Michael Day

***Upcoming appearances in which I'll talk about Being Berlusconi: BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends, Sat 1 Aug, 6.15pm... Australia's ABC National Radio, Mon 3 August, 8am local time...

I've been a journalist for twenty years. I started by writing about science and medicine, before switching to social affairs and politics for national newspapers in London, my home city. When, after a stint at The Sunday Telegraph, I fancied something new, I decided to take my laptop and move to Milan for a few months because I had friends there (that's one of the delights of living in Europe - being able to flit from one country to another on cheap flights for the price of a train fare).

That was over seven years ago and I'm still here, though now living in Rome. Italy is mad and chaotic. But also so sensuous and fascinating that it's sometimes hard to imagine living anywhere else.

In the time that I've been reporting from Italy for The Independent, I been lucky to travel the length and breadth of this extraordinary country; from Europe's most beautiful mountains, The Dolomites, to the Mediterranean's most intoxicating island, Sicily. I've written about the art, culture and food, and the Vatican and fascinating stories about ordinary people.

But above all, I got to witness first-hand the madness that was Silvio Berlusconi's final, decadent fall from grace. It was shocking and tawdry, but fascinating, as well. Before I came to Italy, I'd often wondered how he'd got away with it...hopefully reading Being Berlusconi will give you some insight, too!