Becoming Italian: What My Citizenship Meeting Really Changed

At the end of May, I traveled to downtown Chicago to the Italian consulate to hand in my paperwork for my Italian citizenship. This is something that I've been waiting and almost obsessing over to get for the over 20 years. It is finally official.

I became an Italian citizen.

It didn’t feel like fireworks. It felt like an exhale.

For years, moving back to Italy has been this “one day” conversation for Stefano and me. We’d talk about it over dinner, on walks, when we were day‑dreaming about the future.

“Maybe when you reach 60”

“Maybe when work feels more stable.”

“Maybe when…”

The day of the appointment, it stopped being a maybe.

Why this meeting mattered

On paper, citizenship is about:

• paperwork

• legal status

• freedom to live and work in Italy without visas

• ability to be on the ground more for my trips

All true.

But as we talked with the consulate agent who handled my citzenship paperwork,it felt like something much simpler: permission and belonging.

Permission to root myself again in the country that has shaped me since 2002.

Permission to stop treating Italy as a place I visit, and start treating it as one of my actual homes.

Feeling like a belong again in a culture that has curated my desire to slow down more.

It also came with a quiet, very real thought:

“Okay. Now we really have to do this.”

What changes for me (and for Truly Italy)

Citizenship means that over the next couple of years, we can move back to Tuscany in a way that feels grounded, not rushed.

Practically, it means:

• More time living in a small village, not just passing through

• Deeper relationships with the people and places I bring you to

• Being on the ground for more of the year, not only in short bursts

For Truly Italy, it shifts things from “Katie, who used to live in Florence and still visits often” to “Katie, who actually lives here again.”

That matters if you’re trusting me with your trip, your week, or your dream of finally immersing in Tuscany.

How it shapes what I’m creating next

This meeting didn’t just change my passport. It changed how I think about my work.

It’s part of why I:

• Paused my old, busier style of trips

• Created the Slow Week in Tuscany guide

• Committed to a single, small June 19–26, 2027 week in one Tuscan village for 8 guests

If I’m going to build a life here again, I want the experiences I offer to feel like the way I actually live:

• one base

• slower days

• familiar faces

• everyday magic, not constant rushing

Citizenship gives me the chance to build those weeks from a real kitchen table in Tuscany, not from a desk thousands of miles away.

What this might mean for you

You might not care about the legal side of my life. Fair.

But if you’ve been:

• dreaming of your own slow week in Italy

• wondering what it would feel like to not be in charge for once

• craving a trip that feels human, not like a project

Then this step is part of what makes that more possible.

It means that when you come here with me, you’re being welcomed into something real I’m building, not a once‑a‑year performance.

If this resonates with you

If you want to hear more of the behind‑the‑scenes of that consulate day and what’s next, I recorded a podcast episode about it. You can listen here or watch it on youtube here.

And if a slow, grounded week in one Tuscan village is tugging at you, there are two simple ways to stay close to this:

• For DIY planners: my Slow Week in Tuscany guide is here: [link]

• For the in‑person week: you can quietly add your name to the June 19–26, 2027 Tuscan village interest list here: [link]

Either way, thank you for being part of this next chapter with me.

a presto,

Kate