The local Italians often ask me… “Why would you ever want to live in Sant’Oliva??” and my answer politely back to them is “I’ve fallen in love”… Most of them think I’ve been forced to stay here under some automatic default through my Italian husband but little do they know, I have fallen head over heels for the lifestyle that is beautiful Sant’Oliva.

The Paese (town) of Sant’Oliva is my husband’s childhood home. I was introduced to it for the first time a few years ago while visiting on holidays from Australia and ever since, we have come back almost every year to see family and friends. I’ve always felt like I’ve had some sort of deep connection to Italy (as it’s in my blood) even before meeting my husband, and strangely felt in my bones that someday I might return to this calling….

The adventure began in November 2014 when my husband ‘Manu’ (finance at the time) was awarded the title of CIRA’s (council of Italian Restaurants in Australia) ‘Young Chef of the Year’! He received a 2 week scholarship to attend the ALMA culinary school in Italy that he would undertake in the following year. We had already planned to get married in Sant’Oliva in September but unfortunately the dates did not coincide with the scholarship, meaning that Manu would have to fly twice to Italy in the same year…. However, one month before Manu was about to leave for Italy in February 2015 he turned to me and said ‘why don’t I stay until the wedding and you can come meet me over there?’

I remember feeling all kinds of panic as Manu is the type of guy to do things spontaneously and I am definitely not the type of person to deal well with change!!! I remember thinking, he bloody does this all the time! Just when I start to formulate some sort of a plan, he pulls the rug out from underneath me! However… his sense of positivity and hope never cease to amaze me.

After graduating from my nutrition degree, I was working part time in a health food store and hadn’t really made any plans for the year ahead due to the wedding, so after cooling off and discussing what we could possibly do over there, I cancelled our health insurance, got out of jury duty, organised a working holiday visa and jumped on a plan to Italy in April for what was going to be the most unpredictable year ahead…

Choosing to go to Italy earlier meant that we had the opportunity the live and breathe the Italian lifestyle. We chose to get Married in the local church of Sant’Oliva and have the reception in the family home. Manu being a very talented chef and me being a complete food hog, we decided that we would grow all of our own produce for the wedding to really give our guest a feel for organic, local, home cooking. We bought 14 baby chickens, 14 baby guinea fowl, 8 ducklings, 4 goslings and 3 lambs, all of which were hand raised in preparation for the big day. We planted vegetables during the seasons and catered our menu around what we could utilise during the warmer months.

The day ended up being more than any of us could have imagined and ignited a love for this wonderful place that was too hard to simply let go of… I remember one summer afternoon having dinner with the family outside on the lawn, looking out over the breathtaking valley and felt this overwhelming sense of pure contentment and belonging…. but shortly after I had butterflies in my stomach from thinking how was I ever supposed to let go of this feeling and pack up and leave. We had met so many wonderful people and experienced such a way of living that really gave us perspective as to what we wanted for our future family. 

With our hearts open and by now our pockets completely empty, we decided to take a chance against all odds and stay... We now have a dream to open a fully functioning Bed and Breakfast where we can sustain this wonderful lifestyle by sharing it with others who may want to experience it. Our mission is, rather than to host a BnB in a pretty location in Italy or teach Italian cooking classes, we wanted to give our guest the opportunity to experience a certain way of living. Nothing is more authentic then really getting to know the roots of a culture and experiencing their values, morals and traditions first hand.  Our world is evolving and changing so fast. I feel like our generation is moving further and further away from our natural human instinct to connect with one another and mother-nature. Italians have in many ways held on to theses principles by placing value on their culture, community and land. I believe everyone has something to gain from visiting this magical place in the middle of nowhere as it’s brought me back to life…. And I am forever grateful for having this experience however long it may last.

This blog is now a place where I will share with you the day to day adventures of living this kind of lifestyle. From family secret recipes, DIY farming tips to cultural festivities, you will experience the raw authentic culture that has stolen my heart.

Enjoy!