Born in Ravello on the Amalfi Coast in 1953. At the age of seven, my family (parents and three children) emigrated to England.

In 1973, I returned to Italy to work first as a Resort Representative for Castle Holidays, in Riva del Garda on Lake Garda (Trento). The following season, 1974, I was based closer to home in Maiori (where I met my husband, a hotel manager). A year later I began working for CIT in Sorrento. In 1976, I returned permanently to Ravello.

Numerous major tour operators, specialist travel companies followed such as Citalia, Magic of Italy, Sovereign, Excelair, Thomas Cook, Select, Page & Moy as well as those specialising in private villas & self-catering eg. OSL the Villa Experts. I was solely responsible for managing the Amalfi Coast area and delivering the service too.

Until 1994, I worked in various guises in tourism on the Coast. I was fortunate to be at the forefront of this growing field and became known for planning and running visits, excursions, tours for a wide range of clients.

In 2004, I began freelancing and in 2005 set up A Guide Inside offering guide services to independent travellers to the Amalfi Coast. Clients come from ‘luxury travel’ companies and 5* hotels. In working with local and international wedding planners in Ravello, Positano etc., I have acted as a Celebrant (civil, symbolic), Co-ordinator (events & receptions), Master of Ceremonies, organised and led excursions for guests as well as acting as a local representative for the company. Independently, I still am a Tour Manager including enogastronomic tours.

My passion for my work-home, stems from the fact the coast is quite simply a special place — a place I yearned for as an immigrant and see in a new light each time I meet first-time visitors to the coast and experience it with them. My work as an insider is special and unique. 40 years of experience, insider knowledge and contacts, coupled with my English accent has brought with it exciting opportunities such as an interview with the late Gore Vidal, voiceover work for a Ravello app and amateur theatre productions, researching family histories that have included digging into civil and religious archives, brokering the restoration of a 16th Century icon and the related re-opening of a forgotten local chapel made possible by a foreign donor.

I speak English (courtesy of the BBC), Italian, and Neapolitan (a dialect now recognised as a language).

Foreign Travel

As a young person, I had a strong sense of wanderlust, attracted to different cultures and far-flung places. I have travelled extensively in Europe, have visited Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East, India, Thailand & Indonesia. But there is still so much more to discover.

Interests

Travel — Reading — Arts & Crafts — History & Culture — Yoga & Ayurveda — Jewellery-Making (angelaimperato.com)