My name is Natalia Rosiak. I am 42 years old and I come from the Poznań area, where I still live and work today. In my free time, I most enjoy splitting my moments between reading books and relaxing in nature – Nordic walking with poles, and in autumn also mushroom picking in beautiful Polish forests, always with a four-legged companion by my side. I love animals, and especially dogs, who have been with me for as long as I can remember.
Life before the blog
I was 11 when, inspired by my first great passion – building with LEGO – I chose my professional path and started following it already in secondary school. In 2003, I passed my final exams and earned a diploma as a general construction technician at the Poznań Construction School Complex No. 1 on Rybaki Street – a five-year school I still remember with great fondness. It was within its walls, thanks to an exceptional Polish language teacher, that I began to write. Back then these were still diaries and very long essays, but even then it was an important step for me.
In 2008, I earned an engineering degree in road and bridge construction from the Poznań University of Technology. I started my professional career while still at university, and for a long time nothing suggested I would leave the path I had chosen so early. Over the years, however, after repeatedly seeing ideals collide with reality, my passion for construction began to fade. Its place was increasingly taken by another – a love for Italy, discovered in the early 2000s.
The beginnings of Italia by Natalia
The idea for the blog was born in mid-2012, and the website went live in January 2013. For more than five years, I divided my time between my professional work and running a blog about Italy. However, the growing popularity of the site and the need to make radical changes in my life eventually forced me to make a decision. In May 2018, after twelve years of working on the design, construction, and modernization of roads and bridges in the Greater Poland region, I closed that chapter and went all in on one thing – Italy. Today I know it was one of the best decisions of my life.
A long road to a strong personal brand
The road to where I am today was long and at times bumpy. It required an enormous amount of work – mostly at a desk, but also out in the field. I visit Italy several times a year, spending a total of many intensive weeks traveling, sightseeing, and gathering material. My digital archive of photos and videos from Italy now contains over 300,000 files.
Between 2019 and 2025, I wrote and published 9 books – both through self-publishing and in cooperation with a publishing house. Ebooks are available in the shop on my blog, and printed books can be purchased, among others, at Empik and in the online store of Wydawnictwo Marginesy. By choosing the second option, you help both me and the Publisher earn more from our work, without having to give a sizeable commission to Empik.
I have also taken part in several public speaking engagements – as a speaker at the travel festival during the World Travel Show trade fair, at closed corporate events, and at author meetings with readers.
However, stages, cameras, and spotlights are not places where I feel at ease. I am an introvert, and each such event takes a lot out of me emotionally. Writing is completely different – in the quiet of my home office, at a large desk with a monitor and a keyboard under my fingers, I feel at my best.
Today, Italia by Natalia is among the most popular and influential travel blogs in Poland, regularly ranking among the top creators in the Travel category. A large, engaged community of Italy enthusiasts has grown around the blog, and for years they have been using my recommendations and reaching for the books I write. Even though social media is now an important part of the internet and I am present there too, writing has always been, is, and will remain the foundation of my work.
The blog’s social media
Facebook – fan page: 140 000 followers
Facebook – Italy-themed group: 73 000 members
Instagram: 64 000 followers
TikTok: 10 000 followers
YouTube: 3 700 subscribers
X: 500 followers
Key awards and distinctions in recent years
My work has been reflected for years in nationwide rankings of online creators as well as industry influence lists.
See Bloggers – Ranking of Polish Influencers
TOP 20 most influential Travel creators
- for 2021 – 9th place
- for 2022 – 9th place
- for 2024 – 11th place
TOP 100 most influential bloggers in Poland
- for 2021 – 55th place
- for 2022 – 41st place
- for 2023 – 31st place
- for 2024 – 34th place
Gold Italy Ambassador Awards 2024
In 2024, I received the Gold Italy Ambassador Awards – the first award of its kind in Poland, given for an outstanding contribution and commitment to promoting Italy and Italian culture.
For many years, Italia by Natalia has also remained the most influential and highest-ranked Polish blog about Italy.
Earlier awards and distinctions
- One of the 20 most visible travel blogs in Poland on Google, according to the Polish Travel Blogs Ranking (2018–2020).
- TOP 50 Most Influential Travelers in Polish Social Media (2017).
- Blog of the Year 2014 competition (later “Gala Twórców”):
- semi-finalist in the Travel category – 6th place out of 230 blogs,
- semi-finalist in the Text of the Year category – 5th place out of 520 entries.
It was the first Italy-focused blog in the history of the competition to reach the semi-finals – and the only one to achieve this result in two categories at the same time.
Radio interviews and broadcasts
For years, I have been taking part in numerous radio programs devoted to Italy, travel, and Mediterranean culture. So far, I have appeared, among others, on:
- Radio 357 – conversations with Gabi Darmetko and Justyna Godz
- Polish Radio Program Two – “Miejsca z dobrych stron” (“Places from the right side”) (a conversation about Naples with Małgorzata Szymankiewicz and Jakub Kukla)
- Czwórka (Polish Radio) – conversations with Kamil Jasieński and Jędrzej Rosiewicz
- Radio RAM, Radio Kielce, Radio Lublin, Radio JAZZ, Radio dla Ciebie, Radio eM Katowice, Radio Eska2, Radio Poznań, Polish Radio Olsztyn, Polish Radio Białystok
Podcasts I have appeared on
I have appeared, among others, on the podcast:
“Italy – an imperfect love. How a passion for Italy became a job and a way of life”
– a conversation with Ania Witko, available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
Publications and media interviews
Interviews with me have appeared, among others, on the following outlets:
Wysokie Obcasy, Onet.pl, Gazeta.pl, Polki.pl, Sztuka Zapisana, Periodista Marta, Fajne Podróże, Tanie-Loty.
My articles have been published, among others, by:
Twój Styl, Enter Air in-flight magazine, Olivia, Świat Kobiety, Biokurier.pl.
Reviews and recommendations of my books and/or the blog:
My books and blog have been reviewed or recommended, among others, by:
Radio Poznań, Tygodnik Angora, Twój Styl, National Geographic Traveler, Panna Młoda magazine, as well as numerous travel and lifestyle blogs.
Mentions of me in the media
- Super Express Warszawa – coverage of the VIVELO Book and Media Fair
- Radio Eska Warszawa – a recommendation of my article as a source of information
- TV coverage (Polsat, Superstacja) of events featuring the band Il Volo
- Quotes from my statements, among others, by Wprost.pl, WP.pl, Gazeta.pl
In 2019, a campaign I created, #TravelTrapani, which drew attention to Ryanair’s withdrawal from Trapani-Birgi Airport and the social impact of that decision, was covered by several Italian newspapers and websites.
All details and links to podcasts, interviews, broadcasts, and online press mentions can be found in the “About the blog” section.
Warm regards – Natalia