Your Own Venice ::: Discover Venice Your Own Way ::: About Erla Zwingle

I have been living in Venice for more than ten years. I am a freelance journalist and have been writing for many magazines for several decades, on subjects ranging from photography to sports to people, places, and things. I have traveled from the slums of India and Sao Paulo to private clubs in Saint-Moritz, and met people from geologists studying nuclear waste storage to farmers harvesting their olives for oil. Muslims in Norway, environmental activists in Greece, art restorers in Italy—I'm used to meeting people and I love learning new things. And I have written extensively about Venice.

My articles have appeared in National Geographic magazine since 1986. My first major article on Venice was "Venice: More Than a Dream" (February 1995). I have also written the National Geographic guidebook to Venice, and the cover story for National Geographic's Italian edition on "Mysterious Venice" (February 2007).

To accomplish all this in the short field time I'm usually given, I've had the benefit of a personal assistant, usually also my interpreter, so I know first-hand what a good one can do to make a trip more interesting, productive, surprising, and memorable. A good assistant can give you ideas, energy, and even somehow create time—time to think, to notice, to imagine, to learn, to connect with a place and its people in a special and personal way.

I was born in Kansas City, Missouri, lived in New York City and Washington, DC, and now Venice. I have studied languages (French, Russian, Italian) as well as English literature, American history, and art history. I have also worked as a cook on private yachts in the Mediterranean and the South Pacific.

I have spoken to civic groups, to schools (in various countries), and to organized tour groups. I've also worked as producer and on-site assistant for the PBS television documents "Great Streets: The Grand Canal" with Nathan Lane, as well as assistant for the television documentary "Venice: Tides of Change" (McCourry Films).

After more than a decade in Venice, I am still studying her history and culture and love to share the anecdotes and experiences I've gained. I know how to row Venetian boats in the Venetian way (like the gondoliers), cook Venetian dishes, and live the city, not as a tourist, but as the Venetians do. And I speak not only Italian, but also Venetian, the distinctive local language.

My love for Venice and knowledge of her is something I want to share with you, and I know it will make your trip something very special.