The Anthony in Italy Podcast
By Anthony Calvanese
Categories: Society & Culture, Places & Travel
This isn’t your postcard version of Italy. No gondolas and gelato clichés here—unless we’re calling them out. The Anthony in Italy Podcast dives into the real stuff: conversations with expats, locals, travelers, and anyone who’s got something honest to say about life and travel in Italy. We get into culture shocks, small-town obsessions, regional quirks, unexpected lessons, and the occasional espresso-fueled rant about Italian food rules. Whether you’re planning a trip or just fascinated by the weird, wonderful mess that is Italy, you’re in the right place.
14 episodes indexed on PodSearch.
Recent episodes
- EP14: Pizza from Italy to Sydney and Back, with the Twins Lab Brothers
Two Neapolitan twins, seven years in Australia, and a pizza menu with a Philly cheesesteak on it. In Perugia.Marco and Luca Marino were born in Napoli and moved to Perugia at five when their family relocated for work. At 18 they went back to Napoli, and their grandmother pushed them into the…
- EP13: Living the American Dream: An Italian's Perspective
Andrea grew up in Perugia, Italy. He left for Madrid at 18, then New York in his 20s. Not for a job, not for money. He left because he couldn't be himself in Umbria.We talk about what it's actually like to build a life in New York as an Italian. The visa nightmare (makes Italian bureaucracy look…
- EP12: How to Actually Learn Italian, with Margherita Berti
Margherita Berti has a linguistics degree, runs an online Italian language school with thousands of students, and has been teaching Italian for over five years. In this episode, we get into what it actually takes to learn Italian — not the theory, but the real stuff.We talk about the B1…
- EP11: Matrimoni Italiani, Musica Napoletana, e la Vita di un Musicista
In questo episodio parlo con Kyrios, un sassofonista della provincia di Napoli che oggi vive e lavora a Perugia.Parliamo della sua storia con la musica, di come ha iniziato a suonare il sax da bambino e del percorso che lo ha portato a studiare al conservatorio e a lavorare come musicista…
- EP10: Living Between Cultures — Britain, Greece & Italy
Note: there were some audio issues during this recording - for best experience, watch it in YouTube with subtitles.In this episode, I sit down with Harry to talk about life between cultures — growing up British, spending time in Greece, and living in Italy.We get into some of the small cultural…
- EP9: The Real History of Italian Food: Class, Culture, and Carbonara
In this episode, I sit down with food historian Zach Nowak (PhD) to dig into the real history behind iconic Italian dishes — and why so much of what we think we know is wrong. This is a conversation about culture, migration, nationalism, and the stories we tell ourselves about food.We get into the…
- EP8: Living in Italy, Playing Country Music, and Figuring it All Out
Nate and I sat down for one of those meandering, no-rush conversations about what it’s actually like to live in Italy—not the Instagram version, but the messy, funny, frustrating, sometimes absurd day-to-day stuff. We talked about learning Italian (and butchering it along the way), the oddities of…
- EP7: Italian Taxes, Residency, and All the details You Can’t Ignore
Talking taxes in Italy is no picnic — especially if you're a foreigner trying to navigate the system. I sat down with Giovanni Cervini to dig into some of the stuff that trips people up the most: tax residency rules, what happens if you own property, double taxation headaches, remote work…
- EP6: From America to Italy: Moving Abroad with Kids, Citizenship, and Cultural Adventures
In this episode, Erica gets real about what it’s like to pack up your life, move your family across the ocean, and start over in Italy. We dig into why they did it, the hoops they had to jump through for citizenship, and what it’s actually like navigating daily life, schools, and cultural…
- EP5: Belonging, Bureaucracy, and Booze: Building a Life in Italy
In this episode, I sit down with my friend Andreas to talk about what it’s actually like building a life—and a business—in Italy. We get into everything from cultural identity and language learning to the weird realities of Italian bureaucracy and what it takes to thrive here as a foreigner. We…
- EP4: From Afghanistan to Italy: Travel, Dual Citizenship, and Smart Tips for Aspiring Italian Citizens
In this episode, I talk with my friend and business partner, attorney Christina Prejean, about what it really takes to get Italian citizenship. Christina shares how her background—including time in the military and a serious travel bug—led her to dive into dual citizenship. We get into the nuts…
- EP2: From Italy to Beijing: An Italian Teacher’s Unexpected Path
In this episode, I talk with Giulia Speziali—an Italian language teacher from Perugia—about everything from her time teaching in China to what makes Italian such a weirdly emotional language to learn and teach. We get into how people actually learn languages (hint: it’s not from grammar books)…
- EP3: From Russia to Italy: The Love of the Italian Language and Culture
In this episode, I talk with Sonya about what it’s really like to move from Russia to Italy. We cover everything from language struggles to cultural curveballs—plus what surprised her most about Italians. We also dig into what it feels like to be an expat, the weird differences between life in the…
- EP1: Growing Up in Umbria, Getting Out, and Being Queer in Italy
In this episode, I sit down with my friend Cosimo Serpolla to talk honestly about life in Italy—what works, what doesn’t, and what people don’t tell you before moving here. We dig into cultural expectations, job market frustrations, how the experience differs if you’re LGBTQ+ or an expat, and why…
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