Last updated: October 16, 2026
This page explains what personal data is processed when you read Taste and Wonders of Italy (tasteandwondersofitaly.com), why it is processed, and what you can do about it. I have tried to write it in plain English, without hiding anything in the small print. If something is unclear, write to me and I will answer personally.
Who is responsible for your data
The data controller is Mirco Vitellozzi, an Italian engineer based in Porto San Giorgio (FM), Italy, who writes and runs this website as an individual. You can reach me at mirco.vitellozzi@gmail.com for any question about privacy or to exercise your rights.
Because I am based in the European Union, this website follows the EU General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679, “GDPR”) and the Italian Personal Data Protection Code (Legislative Decree 196/2003, as amended by Legislative Decree 101/2018).
What data is processed, and why
Technical data when you visit
Like every website, this one is hosted on a server (provided by Hostinger) that automatically records basic technical information when a page is requested: your IP address, browser type, the page visited, the date and time of the request. This is needed to deliver the page, keep the site secure and diagnose errors. The legal basis is my legitimate interest in running a secure website (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). These logs are kept for a limited period by the hosting provider and are not used to identify you.
Page view counts
The site uses the WordPress Popular Posts plugin to count how many times each article is read, so that the most read stories can be shown to other readers. It records anonymous view counts per article. It does not set cookies and does not build a profile of you.
Advertising (Google AdSense)
Some pages show advertisements served by Google AdSense, a service of Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland). Google and its partners may use cookies and similar technologies to show ads, limit how often you see the same ad, measure ad performance and prevent fraud. If you agree, Google may also use them to show ads based on your interests.
If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, these cookies are only used for the purposes you accept in the consent banner, which is provided through a consent management platform certified by Google and integrated with the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Art. 122 of the Italian Privacy Code). You can change or withdraw your choice at any time through the “Privacy and cookie settings” link available on every page. Without consent, Google may still show non-personalized or limited ads.
You can learn how Google uses data from sites that show its ads at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites, and manage ad personalization in your Google account at adssettings.google.com. The full list of cookies is in the Cookie Policy.
Affiliate links
Some articles contain affiliate links, for example to GetYourGuide or Trainline. Clicking a link does not share any personal data from this website. Once you land on the partner’s site, that company processes your data under its own privacy policy and may set its own cookies to recognize that you came from here. More details are in the Affiliate and Advertising Disclosure.
When you write to me
If you email me, I process your email address, your name and whatever you choose to include in the message, only to reply to you and, if you ask for it, to provide a service. The legal basis is your request (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) or my legitimate interest in answering correspondence (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). My email is handled through Gmail, a Google service. I keep correspondence for as long as needed to follow up, and in any case no longer than required by Italian law for professional records.
Booking a call or a service
If you book an orientation call or a property survey, the booking is handled through TidyCal, which collects the details you enter in the booking form (name, email, time zone, notes) under its own privacy policy. I use that information only to prepare and deliver the service you asked for. The legal basis is the performance of a contract or of steps you request before entering into one (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). Data needed for invoicing and professional records is kept for the period required by Italian tax and professional law, generally ten years.
Newsletter
If you subscribe to the newsletter, your email address (and name, if you provide it) is used only to send you the newsletter. Depending on where you sign up, it is handled by one of two services: MailerLite https://www.mailerlite.com/legal/privacy-policy, an email marketing service that processes the data on my behalf under its own privacy policy, or Substack, Inc., a publishing platform based in the United States, which also manages your Substack https://substack.com/privacy account under its own privacy policy. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). Every email contains an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing stops all further emails.
Comments
If comments are open on an article and you leave one, WordPress stores the name, email address and website you enter, the comment itself and your IP address, to display the comment and to fight spam. Your email address is never published. You can ask me to delete your comment at any time.
Embedded content and external links
Articles may include embedded content such as maps or videos from other websites (for example Google Maps or YouTube). Embedded content behaves exactly as if you had visited the other website, and that website may collect data about you.
Who else receives your data
I do not sell your personal data, and I do not share it with anyone except the service providers needed to run this website and the services described above: the hosting provider (Hostinger), Google (advertising and email), TidyCal (bookings), MailerLite and Substack (newsletter), and the affiliate partners whose sites you choose to visit. Each of them acts under its own privacy terms or as a processor on my behalf.
Transfers outside the European Union
Some of these providers, including Google and Substack, may process data in the United States. Such transfers rely on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, under the European Commission’s adequacy decision of July 10, 2023, where the provider is certified, or on the Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission.
Your rights
Under Articles 15 to 22 of the GDPR, you have the right to access your data, to have it corrected or deleted, to restrict or object to its processing, and to receive it in a portable format. Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time, without affecting what was done before. To exercise any of these rights, email mirco.vitellozzi@gmail.com. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Italian data protection authority, the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali (garanteprivacy.it), or with the authority of the EU country where you live.
Readers in the United States
Most readers of this website live in the United States. Whatever your state of residence, you can limit how your data is used for advertising: you can turn off ad personalization at adssettings.google.com, use your browser’s Global Privacy Control setting, or opt out of interest-based advertising from participating companies at optout.aboutads.info. I do not sell personal information for money. You can also write to me to ask what data I hold about you and to have it deleted.
Children
This website is written for adult travelers and is not directed at children under 16. I do not knowingly collect personal data from children.
Changes to this policy
If the way this website handles data changes, for example when a new service is added, I will update this page and the date at the top. Significant changes will be made clear on the site.