Benvenuto!
Welcome to Farm Table Italy
Welcome, friends. My name is David Gabrieli and I’m the publisher of the Farm Table Italy — a Substack newsletter dedicated to the exploration of the travel and food experiences that exist in the Italian countryside and even in remote corners of cities within Italy. I hope that you will subscribe and consider sharing this newsletter with friends and family who you think might be interested.
But let’s start with the obvious: who am I and what is the newsletter and who is it for? Maybe it’s easier to to say what I’m not: I’m not a travel journalist per se, nor is this some affiliate marketing travel company! I was born in the U.S. but gained my dual Italian citizenship through my father’s family … and my wife’s perseverance! (I will definitely write up a post on that process; its obstacles and its rewards.) After obtaining citizenship, you are encouraged to learn the language and to strive to truly understand the country and its culture as if you are a native. So I began traveling with family and friends and, with each successive trip, getting further away from the cities and the tourists. Eventually, my wife and I even brought our two young boys for an immersive 6 month trip that planted the seed for this newsletter. For more than 15 years, I have explored farms, remote restaurants & cooking schools, and obscure foodie spots across Italy.
These travels have taken me to every region in Italy; from a sheep farm that produces the best Pecorino-Romano cheese I have ever tasted; to a grappa distilleria in Friuli; to the most famous butcher in Tuscany; to an 1,100 acre nature reserve near Siena with roots stretching back to the 13th century; to a working terrace farm on the Amalfi Coast. With 59 UNESCO World Heritage sites — the most in the world — and in excess of 65 million tourists each year, there isn’t much that is “undiscovered” in Italy. But I learned that visiting Italy like a tourist, while it always impresses thanks to the ever-present visual beauty and charm, does not reveal much of the soul of the country. The exploration of Italy’s countryside and more remote sites, for me, has been the key to finding her true beauty.
My objective with this project and the newsletter is to share my passion for the tastes, experiences, and cultural wonders that are available to those willing to venture away from the tourists and to explore the Italian countryside. We will also cover locations within the larger cities that are off the tourist-beaten path and generally only frequented by locals. I believe my knowledge and experiences will be engaging for lovers of Italy, foodies, and those who are planning travel. I also plan to offer a premium, paid subscriber level that will include detailed itineraries and area guides. I would like to lead curated and experiential guided tours for individuals and groups who really want to dive deep. (More to come on that front!) Look for an email 2-3 times per month as well as new features and offers over the coming months as well.
Within these emails, you can expect to read articles, reviews, photo essays and written series on topics such as:
unique “foodie” experiences in Italy
discovery of the Italian regions
local markets
cooking schools
ingredients and dishes
insider travel tips and advice
and some details on Italian cuisine & culture.
What can you do? I hope you will chose to subscribe and engage with this project — and please click the buttons below to subscribe to the newsletter and share it with family and friends. Feel free to reach out to me directly at [email protected] with any questions.
Grazie mille a tutti …
David.