Mark: Alvise, thank you so much for the time today. You know how much I am in love with Venice and Italy for that matter and the opportunity to just talk with you while being sequestered at home here in America is a joy. Grazie my friend!

Alvise: It’s a pleasure to hear you! I hope you and your family are good. It is a pleasure also for me to share with you my thoughts…

Mark: Wonderful, so the question on my mind today is what is this unprecedented Quarantine and crisis like for you?

Alvise: Despite the unique and sad moment that we are living, I can say that my Quarantine is pretty exciting. I am taking advantage to improve my skills on cooking delicious pasta! I go twice a week (respecting all the government physical distancing rules) to the Rialto fish market to get fresh fish from the lagoon and to the Vegetables market to get the fresh vegetables from the Island of Sant’Erasmo. It is a joy for the palate...especially with a good glass of white wine!! I also made some amazing bacon cheeseburgers... lol!

Mark: I see the photos you’ve shared with me and am now planning to have you be a chef for me and my group when I come soon? Si?

Alvise: Si! Perfetto Marco! I also must say I am reading a couple of very interesting books about the millenary history of Venice and I am discovering new anecdotes and facts about my city!

Mark: Alvise, you personify the quintessential Italian with your passion for food — and I’m serious about my dinner — I’ll be coming and expecting great things! Can you share your thoughts about American travelers?

Of Americans...I appreciate how curious they are, how “thirsty” of culture they are...

Alvise: I LOVE to share the beauty of Venice with American clients...I appreciate how curious they are, how “thirsty” of culture they are...and they are always smiling and positive. Like me! :-)

Mark: Wonderful. I get a little nervous when I ask nonAmericans what they think about us! You put me and the entire American nation at ease. A true camaraderie between the Venetians, Italians and the Americans. And, you see, I understand that I have to separate Venetians from Italians, even though we all know they’re all Italian! ;-) So what advice do you have for American travelers who are thinking about coming to visit beautiful Italy?

Alvise: After this very sad moment Italy will be even more beautiful than before. Italians will be even happier because we will start again to appreciate the little things and we will be even more welcoming to all the visitors who will come to Italy!! I attached some photos of an empty Venice...the ghostly beauty is simply remarkable...

Another amazing Italian soul who loves his country and loves Americans! What a great entry to this ‘collection of the heart.’

Emanuele: Personally I work a lot with American people, and I really like to do it. Americans are quite always extroverts and cheerfuls and this is very important for me. I want to ‘create a contact’ (connection) with my clients, and I always find it ‘easy’ with USA people.

Mark: Emanuele, what advice do you have for American travelers dreaming about coming back to Italy after the crisis has passed?

Emanuele: The first advice at the moment is to be quiet (author’s note: this is Italian for be still, patient) and to respect the laws for their health. I also want to tell them to be positive and to take advantage to come to Italy (once the covid 19 will be just a bad memory) because we will be waiting for you to share our culture, our historical cities and our good cuisine! The time is never enough to discover the Italian beauties! Traveling is a wonderful possibility and we will do it again! See you soon in Venice!!

Mark: Emanuele’s sentiments are straight from his heart — his passion is all about sharing the “beauties of Italy.”

Luigi: Buongiorno my friend! As you know the country has been on total lockdown (only markets and pharmacies are open), however, the situation in the south is much quieter than in the north. Our mutual friend and colleague, Pascal, lives in Madone, a suburb of Bergamo, which is the city that was most affected by the virus. We’ll hear from Pascal later in this article. Just yesterday (March 27, 2020) they asked us to stay at home for another 15 days. Some people rushed to the markets and made compulsive purchases, but we can find almost everything (except antibacterial masks). I am spending (and recovering) much time with my babies and we do many chores together. I'm enjoying it a lot but I must admit that it also is very demanding and tiring (Viviana [Luigi’s wife] is a nurse, so she is continuing to work...too hard). I really miss my job and of course all our guests.

In particular, American travelers with their friendly ways that always put my mind at ease!

Mark: What does the future look like from your perspective, Luigi?

Luigi: The situation evolves very quickly but in a few weeks we will be ready to start again. We only have to learn a new way to travel. To prefer outdoor places, avoid crowded places and travel in small groups ... practically what our Way of Travel has always done (and it will be our strength)! Of course, will never be missing sanitizers for guests on board and frequent sanitization of vehicles.

Mark: Luigi, thank you so much for offering us a slice of your life in Italy and for the time you gave me today. Keep healthy and a presto! (see you soon).

