Tim earned his undergraduate degree in studio art at DePauw University and his Master's of fine art in painting at Indiana University. He has been adjunct faculty in fine arts and art history at the American University of Rome since 2006 and in the fall of 2009 he founded The Painting & Drawing Art Studio of Rome where he conducts group and private lessons in oil painting and drawing. For a look at his work, please visit the following website: http://www.americanartistinrome.com/

A native of Canada, Tamara has lived in Venice for 14 years and coordinates the Canadian Pavillion at the Biennale. In 2000 she became a certified sommelier through AIS and has coordinated wine walks for prestigious organizations such as the Culinary Institute of America.

Darius Arya is a Roman archaeologist (Ph.D. UT Austin) who lives and resides in Rome, Italy. He is the co-founder and executive director of the American Institute for Roman Culture (www.romanculture.org), a 501c3 non profit organization which promotes and defends Rome's heritage through projects and unique teaching experiences for university-level students. He leads the archaeological projects, currently including the Villa delle Vignacce dig, and directs the program in archaeology and Roman civilization.

Christina Atkinson is a completing her dissertation at Columbia University, New York. Born in the U.S. to Italian parents, she seems to spend more time here in Rome than in New York. She specialized in nineteenth-century European visual culture and American art from the colonial era to 1945 before finally succumbing to the allure of eighteenth-century Italian art, which simply gave her another excuse to come live in Rome.

Andrew Ayers read history of architecture in London before coming to Paris for a three-month study period. Ten years later he has still not finished those studies or left Paris, but has gotten to know the French capital inside out while writing an in-depth guide to the city's architecture. He has recently branched out to the provinces, publishing a monograph on a Tours-based architect. More writing projects are in the pipeline...

Imogen is a south Londoner born and bred, who loves exploring her home city and is amazed that despite 33 years of running around town, it can still offer up unexpected surprises and unknown spots. A graduate in Italian literature from Oxford University, she lived in Rome for a few years where she met the Context Team. She now works in magazine publishing as an editor on a variety of projects, including the London tourist boards Official Visit London Guide to London which makes her well-qualified to recommend great places to visit, be it the latest hot restaurant or a long-standing hidden gem.

Francesca Barberini is an art historian with a degree in modern and contemporary art from the University of Rome, "La Sapienza". She specializes in the art and culture of the Baroque period, a subject on which she has published several essays. She is a licensed guide and leads itineraries all over Rome, a city she truly loves. She has worked for many Roman museums, such as Galleria Doria Pamphili, Galleria Colonna, Galleria Spada, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica in Palazzo Barberini and the Corsini Gallery.

Originally from the U.S., Anne Barbetti came to Florence many years ago to study art history at the University of Florence. She became enmeshed in a long-term project researching Renaissance and Baroque embroidered fabrics, during which she has personally uncovered many hitherto unknown collections of antique fabrics. She is currently working on a catalog and book based on this work.

Caroline is back at Kings College London finishing an MA in Classics. The main focus of her work is on two modules that combine to make a very interesting project. They are Mystery Cults in the Graeco-Roman Worlds and The Late Roman City. Her choice to take both modules was massively influenced by her time with Context Rome in 2006; she reports that it's absolutely down to her experiences over the last year that she has developed such an interest in the cityscape. Caroline is combining the two modules in her thesis, which is going to be something along the lines of how religious buildings are used as Roman propaganda in the provinces.

Filippo Bartolotta, a wine journalist, holds an M.A. in Economics from the University of Florence and a Diploma from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust of London. Bartolotta teaches various aspects of wine at the University of Siena, writes for major European and American wine publications, and serves as one of Decanter Magazine's and IWCC's wine tasters. He is the editor of the English version of L'Espresso Italian Wine Guide and also owns his own company, Le Baccanti, which does various wine excursions and tastings in Tuscany.

Paul Bennett is an award-winning journalist who, for many years, was the Rome correspondent for Architectural Record and Architecture magazines. He also writes regularly for National Geographic, National Geographic Adventure, and Smithsonian magazines on such diverse topics as travel, archaeology, and technology. His article about sailing a small boat across the Atlantic for Adventure was selected for the 2006 Best American Travel Writing, while his feature story on underground Rome for National Geographic appeared in the 2007 Best American Science and Nature Writing. Paul is also the recipient of a Lowell Thomas Award for travel writing. With his wife, Lani Bevacqua, he founded Context in 2003 as an alternative travel solution for people desiring in-depth experiences. He holds a Master's degree in intellectual history from St. John's College and has authored several books on architecture, landscape, and urbanism. He and Lani have three daughters and currently live in Philadelphia, the home city of Context.

Monica Bercè graduated with a degree in the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, specializing in the History of Decorative Arts at the University of Florence and did additional training at the Leather Conservation Centre of Northampton. She has worked as a textile and leather conservationist in both Florence and Rome, and now owns her own conservation company. She has had the privilege to work on some of the most important Italian collections of the Pitti Palace, Uffizi Gallery and Quirinale Palace. Presently, she is attending a post-graduate course in History of Fine Arts Education and continues to study and write on interior decoration. She hopes to pass on her love for the arts to her little boy, Neri.

A former art teacher, Hilary Bockham has spent the last ten years designing major European art exhibitions of both contemporary and historical art. She has been a visiting lecturer at several U.K. design colleges and designed costumes for international theater troops.

With an undergraduate degree in architectural studies from Connecticut College in tow, Emma Bowen moved to New York City in 2001. A former educator for New York's Lower East Side Tenement Museum and research fellow in Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum's Department of Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design, Emma recently received an MA in the History of Decorative Arts and Design from Cooper-Hewitt, in partnership with Parsons The New School for Design, in January 2009. A lover of all things aesthetically inspiring, Emma continues to marvel at the built representations of urban (and not so urban) life from her neighborhood in Brooklyn, as well as through her current work teaching design history and theory at Parsons.

Originally from England, Richard Bowen has lived in Rome for the last fourteen years. He holds a Master's degree in medieval and twentieth-century history from London University and, as this might suggest, has a broad-minded and synthetic approach to understanding Rome. Richard works quite frequently with institutional travel organizations, such as museums and church organizations, and as a result spends much of his time traveling all over Europe. He brings this cosmopolitan and pan-European experience to bear on his work with us in Rome, constantly making connections to other cities and countries in the course of his lectures and seminars.

Liz Brewster is an American architect with degrees in architecture from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Rome specializing in restoration and urban design and has lived in Rome since 1988 working on design and research.

The daughter of two expatriate Americans, Rebecca Cavanaugh was born and raised in London. She fell in love with Paris as a teenager, later cultivating her passion for French culture through a study abroad program as an undergraduate art student at Skidmore College. Rebecca fulfilled her dream of moving back to the City of Light in 2007, where she has been conducting research for her Master's thesis in inter-war French decorative arts and design. A freelance writer, budding design educator, and amateur jazz singer, Rebecca received her Master's degree from New York's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, in partnership with Parsons the New School for Design, in spring 2008.

Marialaura holds a Ph.D. in art history from the University of Naples and a master's in museology from the Ecole du Louvre in Paris. She is a native of Naples and speaks four languages fluently (Italian, English, French and German). Her specialty is 17th and 18th century art, but she is also an expert in the 19th century excavations of Pompeii and the archaeological museum of Naples. She divides her time between Paris and Naples.

Louisa Chu is a chef and writer. Recipient of a James Beard Foundation Scholarship and graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, Louisa worked at the Paris Michelin three-star restaurant Alain Ducasse at the Plaza Athenee and Les Ambassadeurs at the Hotel de Crillon. She's currently a columnist for CHOW magazine and has appeared on Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on the Travel Channel. She will soon be seen on Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie on PBS in the US and Chic Eats on Discovery International. Louisa also publishes the food blog Movable Feast.

