I am a writer, journalist, and editorial consultant based in Florence, Italy. Born and raised in Mississippi, I’ve been calling Italy (another) home for nine (!) years now, and enjoy the strangely complementary missions of sharing the best of my adoptive city and country and debunking the myth of the dolce vita.

During a long stint in a deputy editorial role at monthly magazine The Florentine, I launched a three years- and 30 volumes-strong humor column on renting in the Renaissance city; it became the basis for my book Rental Diaries (The Florentine Press, 2020). An accredited member of the Italian Foreign Press Association (Milan chapter), I’ve written for the Washington Post and Forbes Travel Guide, among other publications, and have co-authored guidebooks for Time Out (2018) and DK Eyewitness (forthcoming, 2022). Through a Premio Famiglia Fiducia fellowship at Middlebury College’s Florence program, I earned my M.A. in Italian Studies along the way. While I haven’t achieved my childhood fantasy of hosting a globally syndicated talk show, I’ve found teaching writing craft to undergraduates abroad and co-producing the Spritz and Grits podcast to be pretty fun alternatives. 

Culture, art and literature, travel, and fashion are the beats where my background is strongest. All things Florence are fair game, but I am not a one-trick-Tuscan pony; I treat all subjects, in Italy or beyond, with a spirit of inquiry and generosity. To commission me, please email hello@verymarygray.com.