{"id":6659,"date":"2022-05-28T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-28T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/?p=6659"},"modified":"2024-02-19T19:51:47","modified_gmt":"2024-02-20T00:51:47","slug":"a-living-link-to-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/a-living-link-to-home\/","title":{"rendered":"A Living Link To Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"6659\" class=\"elementor elementor-6659\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5e5bd69 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5e5bd69\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-fd8dd0b\" data-id=\"fd8dd0b\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fdebc87 elementor-position-left elementor-vertical-align-middle elementor-widget elementor-widget-image-box\" data-id=\"fdebc87\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image-box.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-image-box-wrapper\"><figure class=\"elementor-image-box-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Margo-in-color-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-image-8279\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"elementor-image-box-content\"><p class=\"elementor-image-box-description\">Written by Margo Sorenson, author of over thirty traditionally-published books for young readers, Margo Sorenson spent the first seven years of her life in Spain and Italy, devouring books and Italian food and still speaks (or tries!) her childhood languages. Her most recent Adult\/YA novel, SECRETS IN TRANSLATION (Fitzroy Books, October 2018), (with research help from Gabriele, Carmela, Manuela, James, Erika, Katie, and Margherita) takes place in Positano, with many wonderful experiences shared together with Italians\u2014as well as delicious meals. www.margosorenson.com<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-31d666f1 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"31d666f1\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-8ad241a\" data-id=\"8ad241a\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-731e16e5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"731e16e5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- wp:paragraph {\"backgroundColor\":\"cyan-bluish-gray\"} --><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>After our first return trip to Italy since growing up there as a child, the pull of my childhood language and my love for Italy was stronger than ever. I&#8217;d been continually studying my Italian for years, but, after our family&#8217;s memorable trip back, the need to share what it felt like to come home again to Italy was stronger than ever. I wanted people to know and appreciate Italy&#8217;s stunning beauty, her artistic marvels, and the generous, warmth of her people.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-coblocks-gallery-carousel\" aria-label=\"Carousel Gallery\">\n<div class=\"coblocks-gallery-carousel-swiper-container is-cropped coblocks-gallery has-no-alignment has-caption-style-dark has-horizontal-gutter has-no-thumbnails\">\n<div id=\"12345\" class=\"has-carousel has-carousel-lrg swiper-container\" style=\"height: 400px;\" draggable=\"\" data-swiper=\"{\">\n<div class=\"swiper-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n<div class=\"coblocks-gallery--item\" tabindex=\"2\" role=\"button\">\n<figure class=\"coblocks-gallery--figure has-margin-left-5 has-margin-left-mobile-5 has-margin-right-5 has-margin-right-mobile-5\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" class=\"wp-image-6662\" src=\"https:\/\/www.italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lemons-in-Positano-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"6662\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/?attachment_id=6662\" srcset=\"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lemons-in-Positano-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lemons-in-Positano-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lemons-in-Positano-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lemons-in-Positano-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lemons-in-Positano-120x120.jpg 120w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lemons-in-Positano-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lemons-in-Positano-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lemons-in-Positano-24x24.jpg 24w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lemons-in-Positano-36x36.jpg 36w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lemons-in-Positano-48x48.jpg 48w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lemons-in-Positano.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n<div class=\"coblocks-gallery--item\" tabindex=\"3\" role=\"button\">\n<figure class=\"coblocks-gallery--figure has-margin-left-5 has-margin-left-mobile-5 has-margin-right-5 has-margin-right-mobile-5\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"750\" class=\"wp-image-6663\" src=\"https:\/\/www.italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-beach.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"6663\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/?attachment_id=6663\" srcset=\"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-beach.jpg 500w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-beach-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-beach-50x75.jpg 50w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-beach-16x24.jpg 16w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-beach-24x36.jpg 24w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-beach-32x48.jpg 32w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n<div class=\"coblocks-gallery--item\" tabindex=\"4\" role=\"button\">\n<figure class=\"coblocks-gallery--figure has-margin-left-5 has-margin-left-mobile-5 has-margin-right-5 