Gaetano Manfredi

I just wanted to send a quick thank you for the wonderful tour we had of Pompeii on July 6. I have now had the privilege of enjoying two guided tours with you and can say that each time it has been the highlight of our trip to Italy. Thank you for sharing your vast knowledge with such enthusiasm and for educating us not only on the physical excavation of Pompeii but on the details of the life that was lived by its citizens. Your passion for sharing this remarkable treasure make the wonder of Pompeii truly come to life. My husband and I agree that your tour is the best that we have ever received and should be the standard to which every treasured landmark should strive to achieve.

I just wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed our tour of Pompeii with you last April. It was raining that day and we barely noticed because you did such an excellent job bringing the ruins to life for us. I found out about you from a recommendation in one of Rick Steve's books andI am so glad I did. You made Pompeii a highlight of our trip to Italy.

I'm one of a group of four that you showed through Pompeii Friday, April 23. I'd like to thank you for your excellent tour -- it was one of the highlights of our trip. I'd been to Pompeii three times previously and had just walked past things that you pointed out this time -- things made sense now. You did an excellent job and we wish you well in the future.
It was no small thing to us that you were waiting for us as we got off the Circumvescuvio train that day.
A job very well done!

Robert Buss
bobngail@charter.net

Ciao Gaetano

Just a quick note to let you know that our tour of Pompeii was the highlight of our family's two week trip to Europe. The girls and I enjoyed your great explanations of the surroundings and the three hour tour was well worth it. It's a trip of a lifetime and we're all glad we made it, especially Karen who's dreamt of visiting all her life.
Also, I was watching the news today and saw a short news video on the opening of the thermopolium snack bar at the site. I swear I got a quick peek of you from the rear observing the occasion. Did you happen to be there for that? If so you can claim that you were on TV in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Again, thank you for a wonderful experience and good luck in the future.

Your American Friend
Mike Ireland

They said you were excellent. The older one , who is also a guide, said he never saw a gide who makes use of every moment like you did, and they all enjoyed your enthusiasm. My husband also said you were excellent, and that is a great compliment , because he is critical as a Professor should be....

We wanted to send a proper written letter of thanks, but could not come up with a mailing address. Somehow though, we imagine that we could just address it "Gaetano Manfredi, Pompeii" and it would find its' way to you!

The three hours we spent together was very powerful. The natural forces that conspired to preserve Pompeii, almost two centuries ago, would be in vain if there were no one to properly interpret the site for us today. Fortunately, through your long studies, natural observational skills, and a great sense of logic in stringing together a narrative; those who engage your services get a unique opportunity to time travel with you. And just as unique, are the comparisons you make along the way to so called "modern" cultures. It was very insightful and we will never be the same for it.

We would recommend to any Rome bound visitor, that they come to Pompeii first with you, as we did. Over and over, in the days following our visit with you, your words would come back to us - in the layouts of the old temples and the baroque churches of Rome, in the street front arrangements of Rome, time and again seeing storefront - storefront - home entry to inner courtyard - storefront - storefront. Even the streets of Rome itself, rock speed bumps built right into the same sort of sidewalks as Pompeii. The parallels were everywhere once one knew how to see it. And that is your gift. Helping others to see it.

Hello, Gaetano, you gave us the Pompeii tour and arranged our van service for us. Just wanted to let you know that my family thought that Pompeii and your tour were the best part of the Italy trip. If you ever need referrals please give my email, thanks for the great service! Seema Patel sdpatel@mindspring.com

Gaetano, thank you for the great tour of Pompeii we were able to enjoy from you. It was informational, fast paced, and all around super.

Thank you also for setting up the rest of our day with Cinzia. She did an excellent job, and we feel fortunate to have had her as an additional tour guide.

My husband, son and brother-in-law were on your tour Aug 30th and thoroughly enjoyed your knowledge about and passion for Pompeii! I sent an email to Viator as well as responding to their survey on line and mentioned you and the tour. Thanx for helping make the city and era come alive!
Michele Thould

Just returned from Italyand wanted to send you this note to thank you again for your wonderful tour of Pompeii. I will send you a picture and a copy of my comments about you on several forums that I found helpful when planning my trip. Please use my name and e-mail address for references if you so desire.

