An Italian Connection
Joyce Falcone (Art’77) first visited Italy during a CU Boulder study abroad program as a bewildered junior. Her father’s cousin met her at the airport in Rome and drove her straight to her program in Siena. She’d never been so far from home. The trip solidified a lifelong love of Italy: Falcone went on to found and preside over the Italian Concierge, a nationally recognized luxury tour company offering custom trips to Italy. Her expertise has been recognized in Travel and Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, The New York Times and Forbes.
Where are your favorite places in Italy?
I’ve always had a curious mind, and I’ve made it a mission to see every inch of Italy — but the Veneto holds a special place for me: Lake Garda, the Scrovegni Chapel in Padova, the wines of Valpolicella and Trentino DOC, and access to Seiser Alm, the highest mountain meadow in Europe. For food, I’m drawn to Sicilian cuisine — it’s one of the regions my grandparents immigrated from, so the flavors feel like home.
What made you decide to pursue Italian tourism full time?
My start in the industry was serendipitous. It was 1994, right as computers and the internet were becoming part of daily life. I didn’t own a computer or even have an email address, so I used my friend’s email account to search for jobs in Italian tourism. A company in Vermont hired me as a hiking guide, leading groups of 20 to 25 through Tuscany, the Lake District and Sicily. It was a dream job that combined hiking, wine and pasta, so in 1999, I started my own company.
What major change in the travel industry has been most beneficial to your business?
The shift from phone calls, faxing and car phones to email, cell phones, video calls and texting has been the biggest positive change I’ve seen. It’s made an enormous difference in how efficiently we can work and connect with clients and partners in Italy in a way that just wasn’t possible when I started.
How many weeks a year do you spend in Italy?
I try to spend about two months a year in Italy. For the past three years, we’ve also operated a division in France, so I’ve been spending a lot of time there as well.
Photo courtesy of Joyce Falcone