I don’t have a permanent home and learning to love that

A quiet beginning, in a space no one from my life has seen, and why that matters to me.

I’ve been nurturing this idea for what feels like 450 years, until I realized that all the planning, waiting for the right conditions, the perfect moment, and the ideal format was exhausting me more than if I had just launched an international agency based on it. I still can’t get used to the fact that it takes more than just fantasizing to make something real.

For the past three years, crossing the borders of different countries, I’ve been identifying myself with a card that calls me a digital nomad. All this time, I’ve been living in temporary rooms, constantly searching for a new place that can amplify the pleasant sensations of life’s episodes — whether complicated, simple, forced, or vacation-like.

I truly believe that where you live is a crucial element in shaping memories — a kind of anchor point you can return to through those very memories, years later. The rooms and kitchens where the odd placement of a coffee machine or a towel strips you of habitual routines and lets you experience the way locals live — these places allow you to discover a different version of yourself.

Venice, October 2022. Booking: Ca’Dorina Luxury

Over the years, I’ve collected dozens of homes that have etched themselves into my heart, helping to cast a temporary anchor in a particular chapter of life. And as I continue to wander, that collection keeps growing.

I can’t explain this longing in any rational way — it’s all feelings and emotions — but I really want to share thoughts from this never-ending journey and the temporary rooms I remember even years later, just by hearing a similar creak of a door, the rattle of an elevator, or catching a whiff of laundry detergent.

Camogli, November 2024. Airbnb: Camogli Sea View

Substack seemed like the right place to gather all of this. I love the way it lets me neatly and beautifully organize writing and photos into newsletters, add my own playlists (will!), and do it all without the worn-out algorithms, trends, and the chase for likes and views. A space free from expectations, obligations, or genre.

It’s a completely silly idea, I know. But I’d be truly happy if someone out there finds something meaningful in these reflections from temporary rooms, or even decides to stay in one of those places and create memories of their own.

Hardly anyone in my life knows this page exists. I’m slightly nervous about sharing it, but I’d be deeply grateful for every new reader. It would mean a lot and give me the courage to keep writing.

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