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Giovanna Bossi Rosenfeld
cell +39 335 678 18 31
Jewish Tour in Florence
Giovanna Rosenfled conducted a fantastic tour of Jewish Florence including sites of general and Jewish interest, weaving in history, architecture, politics and art in a way that was both exciting and memorable. My day spent touring with her was the highlight of a fantastic fouyr days in beautiful Firenze.
Judy Bloom ,
Hillsborough, CA USA 11/24/2007
I had a really delightful tour of Florence, including Jewish Florence, with Giovanna Bossi Rosenfeld (www.jewish-florence.com). She really knows the city - all aspects, its history from medieval time until today, its art, its architecure and its people. Her English is flawless and her energy is boundless.
Eitan Fiorino,
Teaneck, NJ USA 12/20/2007
Last week, my wife, daughter, son and I had the most interesting and enjoyable experience with Giovanno Bossi Rosenfeld of www.florence-jewish-tours.com. We scheduled a 6 hour tour of Jewish Florence with her as our guide. I would enthusiastically recommend her to anyone, Jewish or not, who would like to see essential sites in Florence. She was able to reserve tickets to the Academia and the Uffizi, saving us considerable waiting time, thus allowing for more opportunities to see what we were interested in. In addition to the Academia and the Uffizi, with their incredible collections of art, Giovanna took us to the Synagogue, and explained the rich cultural history of the Jewish people in Florence. We went to the site of the Jewish Ghetto and saw, through visuals Giovanna had, how it looked when it was in existence. Giovanna is a native of Florence, and a trained artist, so she was the perfect person to show us one of the most beautiful cities in the world. If I can be of any more assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Scott Richardson, West Palm Beach, Fl, USA
My girlfriend and I just returned from Florence and Venice. My primary interest was Jewish because some of these things will not always be around. I found Giovanna Bossi Rosenfeld on a list I was given by the Jewish Community in Florence, and also on JewishItaly.org. We enjoyed her tour immensely. She went all out to do the very best for us, was friendly, and is amazingly well-informed. She is a fount of knowledge. She did the secular things like "David" as well as the Old Jewish Cemetery and the beautiful Synagogue and Museum. She cared very much about making the tour good for us. We recommend her highly. Just last Sunday, March 4, 2007, we were touring with her!
Blanche Gewirtz (Silver Spring, MD USA 03/11/2007)
We were traveling on a Mediterranean Cruise last summer, with stops in Italy. Because we are Jewish, we hoped that we, our children, and our friends would have the opportunity to visit some Jewish sites in Italy, rather than the usual tours of churches and other Christian sites. We were so fortunate to find Giovanna Bossi Rosenfeld on the Internet and pre-arranged a day of touring with her in Pisa and Florence. She hired a private driver and van, met us at our cruise ship in Livorno, and showed us a splendid day.
It is so crucial, especially when on a tight schedule as we were, to utilize time wisely. Giovanna is clearly an expert at knowing what Jewish adults and children would enjoy during a visit to Pisa and Florence. We were able to visit and see all of the important landmarks, both Jewish and Christian, during our limited amount of time there (and we did not feel rushed!). She took us to a delightful, reasonably priced, restaurant in the main square of Florence for lunch where we did not have to wait. Giovanna is thoroughly knowledgeable about art, architecture, and history and all of her stories were engaging and interesting. Her love of Italy is contagious. We give her our highest recommendations and hope we can travel in the region again with her.
Susan and Allen Noorily (San Antonio, Texas, December 2006)
One of the highlights of our recent trip to Italy was our tour of Jewish Florence with Giovanna Bossi Rosenfeld. As an architect, she has the expertise in the history of Florentine design. Along with this she has great passion and knowledge of Jewish history. We took her six hour customized tour of the Synagogue, Jewish Museum, Ghetto, the Medici Chapels, Bargello Museum and famous landmarks. Giovanna is well organized, witty, and a real pleasure to be with! We highly recommend her tours. www.jewish-florence.com
Janis and Steve Chandler (Bothell, Wa. USA 10/25/2006)
The tour that Giovanna gave for the ‘European Seminar’ was
excellent. It is impossible to imagine a visit at the old Jewish Florence
without the historic background of her guided tour.
Itzhak Dahan, The Jewish Agency, W.Z.O (Jerusalem, Israel)
Giovanna captures the essence of Jewish life in Florence through out its
history. She also has an excellent and wonderful ability to weave together
the history and architecture of Tuscany. Her tour was the highlight of our
trip.
Bruce and Rae Hirsch (Nashville, TN, USA)
We had the most marvellous time with Giovanna. She understood what we wanted
to do and how we wanted to spend our time in Florence, even procuring tickets
ahead of our visit so that our limited time was optimally enjoyed. She put
together a day that was paced just right and was able to intelligently and
patiently address the questions, interests and needs of a family group that
consisted of grandparents, parents, a young adult, a teenager and an adolescent
(no small feat). She is organized, knowledgeable and a real treasure. We
are so appreciative and consider Giovanna a new friend!
Rabbi Sharfman and the Morris family (Scottsdale, AZ, USA)
A charming view into the Jews of Florence from the beginning. Lively, fascinating
insights into the surprising relationship between the Jewish and Christian
Communities over the centuries.
Fran and Dave Elovitz (Natick, MA, USA)
A Jewish Florence?!
Giovanna Bossi really makes the unknown story of Jews in Italy come alive. Highly recommended.
Paul Karasik ( West Tisbury, Ma. USA) 04/18/2006
We wanted a tour of Florence that concentrated on its Jewish history and art as well as a general tour of the city. Our travel agent put us in touch with Giovanna Bossi-Rosenfeld. What a find that turned out to be! Giovanna has an incredible background in art, art history, architecture and is a teacher at one of the universities in Florence. She grew up in Florence and has a special interest in its Jewish history and art. She has a wonderful sense of humor and is perfectly fluent in English. She took us all over including some of the little seen or known corridors of the Ufizzi over Ponte Vecchio. We had a fantastic time. We highly recommend her tours.
Randy Fishleder <email> ( Cedar Rapids, IA USA) 04/27/2006