Guide Tag: Sightseeing

My name is Laura.
I live in Cerveteri, a small town in the countryside, 15 miles away from the north-west of Rome. I work in the tourism field since 1989.
I know Rome pretty well and all the public transport from Fiumicino airport or Civitavecchia harbour; I have the licence to assist at the harbour direct inside the cruise terminal.

I could escort you to the hotel, providing if necessary, a car for all your transfer or find accommodation. You won’t have anything to do from the day you’ll get in Rome:
I’ll take care of You

I can give you the following services:
assistance, transfer, accommodation, tours, shopping, reservation for the meals.

Ciao! My name is Micaela Pavoncello and I am a proud member of the Jewish Community of Rome.
I was born in Rome to a Jewish Roman father (proud to be here since Caesar’s time!) and a Libyan Jewish Sephardic mother. I am married to Angelo and we have three sons, Gabriel, Nathan, and Isaac.

I have lived in Rome my entire life, except for one year I lived in Argentina and another year in Israel. I am in love with my city and that’s the reason why I decided to study Art History at Rome’s university. Traveling has given me the opportunity to meet other Jews, share my story with them, and compare my community with their and other communities. Throughout my time as a guide, while meeting people along my journey, I have come to realize how miraculous the existence of the Jewish Community of Rome really is.

I founded Jewish Roma Walking Tours in 2003 after completing my studies in Art History and a year of research at the central Archive of Rome where I was looking for documents about my family during the ghetto times. I also had a full time job at MACRO, Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome, where I was responsible for the exhibitions department and I had the opportunity to meet artists, collectors, curators, and visitors from all over the world.

Taking people on tours of Rome, meeting travelers, and teaching them about the bimillenary existence of the Jews in this city made me understand that most people see Rome only as a city of Christianity.

However…

The Jewish Community of Rome’s history of resilience, culinary traditions, different minhag (musical-liturgical traditions), Jewish-Roman dialect, and continuous presence in the same place, make us the most ancient citizens of Rome and unique contributors to the fabric of the Eternal City. We have been witnesses of the grandeur of the Roman Empire, and to its fall, the beginning of Christianity, the Barbarians, the Inquisition, The Popes, the ghettos, and the final Emancipation. We went through World War Two and the Shoah and still we thrive today.

Family is a central value for Jews and Italians alike—doubly so for Italian Jews! So let me tell you who I am by telling you a little bit about my family.

My ancestors came to Rome from Spain, over five hundred years ago. My grandmother ran a licensed souvenir stand in the Vatican (a traditionally Jewish profession!), which she passed on to my father, and my father to me.

You could say that tourism and the city of Rome are in my DNA!

A few years ago, I decided to take this family tradition to another level. Driven by my passion for the city of Rome, its landmarks, art and history, I decided to become a tour guide. I studied hard, taking courses in art history and archaeology, passed the gruelling regional exams—obtaining certification as a licensed tour guide—and immediately began working with some of the largest tour operators in Rome. Now, as an independent guide, I am able to offer my intimate knowledge of the city and its Jewish history (including Talmudic and Midrashic sources) in particular, directly to you. As a professionally trained tour guide and a graduate of the Rome Yeshiva who has deep roots in this city and its ancient Jewish community, I will show you Rome from a truly unique perspective.

And now for the rest of the mishpacha—or famiglia, as we say in Rome: I am married to a fellow Roman Jew, of Ashkenazi heritage (a “mixed” marriage ☺☺), and have two wonderful children, of whom I am immensely proud.