About Our Company - Italy Hotline Custom and Gourmet Tours

About Us

Italy Hotline Custom and Gourmet Tours was founded by Sienna Reid in 2006. Sienna is an art and art history major with a degree from the University of Washington and also worked as a chef for many years in Italian restaurants in the Pacific Northwest. In 1999, she and her husband decided to take a year's sabbatical in order to throw themselves headlong into Italy's fascinating world of history, art, and cuisine. They moved to Rocca Priora, a small town outside Rome in the Castelli Romani, where they enrolled their son in an Italian elementary school. Sienna and her family traveled around Italy, explored Italian culture, and learned Italian- which was easier in a small town because no one spoke English! After a year her husband became an employee of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization and their one-year sabbatical turned into a permanent move to Italy.

Before establishing Italy Hotline, Sienna worked as a freelance guide for other Rome-based tour companies. She specialized in tours of the Vatican, Ancient Rome, Ostia Antica and the historic center, custom-designing her own tours for an English-speaking clientele. Informed by her profound affection for Italy and her own guiding experience, Sienna has built her business on personalized customer service and private tours. She believes that discovering a city comes from both learning its history and indulging all the senses, and that art, myths, stories and legends are as key to understanding Italy as learning about its food, wine and cultural traditions. Exploring these differing aspects, as well as the hidden treasures one finds only by living in Italy, helps to open the Secret Door to Italy to her customers. As her business grew, Sienna began to work with other excellent guides who shared her vision of Italy. She has handpicked guides throughout Italy based on their passion for history, art and Italian culture and dedicated to excellent service. These art historians, archeologists, chefs and wine experts bring strong backgrounds to the tours they lead. They also have the wonderful ability to share their knowledge and communicate their passion in a fun, exciting way- and to be a great friend in Italy for each client.

Italy Hotline Private and Custom Tours mission is to

Design the best possible personalized itineraries that give our clients a profound and personal experience of Italy while provoking a desire to learn more.
Provide unparalleled customer service with a quick response time
Provide handpicked guides that meet Sienna's high standards for their understanding of Italian culture, cuisine, art and history along with an excellent ability, to communicate their knowledge in an in-depth, fun, and interesting way.

Our Guides and Service Providers

In tourism as in all service industries, people are the most valuable asset. Over the past six years, Sienna has personally selected a group of excellent tour guides, drivers and wine and food experts throughout Italy who emulate the philosophy and style of Italy Hotline Private and Custom Tours, enabling us to offer stellar service to our clients. Our guides are English-speaking field experts with a deep and vast knowledge of Italy thanks to their never-ending fascination with and passion for Italian history, culture, food and wine. Among our diverse team of guides are archaeologists, art historians, historians and food and wine experts, all of whom love sharing Italy’s vast wealth of culture with our impassioned and curious clients. Our guides' enthusiasm for Italy is genuine, and their knowledge of all things Italian broad and comprehensive.

We recognize that often a vacation to Italy is a once-in-a-lifetime trip which is why we promise to leave no door unopened in helping our clients experience the Italian holiday they’ve dreamed of. We know that returning clients may wish to explore in greater depth and visit off-the-beaten-path sites which are not always seen on a first trip. We love to design specialized itineraries as well.

Among the requests that we have fulfilled are: An in-depth two-day tour of Borromini’s masterpieces in Rome; a week-long visit to Tuscany with a sommelier featuring vineyard and olive oil orchard visits, wine and olive oil tasting; a visit to a ceramics factory and meals at the best Tuscan restaurants featuring the specialties of the region; an itinerary across Italy visiting artisan craftsmen with demonstrations; a tour of Naples, Pompeii, Rome, Florence and Venice as a reward package for employees of a large company, which emphasized historic tours as well as the wine and food of each region. Whether you want an in-depth tour of Florentine art at the Uffizi or wine tasting at one of Rome’s best enotecas, Italy Hotline Private Tours guarantees that one of our select guides will provide you with a customized, educational and entertaining tour for your private group or family.

