Italy

I sat on my gray couch in my California home, surrounded by plain white walls and a fiddle-leaf fig plant. Before turning on Netflix, I grabbed my phone, clicked on the heart icon, and checked my step count for the day.On an ideal day, I’d have at least 10,000 steps…

Aside from some brief visits to neighboring Canada, my mother had never been anywhere outside the United States.So, for her 60th birthday, I surprised her with a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Italy, somewhere she had always wanted to visit. And I, a seasoned traveler, would be her plus one.I planned a…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jacqueline Matwick, 38, who moved from Arizona to Turin, Italy, with her family in 2024. Matwick was anticipating receiving citizenship by descent through her husband, but the Italian government changed the requirements after they moved, and the Matwicks no longer qualified.…