Ciao Everyone,As many of us are in our homes sheltering, we are slowly seeing things improve all over the world. In Italy, hopeful signs appear every passing day as things are very slowly starting to open, and people are starting to adjust to the new normal.

Today, I am sharing a few updates of my own. Below, you'll learn the latest with our workshop schedule, more about my book launch and a few happy news items I am delighted to share with you.Workshop Update:I have been in communication with all of our instructors and my friends overseas. They are hopeful that come fall, we will be able to meet again. I am optimistic that we will be able to return to Italy early September and conduct workshops with small groups on our compound in the Italian countryside. We will see and make decisions as we go. As always, I'll update you here and on Instagram.Join me:In the meantime, as you know, I am conducting La Fortezza cooking classes every couple of weeks with our La Fortezza workshop chef, Chef Philip. Most recently, we have been making handmade pasta and focaccia! You can find the homemade pasta recipe here. Check my Instagram for announcements, and always right here on the blog for recipes we have prepared as well as instructions and shopping lists. New Book:As always, there are some very wonderful things happening in our La Fortezza world. Italy is My Boyfriend, my memoir, will be released this month May 26th. I am hoping that you have already ordered your copy and will be enjoying the tale of how we came to renovate and own a 12th-century fortress in the Italian countryside. Trust me, it is quite an adventure. ORDER your copy here .Book LaunchAs with my past books, I will be doing a book launch for this exciting title. The launch will happen on June 18th at the Atlanta History Center with Betsy Riley, editor and chief of Atlanta Magazine. She will be interviewing me—live or virtually—it is yet to be determined.Next project:I am working on my next book, a La Fortezza Cookbook. I feel blessed to work on this project while at home waiting for all of this to pass.Big News:La Fortezza is featured in the May Issue of Elle Décor magazine. It is an issue devoted to Italy giving you a complete virtual vacation. It is on newsstands now. Check out the online feature here.I am also excited to say that we were featured in Quin in partnership with Lacanche. See the beautiful photos and full spread here.Finally, I recently collaborated with Frontgate for an Italian Riviera photoshoot featuring their Italian-inspired summer collection. See the spread and read my interview here.Again, please stay safe and stay well. We hope to welcome you to Italy in the future.It will be okay.xx Annette