At Viamonde, our Roots and Immersion tourism isn’t about ticking boxes. It is about understanding that your Italian citizenship is more than a binder of documents; it is a living, breathing culture. We take you down the dirt roads to meet the vignaioli (winemakers)—the families who have tended the same soil for generations.

The planning for this trip has been a labor of love, but as the pieces come together, I know the two weeks we’re spending together will be one of the most fulfilling experiences of our family’s life. With my father and his three sisters in their late seventies, and my siblings and I in our fifties, this roots tour—a journey to both his family's past in Germany and my late mother’s roots in Sicily—feels like it could be the last major trip we all take together.

How do Italians celebrate Christmas? Let’s dive into the festivities to see how Italian traditions compare to their Italian-American counterparts. Buon Natale! Auguri di Buon Natale! Felice Anno Nuovo! Merry Christmas! We wish you a merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

You’ve spent years piecing together the family tree. You've uncovered the manifests, the birth certificates, the names. And now, you have it—the town. The name of the tiny paese your great-grandparents called home. You’ve done the hard part, right? Now what?