I am 39 years old and I live in Siena, a beautiful medieval town about one hour south of Florence.
I have a Ph.D. in Geology but to me life is about more than an academic degree. I am also a musician, a cook
and a passionate photographer. I consider myself lucky
to be able to combine all my passions into my guiding
business.
Guiding
I have been a certified walking guide since 1999.
When I started my business, guiding was to me not more
than a part-time job, pretty much enjoyable, but still
part time. As time went by I realized how much I was feeling in
my shoes when guiding groups.
I think that guests mostly like my flexible and easy-going
personality.
As a geologist
I understand how difficult is to communicate science in an easy
and enjoyable way. My goal is to make your vacation an
unforgettable one where history, nature and culture really go
together very well with enjoyment and laughter.
Geology
In the course
of my academic studies I came into
touch with mapping, mineralogy and waste management. In my most
recent I investigated the "Bottini", a
15 miles long
underground aqueduct beneath Siena. Siena is an hill top town
with no direct natural access to water. The Sienese excavated
the "Bottini" in the 13th century to bring water into town,
and it's still working today,
supplying water to Fonte Gaia (the Happy Fountain),
located in the main square of the town.
A tour of the many public fountains in Siena is an interesting walk
through history and technology.
Music
Whatever happened to
that Beethoven record I listened to at least a thousands of times when I was 8 years old? Music has always been an important part of my life. I was the only
member of my family who was not forced to study music, and I am the only one who is still playing! Still playing the flute and guitar in jazz
and classical ensembles
and still learning (I started studying piano
2 years ago). It's
not big money but it's big fun!
Listen to some excerpts from my performances.
Cooking
My doctor said: "You
need to stick to a vegetarian diet!". I thought this meant lettuce
and beans. Thank god I was wrong, I discovered how many delicious
but healthy recipes I could cook on my own and I would love to share
some of them with you.
Photography
Ok. I admit it. Maybe I have a musical
sensibility but drawing and painting have always been something I
really cannot do.
Photography helped me to express from a visual point of view too.
Everything started by looking at the
pictures from some friends of mine. They all looked so much
better than mine. I tried to learn what the difference could have
been. As I was more and more into digital photography I took a
course to learn the basics.
Today, I bring my Nikon D40 everywhere
I go. And I enjoy.
I shot the majority of pictures you can
see in this web site.
