The fourth month of 2025 has felt equal parts long and short, uneventful and historic. As a Rome local, the one-two punch of Easter immediately followed by Pope Francis's passing seemingly rocket-launched us into mega-high season here in Italy’s capital—a stretch that will assuredly last significantly longer than the recent Blue Origin mission.
April had its fair share of low moments — some of which I’m actively trying to erase from memory — but the point of this post is to focus on what didn’t suck or have me doom-scrolling 1,000 consecutive “almost forgot this was the whole point” trending TikTok videos.
3 things that didn’t suck in April 2025
1. I dedicated an entire week to Rome’s OG bad boy of Baroque art, Caravaggio
Because sometimes you just need to lean into the drama, the shadows, and the vaguely criminal energy.
You may have heard (potentially from me) that Palazzo Barberini in Rome is hosting a blockbuster Caravaggio exhibit until early July 2025. Not to oversell it, but it was one of the best exhibits I have seen in my eight years living in Italy.
Even if you’re not a full-blown Caravaggio superfan, you’ve probably seen his work—or at least something heavily inspired by it. To avoid this turning into a questionably-sourced Wikipedia page, in short, Caravaggio's paintings became renowned for their hyper-realism and the heavy contrast of light and dark, known as chiaroscuro. As for the spicier parts of his life story, I’ll leave that to the professionals — and if you’re thinking about a guided tour of the exhibit, I highly recommend the one I did with Through Eternity Tours.
Later that same week, I got my hands on a ticket (shoutout to Elyssa!) to see Caravaggio’s only known ceiling mural in Villa Aurora — a privately owned villa normally closed to the public. You can watch my short video on my visit here.
Both are great, both are worth the time and money, and if you get the chance to go, you should.
2. Spring has finally sprung in Rome
After a strangely chilly and rainy March, April showed up and said, “Hold my umbrella.” In my typical fashion, I spent a good portion of the month bopping around, smiling like a doofy golden retriever while snapping photos and videos across this pretty city.
Speaking of photos and videos, I also invested in a new camera this month— mainly for my YouTube channel (shameless plug: go subscribe)—which I currently know about five percent how to use. But I'm excited to sharpen my skills and (eventually) rival the YouTube greats. Watch out, Mr. Beast.
The last weekend of April, a few girlfriends and I escaped the city to head to the beachside town of Anzio. I had never been, had zero expectations, and was left pleasantly surprised. Not only does the town boast a Blue Flag beach, but the quaint town was the perfect mix of calm without feeling like a ghost town outside of the summer high season.
I highly recommend it! I left with a slight sunburn and stars in my eyes for the possibility of no longer being very, very pale, hopefully soon.
Let me know in the comments if you’d be interested in a dedicated post to Lazio beach towns. I had written an article on this a few years back, but it might be time for an updated version.
Here’s some of my favorite snaps from April:
3. Personal milestones were met
*dusts shoulder off
Something you may not know about me: I am a recovering perfectionist and notorious overachiever. I’m not sure if it’s classic middle child syndrome, my astrological chart, or doing dance competitions from the age of four that is to blame, but here we are.
Despite this, I decided to move to Italy. Not understanding why this is a bit of a contradiction? Let me explain.
When I first moved to Italy, everyone warned me that I would be destined to make a low Italian salary for the rest of my life and struggle financially. Oh, you thought minimum wage is bad in the US? Minimum wage doesn’t exist in Italy.
Italians have always questioned why I choose to move to Italy, when most young Italians leave the country in search of better opportunities—a phenomenon known as brain drain.
For me, though, there was never any question about whether I would make it work. It was always just a matter of how.
When I struck out fully on my own in June 2023, I led with the belief that I could create the career of my dreams.
Also, as an aside, while I had always wanted to build my own business, the timing of it was thrust upon me by the universe. But every successful gal has a “losing my job was the best thing that ever happened to me” part of their story, right?
Piece by piece over the past almost two years, I have followed my intuition and personal interests to arrive at this very spot — a place I am incredibly proud of. I also deeply believe in positive thinking and manifesting. Maybe I’ll write a post on my own personal brand of woo-woo that has helped me along the way.
ANYWAYS, WE’RE WAY OFF TRACK NOW.
The point is that a lot of puzzle pieces clicked into place in April, and instead of steamrolling ahead in search of the next accomplishment, I wanted to memorialize and appreciate where I am right now.
I hit over 1,000 subscribers on YouTube - 1,180 gorgeous people subscribed to my new YouTube channel (don’t make me ask again, you know what to do). This probably doesn’t sound that impressive, but as someone who has loved the platform for years and is just starting, I am proud of this milestone!
I reached a health and fitness goal - I don’t ever talk about this sort of thing on my social channels because I haven’t yet found a natural way to squeeze in my wellness routine between recommendations of my favorite rooftop bars in Rome. But for those who know me personally, you know I’m an active gal, and fitness is an important part of my life. Back in November 2024, I decided to meet with a nutritionist for the first time to figure out how to finally reach the goals I couldn’t seem to tackle on my own. I feel stronger and happier in my body than I have in a long time. This is your reminder to ask for help if need it to reach your goals. We can’t always do it alone.
New collaborations were finalized - I started taking my TikTok seriously in January 2024, and my Instagram followed suit in May 2024. Since then, I have said no to 95 percent of the collaboration opportunities that have slid into my inbox. I just am not willing to sell my followers crap I don’t believe in to make a quick buck. But this month? I finalized some exciting collaborations that truly align with my ethos and personal brand, and I’m beyond excited for you all to see them go live.
I have lots more exciting stuff in the pipeline that I can’t share just yet—gotta ward off that evil eye—so be sure to subscribe, and you’ll be the first to know.
Thanks for reading.
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Love this so much! Keep going ❤️
woohoo Sammi, this is awesome!