La Repubblica

Leading Daily Italian Newspaper
Sunday, April 15, 2001
Novel Walking Tours
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Young American Student's Idea
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.



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.

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."

* 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]