Guest Faculty

Angela Imperato

Born in Ravello on the Amalfi Coast in 1953.

At the age of seven, my family (parents & 3 children) emigrated to England. After Further Education and an OND in Business Studies, I returned to Italy to work. In 1973, I began as a Resort Representative for Castle Holidays, in Riva del Garda on Lake Garda (Trento). The following season, 1974, I was based closer to home in Maiori (where I met my husband, a hotel manager). A year later I began working for CIT in Sorrento, and in 1976 returned permanently to Ravello.

Numerous major tour operators, specialist travel companies followed such as Citalia, Magic of Italy, Sovereign, Excelair, Thomas Cook, Select, Page & Moy as well as those specialising in private villas & self-catering eg. OSL the Villa Experts.

Until 1994, I worked in various guises in tourism on the Coast. I was fortunate to be at the forefront of this growing field and became known for planning and running visits, half & fullday excursions as well as giving tours to a wide range of clientèle.

My 10-yr 'sabbatical' from tourism ended in 2004 when I began freelancing, and in 2005 set up A Guide Inside providing guide services to independent travellers to the Amalfi Coast. My passion for my work, my home, stems from the fact the coast is quite simply a special place, a place I yearned for as an immigrant and see in a new light each time I meet first-time visitors to the coast and experience it with them. My work is never dull – it is always a new experience with new people.

I speak fluent English (courtesy of the BBC!) & Italian – and the Neapolitan dialect, of course.

Foreign Travel

As a young person I had a strong sense of wanderlust, attracted to places like Petra & Egypt. I have travelled extensively in Europe (England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Spain & Italy of course), have visited Africa (Kenya), the Caribbean (Santo Domingo), the Middle East (Jordan), Turkey (Istanbul) and travelled to India, Thailand & Indonesia on several occasions. But there is still so much to discover.

Interests

Travel – Reading - Arts & Crafts - Local History & Culture – Beading – Yoga (& gruelling Auryveda cleansing retreats in Conoor, Kerala!)