Sarah Ciacci has lived and worked in London all her life, but pops over to Rome fairly often. After completing her MA in History of Art at University College London, specialising in late 19th Century French Painting and mid 20th Century Art, she has worked in the contemporary art world in both London and Rome. Sarah is passionate about London, a fabulously rich, diverse and multi-layered city and for the past three years has been learning the skill of guiding London and telling its 2,000 year old story - spanning its history, culture, and the famous personalities who have lived here.

Nigel Cliff is a historian, biographer and critic. He has a BA and MA from the University of Oxford, where he was awarded a double First class degree in English and the Beddington Prize for English Literature. He is a former film and theatre critic for the London Times and writer for The Economist. His first book, The Shakespeare Riots, was published in 2007 by Random House and was a finalist for the National Award for Arts Writing. He makes his home in London, but as a longtime aficionado of all things Italian, he is researching and writing part of his new book in Rome.

Originally from London, Jane graduated in zoology in 1988 from Oxford University. After a brief spell in the City she began her postgraduate studies at Imperial College Centre for Environmental Technology (London) and subsequently won a research scholarship to the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei in Milan. Her research has broadened from methods for valuing non-market goods, which is crucial to the development of environmental policies, to improving the connections between the scientific and policy making spheres, including the public understanding of science. She worked on a number of projects supported by the European Commission and for the Italian National Research Council to survey research efforts on climate change. Since marrying a Venetian, Jane's interest in sustainable development has concentrated on unraveling the key issues central to the safeguarding of Venice, from the physical, ecological, and socio-economic standpoints. Since 2001, her work has been supported by the Venice in Peril Fund as the Venice research fellow of a Cambridge University project which aims to crystallize our knowledge of the main issues, processes and trends in Venice which affect the long term survival of the city and its unique heritage. She is co-author of The Science of Saving Venice (Umberto Allemandi, 2004).

Art historian Frank Dabell studied at Oxford University and the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London, and is a former fellow of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; he lectures for the museum throughout Europe. After many years in New York, he has returned to Rome, where he was raised, and is now on the art history faculty of Temple University Rome.

Cornelia Danielson has a Ph.D. in art history from Columbia University and wrote her dissertation on Renaissance city planning. She is especially knowledgeable about Medici patronage. In addition to her research and teaching, Cornelia, a mother of a disabled child, runs an association dedicated to barrier-free travel in Florence and is author of "The Accessible Guide to Florence."

Charlotte Lacaze fell in love with Paris when she was a high school student, and made it her home in 1978 after having earned a Ph.D. at the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University. She has taught art history in New York City, Florence and for many years in Paris where she has just become professor emerita of The American University in Paris. A medievalist by training, she has also taught ancient art, introduced a course on the urban history of Paris and led many study trips for students and adults in France and elsewhere in Europe. Her enthusiasm for Paris and its treasures has never flagged.

Dr. Waldemar H. de Boer completed his Ph.D. on a 17th century art guide of Vicenza at the Dutch University Institute for Art History in Florence in 2005. Nowadays, he is conducting post-doctoral research on 19th and early 20th century art auctions in Italy, teaches Florentine Renaissance art and architecture to study abroad students at the Institute at Palazzo Rucellai and also works as a private art history teacher.

Rome native Sabina de Cavi is a Ph.D. candidate in art history at Columbia University and a Paul Mellon Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (National Gallery of Art, Washington). Sabina holds a master's degree from the University of Rome (La Sapienza), and has lived for many years in Naples and Spain. Her area of specialization is Roman and Southern European Baroque, and she is currently finishing her dissertation on 17th and 18th century Neapolitan and Spanish patronage.

Daniela del Balzo was born in Naples, but has lived in Rome for many years. She has a Master's degree in marketing from Cornell University. Daniela's Italian Cooking School was established in New York in 1980 in cooperation with the CIGA International hotel chain, when she was called to organize Italian business lunches and dinners for American travel agents, fashion stylists, and managers of the hotel chain. She abandoned a successful twenty-year career in marketing with Alitalia Airlines to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a chef. She continued her studies at the renowned Italian Cooking School Gambero Rosso, the French Culinary Arts School & Le Cordon Bleu, and the International Cooking School of Naples. Daniela was recently featured in the Finnish Mondo magazine, in the travel guide, "100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go" by Susan Van Allen, and on the BBC special "Rhodes Across Italy", hosted by top British chef, Gary Rhodes. DANIELA'S Cooking School, is the brand name of her in-home catering and personal chef services. Being a chef has granted her the luxury of doing what she loves most: creating!

The daughter of a sculptor, Marie has been surrounded by art ever since she was born. A native Parisienne, she holds an undergraduate degree in history and art history, with a specialty in iconography and French paintings from the 16C to the 18C. She is now working on a Master's degree in Museology at the Ecole du Louvre, writing her thesis on the renovation of the Petit Palais Museum in Paris. Since she loves literature, ballets, theatre plays, operas, jazz clubs and classical concerts - she has been playing the piano for thirteen years - Paris and it's artistic life is a perfect fit.

Gregory DiPippo, a native of Providence, R.I., studied classics in high school and as an undergraduate at McGill University. He has completed coursework for a Master's degree in theology at the Pontifical Institute for Patristic Studies, or "Augustinianum," in Rome and is currently waiting to take his comprehensives and defend his thesis on the church fathers. Gregory leads walks of the Vatican and other religious sites in Rome, but he is also a superb classicist and one of the few Context:Rome docents who can hold a conversation in Latin.

Claire Downey is an architectural historian who has lived in Paris for many years. She covers contemporary architecture for Architectural Record. For several years she published her own magazine about Paris called This City Paris. She lives with her French husband and two children in a suburb east of Paris.

A native Parisienne, Marie is currently pursuing a Master's in museology from the Ecole du Louvre. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Art History from the Ecole du Louvre and one in History from the Sorbonne. Marie has lived extensively in both the US and Austria. Before coming to Context, she has worked in various art and photography galleries in Paris and Vienna.

A native of Murano, Andrea is an accomplished musician and composer with a Master's degree in the humanities from Venice's Ca' Foscari University. In 1992 he founded the Joy Singers, a well-known Venetian gospel choir, which has won international acclaim, and is the artistic director of the Venice Gospel Festival. For years he has collaborated with schools in Venice and the Veneto in order to promote gospel music to Italian youths.

Robin Emlein is currently pursuing her Masters degree in museum studies at the Ecole du Louvre, writing her thesis on the sculptures in the gardens of Versailles and their restoration throughout the 20th century. She also holds undergraduate degrees in French and art history from the Ecole du Louvre and Wellesley College.

Native Parisian Philippe Engammare's love affair with food and cooking began when he was six years old. By the time he was eight, he was preparing entire meals for eight-person family. Today he runs a catering and teaching organization called Paris Chef and leads market walks and other culinary programs for Context. As a rule, Philippe does all of his food shopping exclusively on bicycle at his neighborhood stores and markets. Visit his website at www.parischef.fr

Rachel Erdman has been living in the Veneto since 1994 and is originally from Ohio. While working for the Boston University study abroad program in Padova and Venice for many years, she especially enjoyed sharing her love of all things Italian with students and visiting faculty. She now works as a travel consultant specializing in personalized travel throughout Italy. As a lover of food and wine, recently fulfilled a great to become both a certified sommelier and master cheese taster. She has also coordinated private cooking courses in the Colli Euganei for the Abano Ritz Grand Hotel with an emphasis on Mediterranean and Veneto cuisine. Rachel holds a B.A. from Boston University in international relations and it was during her studies that she first developed a passion for foreign language and culture. She lives in Padova with husband Mario and two children.

