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Piazza dei Mercanti Lucca Hi All! Today I’m sha

Piazza dei Mercanti Lucca Hi All!
Today I’m sharing one of my favorite little spots in Lucca, Tuscany. Piazza dei Mercanti. (Translation: Merchant’s square.)
Just off Via Fillungo. (Lucca’s main shopping street since the 13th century) it is a lovely spot for lunch or a late afternoon aperitivo. Hope you are having a great day! #viafillungo #lucca #luccaitaly #visitlucca #iloveitaly #beautifulplaces #italianlifestyle #tuscanyitaly #christmasinitaly #traveltips #tripplanner #dolcevita

Modena-Piazza Grande December 21, 2018 Beautiful

Modena-Piazza Grande December 21, 2018 Beautiful piazza Grande at Christmas time.
There is something about the mix of a 1000 year old town and modern Christmas lights. I can’t exactly explain it. But it makes me feel nostalgic for a simpler time.
The smell of real roasted chestnuts, a warmly lit shop windows and friends meeting for an aperitivo. #modena_dintorni #modena #christmasinitaly #beautifulitaly #homeforchristmas #seekmoments #discoveritaly #visitemiliaromagna #christmasmemories #cittadimodena #italiantravel

Modena December 23, 2018 Salumeria Giusti* Ok! No

Modena December 23, 2018
Salumeria Giusti* Ok! Now that I have Thanksgiving out if the way, it’s time for Christmas!
It’s been 3 years since we’ve been to Italy during the holidays.
I miss it so much. 🥲 One of my favorite things to do is shopping in centro in the evening. The lights shining through the shop windows are like watching and old time Christmas movie. *This salumeria was founded in 1605 and is the oldest salumeria in Europe. They also have a tiny osteria that is top 5 places to eat in Modena in my opinion. If you watched #searchingforitaly Bologna this place is featured. #italiancuisine #italianculture #salumi #italyisbeautiful #christmasinitaly #salumeriagiusti #italyfood #prosciutto #italianholiday #italianfood #whatitalyis #lifeinitaly #visititaly #localitaly

Lucca-Piazza San Michele at dusk 12/21/2016 Photo

Lucca-Piazza San Michele at dusk 12/21/2016 Photo: Michelle Matteoni Hi! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Since it is a lazy day at my house, I’ve been working on my in-laws family tree today. Most of my research is in Lucca. The Provence of Lucca is where many generations of my in-laws are from and still live to this day. Unfortunately, it isn’t easy finding Italian records online. There are huge data bases of scanned records (millions of records!) online but they are not indexed. Which means they are
un-searchable. You have to go through them one by one. It is extremely time consuming and definitely a labor of love 💕 this issue actually prompted me to volunteer to index them myself. Which will definitely be the subject of another post 🤓. So, until the Italian records are readily available online, the best way to find your people is to go directly to the small towns if possible. Most families stayed very close to home and are easy to find at the cemetery or the commune. (Town Hall) Is anyone heading to Italy (once travel is “normal”) to find their family tree?
I would love to hear any stories you may have about finding your Italian roots. Hope you all enjoyed your family and friends this thanksgiving 😊
#italianheritage
#findyourroots #italianancestry #italianroots #genealogyresearch #genealogy #italianfamily #familytree #findingyourroots #genealogist #triptoitaly

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Thought to share som

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Thought to share some photos our Thanksgiving celebration in Italy. These dinners were such great memories because Italians really enjoyed this American holiday. They had seen so many American movies that they were super excited to see what it was all about. The star of the show was of course the turkey. I was so proud of the turkey. They are not common so I had it special ordered. I brought it home and realized that it would not fit in my tiny Italian oven. 😬 thankfully, it just barely fit in my mother in law’s oven . They lived across the street so when it was done, the turkey was escorted across traffic and up the elevator to our apartment. It was such a great memory 😊.
I hope your Thanksgiving is full of beautiful memories too!
Cheers,
Michelle #thanksgiving
#italianthanksgiving #turkeyday #happythanksgivng #italianfamily #thanksgivinginitaly #gratefulthankfulblessed #familygathering #beautifulmemories #thanksgivingdinner #myitalianlife

Barolo, October 2013 Yay!! It’s Friday. Frida

Barolo, October 2013 Yay!! It’s Friday. Fridays are always nice at our house because the kids are out with friends and my hubby and I can relax, open a bottle of wine, and catch up. We have a couple of go to wines at our house depending on the season. Right now we are drinking either Chianti or Barolo. Chianti (Choose the bottles with the black rooster on it!) is a great wine for pasta and any meats. It’s super versatile and never disappoints. Barolo on the other hand is strong and robust! Amazing with heavy winter meals like spezzatino and polenta or roasts. We had the privilege to visit Barolo a few years back. A friend of ours works for one of the vineyards and gave us a private tour at 10 am.
Can you say morning drinking? 🤤🍷🍇 Have a great weekend!!! Photos: Michelle Matteoni @figliluigioddero #barolo #barolowine #daydrinking #italianwine #northernitaly #piedmontwine #barolodocg #italianlifestyle #winetour #travellikealocal #localitaly #friendsinhighplaces #winetasting #lifeexperiences #italytourism

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