Italy on a Plate — with Susan Gravely of Vietri
On a recent podcast episode, I spoke with Susan Gravely, the founder and CEO of Vietri, a lifestyle brand known for handcrafted Italian tabletop wares and home and garden accents. Susan’s passion for hand-painted dinnerware began during a family trip to the Amalfi Coast in 1983. That visit to Positano and to the ceramic workshops around Vietri sul Mare inspired her and her family to bring that tradition to the United States, leading to the founding of Vietri.
Over the years, Vietri has grown into a leading importer of Italian ceramics in the U.S., celebrated for its authentic, artisanal pieces. To mark the company’s 40th anniversary, Susan wrote a combined memoir and cookbook, Italy on a Plate: Travels, Memories, Menus, which we discussed on the podcast. The book captures the feeling of life around Italian tables and the stories of the people who have influenced Vietri’s journey.
In our conversation, we explore Susan’s personal memories, the friendships and creative partnerships she built in Italy, and the parallels she sees between Italian hospitality and Southern hosting traditions. Below are some highlights from our talk; you can listen to the full episode using the player below or on your preferred podcast platform.
Where did the inspiration come from to start Vietri?
Susan explains that the idea began after a deeply meaningful trip taken with her mother and sister. They stayed at Il San Pietro in Positano and were immediately captivated by the vibrant, handmade ceramics used throughout the hotel’s restaurant. Visiting local artisans and factories in nearby Vietri sul Mare opened their eyes to a living craft they wanted to share with American audiences. They set out to become wholesalers and distributors of these ceramics, and the business name reflects this origin: Vietri is both the town’s name and a play on “tre vie” (three lives), symbolizing the three women working together to build the company.
How did your Southern upbringing help shape this journey?
Susan attributes much of her appreciation for hospitality to her Southern upbringing. From childhood, she watched and learned from a mother who excelled at hosting—setting a welcoming table, extending invitations without hesitation, and nurturing conversation around meals. These early experiences taught Susan the importance of warmth, good manners, and the role of the table as a place of connection. That foundation naturally aligned with the Italian way of living and dining, helping Susan form deep bonds with Italian maestros, designers, painters, and glaze makers over time.
Those relationships meant more than business; they offered long, shared meals and personal invitations into Italian homes. The exchanges around recipes, techniques, and family traditions helped shape Vietri’s offerings and informed the book’s content, which highlights both tangible pieces of heritage—dishes and designs—and the intangible elements—friendships, hospitality, and shared meals.
Tell us more about your book, Italy on a Plate
Italy on a Plate is part memoir, part cookbook. Rather than organizing chapters around generic recipe categories, Susan frames sections around people, places, and memories that were instrumental to Vietri’s story. The recipes come directly from the people she met—home cooks, restaurateurs, and artisans—many of which she prepared and enjoyed at their tables. These are authentic, often family-held recipes that illustrate regional flavors and the social rituals that accompany them.
The book pairs personal essays with menus and recipes that reflect the seasons and the communal nature of Italian meals. It also highlights how the ceramic pieces themselves play a role in presenting food: handcrafted plates and serving pieces become a part of the shared experience, elevating everyday meals and festive occasions alike.
Italy on a Plate: Travels, Memories, Menus, by Susan Gravely (Vietri Publishing, 2023).
Learn more
To hear the entire interview, listen to the full podcast episode. For further information about Vietri and their collections, visit vietri.com and follow their social channels for updates and inspiration. The book offers a deeper look into Susan’s travels, the recipes she collected, and the people who shaped the brand’s aesthetic and ethos.
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