Travel: A Creative's Lifeline
People often talk about travel as a way to reset—to relax, to rejuvenate, to step away from the noise of everyday life. And while that’s all true, travel is so much more than a pause or an escape. It’s connection. It’s perspective. It’s memory-making in its purest form.
Travel is the girls’ trip where worries dissolve into laughter and lifelong friendships are forged over shared meals and late nights. It’s the family vacation where your children get to see you at your very best—unburdened by routines, deadlines, and the quiet weight of daily responsibilities. It’s the trip with your parents, where they build lasting bonds with their grandchildren and guide you through the places that shaped them, the places they hold closest to their hearts.
Sometimes, travel is deeply emotional. It’s standing in a small, unfamiliar town off a dirt road in Italy, sitting inside a modest police station, watching tears quietly roll down your father’s cheek—because the officer behind the desk knows your last name. Because nearly a century ago, your great-great-grandfather walked those same streets. Because history suddenly feels close enough to touch.
I was incredibly fortunate to grow up in a family that embraced travel wholeheartedly. My father never wanted to spend money unless it was on travel, food, or wine—and when it was, he spared nothing. For him, it was never about things; it was always about the experience. About generosity. About adventure. About giving everyone around him something unforgettable. That philosophy is ingrained in me, and I hope—deeply—that I’m passing it on to my own children.
But as a creative, travel holds an even deeper significance.
Travel is what fuels me. It is what breathes life into my designs. Without it, I don’t believe I’m capable of truly creative work. The details of the world stay with me—the awe-inspiring glass ceiling of the Galleria in Milano, the patina of centuries-old cobblestone streets, the quiet luxury of a marble-clad bathroom, the snow-capped peaks of the Rockies, the sun rising over the savannah in Kruger, and the booming sound of a glacier wall collapsing into the ocean in Patagonia. Each of these moments leaves an imprint, a feeling that lingers long after the journey ends. Those feelings are what I carry with me and weave into every space I design.
My work is rooted in memory and emotion. Travel creates the stories I thread through my designs—the sense of place, the layering of history, the feeling of belonging. So much of what I know about design and architecture didn’t come from textbooks or studios, but from experiencing the world both near and far.
I feel most alive when I’m somewhere new—hearing a different language, discovering a new culture, speaking with strangers who offer genuine hospitality and somehow feel like family. This pull toward exploration has always been part of who I am, but it deepened profoundly when, at only 21 years old, I studied in Rome for six months.
Rome felt like home then. And when I returned this past year with my parents and my son, it felt like coming home again—after decades away. Living there as a young, naïve student, desperately trying to learn the language, turning a corner each day to stumble upon a breathtaking building, a hidden garden, or even a piece of graffiti that sparked inspiration—that experience shaped me. It set the tone for my love of travel and for my belief that inspiration should be woven into everyday life.
While studying in Rome, travel was effortless. A train, a short flight, a drive across a border—and suddenly you were immersed in a new city, a new country, a new architectural language. Each place carried its own lessons, its own details, its own memories that quietly settled into my design vocabulary.
This is what La Storia is about.
It’s about telling the stories of spaces, artisans, and extraordinary places around the world. It’s about honoring where inspiration comes from and sharing the moments that shape how we design, live, and connect.
Follow along as we continue to share the stories behind the places that inspire us—and the journeys that give our work its soul. And please reach out to share your story.
baci e abbracci, Maria
side note: all photos are from our most recent trip to Italy: including the black & white photo of us sitting in the police station!