Luigi: Stay safe and take care of your Family!

Mark: Cynthia, I know you have been affected greatly, like all of your Italian colleagues by this unprecedented event; and I want you to know how much we have been thinking and praying for you and them. Tell me what life has been like for you…

Cynthia: We are all leaving in surreal, strange times…This is my third week under lockdown, 18th quarantine day in my apartment in Rome with my husband Salvatore and our spoiled cat Aldo. The days are long with ups and…downs. I miss my dear ones like I never have before…my family and friends but so far they are all well.

Mark: How do you stay in touch with your family and friends?

Cynthia: I stay connected daily via What’sApp with my sister and family in London and in Rome. We check on others more and more as the number of infected are rising all over the world and our daily official bulletin gives bad news only.

Mark: What have you been up to during your quarantine?

Cynthia: I have a very busy online social life! It helps to stop thinking about the emergency. Skype, Zoom, Messenger and email keep me in contact with the world. I also make a lot of phone calls. It is a good time to catch up with distant friends and check on how they are doing. Not being able to attend my gym I have also taken many virtual yoga classes and book different lessons: history, art, archaeology so many lessons I couldn’t follow them all…. As in these days I am quite obsessed with cleaning. Then we, my husband and I, are lucky to have a terrace, so we can spend a little time outdoors in these beautiful spring days and do some gardening. We never had time for those things before. There were plenty of very old seeds in a box, I planted them and to my greatest contentment they are blooming!

I also “try” not to eat too much, but it is so hard as it is one of the few things one can do…. Facebook “Italian” friends are posting videos with cooking lessons unveiling their best family’s secrets, like grandma’s recipes! The more you eat, the more you have to go for food shopping. This is the only time I exit the apartment, looking like an astronaut: spectacles, mask, double gloves, cap and like an astronaut exiting the door I land on a different world! It is not my Rome any more, few cars, deserted streets, closed stores, policemen.

When it comes to shopping in Italy, guess what item is best sold during these days?

Red, white or rosé… the answer is good Italian wine!

Mark: Do some of our past guests ever contact you to check in on you?

Cynthia: It has been very touching to receive many messages from some of our guests from the States, asking for news and sending me their prayers. I hope to see them again when this will be over. Many love Italy so much that they come back periodically visiting different regions of the country, they always do a little stop in Rome though to explore with me some special secret places, the ones truly off the beaten path.

Mark: Tell me what you think about us crazy Americans being in love with Italy and traveling so often to your beautiful country.

Cynthia: I have been in the tourism business for many years, ten years as tour director traveling in Italy and Europe and twenty years as a Rome tour guide. My guests have been almost exclusively American travelers, I have been spending days with them traveling, chatting, eating, drinking and laughing! I dare to presume I know them a bit.

I consider myself lucky to have had such an experience as I have always enjoyed their company. Why? Because they were well mannered, respectful, easy going, curious, open, smiling, enchanted by the beauty of my country. But above all it has been their endless will to live that has struck me the most.

Very different from our old Italian culture that used to consider people in their fifties old and people in their sixties even too old to travel! I will never forget a sweet newly married couple, both in their eighties! I have seen them refusing to surrender to the aches and pains of age. They have taught me that one should live his/her life to the fullest! It has been a good lesson that I do not forget.

Mark: Wow, that paints a wonderful and inspiring picture. Thank you for sharing that. One last question, what advice would you give to American travelers who are thinking about coming to visit beautiful Italy?

Cynthia: I have a couple only! Before departure, one should check on the internet the average temperature for the month in all different places he/she will be visiting. There can be quite a difference between northern, central and southern Italy, be prepared and pack consequently. Layers are the secret! Leave some empty little space in your suitcase for possible shopping…you might need to buy the missing item (sweater, walking shoes...) or a souvenir. I consider shoes and handbags the perfect souvenirs! Jewelry is also a good option, budget permitting.

Mark: Cynthia, thank you so much for sharing just a bit of your life with me and America. You are very much appreciated and I cannot wait to see you in amazing Rome soon!

Susanna: A dear greeting to you and all the Story headquarters staff! I hope that you and your families are well and that you respect the rules that will allow us to see each other again safely when everything is over! I share my experience of social isolation: It is not really a classic quarantine but a strong and new situation in our lives that we try to face with flexibility, irony and philosophical spirit – these have served as well as a country and they will always stand out.

