Venice, Italy
Tours Delivered,
Since May 30, 2016
4.0
Hours, Avg. response time
Guide #14005
Benvenuti alla Dolce Vita! Brilliant licensed art and history guide, PhD, with over a decade guide experience in Florence, the Cinque Terre, Tuscany, Venice, Rome, the Vatican, Pompeii, the Amalfi coast and Sicily - all the regions connected in culture and history, a combination of sea and land - I enjoy sharing my love for them with others. I'll plan your itinerary, arrange skip-the-line museum tickets, a minivan with private driver and a boat ride, show you the hidden beauties of Florence, take you to my favorite local restaurant and on the most panoramic hike, talk art, history, Italian life and politics, and can even cook for you a Sicilian meal. Pleasure in life must be holistic - and Italy is an ideal country for this. My tours of Florence are outstanding - my experiences of Tuscany and the Cinque Terre are sublime - my Venice is passionate like Casanova - my Rome is layered like a delicious cake - and my Sicily is breathtaking. I am driven by passion for local Italy, my home over the past 25 years. Here, I studied in Rome and Florence, worked in Parma, the Cinque Terre and Tuscany, and of course fell in love - in Sicily. It's this pleasure, careful research and local knowledge that I'm happy to share on tour. What to expect from my tours? Expect more and better! A watermelon popping out from my backpack in the middle of a spectacular hike, a memorable love abduction story from a Medieval monastery, a delicious seafood meal, a marble quarry worthy of Michelangelo, and wine tasting in the villa of Mona Lisa. Guiding is one of the most creative activities, where each guest is a chance to discover the place anew, adding a unique tour to each visit. I enjoy creating your custom itinerary, preparing every detail, adding local insight, taking you to places as varied as a panoramic trail above Portofino, a secret temple of Mithras, a private road of the Medici, a gondola shipyard, or a prehistoric village in Sicily. And in winter I indulge in researching new destinations and itineraries in Italy, just got my official Vatican Museums license 2025! For an even more unique and local experience, please ask my advice on where to stay, eat, and how to travel within Italy, share the interests, ideas and details you wish to be included on tour. The more I know about your taste and plans the better I can prep and serve Italy for you :) Welcome to the Dolce Vita! - Official art history guide license (800 hours compulsory coursework, state exam) valid throughout Italy including UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Florence, Venice, Rome, Siena, Pisa, Tuscany, the Cinque Terre, Portofino, Pompeii, Sicily, Umbria, and more!). - Official art and history guide license for the Vatican City including the Vatican gardens, the Sistine Chapel, Museums and St. Peter's basilica. - PhD (European University Institute) - The last guide still resident in the oldest part of Florence! - 19 years guide experience - Published book author (Oxford, Hart Publishing). I am a licensed guide, not a driver. I can accompany you in your vehicle, arrange for a private driver or public transport. I cannot service cruise passengers. My museum and city guide license is for English, Italian, Russian and French languages only.
Venice
Florence
La Spezia

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265 reviews
Touring one of the world's great museums with a PhD Art Historian is a real treat. The Uffizi is an enormous space and could easily consume an entire day(s). Anna was great to guide us see the important parts of the museum and, importantly, help us to bypass the exhibits that can be missed or seen on a future visit. We spent 3 hours at the museum left totally...
Anna was wonderful. We had a meeting x of ages and a larger party of 6. She met us at the hotel to start the day which was very helpful. She made frequent stops in the shade to give us some history and interesting facts. We also did a private boat tour to murano and burano. She walked us through places to shop, eat and rest. It was a perfect day!
We had an amazing day with Anna exploring the towns of Cinque Terre with a stop in Pisa at the end. Her organization was a thing of beauty!! Her mastery of the train and ferry schedules was impressive to watch and our group of 4 for sure wouldn't even have come close to doing all we did without her. She met us at the Florence train station with gelato in hand so we...
Fantastic day. Anna put together an itinerary that covered everything we wanted to see in acthe day including a wonderful lunch. Highly recommend her.