Three women, three continents, one Italian adventure.
La Dolce Vita Unfiltered explores reinvention, resilience, and reality through the eyes of three women who left everything behind for life in Italy. What began as a search for beauty and balance became a journey of discovery, growth, and unexpected truth.
Through candid, cross-cultural conversations, we talk about what it really means to start over in a new country, navigate identity, and find purpose in the chaos and charm of everyday Italian life. From friendship to bureaucracy, language to love, nothing is off limits.
This series is honest, humorous, and deeply human. A reminder that “the sweet life” is never perfect, but it’s always worth it.
La Dolce Vita Unfiltered
Three women from three continents share honest and humorous reflections on reinvention and the realities of life in Italy.
Meet the Hosts
Three women from three continents share their stories of reinvention, friendship, and life in Italy through honest conversation and laughter.
Carmen Maria Mitchell
From New York City, USA
Carmen Maria Mitchell is a multidisciplinary artist and producer whose career spans music, theatre, film, and professional figure skating. She is a U.S. Figure Skating double gold medalist, former Artistic National Champion, and made her principal debut with Disney On Ice, originating the role of the first live host. She is the founder and executive director of Redwood Entertainment Company, a nonprofit arts organization that produces theatrical productions, professional ice shows, film and media, youth arts programs, and international podcast series. Her work combines artistic performance, cultural exchange, and creative development across global platforms. Carmen lives and works between Italy, New York, London, and California.
Celeste Abbondanza
From Sydney, Australia
Celeste is an impact investment professional driven by the belief that finance can - and must - be a force for good. She is passionate about innovative and catalytic solutions that help to make the world a better place and finding ways to bring these ideas to life. In her professional career, Celeste has helped shape and grow a leading global impact investing program that directs institutional capital into social and environmental investments. She has led projects spanning climate taxonomy design, greenwashing-aware governance, and Net-Zero transition planning under the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner’s Alliance, alongside developing global engagement strategies for staff, customers, and stakeholders across four continents. and finding creative solutions to finance these ideas.
Jessika Bettan
From France / the Netherlands
Jessika Bettan is a Luxury Hospitality PR & Communication Director who spent over 15 years crafting five-star experiences and shaping the voice of prestigious brands across Europe. Just before turning 40, she made an unexpected choice: she declined the executive role she had been working toward for years. With only a suitcase, a Hermès scarf and her little dachshund Takkie, she booked a one-way ticket. No plan, no safety net, only a deep desire to reinvent her life. Today, Jessika merges her expertise in luxury, brand storytelling and human connection to empower women to embrace transformation and design lives that feel as good as they look. She also writes for an international travel blog, sharing curated escapes and lifestyle insights. She believes reinvention is the new luxury... and sometimes the best destinations are the ones without an itinerary.
Unfiltered Survival Guide
Resources and Real Stories
Moving abroad comes with more questions than answers, and we have made enough mistakes to prove it. Our blog shares honest stories and practical tips from three women navigating life in Italy, covering visas, passports, codice fiscale, post offices, permessos, apartment contracts, culture shock, and everything in between.
Through our own experiences, we hope to make the process easier for anyone beginning their own Italian adventure. Think of it as a living guide built from trial, error, laughter, and lessons learned along the way.
If we can save you a few hours at the questura, a long wait at the post office, or one confusing conversation about apartment contracts, then it is worth it.
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Podcast
A global conversation about what it really means to start over in Italy. Through honest dialogue and shared experiences, La Dolce Vita Unfiltered explores reinvention, culture, and connection with humor, heart, and authenticity.
The Unfiltered Blog
We have built a digital space for honest stories, cultural insights, and everyday discoveries from our lives in Italy. From visa wins to post office meltdowns, our blog will be a place to laugh, learn, and connect with others who are figuring it out too.
Here you will find practical guidance and personal reflections on life abroad, including how to apply for a permesso, set up a codice fiscale, navigate the post office, rent an apartment, or find community in a new country. It is equal parts diary, survival guide, and resource library, written from experience and shared with care.
We are not experts, just three women figuring it out as we go, documenting what works, what does not, and what we wish we had known sooner. If it helps you feel a little less lost and a little more inspired to begin your own version of la dolce vita, then it has done its job.
