In general, we all belong to more than one community. Yes, families are the starting point, but then, as we expand our personalities and interests, we join different ones that share common passions such as sports, hobbies, or a deep affection for one another. Undoubtedly, what creates the strongest and longest-lasting link is friendship.

Although the loss of income has been difficult, it is that connection with tour members—that sense of community—that I miss most. I miss not only building relationships with my tour members but  also helping them connect with each other and with locals. 

Many other communities and movements around the world have helped people to connect, to share common ideas, and to not feel alone. Think about how all achievements, technology, science, medicine, literature, religion, politics, and other important things would not be possible if it was not for that simple ability to communicate, think, and work together. One is nothing without the community, and the community is nothing without the one.

Naples is a city that can easily fall into stereotypes, but these can never begin to capture the social and cultural complexity of this ancient metropolis.

Most of us have lived under various levels of lockdown over the past year and because of this, the level at which we can participate in our various communities has been changed and so has how we participate (Zoom, anyone?). As an unemployed tour guide, I have had ample time to reflect on the different communities in my life and how they have evolved or simply morphed over the past year.

Europe Day is a bittersweet day for me. I am of the generation that had the opportunity to study and work in Europe. I had the freedom to go where I pleased for as long as I pleased, which—unless they already live there and have applied for settled status—UK citizens will no longer have. 

Human beings are social characters that need interaction to stimulate emotions, to energize thought processes, to bring experiences to life; and boy, have I loved the various communities I have been part of across the world!

Here in the Basque country, the sense of community is very strong. We say we do things in the auzolan way. It doesn't have an exact translation, but it kind of means that everybody who can help in the community, does. We construct houses, clean the forest, fix the church’s ceiling or take care of our elderly in the auzolan way. You volunteer to do whatever you do best.

I don’t know about you, but for me, the last 12 months has been a rollercoaster of highs, lows and just jogging along on life’s journey. It has been exhausting, exhilarating and exceptional, but not necessarily in equal doses.

I am a tour guide and as you may guess, very affected in my job because of the damned virus. Colleagues worldwide are in the same boat. Many tour operators are disappearing, others are trying to re-invent themselves the way the can and others are just on standby until the vaccine is massively done, waiting for a “new normality” to take hold. A group of friends and colleagues from four continents have created an association called Guide Collective, ( www.guide-collective.com ), of which I am a proud founding member.

If I look back, I can remember several situations in my past that put me in a terrible distress, sadness and pain. But I also remember the incredible joy of living a new adventure , the thrill for a new love, the satisfaction for new achievements. Having that in mind, now more than ever, I am certain that a true Rebirth is waiting for me at the end of this epic moment.

The high level of economic wellbeing in Etruscan society meant that, already in the Archaic period (from the 6th century BC), women began to "leave" the home to participate more actively in public life…Unlike a Grecian Penelope and Andromache, Etruscan women were not satisfied with waiting patiently at home for their spouse to return but rather legitimately took part in all the pleasures of life.

This past March 8th, I was wondering about the importance of this celebration and the role of women in the western society and all over the world. Looking at the sad figures of domestic violence , abuses , murders perpetrated by husbands, boyfriends and fathers over women, a deep, disheartening feeling hits me like a punch in the stomach.

Louisa Jordan’s working career was mainly in care and nursing on the East and West of Scotland. She later enlisted with the Scottish Women’s Hospitals for Foreign Service in December 1914, after the start of the First World War.  She joined the first Serbian unit and looked after war wounded soldiers until the outbreak of a typhus epidemic in 1915, when she took charge of a typhus ward in Serbia.  

In the small kingdom of Navarre, since the beginning of time, women have not only had their own identity and freedom, but most importantly, power.  Many times, they have had to demonstrate their strength with grace, but not always with mercy. Let me introduce you to some of these powerful ladies.  

Spain’s culture is as rich, intriguing, and complex as its history. Here are 5 movies that will help you better understand both.

Could there be any better way to be challenged than to have an actual, honest conversation face-to-face with people towards whom you would not normally gravitate because they do not sound or look like you? When information is available in a safe setting, you are able to make your own decisions. Building bridges is more constructive than building walls.

I was born in the land of the Etruscans, Giotto, Michelangelo, Galileo, Leonardo, Meucci, Machiavelli and hundreds more. All men who, animated by curiosity and spirituality, understood what the key to intellectual progress was - like the philosophers, we must doubt everything, we must be open to new ideas, we must ask questions and explore.

I realize that I am blessed to have been born in the US (thank you , Mom and Dad, for seeking and working for a better life). I realize that I enjoy great privilege in being able to travel and learn from experiences and cultures from all over the world, and I do not ever want to take any of that for granted.

I am a generalist and work all over Italy and they are specialists in their regions or cities. I am also a bridge and strive to make connections between the well-recorded history and how it relates to us. Taking things from the past and relating them to our present and trying to not simply rattle off facts and numbers, but to create a cultural experience that will remain as a memory, long after the facts have faded into the background.