Italian Guide Resource - Cinqueterre / Lunigiana
 

People sometimes post asking for guide resources in Italy. Flipping that around a little, I'd like to offer up a great resource in the Cinqueterre / Lunigiana area.

Ilaria Riccio is native of Pontremoli who has lived in London (7 years) and Norway and fluent in both English and Norwegian. When we bought a house in Pontremoli she was the translator at the rogito (closing) and we made friends with her and she's been a "guide" to us about the local area. Pontremoli is an interesting town with medieval roots. As the northern most town in Tuscany, it abuts southern Liguria and Emilia-Romagna. And, for years, it was the base of traveling booksellers who roamed northern Italy (it is still the location where awards are given by booksellers for the best books each year). As a result, Pontremoli is a small melting pot with its own language, culture and cuisine built with influences from Tuscany, Liguria and Emilia-Romagna.

Ilaria has taken us to off-the-beaten path trattoria's where the owner buys a whole animal from a farmer or a hunter and basically uses every part of the animal. Or shown us the local bakery that not only makes great cornetto pastries for breakfast but will creme fill them on request... She's a certified tour guide and also certified at teaching Italian as a foreign language. She focuses on the history, culture and cuisine of Lunigiana, southern Liguria (Cinqueterre / La Spezia / Porto Venere...) and northern Tuscany (Pontremoli down to Lucca/Pisa). An example of Ilaria's offerings is a walking tour of Pontremoli "Eat, Walk and Learn Italian". So, if you're looking for a guide in Cinqueterre/La Spezia/Lunigiana who can help lift the covers on real Italy, Ilaria comes highly recommended.

Thank you for this recommendation. Given your contributions in the Italy Forum, I am confident that this is not spam but a legitimate recommendation. I appreciate your sharing.
Obscure2k
Italy Moderator

Thanks. Proactive recommendations do challenge the line between the personal and commercial. I debated the appropriateness of a proactive post and thank you for the validation.