As they celebrated the milestone of their 50th wedding anniversary in Venice, Italy, in June 2023, Tony Smarrelli, 74, and his wife, Francine, 75, made an important decision. The retired elementary teachers, originally from Syracuse, New York, resolved to leave the US and move to Italy for good. That same year, the Smarrellis, both of Italian descent, relocated to the picturesque coastal town of Scalea, in the southern Italian region of Calabria.

“We were in St. Mark’s Square (in Venice) when a quartet started playing (classic Italian song) “Malafemmina,’” Tony, whose father and grandfather hailed from the village of Tocco da Casauria in Abruzzo, says of the day they made the decision.