Rome

Sienna

The owner of Italy Hotline Custom and Gourmet Tours, Sienna first fell in love with Italy as a little girl. Because of her name, people talked to her about Italy. She loved to make drawings of Italian palaces and fountains and dreamed of visiting one day. On a three-week visit to Italy with her husband and son in 1998, she fell in love with the country and within four months of returning home, they moved to Italy.

Since then, Sienna has lived the expat dream by immersing herself in the history, art, food and wine of Italy, traveling throughout the country seeking the ultimate experiences in each place they visit. Sienna’s lifelong love for food and cooking has led to incorporating the culinary aspect of Italy in her tours, bringing Italy alive through its history, art, and architecture as well as its culinary and cultural traditions. Sienna believes there is a Secret Door of authenticity to open for each person and the key to travel is to have a friend in Italy to guide one through it. The philosophy she has developed for Italy Hotline is one of private, custom-designed tours.

Ally

Ally was born in Russia and her family moved to Austria when she was just 3 years old. She grew up in Vienna where she loved to attend grand balls, visit galleries and take long walks with her camera. In Vienna she developed a love for languages, travel and art. After graduating from the Vienna International School, Ally attended St. Andrews University in Scotland; she studied Art History and Theology and received a First Class M.A. in those subjects. Ally first fell in love with Rome when she visited for a week during her final semester of college. After graduation Ally worked for Bonhams Auction House and the Ernst Hilger Gallery in Vienna, before spontaneously deciding that English, Russian, German were just not enough languages to have mastered. She decided to throw herself into studying Italian, and signed up for a three-week language class in Rome. After a month in the Eternal City she permantently moved here, and has been dedicating herself to the continuous immersion in art and history ever since. Ally loves photography, great food & wine, and thinks that Rome is "magical".

Sarah

With degrees in both fine arts and humanities, Sarah is well positioned to communicate both the visual and historical splendor of Rome. Yet it is her love of art, history, food and wine and all things Italian that make her an outstanding guide. Hailing from California, she is a licensed sommelier with AIS and WWS certification. She loves leading wine tastings with food pairings based on local cuisine both in Rome and outside of the city in its special countryside locations. In the arts, she loves classical Roman mosaic and portraiture, paintings by Caravaggio and Botticelli, and late 20th-century Italian fashion photography. When not touring the historic sites and wine bars of Rome, she retreats to the quiet country life of the Castelli Romani. Living in Genzano, Sarah had cultivated a vast number of contacts in the Castelli Romani area who are producers of artisan wines, breads, olive oils and other great gifts of the area. She is also a follower of local food and wine festivals in the area and loves to take visitors there. Her favorite historic site in the area is the Temple of Diana on the magical Lake Nemi. Her favorite day-trips from Rome are to the tiny towns of Cori, Piglio, Rocca Massima, and Anagni in the Castelli Romani. Sarah can custom design any tour to meet your dreams when it comes to food and wine coupled with historic exploration.

Michael

A Chicagoan by birth, Michael Karris grew up in Indiana, where his decision to take the “useless” subject of Latin at East Chicago Roosevelt High School led him to a life-long interest in all things Italian. He has been residing in Italy for over 30 years now—in Bologna, Sardinia, Perugia, Naples and Rome. Michael's life long passion is teaching about Italian history from the ancient to the present. He loves accompanying visitors who crave to learn more about the history and heritage of Rome through the ages and enjoys immensely the stimulating questions which come out of the visitors’ varied backgrounds and life experience.

Mr. Karris taught Humanities courses including Roman history and archaeology and Italian art history classes as an adjunct instructor for the University of La Verne (California) Naples Residence Center. He was also responsible there for developing a Cultural Tourism in Italy program for NATO Headquarters Southern Europe and 6th Fleet Naval Support Activity and took up scuba diving to do underwater archeological investigations in the Bay of Naples.

