About

Born to Italian parents, in Melbourne Australia, Maria always knew Rome was her destiny.

Graduating with a double degree in Arts (political science and history) and Public Policy and Management from the University of Melbourne in 2001, she began her career as an Adviser for the State Government of Victoria. Her passion for writing and communication eventually led her into the corporate world of PR and events and by the age of 30 she had established her own company.

With over 15 years of experience working across the public, private and community sector, she is an expert PR, events and social media strategist, having serviced international clients in Australia and across Europe, including MasterCard, Italy’s top rated food tour company, Eating Europe Tours and international tourism boards.

Based in Rome since 2011, she is now an award-winning food and travel writer and journalist and contributes regularly to USA Today, Condé Nast, Fodor’s, CNN and The Telegraph. She has interviewed some of the world’s greatest chefs and spent thousands of hours talking and learning from passionate and dedicated food lovers the globe over.

An unabashed romantic (Rome being her one true love) she created the lifestyle blog HeartRome in 2011. The blog has readers in over 100 countries, a 30,000 strong social media following and has been featured in BBC and Vogue among others. Maria has built a career by linking her skills and experience with her true passion for new experiences and a love of the history and culture of food. Not only has she followed this journey from Melbourne to Rome, but around the world from Oslo to Paris, New York to Hong Kong and Dubai to St Petersburg.

In one true story, she flew across Europe to dine amongst a table of strangers because she was offered a last-minute seat at a world renowned Michelin star restaurant. Her insatiable desire to discover and explore the culinary world makes her equally excited about new openings as the honouring of old traditions.

In Rome, you’ll find her walking the streets of Trastevere, checking out the latest bar for an aperitivo or dining at a local trattoria with friends.