Sander is a lecturer in ancient and early medieval history at the Augustinianum of the Pontifical University and at the J. Felice Rome Center of Loyola University of Chicago. He obtained his doctorate at Oxford University, working on the church and cities of Roman Africa during late antiquity. Before finally settling in Rome in 2005, he worked at Utrecht University in The Netherlands. Since 1997 Sander has spent considerable amounts of time in Rome for his research, which mainly concerns the city of Rome and its empire in the third, fourth, and fifth centuries, but also Rome in the Republican period. Apart from occupying himself with ancient Roman bits and pieces, texts and stones, he also works as a delegate in Rome for the Dutch Bishops' Conference. And if nobody knows his whereabouts, he can often be found on the organ loft inside one of Rome's many churches, making an enormous amount of noise, or singing in a choir in St. Peter's.

Numbered among the city's contagious enthusiasts, Valentina is also a native Roman who trained as a classical archaeologist at the University of Rome, "La Sapienza", before joining the University of Pennsylvania's graduate group of art & archaeology in the Mediterranean world. At present, she is conducting her doctoral research on the Capitolium, one of ancient Rome's most sacred and civically significant hills, which today exhibits Michelangelo's urban marvel. Valentina has written and published on a variety of topics spanning the ancient, early modern, and modern periods, including: papal designs to repurpose the Baths of Diocletian, Etruscan forgeries from the nineteenth-century, Italian legislation on the protection of cultural patrimony, and Mussolini's imperial models for Fascist Rome. Valentina possesses years of experience engaging University of California students in the discovery of Italy's multi-layered past in Florence, Rome, and Pompeii.

Sean Forester is a painter, poet, and lecturer based in Florence. Originally from San Francisco, he has a B.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John's College. The St. John's "Great Books Program", a study of the Western classics using Socratic inquiry, provides an ideal background for understanding Dante, Leonardo, and other Florentine masters. A Rotary Scholar, Sean received his M.A. in English Literature from Cambridge University before coming to Florence five years ago. He is Director of Art History and Humanities at the Florence Academy of Art where he studies old master techniques of oil painting. Sean draws upon his experience as an artist and writer when leading walking seminars for Context.

A French-American Parisienne, Aimee Froom received her Ph.D. from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. A curator and an art historian, she is a specialist of Islamic art whose interests range from French Impressionism to the history of St Germain des Pres. Before moving to Paris, Aimee was for years curator at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, a fellow at the Metropolitan Museum and a visiting professor at Brown University and the Bard Graduate Center for the Decorative Arts. In Paris, she is sourcing objects in French national collections for an exhibition on gift-giving to take place at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2010 and has lectured at the Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris. She takes the Eurostar several times a semester to lecture in London for the Victoria and Albert Museum. Her book on the Persian ceramics collection at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco will be published in fall 2008.

Francecsa studied foreign languages at Ca' Foscari University, Venice (including modules in comparative and Venetian history of art), and graduated with a dissertation in English Renaissance literature in 2002. She recently completed her Ph.D. at the same university in English Restoration theater. She has been lived in Venice since 1995, but also spent two years in England, where she studied history of art at Warwick University and taught Italian language and literature at Downe House School, Berkshire. She has always been deeply interested in Venice, its art and history, and worked as a registered guide of the mosaics in St. Mark's Basilica for two years.

Elisabeth Fuhrmann-Schembri has multiple advanced degrees in archaeology and classical studies. She has done studies in classical philology, specifically Latin, and ancient art history. A frequent lecturer and adjunct faculty at John Cabot University, Elisabeth is currently researching Etruscan cultures. She wrote her dissertation on Etruscan musical instruments and is an active member of Gruppo Archeologico del Territorio Cerite, a conservation organization in northern Lazio.

Moses Gates is an Urban Planner working in housing, transportation, and demography of New York. He holds a Masters in Urban Planning from Hunter College, and has been giving tours of the hidden and unknown spaces of New York since 2003. His love of the hidden and unknown aspects of cities has lead him from the rooftops of Sao Paulo to the sewers of Rome.

Joan Geller was introduced to yoga in the early sixties. Her interest has continued over these 40 years. She has studied personally with BKS Iyengar both in Europe and India, was a student of Vanda Scaravelli until her death in 1992, and continues her studies including hatha yoga, Sanskrit, Vedic chanting and in the tradition of the great 20th century yogi, Krishnamaryacharya. Her practice in Rome includes small groups and private lessons with a particular interest in prenatal yoga.

Ann Giletti received her Ph.D. in intellectual history from the Warburg Institute at the University of London. Her dissertation topic, a study of 12th century scholasticism, led her to Rome. When she's not spending her time in one of the centuries-old libraries in town, Ann works on several projects related to the city's topography.

A native of Los Angeles, Patricia left the land of permanent sunshine and freeways to spend a year at the Université de Bordeaux. As a result, she has dedicated the better part of her life to studying French and francophone language, literature, history, art history, and culture. She holds a B.A. in French language and literature, a B.A. and M.A. in French history, and is currently working on her doctoral dissertation on 19th and 20th century French colonial photography. She has spent the past several years in France, Morocco, and California for her dissertation work.

Caroline Goodson received her Ph.D. in art history and archaeology from Columbia and wrote her dissertation on 9th century architecture in Rome. She is currently working on interdisciplinary studies of archaeology, art history, and history. She is lecturer of medieval history at Birbeck College, University of London, but spends as much time as she can researching in Italy.

During her junior year at UC Santa Cruz, Heather left to do a three-month Italian language course in Siena. She has lived in Italy ever since. After finishing her studies in Italian history at the Universita' degli Studi di Padova, she became a certified sommelier through FISAR, one of the leading international wine organizations in Italy. In addition to her work with Context, Heather is currently teaching the Wines of Italy course for Lorenzo de Medici University in Rome. She has also recently been awarded a Pass with Distinction in the Advanced Certificate course from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust in London. In her ten years here, she has traveled extensively in Italy and Europe, tasting wine along the way.

A native of Chicago, Jessica studied fine arts and art history at Boston University. In 2004 she completed a three-year fashion design program at Accademia Koefia in Rome. The institute prides itself on instructing haute couture techniques and Jessica has found herself interning and freelance designing for numerous Italian designers. Jessica has been a two-time design participant in the runway show Concours Jeunes Créateurs Méditerrané in Nice, France. Her designs can be found in numerous boutiques in Rome, as well as her self-named boutique in Trastevere, which was recently featured in Elle magazine Italy.

Ursula Hawlitschka has recently finished her Ph.D. in art history at Temple University, writing her dissertation on 20th century Italian artist Enzo Cucchi. Originally from Germany, Ursula has extensive experience as a curator of art and lecturer. She worked as a docent, giving on-site lectures, for Context Rome in its earlier incarnation as Scala Reale.

A native of Canada, Lily studied art in Italy and then in Paris as part of her Fine Arts Degree. Her love of art and culture brought her back to Europe after graduation, and she has made the City of Light her home for the last eight years. Her varied professional experience includes working in museums and art galleries in Canada and France as well as teaching at the University of Paris and the French National Film School. Lily also manages to find the time to do some writing and translation work and mixed-media art projects.

Elizabeth Helman Minchilli was born in St. Louis, Missouri and lived in Rome with her parents when she was twelve years old. She majored in Art History at Boston University; she obtained a masters degree at New York University's Institute of Fine Arts where she concentrated on Renaissance Gardens. This lead her to Florence, where she lived for two years while researching her doctoral dissertation on the sixteenth-century Boboli Gardens. She has lived full-time in Italy since 1987, dividing her time between Rome and Todi, in Umbria, with her family. She contributes to a wide range of magazines, writing about the joys of Italian life, including food, travel, art, architecture, design and shopping. Some of the publications she writes for include The International Herald Tribune, New York Times, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure, Town & Country, Architectural Digest and House & Garden. She just finished her latest book, Villa on the Lakes.