has-margin-right-mobile-5\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"767\" height=\"1024\" class=\"wp-image-6664\" src=\"https:\/\/www.italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Cover-2-767x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"6664\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/?attachment_id=6664\" srcset=\"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Cover-2-767x1024.jpg 767w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Cover-2-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Cover-2-768x1026.jpg 768w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Cover-2-1150x1536.jpg 1150w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Cover-2-56x75.jpg 56w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Cover-2-18x24.jpg 18w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Cover-2-27x36.jpg 27w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Cover-2-36x48.jpg 36w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Cover-2.jpg 1216w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 100vw, 767px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n<div class=\"coblocks-gallery--item\" tabindex=\"5\" role=\"button\">\n<figure class=\"coblocks-gallery--figure has-margin-left-5 has-margin-left-mobile-5 has-margin-right-5 has-margin-right-mobile-5\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"960\" class=\"wp-image-6665\" src=\"https:\/\/www.italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Instagram-sunset.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"6665\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/?attachment_id=6665\" srcset=\"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Instagram-sunset.jpg 768w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Instagram-sunset-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Instagram-sunset-60x75.jpg 60w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Instagram-sunset-19x24.jpg 19w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Instagram-sunset-29x36.jpg 29w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Instagram-sunset-38x48.jpg 38w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n<div class=\"coblocks-gallery--item\" tabindex=\"6\" role=\"button\">\n<figure class=\"coblocks-gallery--figure has-margin-left-5 has-margin-left-mobile-5 has-margin-right-5 has-margin-right-mobile-5\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"427\" height=\"640\" class=\"wp-image-6666\" src=\"https:\/\/www.italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Street-Scene.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"6666\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/?attachment_id=6666\" srcset=\"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Street-Scene.jpg 427w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Street-Scene-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Street-Scene-50x75.jpg 50w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Street-Scene-16x24.jpg 16w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Street-Scene-24x36.jpg 24w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Positano-Street-Scene-32x48.jpg 32w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 427px) 100vw, 427px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<button id=\"12345-prev\" class=\"nav-button__prev\"><\/button><button id=\"12345-next\" class=\"nav-button__next\"><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/wp:coblocks\/gallery-carousel --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>As a writer, I knew this feeling needed to be expressed in a novel, and an earlier experience in Switzerland had already sparked the idea. Authors love to ask the question, &#8220;What if?&#8221; My &#8220;what if&#8221; question was, &#8220;What if you could understand and speak a language, but no one else knew you could? What if an American girl was fluent in Italian and could understand everything Italians were saying, but they didn&#8217;t realize she could\u2014and because she could speak both languages, she discovered a dark conspiracy that threatened those she loved?&#8221;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:image {\"align\":\"left\",\"id\":6669,\"width\":384,\"height\":289,\"sizeSlug\":\"medium\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} -->\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-medium is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6669\" src=\"https:\/\/www.italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Greek-temple-Paestum-Italy-2004-029-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"384\" height=\"289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Greek-temple-Paestum-Italy-2004-029-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Greek-temple-Paestum-Italy-2004-029-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Greek-temple-Paestum-Italy-2004-029-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Greek-temple-Paestum-Italy-2004-029-100x75.jpg 100w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Greek-temple-Paestum-Italy-2004-029-24x18.jpg 24w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Greek-temple-Paestum-Italy-2004-029-36x27.jpg 36w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Greek-temple-Paestum-Italy-2004-029-48x36.jpg 48w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Greek-temple-Paestum-Italy-2004-029.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" \/>\n<figcaption>Greek Temple, Pasitano<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/wp:image --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>To create a novel that would celebrate Italy and her rich culture, as well as the welcoming Italian people, I needed a great deal of help from our wonderful and generous Italian friends. They filled me in on all sorts of ideas for possible conspiracies for Alessandra to discover, as well as help with the wine industry (grazie, Gabriele! <a href=\"http:\/\/www.buondonno.com\">www.buondonno.com<\/a>), and the limoncello factories, (grazie, Manuela and James and Carmela!) and I spent months researching and reading newspapers in Italian. I was told that Il Quotidiano Italiano is the most objective <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilquotidianoitaliano.com\/\">https:\/\/www.ilquotidianoitaliano.