Shop Milan virtually with a Vogue editor, sit in on a history masterclass – travel firm is crowdfunding webinars amid coronavirus lockdowns

Unlock Italy crowdfunding campaign launched by a boutique tour operator in Florence to save her business by tapping current vogue for webinars

The history of Florence and of city’s gay culture, the Black Death of 1348, and how to find the perfect truffle are among planned subjects of the masterclasses

3-MIN READ3-MIN

The iconic Ponte Vecchio in Florence, where Rose Magers, founder of the boutique travel firm Artviva, has started the Unlock Italy campaign. Photo: Simon O’Reilly

Published: 8:00pm, 18 Apr 2020Updated: 5:05pm, 19 Apr 2020

The deadly coronavirus pandemic has ravaged Italy. The weeks of rigid lockdown to curb the spread of the virus have meant the closure of most businesses, and the tourism industry – which provides 1.54 million jobs – has been crushed. However, one Florence-based tour company is fighting back with the launch of a crowdfunding campaign, Unlock Italy.

Rose Magers is the founder of the boutique travel firm Artviva, a walking tours and events company in the capital of the Tuscany region. She set up the campaign, which aims to raise €50,000 (US$55,000) to help ensure her staff stay employed, set up virtual study experiences and pay for research and training for its experts.

“For tourism, for us here, we have most likely lost all of 2020. All our guides, suppliers, drivers, wineries, everyone connected to tourism [is affected] and things are really, really difficult. We are hoping the crowdfunding campaign can bring in some income,” says Magers, an Australian lawyer turned entrepreneur who has lived in Italy since 1996.

The campaign will run until May 22, and Magers has already started on the project to create virtual masterclass experiences. The “masterclasses” will draw on the relationships the firm has developed over more than two decades, as well as Magers’ experience helping TV and film productions by scouting locations and sourcing actors and costumes.

Rose Magers started the crowdfunding campaign Unlock Italy to keep her boutique tour company afloat.

The masterclasses will be run as webinars, which will allow international audiences to get a front-row seat, looking at some of Italy’s cultural gems and interacting with the presenter. Among the experts earmarked for the project is Maurizio Seracini, a diagnostician of Italian art, who uses non-invasive scanning of paintings to see original artworks underneath.