up in tight purple booty shorts and a thin white shirt (those areola stared me straight in the face), with toxic pink lipstick engraved in her teeth and a thick knot of hair still standing in the back of her head. Whilst it was a welcome change to finally see her wearing trousers, this overall look was terrifying. When we had met her in the garden, all dressed up, she exclaimed loudly ‘I couldn’t possibly go out without dressing! I have a reputation around here for being a classy British lady – and who would I be for letting them down?!’

She had driven us and Antonio to the local town, which was a warm, bustling area, filled with delicious-smelling patisseries, quaint bars, and gorgeously manicured dogs. All of the signs were, obviously, written in Italian, and when I tried to use my limited knowledge of the language to translate the name of a lovely little tea shop, Karen stated, ‘oh, don’t bother, dear! These aren’t very intelligent people, apart from dear Antonio none of them can even speak English!’

We had run into several of Antonio’s friends, all tanned, moustached men with big hands and twinkling eyes. Some of them joked with us, off-handedly inviting us to local parties, and offering us a glass or two of whatever they were drinking. Sat at a bar with an olive-skinned young local, Karen grabbed the arm of another passerby.

‘Hello, dear!’ She exclaimed. ‘It is me, and these two lovely English ladies, out for afternoon aperitivos!’

The man stared at her for a second, before recognising her.

‘Where is Antonio?’ he asked.

When Karen explained that he was in the bathroom, probably talking to another Italian, he slipped out from her grasp and sped off.

‘They all know me around here,’ she announced to us.

‘It’s just like that in Swansea when I go out and run into a million other family members,’ I replied, making light conversation.

She stared me in the eyes, exaggerated a yawn, and went ‘Anyway, when my girl was young…’

We had only been with Karen for two days, and yet everything she said seemed made to anger and belittle us. That following evening, she spent half an hour asking questions such as ‘What’s the point in Wales, anyway? The language is dead, why bother keeping it alive?’ and ‘How on earth can the Welsh even consider themselves to have a culture?’

The next few days were especially difficult, as temperatures soared and Cora and I worked outside for six, eight hours a day. I don’t want to say that it was unbearable living around Karen, but it was difficult.

We once went on a walk as a group to a local house, made from beautiful old stone which had blackened slightly over the years.

‘This, girls, is the place that time forgot! Can you believe that some people are still forced to live in dirty little shacks like this?’

She announced several times that the place was a disgusting, run-down area, until the neighbour walked outside and Antonio begged her to quieten. When she went, ‘imagine living here, so ugly, so decrepit!’ Antonio shouted ‘hush!’ at her, and she threw an actual tantrum for the next ten minutes, complete with head banging against the table we sat down at until sedated with a glass of wine.

One week into the trip, and Cora and I were close to losing it. For the whole day, Karen would make snide comments about Cora and I (and everything we stood for, Wales, the working class, and Italians – especially Italians), she would shut down Antonio whenever he attempted to tell us fun stories, she would belittle every other local we happened to run into. We had visited Lombardy to experience the beautiful region, but instead we were left babysitting a very short Satan.

After one particularly exhausting afternoon, where Karen 1) said that ‘people here are civilised, not those predators from Egypt and Morocco!’, 2) had a very patronising conversation in which she told a warehouse worker step-by-step how they should be doing their job, 3) bragged about smashing up the house when she gets angry, 4) kicked a dying pigeon and laughed at it suffering for the rest of the day, 5) made uncomfortable, suggestive comments about the concept of homosexuality, and finally 6) rolled her eyes at me when I cut open my hand washing her plates and retracted my hand in pain, we decided that we absolutely had to find another place to live and work.

But just before we could tell Karen, she read our messages on our phone and told us, in no uncertain terms, that we were no longer welcome in her house and had to leave within the next 24 hours.

