Born 2004: When I was working on my PhD dissertation, I spent a month in Rome. For research purposes – searching for the recurring iconography of putti, those playful babies, in art from Roman to Renaissance times – I wanted to see the city in chronological order. No guidebook or textbook met my needs, so I started publishing my notes and photos on a blog I called “One Month Rome”. It was hand-built in HTML.

When I got back to Florence, my husband said “why don’t you expand this to Florence and make it something permanent”. And so it remained.

ArtTrav has seen numerous iterations and identity crises since then. Publication has been more or less frequent, social media has played a growing role, and the art historian in me has slowly given over to a less analytical, more experiential traveler, but the blog remains an important outlet for me. Writing this blog and sharing the beautiful places I live and visit motivates me to get out, to photograph, to reflect and to write.

No. I am not a full-time blogger, nor am I a tour guide (I am often confused with a the similarly named, Florence-based American licensed guide Alexandra Lawrence – we are two separate people!). The work I do is, however, closely related to the skills developed here.

I am partner in a Florence-based, internationally-minded creative agency called Flod. I lead digital projects and head up a team of social media managers. I analyse clients’ needs and find digital solutions for them. As a team, we’re photographers, writers, geeks, designers, illustrators, fun humans. Flod’s ownership overlaps with that of The Florentine, Florence’s long standing English-language news magazine, to which I am a contributor.

In the past, I have worked for the Region of Tuscany’s official tourism blog and social media channels, and before that, I was a professor of art history on study abroad programs in Tuscany.

I am open to collaborations! With my background in photography and tourism promotion, I have a good understanding of companies’ needs and travelers’ desires, and am able to help you by providing deep storytelling and meaningful photography for your hotel, service or product.

If we’re going to work together, you might find it useful to know a bit more about me. In the world of digital influencers, I’m practically a senior: I was born in 1976 and I have natural grey hair. I travel independently (not in a group), or with my husband Tommaso. When possible, I travel on weekends or long weekends, since my very full-time job makes it difficult to work on the blog during the week.

Although I often focus on art and culture,  both of us like to balance that out with the best of European sports and wellness. We are avid tennis players and often go on sports holidays. There are a few things I don’t like. Crowds and noise are amongst them, group tours, bicycles (a few accidents too many), cruises, boats in general, and camping. I am pescatarian with a special diet for medical reasons (I have Ulcerative Colitis) and relatively recently started drinking wine at age 40, so I’ve been nurturing my interest in visiting wineries and wine resorts, and in learning about wine. I hold a certificate from the WSET level 2 exam.