Michael Herrman is a practicing architect with undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture from Cornell and Princeton Universities. Michael is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship and the Rome Prize in Architecture. He has lived and worked in Japan and Europe during the past ten years, most recently in the office of Jean Nouvel in Paris where he worked extensively on the Musée du Quai Branly (opened in the summer of 2006). He currently divides his time between Paris and Rome.

Eric studied historical linguistics and ancient Indo-European languages -- Sanskrit, Ancient Greek, and Latin -- at Rice University and the University of Pennsylvania. He then spent his twenties traveling around Europe, seeing historical, beautiful and interesting places and things, and learning modern languages. He came to Rome in November 2004. After a year learning Italian and studying Latin with the great Vatican Latinist Reginald Foster, he enrolled in the graduate program at the Augustinianum, the pontifical institute for the study of the Church Fathers. He received his Licenza (equivalent to an M.A.) in February 2009 and is now pursuing a doctorate in medieval philosophy, science, and culture at the University of Salerno.

Mary Hewlett was born and educated in the United Kingdom before obtaining her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. She taught at universities in the United States and Canada as a professor of European History with a special interest in the social and sexual history of the Italian Renaissance, before moving to Lucca, where she continues her historical research. Her most recent publication deals with a brave but unfortunate hero of Lucca. She is currently working on a semi-autobiographical work about her research experiences in Italy and on a children's book about a stray dog.

Jennifer Huxta is a photographer and field poet. Originally from Pennsylvania, Jennifer has lived in Paris for 5 years, teaching photography with Oxbridge Academic Programs, organizing several Maine Photographic Workshops overseas programs, and working as a translator for journalists on reportage in France. She currently divides her time between Paris and Philadelphia.

Rosa's love affair with French food began at age four, when her family spent a year in Paris. In 1995 she moved to Paris from Canada and spent nine months as an interpreter at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. She now makes her living writing about restaurants for magazines and guidebooks, designing custom food itineraries for visitors to Paris, and teaching cooking in Nice. Rosa has published two cookbooks in French, Petites recettes pour grandir and La cuisine des paresseuses (both with Marabout). She also has a food blog, www.rosajackson.blogspot.com.

Enthused by Italian history and culture, Adam first came to Italy as an exchange student in 2003 while studying for his BA degree in Modern History at the University of Oxford, St. John's College. Since the completion of his degree, Adam has specialized in the intellectual history of Renaissance art and philosophy, obtaining an MA degree from the Warburg Institute in London. He has also worked as an English teacher in Rome and presently works as a content editor.

Matico Josephson has been a student of New York's built environment for as long as he can remember, and an explorer of the city's nooks and crannies for even longer. His curiosity has found an outlet in the History of Architecture, in which he has recently been pursuing a Ph.D. at NYU's Institute of Fine Arts. He will prepare a dissertation on modern architecture in Spain.

Cathy Kaufman is a trained chef and food historian with extensive experience in the food world in New York and beyond. After working as an attorney in New York for more than a decade, Cathy gained multiple degrees in cooking from Peter Kump's New York Cooking School and the School for American Chefs at Beringer Vineyards, California. She has worked in catering and restaurants in New York, and has been on the faculty at the Institute of Culinary Education. Since the late 1990s, she has written and taught extensively on the history of cuisine, including numerous articles for the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery. She is senior editor of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America and author of the recently published Cooking in Ancient Civilizations (Greenwood Press).

After having worked as a teacher in Switzerland for several years, Martin moved to Paris to study Art History at the Sorbonne. With a specialty in 19th century Art, he has worked as a curator assistant for a number of major exhibitions, including the Louvre's show on Delacroix. Since 2006 Martin is responsible for the exhibitions in the Louvre and is working on several projects for the French and Italian Masters as well as contemporary art.

Miru Kim is a New York-based artist who has explored various urban ruins such as abandoned subway stations, tunnels, sewers, catacombs, factories, hospitals, and shipyards. She was featured as one of the America's Best and Brightest 2007 in Esquire magazine. Her work has appeared in various other media such as The New York Times, The Financial Times, Time Out New York, The Korea Daily, La Stampa, JoongAng Daily, Dong-A Daily, HDNet TV, ProSieben, New York Times Upfront, Yen Magazine, AnimalNewYork.com, Gothamist.com, and in many shows in NYC and Berlin. Miru was born in Stoneham, Massachusetts in 1981 but was raised in Seoul, Korea. She moved back to Massachusetts in 1995 to attend Phillips Academy in Andover, and moved to New York City in 1999 to attend Columbia University. In 2006, she received an MFA in painting from Pratt Institute. She is also the founder of Naked City Arts, LLC, which is dedicated to helping other young artists and bringing art to the Lower Manhattan.

James King is a British artist who has lived in Paris for nearly 20 years. He has taught and lectured extensively on modern and contemporary art but is first and foremost a practicing artist himself. He leads a number of hands-on painting and drawing workshops for Context Paris in Giverny, Auvers sur Oise (the last home of Van Gogh), and other places.

Camille Labro is a Franco-American who has spent her life between France and the United States. She was born in Berkeley, California, where she became a member of the Chez Panisse family. She was raised in Provence, then spent ten years in New York (working as a correspondent for French Vogue) before returning to Paris. In addition to her career in the French media (magazines as well as TV and radio), she has contributed to the Slow Food Guidebook and the Insight Guide's Food Guide to Paris, and has worked as a food editor for the Paris Times, Biba, and the Lifestyle supplements of La Tribune. She's also the author of the guidebook New York Confidential (Assouline, 1999) and is currently working on a culinary documentary for TV, and a cookbook, about her mum's Provencal cuisine. A gourmet and home cook as well, she's dedicated to making the best and purest food with local, seasonal produce.

A native Parisian, Philippe has worked as a curator in many of Paris' top museums, including the Louvre, the Petit Palais, the National Gallery "Jeu de Paume", and in the French Academy at the Villa Médici in Rome. Fluent in Italian, Philippe spent many years dividing his time between Rome and Paris, developing a love for both cities. He is thus well positioned to discuss the history of Paris and French art within the context of the Italian Renaissance. Philippe has a Masters degree in art history and museum studies from the Ecole du Louvre and now works as a collection manager in the Louvre's decorative arts section.

Archeaologist Luke Lavan received his Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham. A specialist in late antiquity, he has published a number of important scholarly papers and been involved in countless digs throughout the Western Mediterranean region, including France.

David Lebovitz worked for many years as a pastry chef at Chez Panisse in San Francisco before moving to Paris in order to write and lecture. He is the author of several books about pastries and deserts, including the Great Book of Chocolate (Ten Speed Press). David has studied chocolate at Callebaut College in Belgium and done advanced coursework in baking and the art of confectionery at the renowned Ecole Lenotre in Paris. David also inspires food lovers around the world with his entertaining and informative blog. His latest cookbook: Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes will be released in April 2010.

Elizabeth Lev has a degree in art history from the University of Chicago and is currently finishing her graduate work at the University of Bologna with a thesis on Baroque architecture. She is presently teaching Renaissance Art at John Cabot University, and Baroque Art & Architecture at the University of Duqusne, Rome Campus. Not only is she a licensed tour guide, but she is on the committee that licenses all tourist escorts.

Allison Levy holds a Ph.D. in History of Art from Bryn Mawr College. Her specialty is Florentine visual culture and, within that broad theme, portraiture and representations of the body. She is the editor of Widowhood and Visual Culture in Early Modern Europe (2003), winner of the Society of Early Modern Women Book Award; and author of Re-membering Masculinity in Early Modern Florence: Widowed Bodies, Mourning and Portraiture (2006). Her third book is a collection of essays on sex and sexuality in Renaissance Italy (forthcoming, 2009). She is currently studying the art of misbehavior. Professor Levy has taught at Bryn Mawr, Tulane University, Wheaton College in Massachusetts, University College London and, in Florence, at The Institute at Palazzo Rucellai.