It was both a relief, and the worst thing that could have happened. We were situated, quite literally, in the middle of nowhere – with no back-up plans, no local contacts that could save us, and very little idea of where we could possibly go next with so little warning. We spent the whole evening staying awake, trying to figure out where the hell we could go next, and in the morning the next day, Karen threw open the door of our bedroom.

‘I see you have both decided that you won’t be working this morning?’

As it happened, despite the fact that we would be leaving in only a few mere hours, Karen had expected us to get up again at 7am (somehow finding enough time to sleep and find another host family to stay with*) to get back to work. Thankfully, Antonio had other plans.

‘The next train leaves in thirty minutes, so you should both be going.’ As we grabbed our bags to leave, he handed us each a small book, a gift for our work. ‘I am sorry it had to end like this,’ he said, and smiled sadly.

When we went out to the car, Karen called after us, ‘you’re welcome to stay for a couple days if you’re ever back in the area!’ (After kicking us out in the midst of a pandemic, in the middle of nowhere, with zero travel options available). She winced as she hugged me goodbye, but then pulled Cora in for a long, hard hug, until Cora writhed out of it and Karen planted two wet kisses on her forehead.

In the car, looking back at the house which was now a greying shade of cream, with newly-dug trenches by the swimming pool (by us), exposed brick wall which had the old plaster removed (by us), dilapidated brickwork which had been polished to perfection (by us), we felt proud of the work we had done – even if the boss had been the worst possible person to work for.

Antonio waved at us with a smile, and Karen’s bulbous nipples glared out at us from her shirt. As the gate closed behind us, I relaxed into the leather seat, knowing that I would never see her whiney little face again.

Thank f*ck for that.

* Which we did! We had somehow found a woman in Piemonte to stay with, and as it happened, she turned out to be the most wonderful person we had ever met. Our time in Italy ended on a positive note, thanks to Luisa.

Darius is an archaeologist, professor, and documentary host, whose work has been seen on CBS, BBC Travel, the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, Huffington Post, and National Geographic, along with many others. He is the Executive Director of the American Institute for Roman Culture, a non-profit organisation that aims to promote and conserve Rome’s cultural heritage through educational programs, projects, public outreach, and social media.

He has been the face of many TV projects, such as Ancient Invisible Cities, Under Italy, and Ancient Rome Live, and is always creating new content for his social media channels. In summary, he’s a pretty cool guy, and I am very glad to be interviewing him for Wandering Everywhere.

You can follow Darius on his journeys via his Twitter, Instagram and Facebook under his handle @dariusaryadigs, and you can check out his Youtube channel here. To keep up to date with his ventures across the Eternal City, you should follow the Live, from Rome! Youtube channel over at We Dig Rome.

SO FIRST OF ALL, COULD YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW YOU INITIALLY GOT INTO ARCHAEOLOGY?

For me, it was several factors. I think a lot of people fall in love with Classical Languages and ancient civilisations through language, but for a lot of people that I know growing up in States it was through stories. It was through art. It was down to the Greek mythology that I was fascinated with back in sixth grade, and museum trips and local bookstores. It was layer upon layer, such as going to the Smithsonian Museums in Washington DC as a child, learning about ancient history which then accelerated into taking Latin in junior high and Latin-Greek in high school.

I continued these studies in college, where I had the opportunity to study abroad and that really opened up a lot of doors. I went on one trip to Europe with the school where we travelled with a Rail Pass, and when we’d made it to Rome it was incredible. Just wow. I mean, it just blew me away particularly see things like the Roman Forum the Colosseum and so things came together like that kind of organically. I didn’t want to be an academic, though, and wasn’t in love with with what I saw in University. It just felt for me kind of restrictive. So I just went off on my own direction, but you know, everyone has to find that happy medium.

FROM THERE, HOW DID YOU MAKE THE LEAP FROM BEING A LECTURER TO BEING THE FACE OF POPULAR SHOWS ON THE HISTORY CHANNEL, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, AND PBS? 

