My name is Federica, and today, 7 July 2026, I am publishing my very first blog post.
I have just returned from my hometown of Treviso, in the northeast of Italy. Until recently, I would often tell people that I was from Venice because it was easier. Treviso is only a short drive away, and very few people knew where it was. That has started to change, and it makes me smile every time someone says, “Oh yes, I know Treviso.”
Right now, I am sitting by the window in my home in Vallåkra, Sweden. It is raining. The past two days have been cold, a complete contrast to the exceptional heatwave that welcomed me in Veneto only a few days ago.
Tomorrow I go back to work. The holiday is over.
I always feel a little melancholic when I come back from Italy, but this time it feels different.
This wasn’t just another summer holiday.
I spent most of my time helping prepare my parents’ house, my childhood home, to be sold.
It is amazing how a house can hold so many memories. Every room reminds me of a different chapter of my life. Packing things away, deciding what stays and what goes, has made me realize that I am closing a chapter. Not forgetting it, but letting it become part of my story.
I think that is why today feels like the right day to finally publish this blog.
For a long time I wanted to create a place where I could write about Italy. About food, wine, traditions, small villages, gardening, family recipes, and all those little things that make everyday life beautiful. But I slowly realized that this blog is about something more than Italy.
It is about being in between.
Between Sweden and Italy.
Between two cultures that I love equally and could never choose between.
Between one chapter of life and the next.
Maybe that is also why this feels like the perfect moment to begin.
This blog is a way for me to keep both worlds alive.
A place where I can write down the recipes my mum taught me, the gardening tips I learned from my dad, the traditions I grew up with, and the new perspectives I have found after living in Sweden for more than twenty years.
I don’t want to choose between the Mediterranean way of living and the Nordic one.
Both have shaped who I am.
Both have taught me something valuable.
And perhaps this blog is my way of bringing them together.
Maybe, in a way, it is also my new home.
Because when my parents’ house is sold, I won’t be able to walk through those rooms anymore. But I can still return to the memories. I can still remember the flavours, the conversations around the table, the summer evenings, the garden, and everything that made that place feel like home.
This blog gives those memories somewhere to live.
I don’t know exactly where this journey will take me.
I know I will write about Italy. I know I will write about Sweden. I know there will be stories, recipes, reflections, travel tips, and probably a few life lessons that I am still learning myself.
Most of all, I hope this becomes a place where we can slow down for a moment.
And maybe, if you also feel a little in between, between countries, careers, dreams, or chapters of life, you’ll feel at home here too.
Welcome.
I’m so happy you’re here.
