I CONFESS / I have never been to Trafana, Italy.

Yes, it’s the namesake of my travel blog, but I’ve never been there. Nor do I know anyone who has.

Hunting for a good name to market a line of contemporary furniture, I turned to a map of Italy for inspiration. Trafana it was! It never became a furniture line, but it’s a wonderful sounding word, easy to read and has just enough syllables to be a good name for something. If not furniture, then why not the ideal of some faraway place to travel? It just sounds like a peaceful place on a map marked for discovery. Trafana!

Salerno to its west and Brindisi to its east are the closest I’ve ever been to Trafana. It is a small stretch of a village in the arch of the Italian boot, about five miles from the sea. The village has 13 inhabitants, so I’ve discovered, and I’ll have to take the unofficial word for it. From a birdseye scan of all that lies within the dotted city limits, 13 may be a pretty close count. Trafana is a boomerang-shaped community rolled out across softly rolling farms and orchards, punctuated by a few sturdy, tile-topped homes set close to the two narrow and winding roads that slice the town.

If any of the good citizens of Trafana, Italy, ever run across trafana.com, I’m sure they will scratch their heads about their new web incarnation and unexpected exposure. I must be the first blogger to write about their hometown and post a photo. If I hear from a resident or visitor who knows Trafana, I’ll interview them and fill you in on insider insights.

Until then, Trafana is the name of a wonderful place on a long list of destinations that call me to travel.

David