Daniela

Daniela was born and raised in Rome, where her passion for languages, art history and the history of Rome have guided her focus in life. The thing that most impresses Daniela about Rome is how each and every stone, column, and art work was part of the hustle and bustle of everyday life in another time. She earned her degree in tourism at the Christopher Columbus Tourism School of Rome, studied languages at Rome’s La Sapienza University, and took language courses abroad in England, France and Germany. Daniela followed the difficult official course studies for the history of Rome and Lazio, earning her Tourist Guide license in English and French in 1992 and has worked happily since then in Rome, Greece, Spain and Morocco. She loves to travel the world, meet new people and learn about other cultures.

Daniela’s favorite sites in Rome are endless, but she especially loves The Galleria Borghese with its superb wealth of Baroque art and its palatial interior that so clearly speaks of the parties and feasts of the past. Having two children herself, Daniela likes to give tours to young people and goes out of her way to make tours special for people of all ages.

Andrew

Andrew Park lives in Rome after moving here from the U.S.A. He has experience singing in over 30 productions over 10 years. He hails from San Diego but did most of his study in Santa Cruz and New York and has sung in productions all across the USA from Santa Barbara to San Francisco to St. Petersburg (Florida), as well as in Rome. He is at home singing arias, musical theatre, and classical art songs. Whether you're looking for a romantic evening or that perfect thing to create a unique ambience, he can provide the special song to make your Roman evening memorable for you and your loved ones.

Ettore

Resident gourmand, wine enthusiast and certified Sommelier, Ettore, was born into a culture of food and wine from an early age. He is a native of the town of Genzano di Roma, in the countryside south of Rome, an area well known throughout Italy for its delicious yet rustic kitchen, frequented by every Roman at one point or another. Ettore is married to Italy Hotline guide Sarah, and together, when they are not frequenting the many wine bars of Rome, they are searching for hidden enogastromic and cultural treasures in the countryside of Lazio.

Ettore's background is very diverse. He attended liceo classico and from an early age was exposed to classical history, mythology, and philosophy, which gave birth to his lifelong interest in pre-Roman Italy and archeology. He is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Archeology at University Roma Tre. He lived in California, with his wife Sarah, for two years, and spent much of his free time there studying the wine and food he missed in Italy. He is very passionate about local food and wine traditions and their historical significance, and especially the food and wine culture of the Pre-Roman world.

Silvia

Silvia is a Roman native who graduated from La Sapienza University with a degree in Foreign Languages and Literature in 1999. She has worked in the travel industry for 15 years, both in the back office as incoming travel expert for Rome and Italy and in the front line as travel escort and tour guide. She has been passionate about her hometown of Rome since childhood, exploring the city with her architect uncle, discovering every hidden corner, and learning about the city’s history from ancient times to the present. After studying art, history and archeology she earned her official tour guide license and now greatly enjoys helping visitors discover the beauty and the secrets of Rome, and stimulating the desire to come back as soon as possible! Silvia's favorite site in Rome is San Clemente for its blend of pagan and Christian sites and its intriguing history. Her hobbies are cooking, choir singing and yoga. She recommends a day outside of Rome with a visit to Ostia Antica, one of her favorite places for its calm natural beauty and wealth of historic interest. Silvia also recommends her scooter tours of Rome for an exciting way to experience the city as the Romans do!

Francesca

Francesca was born and raised in Rome by a Neapolitan dad and a London mum. She became interested in cooking as a child and was in charge of the weekly pasta sauce (with 8 at home there was a lot of food to make). Increasingly interested in cooking she bought endless amounts of cooking magazines. She moved to London at 26, and felt like Alice in Wonderland with herbs and ingredients she would not have found in Rome widening her culinary horizons. At the end of 5 years in London as an office worker she took off to Sydney to study at the Culinary Academy Le Cordon Bleu. When she returned to Rome she began her gastronomy and market tours, private catering and cooking lessons. She caters private meals for 1-200 people.

She loves Italian regional food from typical Roman and Lazio dishes like supplì, rice stuffed tomatoes, lamb with egg and parsley sauce to classic Tuscan, Neapolitan, Sicilian, Ligurian, Piedmontese and other regions. She specializes in hand made pasta from ravioli to tortellini, and lasagne. Dessert making is also a passion- from simple to complex desserts including gelato and tiramisu. She loves the wealth of fresh vegetables the Italian market offers. Vegetarian and special dietary requirements are easily arranged.

