Stephanie Raison

Stephanie Raison is a freelance reporter who calls Italy her second home. She lives in Rome where she is constantly enthralled by the eternal city and each time she has to leave she makes sure she throws a coin in the Trevi Fountain.
Stephanie’s passion for all things Italian began when her high school Italian teacher took her on an excursion to a gelataria in her birthplace Adelaide, South Australia. After hosting several Italian exchange students Stephanie spent two months on exchange in Padova where she finally learnt to roll the letter 'r'.
Stephanie continued her Italian language and culture studies at university in Australia and spent a year studying politics and journalism at Universita’ La Sapienza in Rome.
After a stint as a translator for an Italian film producer she worked for two years at the Australian Embassy where she was able to combine her love for the two countries she considers home.

Stephanie or Stefania as she is sometimes known in Italy says she is extremely lucky to have an extended adopted Italian family that she loves as much as her Australian one, even though they tease her because she has a Roman accent.
Unlike most Romans Stephanie loves to walk everywhere. She has even highlighted on a map the Roman streets that she has walked down in an attempt to cover them all.
Naturally she also spends a lot of time at the cobblers having her heels repaired thanks to the City’s san pietrini (cobblestones). Gelati is probably what has kept Stephanie in Italy for so long and she rates places based on the quality of their gelatarias. Thankfully she knows how to find Rome’s best gelati blindfolded.

Writing Background
Years before blogs became popular Stephanie was keeping her friends and family entertained with her weekly email stories about life in Italy. Stephanie reports regularly for German Radio Deutsche Welle and for SBS Radio Australia and dreams of working for an Italian radio station. Writing is a hobby and she is always looking for people with whom to share her love of all things Italian.