We are Svitlana and Bastian, a Ukrainian-German couple from Solingen. Since 2022 we have been living together in Germany, but our connection to Italy goes back much further. Several times a year we travel there: to work, to research, to experience. Italy is not merely a place we long for, it has long since become part of our professional and personal everyday lives. We both have extensive backgrounds in journalism and a great deal of professional experience.
With our online magazine Vivere in Italien our goal is not to romanticize the country, but to show it honestly: through reportages, conversations with people on the ground, practical glimpses of daily life, and moments that cannot simply be googled. Our work is further supported by the long-standing experience we have gained through our second project, SolingenMagazin, which we have been editing for many years.
Between research trips and life planning
Our stays in Italy have long since grown into more than short trips. More and more often, we have found ourselves feeling not like visitors there, but like people who could truly belong. Out of this gradual shift, a decision took shape some time ago: In 2026 we are moving to Pozzuoli, a city we know well, with people who welcome us and a place that already means far more than just an address.
Pozzuoli is vibrant, direct, sometimes chaotic and that is precisely why it feels exactly right. It sits directly on the Gulf of Naples, with a view of Vesuvius and the sea right at the doorstep. We already have an apartment there, close family ties, and a stable environment.
Two paths to the language, one shared goal
The language was a central part of our preparation from the very beginning, and it remains so today. For over a year now we have been learning Italian, each in our own individual way, but with the same motivation: not just to communicate functionally, but to truly become part of society.
Svitlana studies online via Zoom with teachers from Ukraine, which gives her a deeper grammatical confidence. Bastian attends the Colibri Sprachstudio in Solingen, benefiting from direct interaction, everyday relevance, and group practice.
By now we can communicate quite well in everyday situations, at a restaurant, at the market, in conversations with the local family. Our Italian is growing steadily, and with it the confidence that this path is one we can walk.
The next step: life in Italy
Our move to Italy is not a radical break, but a natural continuation of what we have already been living for years: researching, learning, being right in the middle of it. The goal is not simply to "get away." The goal is to arrive somewhere with intention, in an everyday life we can actively help shape. And with a real perspective at that!
Our move to Pozzuoli is well prepared: organizationally, linguistically, and personally. Now it is a matter of deepening what we have already built and stepping into a new home with both feet on the ground. If everything goes as planned, that could happen in the late summer or early fall of 2026.
Joining us on the journey to Italy
We are documenting this path, not as a staged production, but honestly, on our new Instagram channel @auswandern_nach_pozzuoli. There we share insights into our preparations, our learning process, our questions, and our encounters with Italy. For everyone who has similar plans, or simply wants to follow along.
By the way: on July 3 our next trip continues. First to Bologna, then onward (home) toward Pozzuoli. And as this year's highlight: a week on Ischia at a wonderful hotel. No need to worry, everything will be documented, in words and pictures!
Vivere in Italien is our journalistic heart and soul, but our life in Italy extends well beyond it.
We look forward to having you along for the journey.
Svitlana & Bastian
(Vivere in Italien)