You Want to Move to a Small Village in Italy?

September 02, 2026 03:52 PM - Comment(s) - By Tony Fiorini

So Did I.

If you come from an Italian-American family, you’ve almost certainly heard all the stories about the picturesque hilltop village or lovely seaside town from which your ancestors began their journey to America. And no doubt you’ve dreamed of returning there one day to experience the magic of its medieval buildings, winding streets, and charming piazzas. It’s a dream I’ve heard from many people over the years and one I used to have myself. Then I moved there.

In my case, the town was Fiuggi, a quaint medieval borgo in Lazio of about 10,000 people perched on a hillside and filled with all of the Italian allure you’d expect. It is most famous for the therapeutic waters which bubble out of the ground at the Fonte Bonifacio VIII and are then bottled up and sold around the world as Acqua di Fiuggi. Michelangelo is said to have cured his kidney stones with the water, and even today you can get free entry to the springs with a doctor’s prescription (entry normally costs €5.) In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the advent of leisure travel, Fiuggi naturally became a destination for the rich and fashionable to escape the noise and summer heat of Rome, and today it still boasts an impressive number of spas and hotels. On the surface, the town has plenty to offer. One thing Fiuggi is missing today, however, is me.

Back in 2017, when I first had the notion of moving to Italy and pursuing recognition of my Italian citizenship by descent (jure sanguinis), I had visions of building a life in Fiuggi. I saw myself wandering the same streets my grandfather played in as a child, drinking from the fountain in the tiny piazzetta where his mother did the washing while gossiping with the other women, and waking up to the bells that ring out from atop the church where he was baptized. Romantic, right? Naive too, perhaps, but I hadn’t even visited Italy on vacation at that point, so I hope I can be forgiven for daydreaming a bit.

I took my first trip to Fiuggi in 2019. I dragged my entire family along with me and it was honestly one of the most rewarding and meaningful experiences of my life. It was everything I expected and more. We met cousins who gave us the full tour. I saw the house my grandfather was born in, drank out of the nearby fountain, and woke up to the bells, just as I had imagined. It sounds cliche to say, but it truly was a dream come true. I was more intent than ever on making it my full-time reality.


And soon enough it was. I moved there a couple of years after that first trip (I would have moved sooner, but Covid had other plans) and it didn’t take long for the cracks to show. You see, there’s an enormous difference between visiting a place for a few days and living there full time. This may seem obvious to you, but in all likelihood you’re underestimating just how much of a difference there really is. During a short visit, that quaint corner market with the cranky nonna behind the counter is charming. But when you’re just absolutely craving tacos or peanut butter or anything other than Italian food (and you will, I promise!) and that market is your only grocery store, the charm wears thin pretty quickly. 

And even if you’re satisfied with a diet of all Italian food all the time, you better get your shopping done early, because the store closes at 1pm. In fact the entire town closes at 1pm. If you’re lucky, they’ll open back up around 5pm, but if they were having a particularly nice riposo they might decide it’s not worth it. Oh, you think you’d just go out to a restaurant in that case? Maybe grab some take out somewhere? Well the only restaurant in town is shut down for the month while the family who runs it is on vacation. You better hope you have a can of tuna squirreled away in the back of a cabinet somewhere, or you’re going to bed hungry.


And don’t get me started on the staring. As a new face in a small town in Italy, EVERYONE stares at you ALL THE TIME. I’ve lived in three small towns in Italy at this point and the staring has been a constant in each one. As someone who has been the new face in my fair share of small towns in the US, I’d never experienced anything even remotely like it before. Even after an entire year of living in one town, I was still gawked at like a zoo animal every time I left the house.


Now, don’t get me wrong. I know everyone has different tastes and it’s entirely possible that you’d love living in a small town. The people are generally friendly and welcoming, if a bit standoffish, and the cost of living is absurdly low if you’re used to US prices. And the charm is real! You’ll be walking down the street one day on the way back to your house from your evening passeggiata and you’ll all of a sudden be struck by the absolute beauty and immense history of the place, especially if it’s the town your ancestors came from, and it’ll all feel right. There’s really no experience like it. But I think for most people who are used to a more convenient American lifestyle, that feeling wears off once the reality of day-to-day living sets in. The constant sound of souped up muffler-free scooters rocketing up and down your street at all hours of the day and night will wear on you (it’s a favorite pastime for the youth in every small Italian town since there’s not much else to do), and walking the same deserted streets over and over again will eventually bore you to tears.

So what’s my advice to any American thinking of moving to a small Italian town? Go for it! 

But don’t be surprised if you eventually grow tired of it, and absolutely don’t let it sour you on Italy as whole. I almost gave up on this place when the shine of Fiuggi started to wear off, and I had my return ticket to the US nearly booked when Corleone didn’t live up to expectations either. But I eventually found my place in a larger city and now you couldn’t pay me enough to ever leave Italy. 


At the end of the day, the moral is that you’re probably not going to find the perfect fit for you right off the bat. No matter what visions you have for your Italian life or how much research you’ve done, the reality won’t match it. So be flexible and don’t give up until you’ve seen the full range of what this wonderful country has to offer.

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Tony Fiorini

Tony Fiorini

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