Writer, Teacher and Abruzzo Specialist, Based in Rome
Drawing on 19 years of running Life in Abruzzo, the region's English-language editorial platform, I help universities, agents and families find their way into Abruzzo and trace their roots. In Rome, I teach English.
What I've built
Life in Abruzzo
Since 2007, Life in Abruzzo has become where English speakers go to understand the region, and the first call for journalists and broadcasters. Most recently: Stanley Tucci's production team, for the Abruzzo episode of their food series.
It runs as a cultural association, with the Abruzzo Insiders Club for members who want the inside track, and won the Words of Wine European Blogger Award from the Abruzzo Wine Consortium.
145k
Annual visitors
259k
Annual page views
28k+
Social followers
19
Years publishing
As featured in
The Guardian · The New York Times · ANSA · Food & Wine Italia · Daily Mail · The Local Italy · Il Centro · Channel 4 · Glug Magazine · Entangled Landscapes · Destination Eat Drink Podcast
Consulting
A Bridge to Abruzzo: How I Can Help
Abruzzo rewards people who know who to call. My contact book covers all 4 provinces, L'Aquila, Teramo, Pescara and Chieti: wine producers and truffle hunters, archaeologists and weavers, agriturismi and museums, licensed guides, and the lawyers and geometri that property buyers need.
Universities, tour operators, agents and families come to me to plan welcome programmes, brief their teams, or weigh up a move or a holiday home. I do the planning and the introductions; the local hosts do the hosting. And I get those local suppliers onto proper contracts and invoices, which anyone who has tried it from abroad will appreciate.
"If it weren't for Sam, I'm not sure my idea would have ever got off the ground. Having someone who understands the expectations of an international audience, but also has the cultural humility of the locals at heart was the key to things coming together."
Louise Kennedy · John Cabot University
Louise asked me to plan freshers' days in Abruzzo for 170 John Cabot University students.
Consulting projects from €500, IVA included. University programmes and agent briefings priced on the brief.
Family history
Abruzzo Genealogy and Citizenship Documents
I trace Abruzzese families back through the archives and, where I can, forward to living relatives, turning a name on a certificate into a meeting. I'm also the genealogist behind Abruzzo Sister Tours.
Applying for Italian citizenship by descent? I deal with the comune, collect ancestral birth, marriage and death certificates in person, and have them apostilled at the Prefettura, ready for your lawyer or consulate.
"Your help has been invaluable and a jewel of a find in an otherwise difficult area of admin."
Colin D. · UK
Ancestry projects from €320, IVA included. Citizenship document retrieval from €100 per municipality, IVA included, plus travel for municipalities further afield. Full research and tracing living relatives priced on scope.
Writing
Writing on Abruzzo
Magazines and publishers commission me when they want Abruzzo written by someone who lives it. My work has appeared in Glug Magazine (Beer52), Entangled Landscapes and children's books in translation.
Commissions from €300 per piece, IVA included.
I also take on a few website content and SEO projects a year, for businesses with a clear brief and the time to act on it. Clients include Goad Old Street Maps, Performance Consultants, Shapero Rare Books, Marcelli Formaggi, LimeTree Farm, and an organic hotel in Jamaica that won Organic Hotel of the Year at WTM London.
Teaching
English Lessons and Courses in Rome
IGCSE, Cambridge exams and Business English from a native speaker who teaches at a private liceo in Rome.
IGCSE Geography and English
Curriculum teaching and exam preparation, including for external candidates.
Cambridge exams and private lessons
Starters, Movers and Flyers through B1 and beyond. One-to-one or small groups, in Rome or online.
Business English and Erasmus+
For organisations as different as Slow Food Abruzzo, a men's grooming brand and an international online gaming company. Corporate courses move to my new brand, Ali d'Inglese, this autumn.
Camps and UK study weeks
English in the Woods camps in Abruzzo and school trips to Oxford. Coming soon with Ali d'Inglese: interactive weeks for teenagers, from Robotics to Storytelling in London.
Lessons from €30 per hour, IVA included, with a discounted rate for a full term booked in advance.
About
I'm a British writer and teacher based in Rome. I started in-house as Pan-European Content Manager at MTV Europe, Content Manager at Universal Music and Web Content Manager at the eye charity ORBIS International, went freelance in 2003, and founded Life in Abruzzo in 2007.
When I can, I escape to Abruzzo.
Get in touch
Tell Me What You're Planning
Email or WhatsApp is quickest.
Registered in Italy with a partita IVA. Clear quotes, contracts and invoices for every project.
P.IVA IT02184490676