[Kathy was profiled in The New York Times June 7, 2015]
[Press announcement for Season 3 of Dream of Italy Premiering Winter 2023/24]
Kathy McCabe makes Italian travel dreams, and soon European ones too, come true. She’s America’s #1 Italy travel influencer with an audience of millions on PBS alone. Kathy is the host of the award-winning PBS travel series Dream of Italy (inspired by the award-winning travel magazine she founded in 2002) whose new third season recently won three Telly Awards. Her new series Dream of Europe premieres on PBS in January 2025. Kathy believes that Italy and indeed travel can change your life – whether you live like an Italian at home, travel there or move to Italy – which was the premise of her popular TV specials, Dream of Italy: Travel, Transform and Thrive, featuring Sting & Trudie Styler.
Dream of Italy has threes seasons and two specials currently airing on PBS stations, the PBS app, Create and PBS Passport. Many episodes can be also be found on YouTube and Amazon Prime. Season 3 of Dream of Italy is now premiering with special guests including celebrated tenor Andrea Bocelli (a travel and music episode called Andrea Bocelli’s Tuscany), Academy Award-winning actress Marisa Tomei (visiting her ancestral Campania in search of the Black Madonna) and 3-Michelin star chef Massimo Bottura (who loved us so much he filmed not one but two episodes in Modena and Italy’s food valley).
In 2021, Dream of Italy was the #1 most watched program (of any genre) distributed by American Public Television to Amazon Prime with 5 million unique downloads. The television series, which airs in more than 97% of U.S. TV households, shares authentic travel advice on where to go, what to do, who to see, what to eat and more, just like Kathy’s magazine and membership website, Dream of Italy, that she founded in 2002.
Kathy’s second PBS travel series – Dream of Europe – premiere in January 2025. The seven episodes include a very special episode about recording the new theme song to the series at Abbey Road Studios, London. Regent Seven Seas and Kensington Tours are the proud sponsors of this exciting new series which travels to London, the French Alps, Malta, the Greek islands, Athens and Albania.
Kathy is also the host of the Dream of Italy Podcast, which The New York Times recommends as one of “13 podcasts for wandering souls.” Kathy is widely quoted in the international media on topics related to travel and Italian culture.
Her 2021 PBS pledge special Dream of Italy: Travel, Transform and Thrive (which is still airing) explores the 11 essential elements of the Italian lifestyle – the land, food, family, art & culture, beauty, pace of life, passion, movement, community, celebrations and sense of home– through the stories of full- and part-time expats Sting & Trudie Styler, Francis Ford Coppola, Under the Tuscan Sun author Frances Mayes, best-selling financial author David Bach, retiree Sally Carrocino and interior designer Arlene Antoinette Gibbs. Italian-American actor Joe Mantegna joins Kathy for the special’s pledge breaks inviting the audience to support their local public television stations. Kathy is also the author of the 276-companion book to the special about transforming the Italian way.
McCabe has published more than 200 editions of the award-winning subscription magazine Dream of Italy, helping 10s of thousands of people enjoy more authentic and rewarding travels in Italy with insider advice on where to go, what to see, where to stay, where to eat and who to meet. Dream of Italy has been recommended for its savvy travel advice by National Geographic Traveler, USA TODAY, The Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, Forbes, BusinessWeek and numerous other media outlets.
McCabe has spoken about Italy and the transformative nature of travel for the Smithsonian Museum, The New York Times Travel Show, the Travel & Adventure Show, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco (with Riccardo Illy), Georgetown University, the National Italian American Foundation and the National Organization of Italian American Women.
As a travel writer, McCabe has contributed travel articles to numerous other publications including Cruise Critic, Saveur, USA TODAY, Global Traveler, The Huffington Post, Budget Travel, Fodor’s Travel Publications, The Travel Channel Online, AOL Travel, The Baltimore Sun and The Boston Herald.
McCabe began her career in journalism at ABC News where she was part of an Emmy-Award winning investigative team linking money and politics during the 1996 presidential election. She holds a M.A. in non-fiction writing from Johns Hopkins University and a B.S.F.S. in European Studies from Georgetown University. McCabe is a graduate of the Stanford University Publishing Program for Mid-Career Professionals. McCabe’s other great passion in life, besides Italy, is dogs, particularly her beloved breed, wire fox terriers.
Contact Kathy McCabe via our contact form