So all of this work became about location, location, location. You know, I studied, I did that one trip back in Junior High, I studied a semester in Rome which was fantastic and inspiring, and then I just kept on coming back every summer since ’92. Then the transition of ‘how can I do this, how can it be there amidst all of this’ came about. I didn’t want to go down the route of being so distant from it all and only coming back occasionally, so I was trying to figure it out.

I created and co-founded a non-profit which has been around since 2002. We’re getting our own programs and excavations and so forth, and just as it got started people began reaching out to me, too. Saying ‘hey, we see that you’re there, your organisation seems interesting. Can you talk?’ I kind of got a sense of where this was heading, and it became successful just because people liked my vibe or my attitude or my delivery. And to be honest with you there really aren’t that many people from the US doing this sort of thing.

SO YOU NEVER REALLY EXPECTED THAT THIS IS WHERE YOU WOULD END UP?

Everyone wants to have a crack at it and to try it. There are different degrees of success, and every audience is different, you know, with very channels, different countries, different expectations. I had done some theatre and drama and things when I was a kid, but no I’d never really thought about doing it at all. 

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE THING THAT YOU’VE EXPERIENCED WITH ANCIENT INVISIBLE CITIES?

The great things about Ancient Invisible Cities was that we were able to work closely with this fantastic team, Scan Labs, and to work alongside these people was incredible. They were under a lot of pressure whilst we were working on our own narratives, and it was fun, it was intense, and it was another layer of documenting the past. There would be around 15 or 16 people working in different locations simultaneously working with the drones and the helicopters – and I always wanted to ride in one of the helicopters but never did. It was a lot of hard work but it was a lot of fun.

SO HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN ROME FOR NOW?

About 20 years. I’ve spent this time as an opportunity to do more research and practise my Italian, and it’s been good to engage people in stuff like this. The people have been very accommodating and with the language they just thought you know, here’s another person giving their take on the history, which is unlike that which I grew up with. You know, my kids are going to school in Italian schools. One of them is finishing up. They have so much exposure to all of this, and in some ways are a little spoiled because of it. But I needed to do this to truly be able to talk to the audience.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO LEARN ITALIAN? BECAUSE I WATCHED AN INTERVIEW WHERE YOU WERE SPEAKING IT FLUENTLY AND I HONESTLY HADN’T EXPECTED THAT

I’ve been trying to speak the language for as long as I could have, you know, I’m not just here in an English-speaking bubble. It’s not something that I’ve been able to grow up with, and everyone knows after the first two words that I say that I’m not a native, but it just happens.

SO I WAS GOING TO ASK WHY YOU’D CHOSEN TO LIVE IN ROME RATHER THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD, BUT YOUR PASSION AND YOUR LOVE FOR ROME IS PRETTY OBVIOUS

Yeah, I mean when we spoke about this before you were like why Rome and not Athens, but really, it’s just a place that struck me. Ostensibly, you know, when I looking at study abroad programs and my Classics Department asked if I’d rather go to Rome or Athens, I was like, is this a trick question? 

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO PEOPLE THAT VISIT ROME BUT ONLY SEE THE TREVI FOUNTAIN OR THE COLISEUM – WHAT GEMS DO THEY MISS? 

It’s tough. I mean everyone have varying amounts of time here, with limited budgets. I think that there are a lot of variables, especially now with Covid-19, it’s going to be more difficult to even visit places like the Vatican or the Colosseum because they’re going to have to reduce their numbers. It’s going to be very difficult, but they’re re-opening all the museums tomorrow and I have a timed reservation for the Capitoline museums.

Now everything’s going to be with timed entrances, spacing everybody out, and so forth. But I think that the best thing you can do in the city is just to wander about, and you know, just take a look at 10, 20, 30 sites, and just see them because they’re there, all so close to one another. Just go and take them in and experience it. The light changes and the hours go past so you need to experience everything that you can, as slowly as you can.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE BEST PIZZA IN ROME?

