Today the New Roman Times reaches a major milestone: 100 issues—one per week, every single Thursday without fail. Whether you’ve been reading since the beginning or only just subscribed, thank you. Your comments, questions, likes, reposts, and subscriptions keep me going.
This little newsletter has grown quite a bit since I launched it in October 2022. It’s now a Substack Bestseller read in 47 states and 57 countries. Over nearly two years, I have interviewed 22 creatives and entrepreneurs making waves in Italy, wrote 16 curated lists to help you make the most of your time in Rome and elsewhere in il Bel Paese, shared 11 recipes, published six ‘72 Hours’ guides to popular destinations in Italy, put a spotlight on 22 under-the-radar destinations, and published two guest posts by local experts.
For the 100th issue, I thought it would be fun to look back at the most popular issues and highlight a few of my personal favorites. In ascending order, these are the issues that you guys loved most.
Top 10 Most Popular Issues
Personally, some of my highlights were interviewing Massimo Bottura and writing about why you should plan a trip to Emilia-Romagna; shining a spotlight on incredible places like the Giardino dei Tarocchi, a sculpture park by artist Niki de Saint Phalle full of larger-than-life figures from the tarot deck; and answering reader-submitted questions like this one about how to make the most of a week in Tuscany.
I read every comment, note, DM, and email I receive and try to answer them as promptly as possible. If you have a question about planning a trip to Italy, what it’s like living in Rome, or any other aspect of Italian food and culture, feel free to email newromantimes@substack.com and I might just dedicate a whole issue to answering your question.
As I plan upcoming issues, I want to know what resonates with you most. Please consider taking the survey linked below and answering a few questions about your experience with the New Roman Times.
I know everyone is busy, so I would be extremely grateful for your feedback. As a thank you, send me a screenshot of your completed survey and I’ll send you a special link to get 50% off a paid subscription. If you’re already a paid subscriber, I’ll extend your subscription by six months for free.
Thank you for reading and supporting the New Roman Times!
Further Reading
If you’re new around here, you might want to read my Letter from the Editor in issue #1, which is my mission statement for the New Roman Times.
You can also learn more about me in the about page.
Outside of the New Roman Times, you can connect with me and see where I’m traveling on Instagram. My DMs are open!
You can also see my full bio and portfolio here, though I don’t update it as often as I should!
Congrats-- that's an incredible output, both in quality and consistency. I marvel. So enjoy all of your posts and happily, I'm living in Rome now, so I can work my way down that gelato list :)
What is the email where I send the completed survey? I’d like to start being a paid subscriber. Zalmine@hotmail.com.
Thank you. Debbie Semine