wellness around the world: the european edition / ITALY

[welcome to part 4 of my 6-part mini-series, wellness around the world: the european edition. as my family and i travel through six countries in europe, i am sharing wellness habits from each.  here are the links to part 1, part 2, and part 3. today's spotlight is on italy.]    

    italy, you have stolen my heart. (or maybe i've simply found my heart?)

i grew up in an italian family. our household was always loud and chaotic, but very close.

being warmly welcomed to the country by blood relatives allowed me to recognize and assimilate my roots from the moment i arrived. beginning with tangible reminders of my grandma's childhood, then witnessing my heritage in a startlingly familiar display before my eyes.

i am at home.

and i've actually been at somewhat of a loss for words since i've been here. everything i've seen and experienced has been grander and richer than i ever imagined it could be.

in fact, i cannot fully describe the emotions i've been feeling. it will take me awhile to process it all.

so i'll just let the photographs speak for themselves this week. i hope they give you a sense of the meaningfulness of this journey for me.     [the home where my grandma was born and raised in besano, italy.]

    [my grandma as a young girl.]

    [my italian relatives in induno olona - my grandma's sister's family.]

    [my italian relatives in besano.]

    [my cousin gabriella's cat.]

    [my italian (french) relatives in le bonhomme, france - my grandma's brother's family.]

    [with my childhood friend in milan.]

    [saint veronica sculpture @ st. peter's basilica, vatican city.]

    [the pantheon, rome.]

    [the colosseum, rome.]

    [trevi fountain, rome.]

    and how do the italians practice wellness?

• laughter and playfulness

• energy and animation (i felt right at home talking with my hands!)

• family celebrations and traditions

• passion for life and for each other

• wine as part of their staple diet

• confrontation to clear the air and move on

  my take-away:

traveling opens your eyes to fresh insights and new opportunities. a personal connection to an unfamiliar place only heightens that intensity. grazie to everyone who made our time in italy so very very special.     [descriptive words that immediately came to mind upon my first visit to italy.]

    ~~~~~~~     what if you had the chance to explore your own ancestry? would your life suddenly make more sense, take on more significance? make a commitment to EXAMINE YOUR ORIGINS IN MORE DEPTH. (and let me know about your plan in the comments.)     [a summary of the six european wellness commitments introduced in the mini-series may be found at the end of this post.]         [maxbutton id="1"]