From Washington to Italy, my life has been shaped by friendships, experiences, and a curiosity about where they might lead next.
For over three decades, I’ve traveled the world
Along the way, I’ve been fortunate to build friendships and relationships that have opened doors to experiences I never could have planned from a guidebook. Even better, I’ve had the pleasure of sharing many of those experiences with friends and fellow travelers.
Much of that story includes my friendship with Andrea Bocelli. Andrea and I have been friends for more than 30 years, and for the past decade, I’ve invited small groups from the United States to join me in Italy for private dinners, performances, and special events with Andrea.
These trips have always been by invitation only. That was never about making them feel exclusive. It was about keeping them personal and sharing these occasions with people I knew would appreciate the experience, the music, the food, the culture, and, most importantly, the connection.
From private dinners with Andrea in Tuscany to castle stays in the hills of Cilento, I’ve accumulated quite a few stories over the years. Some are about extraordinary occasions. Others are simply about a wonderful hotel, a meal Kathy and I still talk about, or a small town we weren’t quite ready to leave.
About The Well-Traveled Gentleman
I’ve been traveling long enough to know that the places you remember most aren’t necessarily the ones everyone tells you to visit. Sometimes it’s the hotel where they remember your name. Maybe it’s the restaurant you found because someone you trust told you where to go. And perhaps it’s an evening that was supposed to last two hours and somehow carried on until midnight.
After decades of some incredible travel experiences, I want to finally take the time to share with others some curated itineraries, destination reviews, standout meals, and stories you’ll actually want to retell.
For me, good travel has never been about checking another destination off a list. It’s about taking the time to appreciate where you are, who you’re with, and those unexpected moments that somehow become the stories you’re still telling years later.
That’s what I hope to share with you here. So pull up a chair and have an espresso with me. I have a few stories to tell and a few places I think you’re going to enjoy.
Welcome to The Well-Traveled Gentleman. Your next passport stamp could be the story they tell.
Warmly,
John Salamone
“When it comes to running the big events and raising money, you are the best. Thanks for all you do to help non-profits grow.”
Joseph MogliaChairman, TD Ameritrade
MORE ABOUT JOHN’S STORY & WORK
I came to Washington, D.C., more than 40 years ago to work as an Executive Assistant in the United States Congress. After a decade on Capitol Hill, I moved to the Department of Justice, where I served as Congressional Liaison at the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
For five years, I worked with the White House, Congress, and the business community on matters related to U.S. immigration policy. After nearly 15 years in government, I joined the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) in 1984. At the time, NIAF was a young Washington-based nonprofit providing educational opportunities for young people and serving as a business, cultural, and political link between Italy and the United States.
Fundraising quickly became an important part of my work. I drew upon relationships I had developed throughout the business, political, and entertainment communities, and during my first year, we doubled NIAF’s revenues.
I spent the next 25 years helping grow the organization and building the NIAF Washington Gala into one of the most successful annual events in the country, raising millions of dollars each year to support the Foundation’s programs.
I also worked to build NIAF’s endowment through direct mail campaigns, major gifts, website development, product endorsements, and royalty income. During my years there, NIAF achieved a Four-Star Charity Navigator rating and established a healthy endowment to help support its programs for future generations.
My work also gave me the opportunity to support many other organizations and causes that were important to me. Over the years, I helped raise millions of dollars for the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, UCLA Children’s Hospital, the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Tyler Robinson Foundation for pediatric cancer research, the Sabin Vaccine Institute, and many others.
My work with the Sabin Vaccine Institute has always been meaningful to me because my only son, David, was afflicted with polio as an infant. When I look back on those years, however, I don’t think only about the money we raised or the events we produced. I think about the people.
My career has allowed me to form relationships with Fortune 500 CEOs, political leaders, philanthropists, athletes, entertainers, and people from many different walks of life. Many of those professional relationships became genuine friendships. And some of those friendships took me to places I never expected to go.
I traveled through Southern Italy with baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, including a visit to his hometown. I enjoyed cruises with Yogi Berra and his wife, Carmen. My travels, charitable work, and events have also brought me together with Nicolas Cage, Kristin Chenoweth, Steven Tyler, Sophia Loren, Mario Andretti, football icon Franco Harris, and many others, both in Italy and throughout the United States.
Andrea Bocelli and I have been friends for more than 30 years. During that time, we’ve shared many memorable occasions in Italy and the United States. For the past decade, I’ve had the pleasure of inviting small groups of friends from the United States to join me in Italy for private dinners, performances, and special events with Andrea.
These gatherings have always been by invitation only, and I think that is part of what has kept them so special. They aren’t packaged tours or traditional travel experiences. They are friends coming together to share something memorable that grew naturally from a friendship spanning more than three decades.
I continue to bring more than three decades of fundraising experience to nonprofit organizations through events, relationship building, and creative development initiatives. Much of that work still comes back to the same thing I learned many years ago: good relationships take time, and the best ones are about much more than business.
I’ve also been fortunate to receive several honors along the way. I am a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. In 2008, Ambassador Giovanni Castellaneta presented me with the Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, and in 2007, I was invested as a Knight within the Order of St. John.
I’m proud of those honors and grateful for the career I’ve had. But The Well-Traveled Gentleman gives me an opportunity to share another part of my life. After decades of travel, I’ve accumulated much more than passport stamps. I have stories to tell.