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:image {\"align\":\"right\",\"id\":11047,\"sizeSlug\":\"full\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} -->\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"193\" height=\"300\" class=\"wp-image-11047\" src=\"https:\/\/www.italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Secrets-Final-Cover-October-2018-193x300-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Secrets-Final-Cover-October-2018-193x300-1.jpeg 193w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Secrets-Final-Cover-October-2018-193x300-1-15x24.jpeg 15w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Secrets-Final-Cover-October-2018-193x300-1-23x36.jpeg 23w, https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Secrets-Final-Cover-October-2018-193x300-1-31x48.jpeg 31w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 193px) 100vw, 193px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/wp:image --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>I studied books and asked plenty of questions of our Italian friends and sent drafts via email to Italy to make sure the events and experiences that Alessandra went through were accurate. Our friend Carmela (on Instagram @carmencitaitaly80) made numerous trips in Positano with her camera, taking pictures of la torre Clavel and other Positano landmarks for me so I could use exact and accurate details. Nikki (on Instagram @nikkipositano) took beautiful photographs of la Spiaggia Grande. Other friends, Katie and Margherita, vetted all the Italian in the manuscript (I didn&#8217;t want to be embarrassed, and it was fun to see how they called out a few words I&#8217;d slipped in of my &#8220;Napoletano&#8221; dialect!). Because of these friends, their willingness to help, and the reassuring flow of emails, I could feel as if I were actually back in Italy, myself. I loved writing the manuscript, because each time I picked up my pencil or typed on the keyboard, I was coming home again.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Italy is a beautiful country and the people are warm and generous, a wonderful place to make the kind of discovery that Alessandra is finally able to make, and I hoped it would resonate with readers of all ages. It&#8217;s so meaningful to find that Alessandra and her story have touched so many readers, and that even those who&#8217;ve never been to Italy have told me now they really wanted to visit. The magnetic pull of my childhood home, Italy, is vibrant and alive, thanks to our Italian friends and their generosity.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6c554f9 elementor-arrows-position-inside elementor-pagination-position-outside elementor-widget elementor-widget-image-carousel\" data-id=\"6c554f9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;navigation&quot;:&quot;both&quot;,&quot;autoplay&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;pause_on_hover&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;pause_on_interaction&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;autoplay_speed&quot;:5000,&quot;infinite&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;speed&quot;:500}\" data-widget_type=\"image-carousel.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-image-carousel-wrapper swiper\" dir=\"ltr\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-image-carousel swiper-wrapper\" aria-live=\"off\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"1 of 8\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Italy-Limoncello-Bottling-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Italy Limoncello Bottling\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"2 of 8\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Italy-Limoncello-Factory-2-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Italy Limoncello Factory 2\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"3 of 8\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Lemons-in-Positano-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Lemons in Positano\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"4 of 8\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Positano-Street-Scene-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Positano Street Scene\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"5 of 8\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Positano-Cover-2-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Positano Cover 2\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"6 of 8\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Positano-Instagram-sunset-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"Positano Instagram sunset\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"7 of 8\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Positano-beach-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Positano beach\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"8 of 8\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Positano-plate-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Positano plate\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-swiper-button elementor-swiper-button-prev\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"eicon-chevron-left\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-swiper-button elementor-swiper-button-next\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"eicon-chevron-right\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"swiper-pagination\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Written by Margo Sorenson, author of over thirty traditionally-published books for young readers, Margo Sorenson spent the first seven years of her life in Spain and Italy, devouring books and&#8230;<a href=\"https:\/\/italianlanguagefoundation.org\/web\/a-living-link-to-home\/\" class=\"more-link\" title=\"Read More\" >Read More <i class=\"fa fa-chevron-circle-right\" 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