What I can offer your students
• A different kind of online learning, designed with teachers to enhance their curriculum and pique students’ curiosity about Italian history, culture, and language (adaptable for most grade levels).
• Live-streamed virtual tours of Siena, Florence, San Gimignano (and beyond).
• Learn about the Etruscans, the Romans, medieval warfare, art and architecture, culture and tradition, and the Palio!
• Custom-made videos featuring on-site visits (museums, churches, archeological sites).
why me?
• Native English speaker, fluent in Italian;
• BA in Art History (Skidmore College), MA in Italian Studies and PhD in Italian Art History (University of Manchester);
• Rick Steves’ Europe tour guide (click here to listen to some radio interviews with Rick!);
• Experience working with students of all ages;
• Former professor of art history, licensed tour guide in Italy;
• Animated presentation style with dynamic slideshows and enthusiastic delivery.
Collaborative programs
• Please let me know what you’d like to focus on and I’ll base the tour on your students’ interests. We can concentrate on a particular point in history, discuss religion and myth, admire artistic and architectural masterpieces, or talk about the Italian language and what contemporary life in Italy is like.
• Using Zoom (or similar platform), I invite you, the teacher, to be the moderator. The chat function is fantastic, but hard for me to access whilst on the selfie-stick!
• Tours will be recorded for you.
A “trailer”!
Student Testimonials:
Reviews from Students, Parents, & Teachers:
“As a teacher of art history, I lamented the fact that my students would not be able to tour a museum this year. Luckily, Dr. Pip’s tour through Siena presented an even better opportunity to our class- a live tour of Medieval art and architecture! Not only did students appreciate the wealth of art historical knowledge that Dr. Pip has about her city, but she helped them see the importance of Siena in the context of global culture. As we stopped by some pivotal sites like the Piazza del Campo, Dr. Pip shared anecdotal knowledge about the modern culture of the city and even introduced us to some locals whom she passed along the way! The tour through Siena drew out a travel bug within me and my students and gave us a unique opportunity to be virtual tourists!”
On the big screen! Students participated by playing bingo (prizes awarded if they could explain each word/name/concept on their winning row of 5!) and asking questions throughout.
“Attention Teachers, Parents and Virtual Educators!! You need Anna Piperato in your classroom! My 12-year-old daughter took one of Anna’s classes this summer and absolutely loved it! Even over her summer break, [my daughter] was so excited to tune into Anna’s class each week and join her on walking tours through her city. These virtual tours were engaging, fun and informative. They taught [my daughter] so much about history, culture, and life in Italy. I think Anna’s tours would be perfect for any student!”
“The best!! I took my students on a virtual tour with Dr. Pip and they raved all the next class about it. They now all want to travel to Siena!”
“I really enjoyed the upbeat and liveliness of the tour. It was really fun to see it from the tour guide’s perspective through a Zoom call. This could be a new and improved way of making tours more easily accessible.”
“I enjoyed seeing the different types of architecture in Siena. Along with this, I enjoyed learning the facts of how people live in Italy, and how it compares and contrasts to how we live in America. I also loved seeing the different views from where she stood because they were so beautiful.”
You (the teacher) will be made co-host so you can see all your students and field questions from the chat.
“Dr. Pip’s knowledge of not only the art and architecture of Siena, but the local history and customs, makes this tour so much fun! My mom and I loved being able to learn about and see a beautiful city from our couch since we cannot travel at this time.”
“My virtual field trip with Dr. Pip was engaging and enjoyable, Dr. Pip is a wonderful tour guide and was just as excited to show us the beauty of Siena as we were to see it! She had so much great information and so many beautiful sites to show, would highly recommend to anyone looking for a tour!”
“Some of the things I enjoyed about the field trip was getting to see the cool foods in the bakery, the way kids and people just walked around (no cars), and hearing about the different parts of the city like the lupas and things like that.”
Screenshots from a recent virtual field trip around Siena. Here, the magnificent town hall of Siena.
“Her passion for the city was palpable and it was very exciting!”
“The tour really showed the importance of Siena in the history of Italy, and the information given was very interesting and gave perspective to the city. It was very engaging and informative.”
“Grazie mille, Anna, per averci riscaldato i cuori da Oakville, Canada, e di averci portato a casa tua- a Siena! Ecco vari commenti dagli studenti miei!”
• “Io amo vedere la cultura e il stile di vita! È molto bello! Grazie mille per il tour!” - JS
• “Le sue spiegazioni delle parti di Siena erano molto dettagliate! è stata una bella esperienza e voglio andare a Siena!” -MM
• “È stato incredibile, mi è piaciuto il modo in cui insegna e ho imparato cose nuove sulla cultura Siena.” -MS
• “L'esperienza fu molto interattivo e interessante. Ci ha portato in diverse parti della bellissima città e ci ha spiegato la loro storia.” -VL
• “Mi e piaciuto sua energia! Puoi dire che e appassionata :) “- MV
• “Il tour è stato molto istruttivo ed è stato fantastico vedere com’è Siena dato che ci sono così tanti studenti lì. Siena è bella e piena di cultura. Grazie mille per aver dedicato del tempo a guidarci.” -AMS
• “Mi piaceva vedere tutta l'architettura italiana, era molto bella. È stato molto divertente. Lei era molto ottimista, durante tutto il tour. Voglio andare a Siena!” -KC
• “Mi piacciono le statue delle lupe e le strade. Lei è spumeggiante e è una buona professoressa. Grazie!” -CR
• “È stato fantastico!!!!!!” -MS
Note the almost empty classroom; the rest of the students were online from home!
images from recent livestreams and virtual tours:
I will introduce you to Siena…
…and to the locals to talk about food and culture!
Learn about local art and the historic Palio horse race…
…and how I became a She-Wolf.
Meet the artists who made history, and those who are making it now.
We can even discuss the origins of the Italian language and the beauty of the Tuscan dialect too!
Scheduling and Fees:
• Live-streamed virtual tours available during Italian daylight hours (through 5:15pm now in winter). More flexible hours with online classes (using slideshows and presented live from my home), but please keep in mind the time difference (Italy is 6 hours ahead of EST, 9 hours ahead of PST).
• Prices will vary based on the length of the tour (I would recommend 1-1.5 hrs) and/or how many tours/classes we do together (one student tour ranges from €150 to €250). Please email me at anna@sienaitalytours.com for more details or to schedule a Zoom meeting with me to discuss our options! (NB: I am fully willing to work with your school’s budget so that we can provide a meaningful experience for your classroom at a reasonable rate.)
The splendours of Gothic Siena
Renaissance Florence never ceases to impress
Pienza - the ideal city and landscape
