Abruzzo: A Journey Back To My Roots

I’ve always had big dreams, but I had to make it through many obstacles before I began to realise them. When I arrived in Australia for the first time 10 years ago, I had no idea what I was about to experience. I was escaping a broken heart but also following a deep desire that had always been part of my life—to discover new things, meet new people, and immerse myself in new cultures.

I’ve always been like that. My hometown Sulmona was never big enough for me, and I always felt a pull to expand beyond my small town. So, I moved to Rome, which eventually felt small too. Then I went to Berlin, until I finally emigrated to the farthest part of the world—Australia.

At 30 years old, I found myself in an unknown place, without family and friends, not knowing the language, but with a feeling of optimism and energy that fuelled me through the challenges.

It took me years and many miles of distance to appreciate the place where I came from. Sulmona, the town where I was born, was once a place I wanted to escape – but now I look forward to every moment I get to spend there.

Why is that? What changed?

Living in Australia for all these years changed my perspective. I could only go back once a year, if I was lucky, and I began to see everything with different eyes. I started to read more about my culture— the people native to the region, the people who conquered us, why we are so close-minded, who my ancestors were – until I found so many similarities with the land I live on now, especially the Aboriginal culture. In wild and rugged long-ago Abruzzo, we must have lived more like indigenous peoples — connected to the earth and in tune with nature, by necessity of the harsh realities of mountain life.

Every year when I went back, I spent time with farmers, cheesemakers, and all the artisans still living in my Abruzzo, but most importantly, I spent time listening to stories from my grandparents and parents.

And I began to think that maybe everything happened for a reason. I started connecting the dots and thought, I want to tell this story. I want to share my culture in a different way. Of course, my best tool for this is through food.

Do you know a better way to describe a culture than through food? Tell me what you’re eating, and I will tell you who you are.

All those years of trying to escape from something turned into this deep feeling of wanting to go back and share my culture. After 10 very hard years, I finally managed to build my own successful business, because yes, Australia is the land of opportunities if you are hungry, humble, and respectful.

That’s when the dream of bringing people to my homeland began, and so my food and wine tours in Abruzzo were born. Each tour will be a chance to meet my family and friends, where together we will connect with a different culture to understand it better and appreciate the differences we have. I want to take you far from the usual tourist traps and give you a real experience of culture, with an idea to preserve, protect and respect.

These tours will be educational journeys. We will try to go back to a time when traveling was something very different from what it is now. We will be immersed in Abruzzese culture, experiencing it fully without imposing our own culture. I’ll be your guide as you step into this great adventure – inspiration, joy and connection await.

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