Meet the Founder of Vera Italia | Authentic Italian Travel
Meet the Founder: How Sausage-Making Sparked a Movement
Chiara Barbera, founder of Vera Italia, grew up with her four grandparents surrounded by Italian traditions in Australia. Setting off to Italy on a one-way ticket, Chiara found herself making sausages with family — a moment which sparked a burning desire to save traditions and connect travellers with the true Italy — its people, its stories and its traditions.
Who Is Behind Vera Italia?
Ciao! My name is Chiara, I’m the dreamer and orchestrator (founder) of Vera Italia. Born and raised in Brisbane, Australia, I consider myself very fortunate to have grown up with four Italian grandparents who fill my life with tradition — homemade pasta, Nonna’s sugo, and Sunday lunches with the family that last until evening.
From a young age, I understood the true significance of food, family, and tradition to be love, identity, and culture.
The One-Way Ticket to Italy
In 2018, I followed my dream to venture to the motherland on a one-way ticket. I didn’t know exactly what I would find, but I knew this was only the beginning of a much deeper journey — something that connected me to my roots.
I found myself spending a lot of time in the northern region of Calabria where my great-grandfather had migrated to from Sicily and where three of my Nonna’s siblings are based with their families. Here I discovered small towns where time moved slowly, where families still gathered to pick olives, make wine and prepare all sorts of traditional delicacies, continuing what their parents had taught them.
I also noticed something heartwrenching: many of these traditions were fading.
- Young people were seeking opportunities elsewhere.
- Families no longer had the time or resources to continue what their ancestors had done for centuries.
- Traditions risked being forgotten.
The Sausage-Making That Changed Everything
One day, while washing pig intestines in preparation for sausage-making with signora Maria, I had a thought that would change my life.
As we were chatting away over the basin and large bucket of pig intestines, signora Maria reminisced on how her family of butchers would gather together every year to make sausages together, then when the work was over they would all sit together for a long lunch to celebrate.
That’s when it hit me. Signora Maria was the catalyst of organising, gathering and carrying on the tradition of her family of butchers — an important trade within the Italian culture for good quality meats, precious recommendations and the basis of long tables of food.
Who was going to continue this family tradition when signora Maria didn’t? What happens to the family’s legacy? What would happen if no one continued sausage-making with the family? What would happen to this tradition? This was all so much fun! How could it possibly end?
The Inspiration
Then came to mind Tommaso, a 20-year-old nephew of signora Maria. You would find him always rolling up his sleeves, picking olives, making wine and putting in the work to bring these family traditions to completion.
A perfect symbol of gioventù, a perfect example of the future of Italian culture (also the son of our Cedro Creator Extraordinaire Franco)!
People like Tommaso who humbly roll-up their sleeves to help continue their family traditions. People who ensure these legacies and customs are not lost or forgotten. People who without knowing are keeping alive the most pure, authentic, genuine and true Italian culture.
🔥 A fire lit inside me. That day, I knew I had to do something to ensure these people were celebrated — that these stories, skills, and traditions didn’t disappear. I truly believe this to be a calling sent from God and I’m so grateful to be able to share this with you.
That was the little twinkle that sparked Vera Italia.
What Is Vera Italia?
Vera Italia is a travel platform that connects travellers with locals who continue Italy’s cultural traditions.
Not a tourist but a traveller, we open the door to:
🍝 Pasta-making with Nonna in her kitchen
🍇 The family grape harvest in Calabria
🫒 Learning to press olives into oil
🥖 Baking bread in a wood-fired oven
🎭 Joining town festivals and family gatherings
Every experience supports the local community and helps preserve traditions that might otherwise be lost.
❤️Why This Mission Matters
Italy’s traditions are more than recipes, crafts and stories to tell — they are pieces of identity. Without them, the Italy we love risks becoming a memory.
With Vera Italia, travellers don’t just “see” Italy — they live it. And by doing so, they:
- Help families keep traditions alive
- Support small towns and local economies
- Travel in a sustainable, intentional way
- Become part of Italy’s story themselves
👣 The Journey Begins in Calabria
Our first chapter begins in northern Calabria, where mountains meet the sea. It’s a place that’s often overlooked by tourists, yet it offers some of the richest traditions and warmest people I’ve ever met.
This is where Vera Italia was born — and where travellers can begin discovering the vera Italia, the true Italy.
An Invitation to You
Vera Italia is more than a platform. It’s a collective of locals, travellers, and dreamers who believe culture matters.
If you’ve ever wanted to go beyond postcards and souvenirs, if you’ve ever longed to feel part of a family in Italy — this is for you.
I invite you to join me on this journey. Let’s save traditions, celebrate culture, and discover Italy in its truest form.
Ready to Experience the True Italy?
