The Year in Review: 2023

Issue #65

Happy holidays and happy new year! 

This is the last issue of 2023 and so I want to take a moment to thank you for reading the New Roman Times. 2023 marks the first full year for this little newsletter. Over the course of the past year, I’ve written 52 issues on topics ranging from Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden in Tuscany to a humorous look at what you should know if you plan on driving in Italy.

I launched a series of 72 Hours guides—because unlike the New York Times, I don’t think 36 hours is enough time to spend in classic destinations like Florence, Milan, the Amalfi Coast, and Capri. I interviewed 12 entrepreneurs and creatives doing cool things in Italy, including the founders of leading tour companies, authors who have written some fabulous books, a private chef, a hotelier, a baker, and an artisan who’s almost single handedly keeping Umbria’s weaving tradition alive. I shared recipes for dishes like tiramisù and tagliolini al limone, so you can get a taste of Italy wherever you are. 

In addition to my 72 Hours guides, some of the most popular issues this year were my curated lists and advice for summer travels in Italy. In ascending order, these were the most popular issues:

10. A Very Subjective List of the Best Pizzerias in Rome

9. 72 Hours in Milan

8. Why You Should Plan a Trip to Sardinia

7. A Very Subjective List of the Best Places to Eat in Rome

6. A Very Subjective List of the Best Bars in Rome

5. Some Advice for Traveling in Italy in July & August

4. A Guide to Rome’s Essential Neighborhoods

3. A Very Subjective List of the Best Places to Shop in Rome

2. 72 Hours in Florence

1. 10 Underrated Museums in Rome

Though Substack shows me the most popular issues in terms of views, I’d love to know what resonated most with you this year. Leave a comment here or feel free to reply to this email and let me know.

For me, the most rewarding aspect of this endeavor was interacting with readers. In particular, I want to thank everyone who took the time to comment, like, share, or email me directly. My popular issue with advice for traveling in Italy in July and August was written in response to questions from a couple of readers. I also responded to a reader-submitted question about traveling to Sardinia and had some wonderful conversations with readers both on and offline, including a couple who’s planning to visit Rome in January. I even met up with a few readers during their trips to Rome.

Wondering about restaurant reservations in Rome? Go ahead and ask!

I hope to get even more questions from readers in 2024, whether you’re planning a trip or hoping to get some advice about living in Italy. Email me at newromantimes@substack.com and I might dedicate a future issue to answering your question. And as a reminder, super subscribers who opt for the highest tier subscription get a free 40-minute consultation with me to help them plan a trip to Italy.

On the topic of paid subscriptions, I want to thank everyone who upgraded this year. The vast majority of you (85%!) have opted for an annual subscription rather than a monthly one, and I can’t tell you enough how wonderful it feels to know that you believe in what I’m doing here and want to support me for a full year. You inspire me to keep using this platform to do some of my best and most personal work. 

I started the New Roman Times in order to have a direct connection with my readers and be able to shine a spotlight on people, places, and things that don’t get enough attention in mainstream media, to tell the stories behind the stories that I write for publications like Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, AFAR, and other magazines, and to share my personal perspective and the knowledge I’ve culled from more than a decade of traveling and living in Italy. 

I realize that you can find plenty of content about Rome and many of the other destinations I write about online, so I’m even more grateful that you come here to read about these places from my perspective. I won’t waste your time with a recap of my career or my life, but if you’re new around here and are curious to learn more about me, I would encourage you to read my Letter from the Editor and the About page. 

I’m so glad I made a detour in Camogli during a road trip this spring

On a personal note, I’m thankful for all the wonderful chances I’ve had this year to travel around Italy and report stories from my adopted home. Over the course of 2023, I took 12 trips in Italy, nine of which brought me to new-to-me places. I revisited favorite destinations like Venice, Florence, Milan, the Amalfi Coast, Capri, and Puglia, and visited new ones like Parma and Modena, Portofino and Camogli, Caserta, the Trabocchi Coast in Abruzzo, Tropea, Pienza, and Sabaudia. You can find some of my coverage from these places below in the Further Reading section.

As I plan the New Roman Times’ editorial calendar for 2024, I’m excited about what’s coming down the pipeline, including a list of 24 places in Italy to inspire your 2024 travels, a guide to 72 hours in Venice, a subjective list of Roman dishes you need to try, and more interviews with creatives and entrepreneurs, including more hoteliers and two sisters who represent the new generation of Venetian glassmakers. 

I also want to know what you would like to read about in 2024. Do you want more postcards spotlighting under-the-radar villages, like this one from Pienza? Do you want practical advice about living or traveling in Italy? Is there a place you’d like to see featured in a 72 hours guide? 

Aside from this newsletter, I’ve got some exciting projects in the works, including commissions from Condé Nast Traveler, AFAR, the Knot, and Hemispheres. In January, I’ll be sailing from Rome to Tuscany to get a behind-the-scenes look at how a cruise company is adjusting their shore excursions for winter sailings in the Mediterranean and checking into a spa resort just 90 minutes outside of Rome for a much-needed post-holiday reset.

I’m also updating the 2025 edition of Fodor’s Rome guidebook. (The 2024 edition, which I updated last year, came out this fall.) And I’ll be working more closely with the editor in chief of Italy Magazine to shape their hotels coverage. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that 2024 will be the year I finally make it to the Aeolian Islands.

I finally took a €2 gondola ferry in Venice this year

Have you got any exciting plans for 2024? Travel plans, personal or professional projects—I’d love to hear about them.

I know that Christmas is over, but in keeping with the holiday spirit, I would be so grateful if you would upgrade your subscription. Paid subscriptions help me keep this newsletter going and keep the majority of the issues available to everyone for free. The New Roman Times does not have any ads or sponsored content. I only write about places that I genuinely love and people who are worth getting to know. 

Thanks for reading! For more updates on where I’m going and what I’m doing, follow me on Instagram @lauraitzkowitz.

Further Reading

• One of my favorite stories this year was a feature I wrote for Travel + Leisure about my trip to Tropea, a seaside town on the Coast of the Gods in Calabria. Check it out here.

• I also wrote about Capri and its swanky new hotels for Travel + Leisure this summer.

• Following my trip to Parma in October, I wrote about how the world’s most counterfeited cheese is really made for Fodor’s Travel.

• I was lucky enough to be the first journalist to stay at the brand new Violino d’Oro Venezia when it opened in November. Read my ‘First In’ review of this luxury boutique hotel for Condé Nast Traveler here. 

• For AFAR’s Where to Go in 2024 list, I got to write about Rome, my adopted home. It’ll come out in print in January, but you can read it online here.