Here in Tuscany my beautiful region where I was lucky enough to be born and live and where all my ancestors have lived since the time of the Etruscans, the situation has always been under control and there has never been a very high number of infections as in Northern Italy, in Lombardy. I have been living in total lockdown for 3 weeks or since the 8th of March. This, of course, means that we cannot leave the house except for specific items or reasons.

At the beginning of the crisis you could at least go out to run or walk, but having seen that the number of infections was rising the isolation measures became even more restrictive and we can not do it anymore. You can go out near the house but it is not allowed to exercise outdoors and therefore parks and gardens have been closed. You can't get together, you can't go to visit friends and family, you have to stay at home. All commercial, professional, service activities are closed and these categories of people do not have an income. Cities are literally deserted. Schools, museums, theaters, stadiums, all forms of social aggregation are suspended.

Mark: Knowing you and your fellow countrymen I know this lockdown is bordering on unbearable. But I also know you all are focused, just like here in America and elsewhere, on getting past this by ‘flattening the curve,’ and other measures.

Susanna: From always being around in Florence, Siena and all over Tuscany as I usually do as a Tourist Guide, to meeting our customers or organizing new tours, this allows me to have much extra time to study, write and update in order to be ready to start again with greater strength and motivation.

Mark: It’s amazing how creative and innovative Italians can be (and I am seeing the same innovation and positive outlook here in America as well!). Tell me more about how you’re personally coping with this time.

Susanna: I cook much more than before and experiment with new recipes that I share with friends. I started writing an art blog and a new book! I do miss meeting people and students and taking them around to teach them the appreciation of art and beauty. I do yoga and dance lessons via the web. I have a simple life similar to that of a monk. There is time and we understand what are the important things and people and which are not. It seems that the number of infections is decreasing in Italy but it is not yet over. Unless we are part of the category that is now on the front line, that is, doctors and health personnel, now it is not our turn. It will be soon. Respect the rules, live as monks, and rediscover only what is essential. Resist and take a journey in yourself. This is the way to return to the world out there once everything is spent enjoying its beauty with a new awareness.

Mark: Tell me how you’ve been coping with the quarantine.

Andrea: My wife and I are living our quarantine as an opportunity to improve our little yet comfortable home, because we never spend so much time there!!! But it needs care, constant cleaning and tidiness. After all, it is our main shelter from our daily stress dose (when life is “business as usual”). Very fortunately, in Italy there is no shortage of food in stores, emergency services are working efficiently, we are absolutely proud of our national and regional medical system, home utilities are perfectly running and public offices are all open. I realised how lucky we are, compared to other countries where they have lack of potable running water and/or electricity (not mentioning telephones or internet) and worse of all the deficiency of medicines, medical staff and hospitals!!! Finally, I see this “extra vacation” to project/plan the future (the day after COVID 19), to read books and newspapers or even listen to the radio and watch good films. Last but not least, spend quality time with family and our dogs 😊.

Mark: I know you’ve now been living for some time in your beautiful little corner of Tuscany, away from the cities. I also know you get exposed to Americans frequently. What do you think about these people?

Andrea: Tourism represents a vital yet everlasting business opportunity for our national economy!!! Therefore, I APPRECIATE that American travelers decide to spend their money and their time in Italy. They simply keep our economy in motion!!!

Therefore, I APPRECIATE that American travelers decide to spend their money and their time in Italy. They simply keep our economy in motion!!!

Furthermore, I always keep in mind and APPRECIATE that many Italian monuments and palaces, price-less artifacts and archaeological sites are kept in order and open to the world thanks to non-profit organizations often based in the USA. In any case, I do hope to see more and more of those international partnerships as they only bring positive effects on both sides of the Atlantic ocean!!!

Mark: Most of our guests fall in love with Italy and will return on multiple journeys for many years and even decades. It’s truly a love affair of the heart. Tell me your thoughts on travelers coming to Italy.

Andrea: Italy is the country where everyone can be hungry in mind and in body. One can eventually taste authentic regional foods and recipes (Italian traditional gastronomy is the most imitated and counterfeited cuisine in the world), while traveling and visiting world renown landscapes, cities and villages or even factories because Italy is the country with the WORLD HERITAGE SITES! Rome was not built in a day just like the rest of Italy! So everyone is welcome to come back many times because a lifetime could not be enough to see everything 😊. I appreciate American travelers and encourage them to come back regularly to Italy. It is always an inspiring experience to greet these travelers because they seem to know that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence!