2693 Qualifying as a Tour Guide in Italy

I know we have touched on this subject in the past but am curious to know if anyone has gone through the process of qualifying as a tour guide in Italy?

Also, would it be necessary to qualify as a tour guide if you were offering tours/guided walks or hikes through nature reserves, or are tour guides restricted to cities and historical monuments?

Category
General chat about Italy

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 02/16/2006 - 10:34

I think etruria may well be able to help you with these questions. Might be worth contacting her via her excellent site [url]www.elegantetruria.com[/url]

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 02/16/2006 - 14:32

I had a landlord who was a tour guide and I very much fancied giving it a go but it was very much a closed shop in those days - basically I wasn't an Italian. Now I see many foreign guides around Rome but they have to be registered and one woman was hauled in front of the magistrates for showing a group of friends around without a permit as she was deemed to be a 'guide'

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 02/20/2006 - 10:48

[QUOTE=F Bower]I had a landlord who was a tour guide and I very much fancied giving it a go but it was very much a closed shop in those days - basically I wasn't an Italian. Now I see many foreign guides around Rome but they have to be registered and one woman was hauled in front of the magistrates for showing a group of friends around without a permit as she was deemed to be a 'guide'[/QUOTE]

Fiona,

Sorry, your post appeared twice, so I got rid of one... :)

I noticed many foreign guides in Rome last week. There was also a number of 'guides' near the collosseum looking for people to get a group together. Not sure if all of these are registered...

It seems very strict to me if you're showing friends around... I'm sure many locals get visitors from other places and show them round. Bizarre...

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 02/20/2006 - 11:51

[LEFT][quote=Iona]It seems very strict to me if you're showing friends around... I'm sure many locals get visitors from other places and show them round. Bizarre...[/quote]

Good chance that 'Showing friends around..' was her defence, but probably not true. I'm sure the difference is whether money changes hands or not.

[/LEFT]

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/21/2006 - 07:43

I knew a woman who did this in Florence for a while many years ago. I thought she took some sort of Chamber of Commerce exam or something but could be wrong. What she did say though was that it was very hard work, she only stuck it for a year or so. I'd imagine you'd have to have a lot of energy and a huge amount of patience, in addition to knowing everything there is to know and more about your chosen area. And who you are working for probably makes a difference too.