Essays on Place
Sometimes a man hits upon a place to which he mysteriously feels that he belongs. Here is the home he sought, and he will settle amid scenes that he has never seen before, among men he has never known, as though they were familiar to him from his birth. Here at last he finds rest.
Somerset Maugham The Moon & Sixpence
The essays on this page describe the experiences I have had while living in Italy and the journeys I have undertaken in search of a place to call my home.
Searching for Querencia Querencia is a Spanish word that expresses the affection a person feels for the place they call home. I write about my search for Querencia in this essay.
Letter from Florence I describe the city of Florence, Italy and explain why I feel most at home there, although to my regret it is not the place I can call my home.
Pianoforte One summer I rented a beautiful apartment in Florence that belonged to an academic couple. In this essay I write about the experiences I had there that summer.
A Month in the Sun Here I write about why I keep returning to Florence and the clash I experience between staying there and returning to the town I live most of the year.
Just Being There Here I describe the time I spent in Lucca, a town not far from Florence, and the people I encountered while there.
Paradise on My Mind This essay brings to a close my journey and one of the essential features of my search for a querencia.
