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If you've ever wondered what it would be like to live in Rome, or if you live in Rome and wonder what life is like for your fellow expatriates, you'll enjoy meeting a few of the people who have succesfully settled in the Eternal City. This is the first in a new weekly series.
by Renée Finch
Alan Ovson, actor, educator, entrepreneur and theologian is the founder of Ovson Communications Group. A speaker in the fields of communications, negotiation and change, he develops practical step-by-step techniques and interacts with participants, encouranging them to think beyond the familiar. One of Alan’s main themes is ‘Humor is serious business’… get people to share a laugh together and you can get them to think and work together at a deeper level. His group offers a three-day workshop, "Coaching and Mentoring for Managers." Alan loves Italy, and especially Rome where he and his wife Susan Cole come regularly to do a bit of shopping and wander around enjoying the food and atmosphere they find so relaxing compared to their high-speed lifestyle in San Francisco.
How many times have you been to Rome?
I think that I was really born in Rome and have never left. My soul is there but my body is somewhere else.
What do you really like about the city?
All roads lead to Rome — adventure, history, culture, science, art, people, food. I love Rome because it's a city that's easy to walk in, and I love to walk. There's always something to see or do, and if I am too tired to do anything, just sitting and people watching works.
Does your experience of coming here enhance your work?
The experience of living in Rome widened my horizon about western civilization and how to think about life. Anything that broadens your understanding of the world is a good thing.
What annoys you the most about Rome?
The traffic.
What is the most captivating thing about Rome for you?
You can't help become aware that life has gone on here for thousands of years. You can see it everywhere.
What would the one thing you would tell a visitor not to miss?
The opportunity to meet Italians and go to someone’s home and have a real Italian meal with real Italians. Wow, what a concept!
What’s your favourite restaurant?
I don't have a favorite because there are so many places to eat a luxurious meal, or just have a simple one, or even a fantastic pizza.
Where do you go in Rome to chill out?
There are a number of fantastic parks, like the Villa Borghese, where you could spend hours walking. If you're there, the museum on the grounds is not to be missed.
What's the most memorable experience you've had in Rome?
New Year's Eve on the terrace of our friend's house near the Piazza del Popolo watching the fireworks.
Do you have friends in Rome?
Many. And one of them offers dinners in her wonderful house. Both she and her husband are great cooks and she even has a friend who offers cooking lessons. A great opportunity.
Would you like to come and live here for a bit?
I have lived in Italy and can't wait for the opportunity to live there again.
What's the best time of year to visit Rome?
I have visited Italy in every season and each season has its positives and negatives. If you get a change to go to Italy, don't worry about the season, anytime in wonderful.
Nicole Franchini, born in Chicago to an Italian father and an American mother, felt the need to find her Italian roots. After graduating with a BA degree at Hobart & William Smith Colleges and the Sorbonne, Paris, she worked for four years in marketing with l'Oréal in NYC; in the Press Office for Krizia in Milan, and eventually started her own travel company, Hidden Treasures of Italy, here in Rome. Now in it's 21st year, the company is going strong. While building her travel business, Franchini's pioneer spirit led her to search out the people taking the first steps in the hospitality business in rural Italy, the phenomenon known as "Agriturismo"In the course of learning about and developing Italian tourism, she became a writer and researcher for the Karen Brown Travel Guides, and author of one of the most popular books in the series, "Karen Brown's Italy B&Bs: Exceptional Places to Stay." Her work on the guidebooks takes her all over the country, while she hunts for the most charming accommodations, with the unforgettable scenery, savory meals and warm hospitality. Franchini and her husband have a lovely home just outside Rome in the rolling hills of Torri in Sabina, where they enjoy their own wine and olive production whenever they can get away from the city, where their two daughters are in high school.
What is the most captivating thing about Rome for you?
The fact that I am living in my father's native city and, during his yearly visit, going to all of his old haunts (many of which still
exist!) and hearing his stories of the post-war period, the challenge of rebuilding the city, the marvelous Dolce Vita period, and a city with very little traffic!
Has coming to Rome enhanced your work experience?
I am now in direct daily contact with all the hotels in my guides and, as a consultant, I can concentrate on their immediate marketing needs in an area which is ever-evolving.
What would you tell a visitor not to miss in Rome?
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (the hanging mosaic floors and the frescoed dining room of Livia on the top floor)
Galleria Borghese (Bernini's statue of Apollo and Daphne)
Galleria Doria Pamphilj (an exquisite collection in an historic palazzo where the original family still resides! This is Rome in a
nutshell).
Where do you go in Rome to chill out?
Any of the above places. I love to be surrounded by history.
What's most memorable thing that has happened to you in Rome?
I received an invitation to the annual Fourth of July at the American Ambassador's residence. The receiving line was a parade of Italy's most renowned personalities and the contrast of formal dress with American picnic fare was very amusing.
Is there something that annoys you about Rome?
Just taking a simple walk becomes an ordeal and requires all of your attention. The biggest danger here is crossing the street! Romans are incorrigible at the wheel.
What's your favorite restaurant in Rome?
My favorite trattoria with the best carbonara pasta ever: Da Enzo, in Trastevere [Via dei Vascellari, 29]
In your opinion, how does a foreigner benefit from the experience of living in Rome?
Any experience away from home broadens one's horizons, but Rome in particular, being such a crazy city logistically, gives one practice in patience and extreme flexibility. One has to constantly let go of preconceptions in order to deal with it all and see through to the real beauty of the city with all its marvelous secrets.
What's the best time of year to visit Rome?
November, when the tourist crowds have let up. I love the off- season in any city. Rome has the advantage of mild winter weather with so many outdoor attractions between the architecture, piazzas, fountains, parks, it can be visited at any time of the year.
Sally Sontheimer found herself catapulted into Italian life when she met her husband. Originally from Oklahoma, with a Masters in Forestry, she moved to Rome where she began working on conservation issues. It was while working at the F.A.O. that she wrote her first book about the crucial role women play in managing natural resources. The couple inherited a lovely family home near Siena, that soon lent itself to Sally's passion for gardening. The decided to open the villa as a retreat, offering workshops on writing skills and yoga classes Today, Sally is busy raising her two children and writing a memoir about her 22 years in Italy.
What is the most captivating thing about Rome for you?
The sense of mystery under the rubble you find everywhere you turn in this city.
Has coming to Rome enhanced your work experience?
Why not? It gave me a good story to write.
What would you tell a visitor not to miss in Rome?
The three layers of St.Clemente: the Roman, early Christian, and Medieval and Baroque all together right there. And St Stefano in Rotondo another one of the early Christian churches.
Where do you go in Rome to chill out?
My yoga class just around the corner from my house.
What's most memorable thing that has happened to you in Rome?
Just before I got married I was peering in the window at Bulgari in Via Condotti and I saw a pair of black pearl earings that I thought were beautiful. My husband offered them to me and I turned him down!
Is there something that annoys you about Rome?
If all the Romans were courteous, Rome would be heaven!
What's your favourite restaurant in Rome?
Well, you know because I eat Italian food all the time, I like to go to Jaipur [Via San Francesco a Ripa, Trastevere] to eat Indian.
In your opinion, how does a foreigner benefit from the experience of living in Rome?
You certainly learn to live with different belief systems, accept them and integrate them into your own. You learn compassion, too.
What's the best time of year to visit Rome?
Springtime, when Rome is green and the air smells sweet!
In Rome Now Travel Guide: Profiles