Paul Bennett is the Rome correspondent for Architectural Record and Architecture magazines and a freelancer for National Geographic. He has written several books on architecture and landscape for Princeton Architectural Press. He is keenly interested in the history of gardens and urbanism. With his wife, Lani Bevacqua, he started Context Rome in 2003. Paul holds a masters degree in intellectual history. His article on the subterranean spaces of Rome appeared in the July 2006 issue of National Geographic and his article about sailing a small boat across the Atlantica was selected for the 2006 Best American Travel Writing (Houghton Mifflin).

John Boyden hails from Philadelphia where he studied Philosophy at La Salle University. He has a degree in theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas and is currently studying Canon Law.

Liz Brewster is an American architect with degrees in architecture from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Rome specializing in restoration and urban design and has lived in Rome since 1988 working on design and research.

Art historian Frank Dabell studied at Oxford University and the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London, and is a former Fellow of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; he lectures for the museum throughout Europe. After many years in New York, he has returned to Rome, where he was raised, and is now on the Art History Faculty of Temple University Rome.

Maureen Fant, a classicist turned food writer, is a frequent contributor to the New York Times travel section and other periodicals. Her books, described at www.maureenbfant.com , include “Trattorias of Rome, Florence, and Venice,” “Dictionary of Italian Cuisine” (with Howard M. Isaacs), and the classic source book on women in the ancient world “Women's Life in Greece and Rome” (with Mary R. Lefkowitz), the third edition of which has just been published. She is also author of a cookbook on Rome for a Williams-Sonoma series. She holds an M.A. in classical studies from the University of Michigan and completed the coursework and exams there for the Ph.D. in classical archaeology.

Joan Geller was introduced to yoga in the early sixties. Her interest has continued over these 40 years. She has studied personally with BKS Iyengar both in Europe and India, was a student of Vanda Scaravelli until her death in 1992, and continues her studies including hatha yoga, Sanskrit, Vedic chanting and in the tradition of the great 20th century yogi, Krishnamaryacharya. Her practice in Rome includes small groups and private lessons with a particular interest in prenatal yoga.

Inge Hansen is a project director of the Butrint excavations in southern Albania. A native of Denmark, she has a Ph.d. in art history from the University of Edinburgh and has worked for many years with the British School in Rome on a variety of archeological projects. Her specialism is Classical Art, in particular the art of the Roman Empire and the imaging of women in the ancient world.

Originally from New Mexico, Eowyn Kerr holds an MA in Art Conservation from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She is specialized in the conservation and restoration of Renaissance Italian panel paintings, and her experience includes the treatment of works by Andrea del Sarto at the North Carolina Museum of Art, restoration of Baroque ceiling paintings in Rome, and teaching and lecturing on international conservation practices and ethics. She was recently awarded a Kress Fellowship to conserve Florentine cassoni (15th century wedding chests) for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Her expertise in art history, artistic materials, and painting techniques allows her to discuss the creation of artwork within the Vatican Museums, Villa Borghese, and on our other art history walks.

Originally from Canada, Anthony Majanlahti has been living and researching in Rome for several years. His first book, "The Families Who Made Rome" (London: Chatto & Windus, 2005), has recently been translated into Italian, and he is currently working on a brief guide to Rome under the Nazi occupation. Anthony is an urban historian who specializes in Rome throughout its history, with an emphasis on the early modern and modern periods.

Cecilia Martini has a master's degree in Medieval and Renaissance art from the University of Rome, "La Sapienza." Although her specialty is painting and decorative arts, she has a broad knowledge of the history of Rome, and leads many antiquity-themed itineraries. Cecilia works actively as a curator of exhibitions and lecturer and is a frequent consultant with the Galleria Borghese, Galleria Doria Pamphilj, and the Galleria Colonna. She also has a specialized teaching degree, and works as a visiting professor in several art institutes.

After studying Law at the University of East Anglia in the UK, Petulia Melideo decided to return to her native Rome. She writes Rome and Naples guides for airlines, and leads a variety of orientation walks and chats in those cities. She's knowledgeable about shopping and "Made in Italy" culture and she just completed a course as Art Curator. Petulia manages the Rome and Naples offices of Context.

Lucia Montuschi is a University of Florence Ph.D art historian, who completed her thesis on Eastern art. She's worked in the many State Museums of Florence, with a particular focus on art therapy. She’s also taught for Pepperdine University and the International Art University. Currently, Lucia teaches Venetian art at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Florence. Lucia's a charming, extremely knowledgeable docent and a lover of ideas.

Katie Parla earned her BA in art history from Yale where her studies focused on Roman funerary art, particularly the use of Greek myths on carved sarcophagi. Since moving to Rome in 2003 she has worked for Context leading a wide range of walks in both Rome and Naples. She has written guidebooks for Time Out, The Rough Guide, Eyewitness Guides and Insight Guides and is a contributing writer for the Encyclopedia of Society and Culture in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Katie is also an urban speleologist for the city of Rome and has produced five episodes of the History Channel Series "Cities of the Underworld" in which she appeared as an expert on underground Rome, Palermo and Naples. Recently Katie became a certified sommelier. She is currently pursuing an MA in Food and Wine History from Rome's Tor Vergata University.

Fiorella Squillante holds a laurea (Bachelor's degree) in modern languages and is a specialist in art history and Neapolitan culture and art. She works with the main museums of Naples as a member of the Educational section and as a representative of the main painting galleries of Naples for foreign visitors. She is the president of the cultural Association Fine Arts that organizes exhibitions, meetings, cultural events in Naples and Lazio, talks with artists and contemporary art galleries owners, private views and themed routes in Naples and Campania, cocktails and visits to stately homes, accommodation in historical b&b or luxurious villas.

Jessica Stewart hails from Massachusetts and earned her BA in Art History from Boston University. She got her first taste of Italian living during a semester exchange in Padova. She holds an MA in Renaissance Studies from University College London, where her dissertation dealt with the development of Giulio Romano’s early painting style in Rome. Her main areas of interest are Renaissance and Baroque painting and sculpture. She shares duties as Rome city manager and squeezes in walks as a docent when she can. In 2007 she also began managing Context: Venice and now divides her time between Rome and Venice.

Giovanna Terzulli is an art historian and Rome native. She has a master's degree in art history from the University of Rome "La Sapienza," with a specialization in Modern and Medieval art. She works as an editorial consultant for a number of cultural organizations in Rome including the Superintendent of Archaeology of Rome. Giovanna is fluent in Italian (mother tongue), English, and French, and has a unique interest in Mannerism.