Italy: The World’s Lifestyle Superpower

Italy is the only country to have given the world not just one but three golden ages. And Italians, as a people, have always been masters of reinvention.

A fascinating exploration of how Italy arose like a phoenix from the ashes and devastation of WWII to transform from the face of Il Duce to the land of La Dolce Vita. Join Carla Gambescia author of La Dolce Vita University; An Unconventional; Guide to Italian Culture from A to Z, and discover how "Brand Italy" came to conquer the world through its creativity, passion and excellence in the realms of film, fashion & design and gastronomy & viticulture. Carla's book is an eclectic compendium of all things Italian which, according to Primo Magazine, “… may have done the impossible in capturing the rich cultural history in 300 pages.”

Carla Gambescia is a journalist, lecturer and award-winning author of La Dolce Vita University: An Unconventional Guide to Italian Culture from A to Z, a highly informative and joyous celebration of Italy’s capacious culture. The new and greatly expanded second edition is now available at local bookstores and Amazon.

Carla’s passion for Italy began early: with her mother’s love of the Renaissance masters and her father’s discourses on Italian geniuses of every calling. In the ensuing decades she has toured every region of Italy, often by bicycle, and immersed herself in its astonishing array of cultural treasures. She conceived and co-led the Giro del Gelato bicycle tour, winner of OUTSIDE Magazine’s “Best Trip in Western Europe,” and owned and operated top Zagat-rated Via Vanti! Restaurant & Gelateria in Mount Kisco, New York, for nearly a decade. Previously, Carla was a partner in the Ciao Bella Gelato Company.

Today Carla lectures on myriad topics of Italian cultural interest though continuing education programs, universities, museums and private clubs and curates the photoblog Postcard from the Boot.