Fabio

Fabio is originally from Rome and spent some years living in California. Fabio has enjoyed the last ten years working as a licensed guide managing Roman Art History and history tours for English- and German-speakers. He loves to transmit his passion for Roman art—from ancient to contemporary—and takes great pride in being attentive and understanding of cultural differences and needs.

His diploma is in Art History from La Sapienza University with a Master’s degree in Semiotics of Contemporary Art focusing on art history, iconography, aesthetics, philosophy, art criticism and art literature. He has delved into the symbols and the political issues that underline the Renaissance and Baroque artworks of Rome. Fabio is also a writer of reviews and critiques on contemporary artists and art exhibitions in Rome. Lately he’s begun curating shows for contemporary artists exhibiting their works in Rome. For critiques in Italian you can see his work at http://www.artapartofculture.net/author/fabio-pinelli.

Terence

Terence gives tours and lectures for private groups on art, architecture, gardens and all matters cultural in London and many European cities. English, though of Mediterranean background, he was educated at the universities of Oxford, Paris and Vienna, and became one of the youngest lecturers in Latin and the history of art at Oxford. He subsequently worked at Christie’s in London as art director of Old Master Paintings. For the last few years he has worked as an independent art consultant, advising private clients and museums on art acquisition, sales and investment.

He has for many years given art tours and lectures for various cultural tour organizations throughout Europe and beyond, including India, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Morocco, and the United States. Terence is known for his deep, wide-ranging knowledge of art, his relaxed manner, and his ability to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds. He also has a wicked sense of humor! He has given many private tours of art exhibitions in London museums for ambassadors, scholars and other art and history lovers.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth has been reporting from Rome on all things delicious, beautiful and interesting for the last 15 years. Food, art, design and culture are her passions. She started out life as an academic, working on her dissertation on sixteenth-century garden architecture in Florence. During a break from working in the Medici archives, she met Domenico, an Italian architect and decided to stay in Rome and soon had a husband, babies, dogs and a brand new career writing for magazines like Architectural Digest and Bon Appetit. She has written six gorgeous big coffee table books on Italy including Italian Rustic.

Elizabeth lives in Rome and has a beautiful country house in Umbria. She is constantly involved with Italian food, concentrating particularly on Roman cooking, restaurants and markets and where to find the best of everything in general. Because of her long connection to Rome, she has an impressive amount of priceless connections to food and wine producers of all levels.

Concetta

Born in Rome from an English artist mother, Concetta graduated from the Roman Academy of Fine Arts and has worked as an illustration artist and art instructor for many years. As conservation is a major concerns of hers, she has a preference for illustrating Nature working with WWF Italy, children’s magazines on Nature and commissions from the Forestry, the Lazio Parks Agency, National and Regional Parks, Natural History Museums and nature sanctuaries. Concetta has created illustrations for display boards, calendars, books and other artwork related to educational initiatives. Her illustration of the State Forestry’s official 2008 Calendar has won great success.

A member of the Italian Society of Nature Art, Ars et Natura, and part of a group of nature artists involved in conservation in both Britain and Italy, Concetta loves to organize outings for painting wildlife in its own habitat. She mainly uses watercolour, but she also paints in oils and mixed media. She speaks fluent english, and has been teaching drawing to individuals and small groups giving special attention to the individual level of comprehension. Some of Concetta's favorite places to work are in the city of Rome with its endless number of evocative sites.

Sham

Sham is an Anglo-Italian professional photographer who received his Arts in Photography diploma from the N.E. Surrey College of Technology. He has lived in Italy since 1990. He met his partner Marzia Messina in 2002 in Rome where they begin a full-time collaboration creating the Marshamstreet agency under which they shoot fashion and advertising campaigns. Among their clients are: Bulgari, Pucci, and Medusa films. Contemporarily he develops his personal projects where his traditional photography is reinforced with Marzia's digital imaging. Their fine art work is represented by Wave Photogallery in Brescia – Italy in collaboration with Zoom Magazine where he has been featured many times. In December 2009 they opened their new studio in Rome, Backspace, a completely white 200 mq open space used as a photographic studio, event space for exhibits, presentations, courses and conferences. He is currently working on a photographic and editorial project which consists in photographing 365 women each of whom writes their own personal short story about a day in their life called 365 Days.