David Lewis moved to Paris to research a Ph.D. thesis on Francis Picabia and the origins of postmodern aesthetics. He is a frequent contributor to Artforum.com and an active participant in the Parisian contemporary art scene. Recently, he curated the exhibition "Tender is the Night" at Gavin Brown's Passerby in New York and presented research on Henri Matisse at the Frick Collection and Pablo Picasso at the College Art Association conference in Dallas. Formerly a painter, David mixes historical acumen with instinctive visual acuity and practice-based connoisseurship. He believes that all aspects of contemporary culture are best understood by way of their historical background, and is as interested in classical and impressionist painting as he is in the avant-garde.

Sara Magister has a master's in art history and a doctorate (PhD) in archaeology from the University of Rome. A native Roman, Sara has worked as the archaeological editor for the Italian national Encyclopedia. She also works as a consultant for the Vatican Museums and the former minister of culture, designing museum exhibitions and supporting the restoration of monuments with archive research. She is also currently working as a professor in an American University in Rome, teaching Baroque Art and Subjects and Symbols in Art. One of Sara's interests is the political use of ancient art during the Renaissance and Baroque and Pope Julius II's collection of ancient art, which forms the core of the Vatican's collection of ancient statuary.

Alessandra Marchetti is a native Florentine. She received her Masters degree from the University of East Anglia in the UK, and has been lecturing and guiding in Florence for nearly ten years. She lived many years in the United States before returning to Florence and her little house in Settignano that was once owned by Michelangelo.

Riccardo Margheri, wine sommelier since 2002, has written for top wine publications as well as participated in tastings for the Espresso Wine Guide and the De Agostini Guida ai Vini Buoni d'Italia. Riccardo has also traveled extensively, tasting wines of many lands and adding to his already prestigious reputation.

Lia recently completed her PhD in art history at the University of Chicago. She spent two years leading tours in Florence for Context while she conducted dissertation research. She has been the recipient of Kress and Mellon fellowships and has worked at museums in Chicago and New York. She currently works as a curatorial research assistant at an area museum and teaches art history at a local university. A resident of Astoria, Queens, Lia is excited about sharing her love of the art and culture of New York on her walks.

Cecilia Martini has a master's degree in Medieval and Renaissance art from the University of Rome, "La Sapienza." Although her specialty is painting and decorative arts, she has a broad knowledge of the history of Rome, and leads many antiquity-themed itineraries. Cecilia works actively as a curator of exhibitions and lecturer and is a frequent consultant with the Galleria Colonna. She also has a specialized teaching degree, and works as a visiting professor in several art institutes.

Yumna Masarwa received her Ph.D. in Art & Archaeology from Princeton University and wrote her dissertation on 8th-century military architecture in Palestine. She is currently an associate member at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) working on interdisciplinary studies of archaeology, architecture, religion and history. She teaches "the Architecture of Paris from Roman Times until Nowadays" at Oxbridge Summer Academic Program in Paris, where she has been living since 2005.

Alexandra Massini is a native Roman who studied Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, where she obtained her B.A. and M.A. degrees with double distinction. She has worked at Sotheby's Auctioneers in Rome (Old master paintings and drawings) and the Thyssen Museum in Madrid. More recently she has written for Blue Guides and published her own guidebook to Rome. She has been invited as guest lecturer and study leader for various European and North American institutions such as the National Trust U.S., the Chrysler Museum of Art, and a number of international universities. Since 2005 she has been teaching for American study programs such as Rutgers and Vanderbilt Universities in Florence, CET in Siena, and Richmond University and CEA in Rome. Her fields of specialization include Roman Imperial Art, 14C art in Tuscany, Italian Renaissance Art, Michelangelo, the History of Sculpture, Baroque art in Rome. She is fluent in five languages including German and Italian (bilingual from birth), English, Spanish and French. In Rome, where she lives, she collaborates with the Colonna and Doria Pamphilj galleries and, as a licensed guide, conducts specialized visits for various cultural institutions.

Sarah Vandenhende, an American from New York, couldn't find a better place than Paris to combine her passions in life: Fashion, Art and Food. This "touche-a-tout", has lived in the Marais section of Paris for over twenty years, where she capitalized on her fashion experience at Vogue Magazine to develop and market a leather glove Collection for Fendi and Adriste while launching the Galerie Orem, which specializes in Chinese Contemporary Art. If that wasn't enough, Sarah indulged in her love for food and recently completed the Intermerdiate cooking classes at the famous "Le Cordon Bleu".

After studying Law at the University of East Anglia in the UK, Petulia Melideo decided to return to her native Rome. She writes Rome and Naples guides for airlines, and leads a variety of orientation walks and chats in those cities. She's knowledgeable about shopping and "Made in Italy" culture and she just completed a course as Art Curator. Petulia manages the European operations of Context.

Ara H. Merjian is the visiting assistant professor and Lauro de Bosis postdoctoral fellow in the department of romance languages and literatures at Harvard University for 2008-9, and assistant professor of Italian studies and art history at New York University. In addition to teaching on the centenary of the founding of Italian Futurism, he currently is finishing a book manuscript, Urban Untimely: Giorgio de Chirico and the Metaphysical City, which examines de Chirico's early metaphysical cityscapes in the light of Nietzschean philosophy. A former Fulbright scholar to Italy and a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts of the National Gallery, Ara received his B.A. from Yale University and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He has taught at Berkeley and Stanford Universities and is a regular critic for Modern Painters, Artforum online, and Frieze. Ara has led walking seminars for Context since its earliest days in Rome and Paris.

Following a two-year stint at the British Museum, Susanne has returned for a post-doctoral fellowship to the Warburg Institute, where she also completed her PhD in art history in 2005. She specializes in 16th and 17th century art, focusing on the links between Italy and the North. Although based in London, she has spent every minute of her free time in Rome since meeting her partner, a Roman, in 2001.

Carlo Micio is a licensed guide for the city of Rome with a strong background in the city's political history. He oversees many of our activities. He also plays (drummer) in a number of Rome bands.

An art historian and curator, Peter holds advanced degrees in art history from Williams College (M.A.) and New York University's Institute of Fine Arts (Ph.D.). A specialist in French nineteenth-century art, he has published widely about artist-travelers in the Orient. Before moving to Paris in 2000 to complete his dissertation on Théodore Chassériau, Peter worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Clark Art Institute. Recently, he has contributed to exhibitions appearing at the Louvre, the Grand Palais and the Institut du Monde Arabe. A fan of Balzac and contemporary photography, he is as fascinated by the changing urban geography of Paris as he is by its artistic heritage.

Elizabeth Molina holds a B.A. in Art History and Education and an M.A. from the University of Massachusetts in Art History. She is primarily interested in literary depictions on domestic objects. She is currently involved in family and children programs at Palazzo Strozzi.

Lucia Montuschi is a University of Florence Ph.D. art historian, who completed her thesis on Eastern art. She's worked in the many state museums of Florence, with a particular focus on art therapy. She's also taught for Pepperdine University and the International Art University. Currently, Lucia teaches Venetian art at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Florence. Lucia's a charming, extremely knowledgeable docent and a lover of ideas.

Sarah holds a Masters degree in Italian Studies from the University of California at Berkeley and a PhD in History from the University of Sydney. The subject of her doctoral thesis was sport and gender in Fascist Italy. She has lived and studied in Rome, Pisa, Bologna and Macerata. She has broad interests in history, contemporary Italian culture and politics, and art. Sarah has settled permanently in Rome since returning to Italy in 2007 as a fellow at the British School at Rome.

Frank Nero is a Ph.D. candidate and teaching fellow in Renaissance art history at the Florida State University's campus in Florence. He is currently researching his dissertation which deals primarily with the function, symbolism, and patronage of glazed terracotta sculpture in the charitable institutions of Renaissance Tuscany. Frank's general field of research centers upon how the disenfranchised classes of the Italian Renaissance were depicted in the visual culture of the period. His minor area of study is the art of the Italian avant-garde movements of the early twentieth century. Frank is currently a lecturer at the British Institute. He has lived off-and-on in Florence since 1998.