Oh God. Classics you know? But ultimately, the best pizza in Rome is in Naples. But in Rome,  I’d say pizzas like Baffetto and the Monte Carlo.

WHAT’S A FUN FACT YOU KNOW ABOUT ANY ASPECT OF LESSER-KNOWN HISTORY? 

There’s actually a massive comprehensive plan around the entire area of what we call the Valley of the Coliseum. It’s currently undergoing a lot of cleaning and in five years time will be radically different. Let’s all hope it’s for the best. You’re going to have a third entrance line that’s going to be have a huge underground space and you’re going to have this new kind of Centre which culminates all of the information about the Coliseum, and there’s even a rotating exhibit space. That’s happening. But yeah, there’s just going to be a lot more going on with Coliseum. I think it’ll enhance people’s experience of the Coliseum for the future. It’s pretty cool.

WHAT’S YOUR DREAM PROJECT?

You know, we are currently working on our publications for previous excavations and that’s a dream to get done. It’s a huge responsibility and we are making a lot of progress right now. And then, with this kind of work that we are doing, I would like it to all make a greater reach and impact. I want it to be much more present as a resource, on a more sustainable level. It would be great if a lot of the institutions and academic associations would lend us more support, but we’re getting some great partnerships with Museum Week and so forth, which is fantastic. The end game is for a lot of people to discover and use our resources, because no one else is giving this stuff, you know, for free.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO PEOPLE THAT WANT TO PRODUCE THEIR OWN SHOWS, AND BE ON THE HISTORY CHANNEL AND NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC? 

Good luck. It’s all very fickle business, and it’s hard to get acknowledged. It usually comes from a lucky break or by being a scientist or a biologist. You should be creative and voice what you believe in, and try to ignore the hate. Don’t be political, don’t insult anyone, be very careful. Stand up for what you believe in. So if you’re going out there to make a brand, decide what your values are and what you want to convey.

Also, make sure that you’re working on several platforms, not just Twitter or Instagram but also YouTube and anything else you can use. Try to be flexible and use this time to be experimental – but remember that once this stuff is out there, it’s out there forever. Be consistent and be honest.

SO, LAST THING, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO MENTION, SUCH AS A PARTICULAR YOUTUBE CHANNEL..?

For sure! So I direct the American Institute for Roman Culture, a non-profit organisation. We’ve been in Rome working away teaching University programs and we really focus on that online stuff. This is the main webpage with our weekly blog and so forth, and  the website where we now have a learning program is now ancientromelive.org.

You can also follow my weekly seminars from Rome, sometimes on location; Wednesday is geared for kids, Sundays for everyone, always 7pm Rome time. The YouTube channel is We Dig Rome.

Across all media channels, we are @saverome, because we are into saving and preserving this ongoing legacy of Rome. And then for me, I’m all @dariusaryadigs, Facebook, Twitter, and on the website. And then there’s my own YouTube at Darius Arya, it’s a lot of fun Rome content. So check it out. It’s a lot of fun and we are always up for collaboration and, you know, just getting the message out about history.

——

And so, there it is! This interview was a lot of fun, and I hope that you guys enjoyed it just as much as I did.

Hopefully, you’ve learnt a little more about the Eternal City, Italian pizza, and the ups and downs of being an archaeologist and documentary host! If you have any more questions for Darius Arya, let me know in the comments below!

BUT BEFORE YOU DO – WHY NOT SHARE THE LOVE AND PIN THIS POST?

THE FISHERMAN’S BASTION, BUDAPEST

There’s only two things that I really want when I’m drinking hot coco – one, for the chocolate to be bordering heavenly, and two, for it to come with an absolute stunner of a view. The Fisherman’s Bastion in Hungary is definite champion for both of these categories, with views overlooking the famed Danube River, little townhouses, antiquated Hungarian ruins, and whole array of bastion turrets just a few feet away. It genuinely feels like you’ve just stepped into a magical fairytale castle, where the hot cocoa is thick, decorated with cream, and inordinately sweet. Prefer coffee over cocoa? Bones Coffee Company’s premium coffee pods offer an alternative for home brewing, featuring a range of flavored options, including seasonal and dessert-style varieties.

