I’m an American writer, editor and journalist based in Italy since 2012.
As a kid growing up in cliché-prone Mississippi, I learned that the phrases that get repeated most often about a place are not always the most interesting or even the truest — they’re just the ones most easily left unexamined. In my years of editing, writing and reporting from Italy, I’ve always tried to keep that top of mind.
Rome
Milan
Florence
Far, far away
I’m currently the Editor-in-Chief of Italy Magazine and a member of Italy’s Foreign Press Association, working across the culture, travel and lifestyle beats. My writing has appeared in the Washington Post, MICHELIN Guide, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes Travel Guide, Virtuoso and Qantas magazines, among other publications, and I’ve co-authored guidebooks for Time Out, Lonely Planet and DK Eyewitness. Italian newspaper la Repubblica has recognized me for my contributions to international media about Florence, while Travel + Leisure has featured my insights as a local expert.
In 2025, after more than 12 years in Florence (and one in Rome prior to that), I embarked on a nomadic year around Italy, kicking off in southern Sardinia. I’m now living between Turin and Venice, with frequent visits “home” to the Renaissance city. My expertise spans the whole Italian peninsula and the islands; I’ve edited in-depth Italy Magazine supplements on Piedmont, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Calabria, Abruzzo, Molise, Lombardy, Marche, Liguria, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Basilicata, Sardinia, Lazio and even Vatican City — so far! — and am always eager to explore new destinations and ideas.
I cut my teeth as a staff writer and then a deputy editor at The Florentine magazine, where my food writing drew rare praise from the widower of the cookbook giant Marcella Hazan, and my column on misadventures as a renter was turned into a book. Along the way, I earned a fellowship to complete my M.A. in Italian Studies from Middlebury College. I’ve still not fulfilled my childhood fantasies of becoming an agony aunt (which sounds so much more glamorous and fun than “advice columnist”). But I’ve taught plenty of writing classes to undergraduates, which feels like a pretty good approximation.
I’m available for select freelance commissions, long-term editorial projects, travel and speaking engagements. If you’d like to work together, please email hello@verymarygray.com. For anything specific to Italy Magazine, use mary@italymagazine.com.
Mary Gray 