I hope you are well. I enjoyed my time with you so much last year at Pompeii that I am inspired to make our chapter on the excavations better for our guidebook. My friend and co-author or the Rome guidebook Gene Openshaw will be at Pompeii checking the information and I would be thankful if you could spend three hours or so with him being his guide. Thanks a lot! I hope to see you when I am in Naples this April too.

I wanted to write to tell you how much we all enjoyed seeing Pompeii "through your eyes." The city of Pompeii literally came alive during so much of your tour we could really get a sense of what it must have been like - culturally, socio-economically, politically, etc.

Thank you for your wonderful tour and for being patient with our slower pace due to Michael's broken collarbone. He is healing - slowly but surely and has said frequently that your tour was one of his greatest highlights.Again, thank you so much.

Good day - I just wanted to let you know that my husband and I just returned from our honeymoon in Italy and one of the most fabulous highlights was our tour of Pompeii with Gaetano. I am a grad student studying ancient culture and his tour gave me more information than I could ever ever learn in a text book! Also our train broke down and we were over an hour late and Gaetano patiently waited for us with a smile on his face. He was friendly, informative, funny, and one of the smartest people I have ever met. We will most definately suggest his tour to anyone we know traveling to Italy, and we will certainly return ourselves and hopefully meet with Gaetano again. Thank you so much for your suggestion, as like I said it was one of the highlights of our three week vacation.

I just want to thank you for your excellent tour of Pompeii while we were visiting Italy last week. It was wonderful and informative. Your knowledge and passion of the history of the area thrilled us. I have given your name and contact information to our travel agent and told her that you are the ONLY guide to Pompeii to recommend.

Dear Gaetano:
I would like to thank you very much for the excellent tour you did for
my family. (We were the family of 16 on July 22nd).
You brought the ancient city to life for my grand children and children.We were delighted with the way you kept our grandchildren so interested as you explained the history of Pompeii.
Your passion for the history of Pompeii and pride in explaining it was
most evident.I will have no hesitation in recommending your services to my friends.
Thank you.
Don Crawford.

Thanks for taking us through Pompeii last month. You were very informative and we enjoyed getting an overview before wandering for several more hours.

Gaetano – we made it back to the US safely, I wanted to write and say thank you for a such a wonderful tour that Wednesday afternoon. It really brought Pompeii to life for us and now I understand why you wanted to do the tour in the order that you did it. At the end when you walked us down that last street, and said, now you see how they get water, you see a typical home, you see a one way street, two way street, wine bar, etc., it brought everything full circle.

I have provided your name to another couple we met on the ship who may do the same cruise again next year and this time visit Pompeii.

Dear Gaetano – I want you to know that our tour of Pompei with you was even better than Rick Steves said it would be. One of our group had been to Pompei once before, and she said that our tour not only made Pompei come alive in a way it had not before, but it was the highlight of our two-week trip in Italy. You are a wonderful guide, and I greatly appreciate your work. I have already recommended you to another person, and will continue to sing your praises to my friends. I trust you will get more bookings as a result. Thanks for making our trip to Pompei so memorable. Ted Long

Gaetano!!! You were most wonderful during our tour through Pompei!!!! We appreciate all you did to make our tour so very informative. We will gladly refer you to anyone we know going to Pompei!!!! Mucho Grazie!!!!
Carol and Jack Gagliardi :-)

Dear Gaetano, My boys came back from Italy, with wonderful memories.They said you were excellent. The older one , who is also a guide, said he never saw a guide who makes use of every moment like you did, and they all enjoyed your enthusiasm. My husband also said you were excellent, and that is a great compliment , because he is critical as a Professor should be.... best wishes, Paz

Best: Pompeii Tour with Gaetano Manfredi
Why: In two hours Gaetano gave us a wonderful insight into the history, daily life and the future of Pompeii. He walked us through Pompeii and we were amazed at the quality of life people enjoyed two thousand years ago. Instead of spending hours looking at ruins, we walked with Gaetano back in time.His enthusiasm is contagious.