Valarie D’Elia, Travel With Val, an award-winning travel journalist, who specializes in Italy and ancestral travel programming is seeking input from Italian-Americans who are doing something significant to honor their ancestry, for consideration to be featured in a documentary with the working title “Saving Southern Italy.” 

D'Elia is one of eight recipients of a grant from the famous Russo brothers Hollywood directors in association with the National Italian American Foundation. The concept of “SSI” is to identify Italian-Americans like herself who are either planning, already doing, or have done something significant to honor their roots. 

By example, D'Elia points to the devotion that the famous Maestro Sir Antonio Pappano has shown to their mutual village of Castelfranco in Miscano by giving an annual concert in the town’s piazza and dedicating his father’s name to a music school. For Val's part, she has her heart set on buying and renovating a home in Castelfranco in Miscano, which is a concept that is getting a lot of attention with the “case un euro” sales sensation.

Val is open to, and excited about, hearing a variety of ideas that involve building gratitude; going beyond the bricks and mortar scenario which might include establishing a business, giving birth to help repopulate these ghost towns, turning a village into an “Albergo Diffuso,” a diffused hotel, or anything along those lines.

Val encourages surprises. Anything that is supportive of mutual Italian-American roots, connecting Southern Italy with America. Val is not a stickler about geography. If something is worthy, and it’s outside the Southern Italy boundaries, she will consider it.

Covid willing, Val intends to commence production in April 2021.

About Valarie D'Elia:

Val was born into a family travel business dating back to 1902, when her Italian-born great-grandfather booked his friends and relatives from Naples, Italy to Ellis Island in steerage class on transatlantic oceanliners as part of the immigration wave.

Val has developed an expertise and travel savvy that is cultivated from more than a century’s worth of perspective. Among other outlets, she shared her travels through video segments airing on NY1 News for 20 years.