Il Diario di Diletta explains these expressions: "c'è" and "ci sono".
"C'è" is "ci è".
"Ci" means, in this case, "qui, in questo posto".
C'è Valerio con me
I want to say: "Valerio è qui con me" .
Ci sono tante cose da raccontare
I want to say: "Tante cose da raccontare sono qui".
Look these sentences:
C'è tanta confusione. There is a lot of confusion. C'è tua madre. There is your mother. Guarda, ci sono Paolo e Giulia. Look, there are Paolo and Giulia. In Italia ci sono molti luoghi interessanti. In Italy there are many interesting places.
We translate:
Now there is Valerio with me and I feel calmer. There are so many things to tell. At home there is again the confusion of a few months ago. There are suitcases to undo, there's the dirty washing. Valerio is sleeping with open arms with his face resting on the pillow. He looks like a child.