L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano 19 pandemic. "We were really isolated during that time," said Hinshaw, "you couldn't even leave the vil- lage. I found that writing the book was a stabilizing force for me. It took about a year to assemble the sto- ries and create the illustra- tions." H i n s h a w i n i t i a l l y approached a Seattle pub- lisher, but the deal never materialized. "Then, in a v e r y I t a l i a n w a y , " h e recalled, "a friend of mine said: I know a publisher here, I'll ask him for you. His contact owned a small publishing house in Fermo called Zefiro, which has been in business for 100 years." Navigating Paradise is a v a i l a b l e i n b o o k s h o p s throughout Europe, and last year the Marche cultur- a l c o m m i s s i o n r e c o m - mended the book for pur- chase by all public libraries. U n i v e r s i t y o f O k l a h o m a and a master of urban plan- ning from City University of New York before moving to Seattle in the late 1980s. Throughout his career, he has been a prolific writer. For a decade, he was the architectural critic for The Seattle Times and contributed articles to pro- fessional journals. He has published several books on urban planning and design, and currently posts about his life in Italy on a Seattle- b a s e d b l o g c a l l e d P o s t Alley. His latest book, Navigat- ing Paradise, is a compila- tion of 100 stories and 40 original drawings. The Ital- ian version was first pub- lished in October 2022 by Zefiro Edizioni. A second r u n , w h i c h i n c l u d e d a n English version, followed a year later. T h e i d e a f o r t h e b o o k arose during the COVID- Readers can buy the Eng- lish version online as an e- book. Hinshaw has been treat- ed like a celebrity since the book came out. "I've been interviewed by RAI 3 and other media, stopped on the street by people who saw my photo, and asked to give public readings," he said. "The most amazing thing is they get it! Italians thoroughly understand and enjoy the humor of an ex- pat trying to navigate their country and their culture, n o t t o m e n t i o n t h e i r bureaucracy." Recently, Hinshaw and Bertollini received perma- nent residency status. With that in hand, the couple h a v e b o t h s t a r t e d h o m e businesses. "My wife has a storefront herbalist shop in the center of Santa Vittoria c a l l e d T h e H i d d e n Alchemist," he said, "and I've begun a small business around tourism. I had my first group in May – 15 pro- fessional city planners. I a r r a n g e d f i e l d t r i p s f o r them and meetings with mayors and other city offi- cials." It was a win-win situa- t i o n : N o t o n l y d i d t h e group exchange informa- tion about how urban plan- n i n g f u n c t i o n s i n t h e i r respective country, but the visitors helped support the local economy by patroniz- i n g s m a l l h o t e l s , a p a r t - m e n t s a n d r e s t a u r a n t s . Hinshaw is already plan- ning a repeat trip for spring 2026. The past eight years were n o t w i t h o u t t h e i r c h a l - lenges: after all, it's not easy starting over in a for- e i g n c o u n t r y w i t h o u t speaking the language, hav- ing a job or friends. "My biggest advice is to learn to adapt to the culture," said Hinshaw. "Forget every- thing you learned growing up and resign yourself to learning everything all over a g a i n . T h e b u r e a u c r a c y here is insane, but it's the price you pay to live in a beautiful land with a rich history and such kind peo- ple. It's not easy, but it's worth it!" vibrant and dynamic. " U n l i k e m a n y s m a l l t o w n s i n I t a l y t h a t a r e s l o w l y d y i n g b e c a u s e o f depopulation, earthquakes or lack of jobs, we felt we could have a comfortable life in Santa Vittoria," said Hinshaw. "Here we have t h r e e f o o d m a r k e t s , a clothing store, a bakery, a butcher shop, a pharmacy, two doctors, a dentist – pretty much everything you need – as well as an active schedule of cultural and community events." Eventually, the duo pur- chased a 4,000-square-foot home built in the 1600s – parts of its structure once formed a guardhouse to ward off foreign invaders. P e r c h e d o n t h e e d g e o f t o w n , t h e h o u s e a f f o r d s views of both the sea and the Apennines from its ter- race. H i n s h a w e a r n e d h i s bachelor's degree from the I t t a k e s a s p e c i a l k i n d o f p e r s o n t o e m b r a c e c h a n g e , w h e t h e r l a r g e o r s m a l l – s o m e o n e adventurous, flexible and patient. But a change on t h e s c a l e u n d e r t a k e n b y Mark Hinshaw, a former Seattle architect and urban planner, might be consid- ered off the charts. In 2017, Hinshaw quit his job, sold his Pioneer Square condo, and together w i t h h i s w i f e , S a v i n a ( S u n n y ) B e r t o l l i n i , l e f t Seattle after some 30 years to move to a small hill town i n o n e o f I t a l y ' s m o s t untouristed provinces, Le Marche – most surprising- ly, it was a spot neither had been to before. T o d a y , i n t h e i r n e w home in Santa Vittoria in Matenano, a village of about 1,200 along the Adri- atic coast, the couple stud- i e s t h e l a n g u a g e , d e l v e s i n t o t h e c u l t u r e , s h o p s locally, and most recently set up home-based busi- n e s s e s . H i n s h a w w a s s o overwhelmed by the kind- ness and generosity of his f e l l o w v i l l a g e r s t h a t h e recently published a vol- u m e o f s h o r t s t o r i e s inspired by his encounters with the people and cul- t u r e , N a v i g a t i n g P a r - a d i s e : A N e w L i f e i n Italy. "Our move to Italy didn't happen overnight," said 78- y e a r - o l d H i n s h a w . " W e started thinking about it as early as 2013. We traveled to Italy, not on vacation but o n r e c o n n a i s s a n c e m i s - sions, and explored towns w e t h o u g h t w o u l d b e a good fit. We eliminated the far north and the far south for a variety of reasons, and decided to look more close- ly at central Italy." Tuscany, the choice of m a n y e x - p a t s , w a s t o o expensive, so the couple b e g a n e x p l o r i n g L e M a r c h e , s e e k i n g a n affordable community that not only had ample goods and services but also felt Architect and urban planner Mark Hinshaw was firmly entrenched in Seattle for 30 years until he and his wife decided to move to the postcard-perfect town of Santa Vittoria in Matenano (Photo: Mark Hinshaw) R e t i r i n g i n I t a l y : h o w a S e a t t l e c o u p l e embraced spontaneity and found paradise RITA CIPALLA SEATTLE ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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