Spike

Spike is the owner of Sienna and her family. He adopted us over ten years ago when he was in residence in central Rome’s Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary. A wild kitten abandoned with his little brother, he was rescued by a Roman woman who brought him to the sanctuary. When we met him he was tiny, with enormous ears and a back leg that did not work. He told us to bring him to our home so we did and that started a long and wonderful relationship as a family. Spike helps us run Italy Hotline and is always there to keep us company as we answer our clients’ emails and arrange their private tours. “Un vero gatto Romano” as they say—“a true Roman cat”—he brings joy and fascination to all who meet him! The cat sanctuary he left behind is found within the ruins of the ancient Theater of Pompey. It is a wonderful place to visit if you like cats; you can even adopt a cat there to take home with you, or help support abandoned cats and the volunteers that take good care of them. (They sterilize, vaccinate and feed all of their cats.) You can find out more about the sanctuary at their website: http://www.romancats.com/index_eng.php

Florence

Lisa

Lisa is a first generation Italian-American born and raised in New York. Wanting to explore her roots, she began studying Italian in college and decided to spend a semester in Florence. It was truly love at first sight and she was hooked. After graduating she continued to study the language and returned often to Florence. After a few years she decided it was time to finally do what she had been longing to do since her junior year, move to Italy. Once here, her goal was to learn as much as she could about her beloved adoptive city. Her love for learning and curious nature lead her to pursue a career as a tour guide. Enchanted by the Chianti countryside and its famed wine, she went on to receive her certification as a sommelier. Lisa continues to be intrigued by Florence's art, history and culture on a daily basis and considers herself a "lifetime student". She spends her free time visiting the lesser known gems of Florence, taking long walks in the countryside and exploring Renaissance gardens. She considers herself very fortunate to be able to share her knowledge and passion of the place she now calls "home".

Lise

Lise loves helping people discover and understand Florence’s overwhelming abundance of history, art and architecture, as well as designing itineraries outside of Florence to take in the food and wine and other fantastic offerings of the Tuscan countryside. From Chicago, Lise came to Florence on a scholarship from the U of California to study printmaking, returned to finish her BFA, and a MFA from the U of Washington. After teaching art in Seattle, she no longer could ignore her love of Italy and returned to make the Florentine countryside her home. A licensed guide since 1995, she also teaches art in private and public schools. She is co-author of Italianissimo, a charming book on “quintessential Italian things” published in 2008, highly recommended for those who want to understand more about Italy's cultural secrets. Lise’s knowledge of Florence, its art, history, artisans and hidden treasures make her one of the city’s top private guides. Lise teaches art, cooking, and country skills at her farmhouse in the Mugello valley and enjoys making the “living classroom of the Renaissance” and the nuances of Italian culture come alive for travelers of all ages. Knowledge of food and wine and specialties of the region, as well as connections with artisan crafts and food producers are one of her specialties.

Camilla

Camilla is the daughter of an English father and an American mother. She grew up in London where she took her degree in Art History at London University. As a tourist she came to Italy and fell in love with it deciding to make it her home. She has now lived in Italy for two decades, passionately sharing her knowledge about art, history, and the great products of Tuscany such as its cuisine, wine and artisan crafts. Initially she traveled around the whole of Italy as a tour manager with small specialized groups but later received her authorization as an official local guide for Florence province and now works almost exclusively in Tuscany. As well as introducing Florence to first-time visitors, she delights in revealing the city's many secret treasures to the more keen Florence aficionado. Among her favorites are the Vasari Corridor, the Medici Villas and gardens in the surrounding countryside the Piero della Francesca Trail. Camilla is a working mother with two young boys. Camilla Baines is a formidable art historian and, as working mother she also loves to make a visit to Florence a great experience for children, who with her as a guide, will not be bored. Some of her favorite tours include "The great works of Bruneleschi" or "The great Ice Cream Shops of Florence" for kids—to keep everyone entertained.

