Quest’intervista è con Anne Robichaud del giornale “La Gazzetta”. Anne è una guida autorizzata in Umbria e offre i tour per i turisti. Con COVID-19, lei non può né viaggiare in Italia né lavorare in Umbria. Con l'eliminazione dei viaggi in tutto il mondo, lei ha deciso di avere un tipo di blog su zoom con i suoi clienti. Ogni sabato sera alle 20, può ascoltare i suoi discorsi. Ogni settimana, lei ha un tema nuovo. Lei parla d’italia e molti aspetti della loro cultura, storia, e cucina, parla del turismo, le tradizioni italiane, ed altre cose.
With most non-essential travel prohibited; the tourist industry has gotten creative inviting visitors to far away locations from the comfort of their own home. Contributing writer Anne Robichaud has created her very own Zoom talks where she brings guests on a journey through Umbria and more in just an hour. Here, Anne shares the information on her fun and informational talks with La Gazzetta Italiana.
La Gazzetta (LG): What inspired you to offer Zoom talks?
Anne Robichaud (AR): I am an authorized Guida Regionale dell’Umbria. I generally work in spring, summer and fall as a guide in the Italian region of Umbria. Many of my tour guests are English-speaking and mostly Americans. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, tourism has been halted so I am now sharing Umbria - and more! - via my Zoom talks. Those who join in are invited to donate, but it is absolutely not necessary.
LG: How do you choose the subject material for your Zooms?
AR: Subjects are infinite! I lectured in the U.S. for a couple of years in the late 1990s at museums and universities. My first lecture tour was aimed at restoring tourism to Umbria after the 1997 earthquake and then the lecture tour morphed into a cooking lessons tour. I have always kept a rich blog on my website and enjoy writing about aspects of Italy, Italians and Italian culture so my ideas for Zoom talks are not lacking. After each Zoom talk, I ask viewers what they wish to hear about and take those ideas into account, also.
LG: Are the Zoom talks interactive?
AR: Each Zoom talk is an hour, and all are muted during the talk. However, at the end of the hour I happily take questions and comments. I am also online 15 minutes prior to each talk to interact with viewers!
LG: What do you have planned for the remainder of this year?
AR: “Cheese, Please” will likely make the list. I will feature my husband Pino’s goat cheese-making, recipes, cheese festivals here, etc. I also have talks planned for medieval processions, the Roman/Etruscan roots of Umbria and “guided” virtual tours of lesser-known hill towns of the area.
Readers can find Anne’s previous Zoom talk recordings at www.annesitaly.com/virtual-experiences/ and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcQdWvw38bSyJFwoztpSYNg.
Anne’s Zoom talks are hosted every Saturday at 8 p.m., Italy time. All talks are in English and everyone is invited. You can also visit and subscribe to her blog at www.annesitaly.com/blog and on your next trip to Umbria choose www.stayassisi.com.
