Our Team

Cristiano has been a devoted cyclist for decades. He sees the bicycle as an ideal way to visit a new place and, whenever possible, scouts new tour routes from the saddle.

In 2001, he started to design, sell, and guide cycling tours, mostly in Italy, with an American company, bringing his enthusiasm and energy to helping fellow travelers discover new foods, wines, cultures, and landscapes. Across many miles, Cristiano has honed his understanding of Italian regional distinctions, the importance of conviviality at the table, and the value of sharing the stories of our lives.

On moving to the U.S., he was at first surprised by how passionate many Americans are for Italy. It has helped him little by little to grow his pride in his heritage. He is happy to live in the U.S., provided that life and work allow him to return a few times a year to reconnect with roots, friends, foods, wines, recipes, and the special atmosphere of a country that, given local differences, could easily be called the “United Regions of Italy!” 

In 2013, Cristiano launched Food.Stories.Travel., a small tour operator offering educational, guided journeys around the Mediterranean, by foot or by bicycle. Food.Stories.Travel. focuses on the specificity of place and on local farmers and foodmakers, hearing their stories and tasting their works.

His background is varied: he studied phylosophy of language at college, has been a boy scout master for many years, and served in the army as an officer of the Alpine Troops.

After living in Tuscany for a few years, he moved back to his hometown of Ivrea, in Piedmont.

Given Davide’s knowledge of Italy, you might find him guiding our tours in Piedmont, Tuscany, Sicily, Trentino and Alto Adige/South Tyrol.

Rachel has been advising the company since its inception in 2013. Whenever they can, Rachel and Cristiano love to visit farms, taste new foods, and spend time in nature. For important strategic discussions they like to either go for a run ("run a business meeting") or share a meal.

She enjoys being challenged on long-distance, multi-day cycling events as well: In 2011, she completed the 745-mile Paris-Brest-Paris amateur ride in less than 69 hours, totally self-supported.

Suzie can often be found out on her bike taking in the beauty of the rolling hills of Chianti. “There is nothing I enjoy more than showing people the scenery I fell in love with when I first came here,” she says. Her deep insider knowledge of the region stems from a two-decade-long love affair with Tuscany.

Suzie has traveled all over Italy, and beyond. A freelance, she currently guides journeys for other companies as well as for us. Wherever she leads, Suzie’s infectious enthusiasm for cycling and Italy infuses the experience.

In all things, Andrea is committed to sustainability, authenticity, care for the environment, and a good, clean, and fair (the Slow Food motto) approach to life and tourism.

With family from both South Tyrol and Liguria, Andrea is a mix of two very cultures, German and northern Italian. He speaks fluent German, Italian, and English, after years living and working as a musician in New York City. From his hometown of Alassio, Andrea enjoys year-round riding in the temperate climes of Liguria and, off the bike, plays drums in several local bands.

Andrea brings twenty years of experience as a trip designer and leader. He is a freelance guide of tours both by bicycle and on foot. He works with us and with other operators.

Alessandro loves recreational riding, best of all when combined with a nice coffee and pastry. Occasionally, still likes to don a bib number and race, as he has done on the amateur version of Tour of Flanders, the Maratona dles Dolomites, Strade Bianche and several cyclocross events in Italy.

Off the bike, you may find Alessandro in the garden, cooking, hiking, or skiing. He splits his time between his hometown near Gavi, in Piedmont, and the south of Spain, in Valencia. Given his deep knowledge and love of both Italy and Spain, it’s no surprise that his favorite regions in which to lead tours are Piedmont, Puglia, Catalonia, and Mallorca.

When asked to name his greatest wish, Alessandro replied, “A world with fewer cars and more bicycles.”

Alessandro is a freelance guide who leads journeys both by bicycle and on foot for us as well as for other tour operators.

After so much time abroad, Gian Luca’s thoughts are bending toward home. “Travel has helped me to realize how unique and extraordinary my own country is. As an Italian, born and raised, I took certain things for granted. The more you travel, the more you appreciate home.” Among other things, he loves Italy’s diversity. “Two towns a few miles apart can easily have totally different histories, traditions, dialects, and course ancient rivalries.”

Unsurprisingly, Gian Luca has long been an adventurer. From hiking some of the highest Alps as a boy, he graduated to the Himalayas as an adult. He also loves road biking, running (he’s done 7 marathons), cooking, and savoring the Italian culture of food and wine. In addition to Italian and his regional dialect of Piedmontese, Gian Luca speaks English, French, German, and Spanish.

Gian Luca is a travel blogger (we hope he’ll write for us!) and regularly holds tourism webinars. He is a freelance guide who leads journeys both by bicycle and on foot for us as well as for other tour operators.

At a desk was never the place for her. Having grown up in a rural environment, from childhood, she has been devoted to the outdoors. She loves to lead walking tours (with us and others) that give her the opportunity to share what she learns—from architectural details to the world of wild herbs. Thanks to her mother, she cultivated a passion for botany and herbalism, as well as an endless curiosity about animals.
 
Francesca loves horseback riding, dancing, rock climbing, skiing, swimming. Recently, she has taken up archery. When not on tour, you can find her ambling the woods, tending to her home garden, or buried in a book.

Two experiences profoundly changed his life outlook: studying and living in Lisbon; and working for the Winter Olympic Games (2006, in Turin).  Besides Lisbon, Nicolò has lived and worked in Spain, France, and Los Angeles. 

With a degree in architecture, after eight years working in landscaping and construction, in 2015, Nicolò decided to pursue another dream: becoming a Tour Leader in active travel. Currently, he works as a freelance for different Tour Operators designing and managing events and tours. He loves to be active outdoors, especially in the mountains. That's where you can find him leading one of our tours either on foot or by bicycle.

Born and bred in Romagna, she started out as a road racer, winning several gran fondos including the Romagna Challenge and the Marche Marathon, before discovering the joys of gravel riding, mountain bikes, and even e- mountain biking. And, she’s married to a former BMX professional and downhill racer, just to cover all the bases. (Her bio picture was taken in 2024 after she had just finished the non-competitive Gran Fondo Strade Bianche in Siena, partly on unpaved roads.)

Additionally, Silvia works as a journalist for two Italian online magazines and helps her husband with his latest project, Clorofilla, a brand of repair and charging stations for bicycles and e-bikes.

Until her thirties, she ran, swam, and windsurfed, and treated the bicycle mostly as a mode of transportation. Still today, she believes that the main beauty of cycling is getting yourself places. That’s why she commutes on a city bike and, for summer vacations, chooses “bike packing.”