By Everett Potter

As Italy reopens to the world, armchair travelers can take a quick trip to the land of La Dolce Vita via the new Dream of Italy: Travel, Transform and Thrive special on PBS stations in June. Hosted by Kathy McCabe, the special showcases the transformative power and beauty of Italy with guests who include Sting & Trudie Styler, Francis Ford Coppola, and Under the Tuscan Sun author Frances Mayes, all of whom are full or part-time expats living in Italy.

McCabe is a strong believer that Italy can change your life. On her first trip to Italy 26 years ago, she rediscovered her ancestral home and was inspired to create Dream of Italy, an award-winning travel magazine and website, which led to the popular PBS series Dream of Italy.

In this special, she explores what she calls the 11 essential elements of the Italian lifestyle – the land, food, family, art & culture, beauty, pace of life, passion, movement, community, celebrations, and sense of home – and shows how Italy has changed the lives of each of her guests. The companion book Dream of Italy: Travel, Transform and Thrive that will be published in June. On the eve of the broadcast, I caught up with McCabe … continue reading