ANTICA DOMUS, ROME

Like with the Fisherman’s Bastion, Antica Domus hosts both incredible hot coco and an incredible view. This one, however, is definitely more well-known – it’s located only 20 feet from the Colosseum! It’s the absolute best place to see the ancient amphitheater, staying for a couple hours chatting to locals as the sun goes down and the tourists disappear. Also, the typical Italian mugs of melted chocolate are even more adjunct at Antica Domus, where you can really lose yourself in the thickly poured, rich coco, contemplating the beautiful city around you.

THE GRAPE AND OLIVE, SWANSEA

Situated in a gorgeous little city which will forever hold my heart, I would happily refer to the Grape and Olive as housing some of the best hot cocos in the whole entire world. A restaurant housed in the tallest building of the city, you’re really offered some insane views in a tower completely bereft of tourists. Overlooking the ocean, the marina, the town, and distant hills, I wouldn’t blame you for staying for a full lunch, dinner, and finishing with some hand-shaken cocktails. The hot coco is sweet and light, and perfect for that lil’ sugar rush needed for exploring the furthest depths of the city.

GLACIAR, BARCELONA

In another one of my favourite cities, I came across one of the best hot cocos I’ve ever been blessed with the privilege to try. The City of Gaudi is unsurprisingly going to be utterly stunning, but coupled with cinnamon and caramel churros with the cocoa, it instantly becomes a little sweeter. Glaciar is located just off the tiny square of Plaça Reial, which houses violin-playing wanderers and men offering to sell a rose to your sweetheart, offering you the heart of the city whilst you sip your coco. It’s the cutest little location, and the hot coco tastes just like thick churro dip – sweet and luxurious and bound to linger on your upper lip for an unprecedented amount of time.

RIVA, TROGIR

I wandered the streets of Croatia for what felt like years, trying to find a decent place that offered lactose-free hot chocolate. When I landed in the country, my Crohn’s was playing up a fair bit – meaning that I had to cancel out a lot of food groups. I was literally devastated when I found that absolutely nowhere could serve me hot coco I could actually consume – until I went to Riva. Located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Trogir, overlooking a quaint harbour bordering beautiful ruins, you can just sit for hours and watch the world go by. The hot coco is dark and syrupy, and the fact that they went completely out of their way to figure out how to make it lactose-free was really lovely.

VIA CAFFE, KRAKOW

When you’re stuck in the middle of a snow storm, fingers numb, eyeballs turning to frost, the thing that you want most in the world is to be somewhere warm, sipping something steaming, and soon. This scenario is more or less what happened when I visited Krakow and found myself freezing my absolute butt off, bundling into the warmest cafe I could find, and stumbling upon this indulgent hot chocolate. Not only did they do soya hot coco (yesss!), but they also served the most divine cakes to go with it. It took me hours to muster up the strength to leave the confines of the cafe and venture back out in the cold – and I could only do that after one more coco.

And so, that concludes my findings for now. I have explored more of Europe than any other continent, and tried a lot of hot coco – and these are undoubtably the best.

It’s absolutely a matter of life and death – or merely just pure insanity – that I must find the best hot coco in Europe. Let me know in the comments below where you guys have scouted out the best hot coco – this may be my most important assignment yet.*

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*I just really want to lose myself in coco.

The small bell tower, the Campanile, is visible from almost every angle of the island, reinforcing the traditional Catholic ideas that Italy has been so historically part of. What most written media on this place doesn’t tell you, however, is that is also leans pretty dramatically to one side, depending on where you view it from. This makes it not only the #1 place to visit due to the colourful cottages, but also pretty up there with the Tower of Pisa. The best views are from the bridges on the East of the island.