Michaele

Michaele was just six years old when his parents brought him to Florence, and it was love at first sight! This passion endured as he studied, worked and traveled the world until he was finally able to make Florence his home. Wherever he has been, the attraction of Florence has drawn him back, time after time, like a magnet whose force he is powerless to resist. With each visit, the city unfolded more of its treasures to discover and explore, from its scenic beauty and notable architecture to its wonderful diversity of churches and museums. Michaele's favorite tours in Florence are those that delve into the genius of the great Renaissance artists such as Botticelli, Michelangelo, Brunelleschi and Leonardo, tours of handicraft workshops that take advantage of his contacts with goldsmiths, leather working, sculpture and fresco artists. Michaele has made it his passion to learn more of Florence’s fascinating history and research the delicious food and wine specialties of Tuscany. He truly enjoys helping curious and discerning visitors discover and share in Tuscany’s riches, secrets and wonders. A guide in Italy since 1996, Michaele has the tour guide license for Florence. He also enjoys parachuting, mountain climbing and rescue, diving, skiing, world travel, architecture, art, history, gardening and speleology.

Tuscany

Antonella

Antonella was born in Sardinia and grew up there until she moved to Milan to earn a degree in foreign languages and English, Spanish and Portuguese literature. She then moved to California, where she learned about the United States and perfected her English. Coming back from the US, she visited and fell in love with Tuscany, made it her home and became a licensed tour guide for the Siena region of Tuscany. Antonella developed an intense passion for the wine, food, history and local traditions of Tuscany. She became a sommelier and has made priceless contacts with wine producers in the area, which allows her to bring clients into private vineyards for an experience few people are privileged to enjoy. She lives in the charming Tuscan town of Montisi with her husband, a noted wine-making consultant, and their dog Kiu. Antonella can create specialized itineraries in Siena and Tuscany, wine tastings, culinary tours, and visits to historic sites of all kinds as well as ceramics workshops and shopping areas. She has a great passion for what she does and loves to share the Tuscany she knows so well.

Riccardo

Born in Florence in the last millennium , Riccardo always say that he is a blend of cultures because his mother is German and his father was Greek . He speaks English , Italian, German, French and a little Spanish. After a long experience as dental mechanic he decided that he needed a bit of fresh air, so to speak, and began working as a chauffeur-guide 16 years ago. He first worked with his father and then after 3 years loved it so much he started his own company.

He loves meeting people from other countries and showing them the amazing sites of Florence, Tuscany and Italy. Because of his excellent service he is also proud to provide chauffeur services for the main soccer team of Florence. His greatest pride comes from having made a lot of people fall in love with Florence and Tuscany over the years, taking them to the best places so that they can discover first hand the beauty, culture, food and wine of Italy. His philosophy- that his clients are his guests and that they must take back home an unforgettable and perfect memory of the what they discovered with his help.

Pamela

Pamela lives with her family in a beautiful historic villa on their 15-acre organic farm near Montepulciano in Tuscany, an area famous for its great wine, olive oil and pecorino cheese. She originally trained as a chef in Los Angeles with noted chef Joaquim Splichal and over the last 20 years has enjoyed a freelance career as a culinary teacher, food stylist and food writer. She has published 15 cookbooks and has a new one coming out in 2011 called Tuscan Peasant Cooking. Pamela’s offerings include cooking classes in her home, day trips in Tuscany and Umbria, weeklong culinary programs and trips exploring the back roads of Italian food and wine culture in several regions of Italy including Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Campagna and Piemonte. Custom designed cooking classes and itineraries are her specialty and she has wonderful contacts with small local producers to bring her guests in touch with the real Italy in every region. Pamela is involved with production herself and has an active oliveto with 1,250 olive trees and a garden that provides fresh, seasonal organic produce- thus when you cook with her you get a sense of the connection between the cook and the land. She has beautiful horses on her property as well! Pamela's favorite restaurants in Tuscany: La Grotta- Montepulciano, Latte di Luna-Pienze, Mondo X-Cetona.