Scott Nethersole is completing his doctoral research through the Courtauld Institute of Art on the subject of ‘The Representation of Violence in Florence: from Uccello's Battles of San Romano to the Fall of the Republic (1512)'. Although a Renaissance specialist, his research interests are far wider and extend to include eighteenth-century decorative arts, and particularly furniture. Originally from South Africa, he lives between Florence and London.

Valerie Romana Niemeyer received her B.A. degree with highest honors in art history and museology at the University of Florence, focusing on the Renaissance art market. Although German, Valerie was born and brought up in Rome, making her eager to build bridges across different cultures. Niemeyer also works for the educational department of the state museums in Florence. Her mission is to communicate art and culture as a means of understanding the visual signs that surround us.

Linda Ann Nolan's primary specialization is 16th and 17th century Italian sculpture and secondary specialization is classical Roman sculpture. Her research interests include the history of art restoration, the history of art collections, and early modern Italian prints and guidebooks. Linda received a B.A. in Fine Arts and Art history from Lake Forest College, and M.A. in Art History from the University of Southern California, where she is also completing a PhD. Linda participated in the American Academy in Rome's summer archaeology program excavating in the Roman Forum, and prior to that excavated at Pompeii with the University of Rome. Linda held positions for several years in the Getty Research Institute's Scholars Program and in the Museum Education Department at the J. Paul Getty Museum. She has received fellowships and grants from the Borchard Foundation, J. Paul Getty Trust, and Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Linda is currently in residence in Rome conducting research for her PhD dissertation, "Tactile Reception of Sculpture in Early Modern Rome."

Jane Nyhan first came to Florence as an undergraduate art student at the Maryland Insitute of Art. She fell in love with the city, the region, and an Italian man; and returned soon after to continue her graduate studies at the University of Florence and settle. Jane spends a lot of her time outside of the city, leading groups on trekking holidays through Tuscany; and therefore has gained a broad knowledge not only of the art and artistic traditions of Tuscany but the entire cultural context of the region. She lives with her husband and their two children in the Mugello area north of Florence.

Italo Ongaro is native of the island of Murano and, for the last decade, has been working for the University Ca’ Foscari of Venice as the head scientific glassblower. In addition, he works closely with the department of environmental science and the department of chemistry as the captain of a 25-foot research vessel. This vessel is partially owned by the Veneto Region’s Meteorological headquarters, with which he participates. His knowledge of the Venetian lagoon is extensive, as he frequently traverses the lagoon on research projects. He currently lives in Mestre.

Ken Ovitz holds multiple degrees and certificates in culinary history and food preparation from The New School University, The Institute of Culinary Education, and the State of New York. He is an expert on Jewish cuisine and religious feasts, and has written numerous articles for the Jewish Voice Newspaper and contributed scholarly papers on the history of Jewish cuisine, the seder, and kosher rules at a variety of conferences.

Katie Parla earned her B.A. in the History of Art from Yale where her studies focused on Roman art and archaeology, particularly the use of myths on carved sarcophagi. She holds a Master's degree in Cultura Gastronomica Italiana from the Unversita' degli Studi di Roma "Tor Vergata" and is a certified sommelier. She has contributed to books for the National Geographic Society, Rough Guides, Time Out, DK Eyewitness Guides, Insight Guides, Fodor's, and the Encyclopedia of Society and Culture in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Katie is also an urban speleologist for the city of Rome and has produced five episodes of the History Channel Series "Cities of the Underworld" in which she appeared as an expert on underground Rome, Palermo, and Naples.

Lisa Pasold is a freelance writer originally from Montreal. She has been thrown off a train in Belarus, eaten the world's best pigeon pie in Marrakech, and mushed huskies in the Yukon. But her favorite place to explore is still Paris, where she has lived for ten years. Along with two books of poetry, her writing has appeared in newspapers like the Toronto Globe and Mail and the Chicago Tribune, and in such guidebooks as Fodor's and Time Out.

Mario is a certified Italian Sommelier (AIS) and Master Cheese Taster (ONAF). His background also includes a degree in the Science of Food Production from the University of Bologna. Mario, a native of Milan, has lived in the Veneto for 35 years, and his grandmother was from the Cannaregio sestiere of Venice. He is an experienced wine educator, and particularly enjoys the wine tasting seminars he regularly organizes for the U.S. diplomatic corps in Italy. In the past Mario led a seminar on Italian wine and food for the undergraduate students of Boston University studying in Padova. He also works as a travel consultant, specializing the wine and food of the Veneto, Friuli and Trentino Alto-Adige. Mario lives in Padova with his wife, Rachel, a native of Ohio, and their two children. He can often be heard to say "A glass of wine is not merely something to drink, but a true reminder of our history, traditions and culture."

Cristina Pinton, a studio artist and teacher, has received a BFA in Photography/Printmaking, an MSAE in Art Education, and an MA in Printmaking/Book Arts from the Scuola di Grafica in Venice, Italy. Originally from Connecticut, she moved to Florence in 2004 to create a renewed familial, emotional, and artistic relationship with the Italian culture that her father, originally from the Veneto, first shared with her. Cristina currently teaches photography, sculpture and drawing courses at a private study abroad program in Florence. She has exhibited her art work in Venice, Rome and Florence and is both inspired and challenged by her experiences abroad, especially with the idea of identity in relationship to travel, personal history, memory, childhood, and culture.

In 2006 Daniele finished his PhD in the History of Architecture at the University IUAV of Venice, where he now has a research fellowship and works as a teaching assistant. His main areas of interests are Italian Renaissance architecture, aesthetics, and contemporary architecture.

For Canadian-born Elaine Polley, Paris was a case of love at first sight. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in Medieval Studies at Zurich University, where she is writing her dissertation on Arthurian legends. She also holds two Masters degrees (in French Literature and Medieval Studies), and spent years as a graduate student at the Sorbonne. As a result, Paris--and its Middle Ages--runs through Elaine's blood. When she's not holed up in a research library, one can find her exploring the Cluny, St. Germain des Pres, or any variety of other Medieval site in the city.

Federico Poole holds a Ph.D. from the Oriental Institute in Naples. He has studied in Paris, Berlin, and Egypt. He was part of the team that set up the Egyptian section in the Naples Archaeological Museum and has written several articles on Egyptian objects found in Campania and the cult of Isis in Pompeii. He worked full-time for two years investigating Roman archaeological vestiges in the Phlegraean Fields. Today, he divides his time between archaeological tours, lecturing, English translation for archaeologists and museums, and research.

Manu Radhakrishnan is a PhD candidate at Princeton in medieval European history. He spent 2006 in Rome researching his dissertation and working as a docent for Context Rome, where he was praised for his fantastic teaching style. He is currently in New York City, writing his dissertation, and leading walks to the Cloisters and other sites of religious art.

Tom Rankin came to Rome on a Fulbright Fellowship in 1991 after completing his architectural studies at Harvard. Tom was the founder of Scala Reale, an association of scholars leading small-group study walks that was acquired by Context in 2004. In 2002 he co-founded the American Institute for Roman Culture, for which he served as President, Board Member and Architecture Program Faculty until his resignation in 2008. Currently Tom is dedicating himself to the fields of cultural and environmental sustainability, architecture and design.