Often considered to be the City of Love (move out of the way, Paris), Florence is a place of pure grandeur, intricate architecture and enticing romance. Each street haunts you with eerie remnants of relationships gone by, and seduces you into falling in love with new places, people, and food. Whispers of Italian, well-spoken by gorgeous women in furs and older men with a dusted look about them, drift through the streets. But the locals don’t express themselves through words alone – no, they communicate with body language and smooth hand gestures. Sounds, vague and vowel-less, draw you in, with the rich history of the city ever so alluring. And me? I adored it. I adored the pretty things, and the rolls of the Italian r’s that you would catch from a passerby. The city, dripping in romance and antiquity, just waiting to be explored. Who did I go with, you ask? My ex-boyfriend.

So, a couple days ago I flew out from Gatwick to Pisa airport with my parents and one of my best friends ever, and we stayed in Tuscany, Italy for a few days. We saw primarily Pisa and Florence – both places highly commercialised, streaming with tourists at the busiest times of the day, and absolutely gorgeous. If you can get used to the people constantly trying to sell you selfie-sticks and umbrellas, then Tuscany is one place you have to make sure not to miss. And what were my top favourite places that I would recommend over and over again, I hear you ask? Well, I got your back.

PIAZZA DEI MIRACOLI

Situated right next to the tower, this piazza is filled with three of the most beautiful buildings you will see during your stay. The baptistery (absolutely incredible, I spent ages standing on the top floor marvelling at how such architecture is possible, especially back in 1152 when it was built) and Cathedral (breathtaking, possibly the best in the whole of Pisa – but watch out for opening times) stand elegantly on the grounds, rendering them a trio of unbelievable artistry.

FLORENCE CATHEDRAL

Whilst impressive from the outside (and I mean, impressive), queues to get in are ridiculous. Depending on how long you’re staying in Tuscany, you may consider if it’s actually worth it to spend half a day waiting just to go inside – and with an exterior like this, you could quite easily benefit from using that half a day to explore something else. It’s situated on the Piazza del Duomo, which you genuinely cannot miss – it’s at the heart of Florence, and yet even I didn’t know I would stumble upon such pulchritude on my Tuscany travels. Truly, truly, mesmerising, with every inch of the place dusted with splendour.

SANTA CROCE

A Franciscan church, this minor basilica is just.. wow. I must have spent a good couple of hours there, as the place seemed to grow larger and larger the further in you explored, housing frescoes and leather workshops, and of course, a stunning marble interior. If you’re low on funds, but have plenty of time to truly take in what you see, then I couldn’t recommend anything better in Florence.

THE ARNO RIVER

Stretching all the way over from the Ligurian Sea, you’re likely to pass this river on your escapades around Tuscany – primarily, Pisa. With buildings such as the Santa Maria della Spina facing across the water, you’re bound to be drawn to the picturesque and romantic opportunities that call out. On one side, bright orange buildings and little houses, and on the other, designer shops and gelaterias – the best of both worlds, really. It was straight out of a novel.

SINOPIE MUSEUM

If you want to see some of the most beautiful frescoes going, I’d suggest you head down to the Sinopie, where they have managed to restore and display a bunch of old historic masterpieces. If you want to see a depiction of what life used to be like, in glorious faded technicolour, then you really must check out what this place has to offer. Not only that, but for six euros, you can visit this place, along with a couple of others on the Piazza Dei Miracoli – meaning that you can get all your history hits in one go.

THE CAMPOSANTO

Again, for all you art and antiquity lovers out there, a little place called the Camposanto houses gravestones as flooring, with ceilings covered head-to-toe in frescoes, and and a wide open garden where you can go out in the sun and admire the design and structure. As you walk through the open building (meaning you get to experience the natural light and setting that they would have had back in the 12th century), marble figures of people and sacred monuments scatter the halls.