Pompeii, Amalfi & Naples

Calogero

Passionate about both art and archeology, Calogero is a native Sicilian who successfully transplanted to Naples over 20 years ago as a university student. With a degree in Archeology and a background in English, French, Japanese and Chinese languages, he loves to root out the commonalities across peoples and historical periods. His background includes both European and Oriental archeology as well as Greek and Roman art and architecture. A lover of the past but firmly in the present he follows contemporary art, particularly photography and installation work. He loves the layers upon layers of history to be found in the labyrinth that is Naples, its roots going back thousands of years to the Greek colonists who first settled it. He enjoys showing clients the beauty of the city, allowing them to benefit from his decades of careful exploration that bring out Naples’ colorful history and vibrant people, its earthy Aglianico wines and its complex yet home-style cuisine.

Mariateresa

Mariateresa comes from a Sorrentine family who regard and hold dear the traditions of the kitchen as an art form. She has lived for twenty two years with her family in Naples and her love for good food has driven her to know the best of this lively and exciting city. Maria Teresa wants you to feel like a guest of the city of Naples and to leave feeling like you have found a wonderful friend, and discovered her city's secrets. She transfers her passion about the Naples culinary world; from the ingredients found in the markets and the best Neapolitan recipes to the strong artisan traditions to be found in pizza making, pastries, coffee and bread making. She has used her excellent research and connections to create a wonderful food tour of the city allowing you to discover its best, as the guest of a Neapolitan. She also offers a personal view into Neapolitan cooking with a private lesson in her Naples home, found in an ancient castle in the historic center. Her focus: the discovery of "Napoletanita'"!

Luciana

Luciana, coming from a family of cooks, provides lessons in the traditional regional cooking of Sorrento using the rich variety of local products of this beautiful coast. The Homeric land of the Sirens, it extends itself into the sea, bordered by the "Lattari Mountains" creating a stunning setting. This area has an ideal mild and moderate climate, creating lush foliage and great local produce, since the ancient Greeks arrived in this area and introduced terrace-cultivation of grape vines and olive trees. Today the region is also known for its beautiful citrus trees that thrive in the seaside climate, green and vibrant, dotted with beautiful yellow lemons and oranges contrasting with Mediterranean blue sea.

Luciana's kitchen is opened up to you in her home of great beauty, an aristocratic villa near the seaside and the famous Hotel Cocumella in Sant'Agnello di Sorrento. The setting, complete with a large private garden, statues and gorgeous dining room has been featured in architectural magazines and feels like one walked into paradise. She makes her own wine and liqueurs and will share her secrets with you. Examples of other dishes you will learn to make are Gnocchi and Lasagna alla Sorrentina, Eggplant Parmesan, and Lemon Tart with Sorrento lemons.

Venice

Sara

Sara is an art historian who graduated from the Ca Foscari University of Venice. The delightful and insightful Sara is a licensed sommelier and expert on cuisine of the Veneto area and all things Venetian. With Sara you'll learn about bustling markets, great street food, and historical secrets that will leave you wanting more. Sara can arrange anything from a cooking lesson in a palazzo based on the aphrodisiacs Casanova used to seduce his conquests, take you on a whirlwind giro of the ancient wine bars known as bacari with their local wines and cichetti, or provide you with a wine tasting in an historic palace on the Grand Canal. In 2004 Sara was hired by the BBC to develop a section of the TV programme 'Journeys from the Centre of the Earth', about the Salt Trade and Spice Routes of the Mediterranean. On one of her well informed and delightful walks, you’ll gain insight into the sweep Venetian history, while at the same time learning some curiously fascinating food facts of the area. Sara Cossiga is a passionate advocate of Venetian cookery, and runs gourmet walking tours of the city that explore the way in which the city's history has shaped its culinary landscape. Learn about the influence of the turks in Venice, fish and fishermen in Venetian history, and food in Venetian art or take a tour of the lagoon to see its fascinating islands and artistic treasures.