A gap year working in the frenetic world of women's fashion in Milan prepared Prue well for an undergraduate degree in Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge University, where she used linguistic flourish and copious coffees to confront courses in French and Italian art, literature, history and culture. Her final year topics reflected her lifelong love of Dante and Renaissance Italian art and literature. Prue spent her year abroad studying the history of Renaissance Venetian art at Ca' Foscari University, during which time she wrote a dissertation on the erotic dialogues of Pietro Aretino. She recently a Master's degree in the History of Renaissance Design and Material Culture taught at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Royal College of Art in London. Her research has focused on fashion, the domestic interior and the decorative arts in Renaissance Venice. Her dissertation is on doors and door furniture from this period. Prue worked for three summers as a registered tour guide of the mosaics in St Mark's Basilica in Venice and for the last four years has led cultural tours around Europe for American students. She has been accepted in Warwick University's PhD program and will return to Venice in 2009 to begin her research.

After working as a graduate student at the Getty Museum and as curator of a private collection in southern California, Christine Rolland arrived in France 22 years ago on a Fulbright Fellowship and then a Metropolitan Museum of Art Theodore Rousseau Fellowship. In the course of completing her PhD dissertation for UCSB on the 18th century French painter Louis Michel Van Loo, she married, started a family, and never left France. She did receive her PhD and today she lives in Normandy, where she is very active in building networks to preserve the local architectural and archaeological heritage. As president of a non-profit association for five years, she salvaged the association itself which was about to be dissolved, as well as a 13th century classified monument which was about to be sold, and a museum of local history whose collections were about to be dispersed. Christine is member of a multidisciplinary research group at the University of Rouen (GRHIS). An independent scholar specializing in forgotten traveling Old Master painters, studio techniques, portraiture, and early modern European networks, she has also worked as a researcher for a painting conservation studio.

Anna Russakoff received her PhD in 2006 from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. A specialist in medieval art, she has published and presented numerous conference papers on illuminated manuscripts. She is preparing a book proposal based on her dissertation about representations of miraculous images of the Virgin Mary. She currently teaches at the American University of Paris. She is also an France Director of the International Medieval Society in Paris.

Sharon Salvadori is an art historian specializing in ancient Roman art. She is especially interested in the original socio-political and religious function and meaning of both public and private artworks. Her scholarly research currently focuses on religious imagery and the representation of gender in the funerary art of late antiquity. She received her Ph.D. in the History of Art from the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University in 2002, specializing in both the Roman and medieval periods. Born of an Italian father and a U.S. mother she was raised in Rome and after completing her B.A. and her graduate coursework in the U.S. she returned to the city in 1995 where she has lived ever since. She currently teaches Roman, Late Antique and Early Christian Art and Architecture at John Cabot University and at the Loyola University Rome Center.

Originally from Siena, Luca Santiccioli has lived in Florence since college. Luca studied the history and restoration of monuments at the University of Florence and restoration of historical gardens and parks in Siena. Luca was also co-author of the "Guide to Villa Demidoff and the Pratolino Park." He has continued to study Florentine traditions, arts and crafts, collaborating with the Agency of Tourism on the initiative "Re-Discovering the craftsmen of the Oltrarno." Over the past 5 years, Luca has collaborated in several projects focused on the relationship between artisan skill and local traditional tastes in Tuscan food specialties.

Since opening her own restoration workshop in 1986, Bettina Schindler has been able to focus on her specialty of restoring antiques in ivory, bone, mother-of-pearl, horn, wood and other natural materials. She has been featured in museums such as the Bargello and Museo degli Argenti in Pitti Palace, among others. Bettina has studied and taught at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (State Institute for Restoration and Conservation), and teaches conservation and restoration for the Washington University in Saint Louis. Her workshop is situated in the San Niccolo neighborhood, in one of the most ancient constructions in town.

A native Parisian, Laure-Caroline Semmer, completed her PhD at the Sorbonne, with a focus on Paul Cezanne, and other impressionists, on which subjects she has published two books: Lire la peinture de Cezanne (Larousse 2006) and Les oeuvres de l'Impressionnisme (Larousse 2007). She currently teaches art history at the Universite; Versailles Saint Quentin, and also fine arts at the Ecole de Communication Visuelle. Laure-Caroline is extremely passionate about art and art history, and tries to convey this passion in the people she teaches.

Patrizia Sfligiotti has a master's degree in Medieval archaeology and has studied at the Vatican and at the University of Aix-en-Provence. She was an excavator at the Crypta Balbi in the 1990s, arguably the most significant archaeological excavation in central Rome in the last century. She works for FAI - Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano (Italian National Trust) as Rome's cultural attaché. A dual citizen (USA and Italy), Patrizia is the author of the guidebook to Villa Gregoriana (Tivoli) and leads walks for us.

Lorenza is a native of Venice who received her MA in Art History through Venice's Ca' Foscari University. For the past 20 years, she has divided her time between Venice and New York, where she teaches courses about the history of art and architecture in Venice at NYU. In NY she also taught History of Western Art and Civilization: Renaissance to the Modern Era at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She has authored or contributed to numerous books and publications on Venice, including "Arts and Crafts in Venice" (Koneman, Koln, 1999) and "Venezia. La citta', l'arte, la storia" (Arsenale 2009). Lorenza also worked with the Ministry of Fine Arts, Venice for 13 years, cataloging, documenting, and researching the collection at the Palazzo Reale.

Born in Siena, Stella Soldani received her B.A. in humanities from the University of Siena and her MBA in tourism economics from Bocconi University in Milan. At the conclusion of her studies, Stella received an MPS grant to study art and anthropology in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. Her interest in culture and art eventually led her back to Europe where she worked for Kult magazine (Milan) as a film critic covering the Berlin and Cannes film festivals. Fluent in Italian, English, French, and Spanish, Stella lives in Siena with her Spanish husband Jaume and their daughter Blanca, and their son, Elias. When she's not exploring the cultural treasures of Siena or leading one of Context Florence's itineraries in the countryside (she is a truffle hunter par excellent), Stella writes a regular column for the Chianti News. She's currently researching the use and development of the pilgrimage trail, the Via Francigena.

After traveling extensively through Europe, Linda arrived in Florence to study Italian at the Institute of Dante Alighieri. Her love for the city led her to remain and continue studies as a certified guide. She has worked throughout Italy, specializing in active, gourmet excursions and organizing trips in Sicily, Puglia, Umbria, Veneto and Tuscany. She also has completed her second level sommelier certification with the AIS Association of Italian Sommeliers.

Fiorella Squillante holds a laurea (Bachelor's degree) in modern languages and is a specialist in art history and Neapolitan culture and art. She works with the main museums of Naples as a member of the educational section and as a representative of the main painting galleries of Naples for foreign visitors. She is the president of the cultural association "Fine Arts", which organizes exhibitions, meetings and cultural events in Naples and Lazio, talks with artists and contemporary art galleries owners, private viewings and themed routes in Naples and Campania, cocktails and visits to stately homes and accommodation in historical b&b or luxurious villas.

Kristin Stasiowski is originally from Wellesley, MA and received her Ph.D in Italian Language and Literature from Yale University in 2009. Her first taste of Italy came during a semester in Florence with the Georgetown University program at Villa Le Balze, where she developed her love of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio. After teaching Italian at Yale University, Kristin returned to Italy where she is currently teaching a literature course at New York University in Florence and Italian Cultural History courses for CET programs in both Florence and Siena, Italy. In addition to leading walks for Context Florence, she regularly takes groups of students to Siena to participate in the Palio from the "inside" with the Contrada dell'Onda, into which she was 'baptized' in June 2006.

Jessica Stewart hails from Massachusetts and earned her B.A. in art history from Boston University. She got her first taste of Italian living during a semester exchange in Padova. She holds an M.A. in Renaissance studies from University College London, where her dissertation dealt with the development of Giulio Romano's early painting style in Rome. Her main areas of interest are Renaissance and Baroque painting and sculpture. She shares duties as Rome city manager and squeezes in walks as a docent when she can. In 2007 she also began managing Context: Venice and now divides her time between Rome and Venice.

