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News, stories, and recipes for anyone who loves Italian food, wine, spirits, and travel

Appetito

Bona Furtuna

Courtney holds a degree in journalism and has always loved telling a great story. She works in B2B marketing, but travel writing is where she gets to write for the love of it. She believes life is made of experiences, which is how she ended up elbow-deep in fettuccine dough with her 12-year-old son in a Roman kitchen. She’s already looking for the next trip worth writing about.

Courtney Becker-James

Cooking class participants roll pasta dough at a wooden table in Testaccio, Rome.

Travel

Cooking with Nonno in Rome: A Pasta Class in Testaccio

Lowcountry Bella (Mandi Casey) is Italian by birth and Southern by choice. Moving to eastern North Carolina as a young girl, she was exposed to a whole new type of cuisine like BBQ and hush puppies. As an adult, she embraces both cultures so you never know what she may be cooking up in her kitchen! Currently she lives in both Pawleys Island, South Carolina and Fort Mill, South Carolina.
Her family continues to grow, and that makes her happy because there are more people to feed and love. What&#8217;s better than that?
In addition to creating, cooking and sharing great recipes, she loves to research the history of food origins. Understanding the flavors and ingredients helps her creativity, but more-so, appreciate the meal with even more passion.
Mandi loves to be a guest of events, signing books and donating a portion of her net proceeds to local charities. Her second cookbook, Mangia Y&#8217;all &#8211; Make Everyday Delicious, was released in July 2025.
Please follow her on her website <a href="http://www.lowcountrybella.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.lowcountrybella.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1705416623316000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2qLX1Ag56lHqdrjNXYhkQG">www.lowcountrybella.com </a>or on social media: @lowcountrybella on both Instagram and Facebook.
Mangia Y’all!

Italian family

Cooking with Nonno in Rome: A Pasta Class in Testaccio

How a Beloved Aunt Inspired Zia Pia, an Italian Importer in Charlotte, NC