Today we’d like to introduce you to Stefano Paris.
Hi Stefano, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Ciao! My name is Stefano, and here is my story! I was born and raised in a little town called Frosinone, Italy, almost 36 years ago. To give you a clearer idea, Frosinone is just a few miles outside of Rome! Growing up in a typical, provincial Italian town, I got to familiarize myself with an idea of Italia quite far from what Italians, especially foreigners, might have of my country!
Frosinone was and still is an industrial town, overshadowed by Rome’s glory and history. The city could have been more rich in art or unforgettable architecture! Most importantly, Frosinone felt far away from anything, which excited me; therefore, my hometown prepared the ground for the following years, which I spent traveling the world to find my very own home outside of the home!
After graduating from college in Rome in 2012, I finally decided it was time to leave Italy. In 2013, I got a chance to move to Chicago, where I got offered a job teaching Italian to kids 1-10! It was a life-changing experience. Living in an exciting, vibrant Northern American city made me realize that was the excitement I sought. I wanted to “dance” around cultures, languages, and people from all over the world.
In the next few years, I will live in many different countries, including Thailand. Bangkok came after Chicago, and that was an incredible year and a half spent teaching English and working as Event Manager at a local event venue. South East Asia shaped me in a way I could have never expected. I got to change and reevaluate some of my habits and views of the world. There were many times when I would stop and ask myself: “What am I doing here?” – I would pronounce those words with excitement and gratitude.
After traveling around Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and my favorite place in Southeast Asia, Vietnam, I returned to Italy in 2016. I landed the best job of my life: I became a tour leader for a Canadian company called G Adventures! My following years were spent leading small groups of US and Canadian travelers all around Europe.
Travel was my true mission and vocation. Over many years, I would lead back-to-back tours throughout Europe, from Portugal to Spain, Belgium, France, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, and finally, Italy. My evaluation scores were so good I was selected to be part of the very small, elite team that got a chance to run some National Geographic Journeys in my home country.
I would take groups of up to 16 people from Venice to Rome and lead them through my gorgeous country. The journey that first took me outside of my country to explore the world brought me back to where I always wanted to escape from. The only difference was that this time, I could truly see the enormous, unparalleled beauty my country had to offer to the rest of the world through the eyes of my travelers. There is something so powerful about showing travelers around your home country. I would take them on endless orientation walks around some of the most historical Italian cities, guiding them through our culture and teaching them about the local cuisine, wine culture, or dialects. I felt a responsibility towards the travelers and my country. And that’s precisely when I fell irremediably in love with my Italia.
After years of dating long distance, 2 years ago, I finally moved to South Carolina to build a future together. Along with this newfound love, I decided to bring my love for Italia to the US too, so I decided to start my own Travel Boutique Company, I for Italia. On one of these trips, I met Alison, my future wife.
Today, I for Italia is my homage to Italia and my chance to show US travelers what Italy truly is all about! I, for Italia, aim to build a connection between the US and Italy. Authentic dining experiences, local farm stays, off-the-beaten-path destinations, everything about I for Italia is about sharing the love for Italy and taking the traveler’s hands to give them the tools to unlock Italia and its immense diversity truly. I, for Italia, is my tribute to Italy and to travel as a force of good, as something that we have the privilege to embrace today to discover more of the world and, therefore, more of ourselves.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Oh, where do I even start? If I had to pick the biggest challenge in building this business, I would mention the path to getting a visa and, consequently, a green card. For me to enter the US and get to marry Alison, I started my visa application back in 2020. After over a year, my visa got approved, and I could fly into the US in June 2021. After years of Facetime calls with Ali’s friends and family, I finally had a chance to move to South Carolina and start my new life here. That was not the end of the story, though. From June 2021, obtaining a green card took another year and a half. I couldn’t leave the US or work during this year and a half.
Spending one year and a half with I, for Italia, in mind, with a chance to run it, was challenging. I decided to invest all of my time in building the foundations for the business while getting involved with the local Dante Alighieri Society in its mission of supporting and promoting the Italian culture and language in Charleston.
I had a chance to speak at many events promoting Italia and its uniqueness. While the wait was long and painful, it made me realize how much I wanted it for Italia to happen. Starting a business abroad takes work. What licenses did I need? How do I turn my passion into a reliable business? How do we find clients? Do I need a team? How do I keep track of everything? How how how? The answer I would always get back to was passion and motivation. When passion is bigger than your fears, that’s when you know you will make it sooner or later! Today, I have my own travel agency here in the US, and I help passionate US travelers discover my country. No challenge could overshadow the amount of gratefulness I get to experience every day through I for Italia. I would do everything a million times again, no doubt.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I for Italia is a Boutique Travel Agency & Tour Operator specializing in customized travel itineraries and small group tours in Italy. Unlike most travel businesses, I for Italia was built by being born and raised in Italy, travel professionals with years of on-the-ground experience. We didn’t want to promote travel just anywhere in the world. Italy is our native country, with bread and extra virgin olive oil, and we wanted to focus on what we know well. Through over 7 years of experience leading US and Canadian travelers around Italy, we got the chance to build connections with Italian families, artisans, guides, drivers, and so on. Today, our clients come to us with the desire to go for the trip of a lifetime in Italy, and our job is to connect them to the best people we know out there to make that dream come true.
Italy is not just a country but a mosaic of cultures. My hometown is just one hour’s drive south of Rome, yet our dialect, food, wine, history, architecture, and identity are entirely different! We love to develop and nurture a genuine relationship with our clients to understand what is “their path to loving Italy.”
Our goal is to guide our travelers through Italy’s immense diversity, to show them the endless ways of discovering Italy, and to connect them to the local winemaker or artisanal boutique, whether it be a gold beater in Venezia or a leather shop in Firenze. Not only do we personalize an itinerary for each of our clients, but we also work with them to ensure their trip fits within their budget! We do this by taking care of every aspect of travel so the client can sit back and relax once in our country.
Our small group tours to Italy are built and designed to discover the country with me as a licensed, former National Geographic Tour Leader. Our next departure will be on July 7th, 2023, with 8 days – 7 nights Summer in Sorrento tour that will take us to discover how a family that runs a stunning lemon farm just outside of Sorrento lives. This week, we will be learning how to make mozzarella and limoncello, hiking the legendary Path of the Gods, taking a private boat tour to the iconic island of Capri, and discovering the town of Sorrento. Finally, we will visit local farms to understand better how locals live! Travel can truly be a force of good and inspiration, and at I for Italia, we truly want to show travelers what the real authentic Italian lifestyle is all about.
I love leading travelers around my country. It’s incredible to see how the magic of falling in love with our country happens every time. At I for Italia, we don’t focus on big numbers. Our small group tours are built so that the travel experience feels intimate, giving everyone space to visit beautiful places and create meaningful connections and memories. These tours start as a gathering of strangers that day by day, meal by meal, experience after experience, become friends and travel companions. It is the memories we create while traveling that we always remember!
Pricing:
- 3,490$ per person – Summer in Sorrento small-group tour.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.iforitalia.com/sorrento
Image Credits
Almost all of the photos were taken by my talented friend Irmante Sungailaite – https://www.instagram.com/irmantephotography/