Elizabetta

Elisabetta lives in Venice and is thoroughly immersed in the culture of this exciting city. She is a licensed tour leader in the Veneto region and for over 11 years has been informing and entertaining visitors about the sights, culture and tradition of Venice, the Veneto region and Italy. She loves to organize tours in the magical area around Venice as well, such as the Islands of the Venice Lagoon, Padova, Verona, Vicenza, the Palladio, Lake Garda, and the Dolomite mountains. Chauffeured tours through the Veneto countryside hold many surprises that few people see. A member of the Slow Food movement in Italy, Elisabetta loves taking her guests to small artisan wine and local food producers so that she can share the amazing specialties of the region.

She loves working with visitors of all ages, and can gear any tour towards the special needs or interests of her guests from families to corporate tours. Her interests include art, architecture, the Middle Ages, garden history & design, skiing and trekking in the Dolomite Mountains, discovering new restaurants and delving into the culinary and wine traditions of the Veneto region and Italy, going rowing in the lagoon and taking an "ombra" in the baccari (traditional wine bars of Venice).

Marika

Marika's mission is to share with you the pleasure of authentic Italian cooking combining the old traditions of Italian grannies to modern and dynamic cuisine. At her palazzo in Venice she provides cooking lessons as well as catered events with passion and creativity, always creating exciting and delicious cuisine which is beautiful to the eye. The love of good food is something with which Marika was born and has lived, guided and inspired in this passion by her grandmothers, skilled cooks, and by her parents who loved involving her in their ‘cooking marathons’. Together they delighted in passing whole days preparing sumptuous dinners for the family and the numerous friends and guests that frequented the Contaldo home. Talent, creativity and a natural disposition in the art of entertaining found an answer in 1998 when Marika met Yolanda Garretti and Viola Buitoni who employed her in their Catering-Store in Madison Avenue New York. In 2001 she graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. Marika then worked at Chantarelle, where she learnt techniques and secrets from the famous chef David Waltuck. That same year Marika and her associates founded Acquolina Catering, known for enterprises of international fame. She has catered for Ferragamo, Giorgio Armani and Martha Stewart Omnidia.

Umbria

Federica

Italian by birth, Federica grew up between Umbria and Rome where she attended classical high school and then pursued her passion for art history at Roma Tre University, graduating with a diploma in Comparative Art History of the European Countries, and then a Masters in Modern Art History. She is currently a PhD candidate with concentration in the delicate passage of fine arts development in Europe between the XVI and XVII century. Federica has developed a series of wonderful tours revolving around the cast of fascinating artists and writers of Rome.

Following her appetite for foreign experiences, Federica studied English as a second language in Dublin, then moving to London earned a post graduate Masters in Art Curation at the St. Martins School of Art and Design. After her studies there, she was presented with an opportunity to travel to the Balkan countries (Albania and Kosovo) with an Italian ONG. There, she was in charge of curating art and educational projects while also lecturing in universities. At present, Federica is an art curator and lecturer with various NGO organizations and Italian cultural institutes and works in the theatre as a costume designer with great passion.

Paola

Paula, a native Umbrian, is a creator of local cuisine beyond parallel. She is a master of everything: Antipasti, bread baking and pizza making, home made pasta, roasts and steaks, desserts and liqueurs. She takes simple traditional recipes and highlights and transforms them with her expert culinary vision, leaving you with a taste of her dishes that will stay with you forever, in a memory of a perfect meal. Paula is one of those people for whom cooking comes naturally and having been born and raised in a part of Umbria with a bounty of natural ingredients at hand she has lived this cuisine since birth. With a cooking class, catered lunch or dinner with Paula you will also be given a set of incredible recipes to take home with you so that you can prepare these wonderful dishes in your own home, since the ingredients used are simple and not hard to find outside of Italy. With great passion and fun Paula will share her knowledge and secrets about specialties of the area such as earthy black truffles, wild boar, chianina beef, and the fresh produce of the area. You will be left with an incomparable taste of Umbrian cuisine, hospitality and charm that can only lead to a long lasting love affair with this magical Green Heart of Italy.