Editor's Letter - Happiness Is a Place Off The Beaten Track

I was just seventeen when Mila said, Come with me, F. Get on the train and come to Berlin.

Berlin? By train? I hardly knew Mila and had never left Italy. Besides, I certainly wasn’t rolling in wealth at the time, and as self-reliant as I was, I still wasn’t of age.

Now I know that Mila could read my mind, because she said, I asked your mum and she agreed. One thing was clear - that was a put-your-summer-in-a-drastically-new-direction sort of thing. I guess it’s settled then. Just give me a minute, will you? , I said.

I was only playing it cool, honest! because my heart was pounding with fear. The thing is that I was faced with a trip that would take me off the well-worn paths in Berlin. I wasn’t sure at all that embarking on that journey was a good thing.

After all these years I can say though, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Berlin brought life to my lost teenage heart. I came to know sides of my personality I didn’t even know were there. It gave me a liking for adventure, and made me understand that happiness is a place off the beaten track.

I guess this happens all the time, even in small things in life. You are on vacation on your way to your hotel and unwittingly decide to take a new turn and lose yourself in a maze of alleys. You wind up in one of the best restaurants in town, making friends, having a great time.

It happens when you let the unplanned take over and take a detour, and there you have it - the small becomes big, the remote, close, the foreign familiar and not only do you discover a new place but also a happier you. You let the unexpected kick in and turn your routines in a new beginning.

Our magazine is that kind of new beginning. We want to take you to soul-warming places in Italy. Too many stories, too many towns in Italy don’t make it to mainstream media. That’s why AKA ITALY will bring to light what’s been left in the dark. AKA ITALY will fill in the distance between you and that magic spot in Italy no-one else seems willing to tell you about.