It came as no surprise to Lauren Birmingham Piscitelli that public relations executives were among the most stressed out people in the country. A mover and shaker in the cutthroat world of Boston PR, she felt it in her shoulders and in the pit of her stomach. That stress led her to seek solace in Sorrento, Italy, in 2001. That stress also helped her start her wildly successful Cooking Vacations business. And that business helped her meet her anima gemella, her soul mate who became her husband.
Piscitelli grew up in Massachusetts, her house filled with Italian song and the smells of homemade sauce. Her mother, Lucia, married her father, Lorenzo Birmingham, when she was 17 years old. That was 53 years ago. Lorenzo is a builder and so is Lucia. He builds homes, she builds meals.
"Growing up Italian meant everyone eating together, and cooking together too. There is a non-describable closeness in an Italian family, that if you haven't experienced it you will never understand it. Secrets are almost impossible, you can never say no to an invite, and food is the staple ingredient at every family celebration," Piscitelli told me.

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Fonte: Bostoniano