Heather Stimmler-Hall first came to Paris as a university student in 1995, and has been living and working in France as a journalist and travel writer ever since. She is the author of the "Paris & Ile-de-France Adventure Guide" and has had her articles published in magazines and newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic and China. She is always on the lookout for the city's hidden corners and insider information to put in her monthly Secrets of Paris Newsletter.

Eve Straussman-Pflanzer is a Ph.D. candidate in art history at New York University's Institute of Fine Arts. She has worked as a research assistant and docent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. She spent 2006 in Florence on a Rousseau fellowship researching the role of women in the Medici court and leading walks for Context Florence.

Carol received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and holds M.A. degrees in Italian literature from the University of Toronto, where she has taught, and in art history from Boston University. Her academic career has concentrated in the Italian Renaissance, and her studies have spanned from Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio to the Renaissance pastoral genre and decorative arts. She is currently pursuing post-graduate coursework in art history at Harvard University, and is examining the sacred and secular dimensions of the pastoral and its realizations in written and visual form. She is a visiting fellow at the Massachusetts Center for Renaissance Studies in Amherst, Mass, where she has given lectures and participated in conferences. Over the past three years she has also studied and worked in Florence, Italy, with the Lorenzo de'Medici School, participating in a variety of laboratory and fieldwork restoration projects throughout Tuscany. Through her affiliation with the Lorenzo de'Medici School's Restoration Department Carol has treated numerous paintings, frescoes, and gilded objects, and has worked on-site at locations such as Villa il Farneto in Vicchio and Santa Maria Castagnolo in Florence.

Susan Taylor Leduc received her PhD in art history from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990. After working for the Center for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. she moved to Paris and has worked as a professor, freelance curator and tour guide. As an independent scholar she has studied the gardens of Versailles in the eighteenth century and the interconnections between gardens and gastronomy.

Giovanna Terzulli is an art historian and Rome native. She has a Master's degree in art history from the University of Rome "La Sapienza," with a specialization in Modern and Medieval art. She works as an editorial consultant for a number of cultural organizations in Rome including the Superintendent of Archaeology of Rome. Giovanna is fluent in Italian (mother tongue), English, and French, and has a unique interest in Mannerism.

Dario is a native Roman and has lived in this city for most of his life. He obtained his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Rome, writing his dissertation on Renaissance philosopher Giordano Bruno (whose statue you can see in the Campo de' Fiori). He currently divides his time between Rome and the UK where he is a professor in the Italian department of Durham University. When in Rome he enjoys leading Context itineraries focused on the Renaissance and Baroque periods. His favourite spot is San Pietro in Montorio (site of Bramante's “Il Tempieto”) and the great views from the Janiculum Hill.

Daughter of artist-teacher parents, Cerise was an art lover long before she began to study art history at the age of 16. Originally from the southwest of England, she moved to London in 2001 where she studied for her B.A. degree at the Courtauld Institute of Art and worked for two years at the Royal Academy of Arts. She came to Paris in 2004, where she has remained. After studying French and translation for three years, she obtained her masters degree in art history and museology from the Ecole du Louvre this year. A specialist in French eighteenth-century painting, Cerise has written two successful dissertations on J.-H. Fragonard, soon to be published, and intends to continue her research. Cerise is also an experienced dancer and is equally passionate about the theatre and the performing arts. A great believer in making the arts accessible to all, she is delighted to have the opportunity to share her knowledge and passion for the subject.

Maurizio Tocchioni studied architecture at the University of Florence. He led itineraries in Florence and Pisa for several years, before joining Context Florence. He is interested in the social and political realities behind art and architecture, and how one can use these as tool to understand culture.

Max Vetter is a Vienna-bred historian/art historian with a special interest in the social context of art and architecture. Having landed in Istanbul a couple of years ago, not without several detours, he there conducts research on the architectural history of the Ottoman Empire and teaches at one of the many Istanbul universities. Max is an active participant in international conferences and author of a number of articles in specialist journals. He is also eager to explore and share the treasures of Istanbul "off the beaten track", which linger behind many a corner in this overwhelming urban site.

Monica Vidoni was born in Venice to American parents. Raised mostly in the U.S, she has lived as an adult in the U.S., England, Hungary, Switzerland, and, of course, Italy. Monica holds undergraduate degrees in history from Kalamazoo College in Michigan and the London School of Economics. She earned an M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University in European history and has published books and articles on Venetian history. Her specialty is women's history; her book "Working Women of Early Modern Venice" (Johns Hopkins U.P.) examines the popular-class society in sixteenth-century Venice through parish records and witchcraft trial transcripts. After working as a tenured professor in America for several years, Monica moved back to Europe three years ago. She now lives in Venice full time with her Venetian husband and their daughters. Her cookbook, 'Venice, Food and Wine,' has recently been published and is available in bookstores and on Amazon.com.uk. Other current projects include a children's novel set in Renaissance Venice, and a study of the gambling habits of the poor in the Renaissance.

Andrea Viviani has a doctorate in linguistics from Roma Tre University in Rome. His dissertation deals with the relationship--historical and linguistics--between English and Italian. He conducts Italian Language Workshops for Context:Rome, and is equally able to give a lesson in how to speak/read Italian as he is able to lead a provocative discussion of language history and cultural meaning.

Ed Wouk is currently a doctoral candidate in the Fine Arts at Harvard University. His area of focus is on the artistic relations between the Low Countries and Italy in the Renaissance, and his dissertation focuses on the oeuvre of one of the foremost of these so-called "Fiamminghi a Roma." Ed is a native New Yorker and has studied and taught New York history extensively. He's also lived extensively in Belgium and the Netherlands and is equally conversant in the art and theory of the Renaissance and Baroque periods in the North and in Italy.

Carolin C. Young, a lifelong foodie and Francophile, has been researching the history of artful dining since 1997. She holds a Royal Society of Arts Diploma from Christie's Education, London and is the author of Apples of Gold in Settings of Silver; Stories of Dinner as a Work of Art (2002, Simon & Schuster). A Trustee of the Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery, Young lectures widely and has created several historically inspired banquets and events, most notably for the Sotheby's Institute of Art in New York. A native New Yorker transplanted to Paris, she is currently writing an irreverent history of the fork and building a 10-ft. boiled egg inspired by Salvador Dali.

Luca Zaggia is a geologist who has been working for the last 15 years as a coastal oceanographer for the National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Marine Science, Venice. His research has been focused on many aspects of the management of the lagoon ecosystem, from the assessment of contamination in the water and sediments of the city canal network prior to dredging to the monitoring of the input of freshwater and contaminants from the tributaries of the drainage basin. More recently, with his staff of technicians, he has been involved in studies on the hydrodynamics and transport of sediments in the tidal channel and shallow water areas of the lagoon, as well as the monitoring of the environmental effects of the works for the protection of Venice and its lagoon from floods. In cooperation with European and American institutions he is also working on research focused on the determination of submarine groundwater input in lagoons and coastal areas.

Jane Zaloga is working on her dissertation for a Ph.D. in architectural history from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. She currently teaches art history and architectural history as an adjunct faculty member at Syracuse University and New York University. She has lived in Florence for ten years, and has a young daughter named Olivia.

Ceylan Zere was born and raised in Istanbul and has spent much of her life wandering through its maze busy streets and alleys. With a background in engineering, she possesses a good knowledge of the city's built environment. Ceylan spent many years in the United States, and although she continues traveling her deep love is for Istanbul—in particular, its traditions, lives, characters, and the stories of two great Empires that made the city their capital over the last 2000 years. A licensed guide for Turkey, Ceylan spend much of the year leading expeditions to archeological sites along the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts of Turkey. She is the co-author of Turkey Guide: Confluence of Civilizations, written for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

EY Zipris holds dual Masters degrees in education and museum anthropology from Teacher's College and Columbia respectively. She currently works at the City Museum of New York, and thus has deep and broad knowledge of the city and its history.