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Newspaper Reviews
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Leading Daily Italian Newspaper
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Sunday, April 15, 2001
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Novel Walking Tours
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Young American Student's Idea
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Walkman Plus Tape for Discovering Florence
The New Economy has even found a new way for telling the city's history to tourists: Shelton Bellew,
30 years old, an American from Rome, in Georgia, like thousands of other youths from his country, came here
three years ago to discover the Renaissance and its art. When he decided to make his home here-which he
travels about in an APE truck*, half-flower power like and contrasting with his model, student image he
has based his life on two primary activities: teaching English to Italians, an activity which allows him
to carry on his other project, with which he is most involved. It is called “Walk With Me-The Cicerone”.
They are a line of audio-guides available in English for the average tourist who does not want to follow
in a herd of other visitors behind an umbrella-toting tour guide, but who prefers a Walkman and some
headphones as his means of being informed about the city. “The guides are for those that don't want
to be committed to an imposing group schedule, but who would rather see the sights with flexibility,
yet still having the narration of an organized visit," said Bellew.
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The Cicerone was a family-born idea: helping Shelton is his mother, who often makes expeditions to
Italy to personally test out the Tuscan city tours for which the audio-guides have been written.
Together with her son, the tours have been created in a way that makes visits to the city's main
monuments a more personal experience. The tours are written to serve as your personal Cicerone
who dedicates his time to explaining the antiquities to the traveler.
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The cassette also gives practical information such as where to find a clean public washroom,
locating a taxi rank and dinning well on a cost-saving budget.
But wait, there is more than just Florence in the Bellew's Tours catalogue: there is Venice, Rome,
Pisa and Siena among the tape collection. Following the sweet harpsichord notes strummed out by
the intimate voice of The Cicerone, one is told about the city and her monuments with ease, fun
and a subtle humor. The Bellew audio-guides are on sale at the Ostello di Villa Camerata, in
the Porcellino bookstore (where one can even hire a walkman), in the Bartolini and Maestrelli
news rank in Piazza della Repubblica, in Giubbe Rosse Caffè, at the museum gift shop of Palazzo
Pitti, and in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo museum book shop. Shelton would like to extend the
distribution to schools, which could distribute the Walk With Me's to their students.
Currently, they are sold in hotels, available in all of the Florence's museums and souvenir
stores ("...because the registered visits even serve as souvenirs: they’re perfect take-away
mementos to remember the city by, as well as a good sampling of the wonders to be seen before
arriving in the city of visit." The audio-guides can be purchased via Internet by visiting
www.bellewstours.com.) Sales aren't always so easy as the city tour guide association is fighting
tooth and nail out of fear that such a product could put them out of work. But nothing could be
farther from the truth: "…no audio cassette tape could ever replace their highly-prized work."
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* An APE is a type of small three-wheeled Italian truck made by the same company, which manufactures
the famous VESPA motor scooters.
[Free Translation]
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