Stella has a background in art history, anthropology, enology and is passionate about the traditions of Tuscany. Based in Siena, she has been traveling since a young age, an interest started during her studies of foreign art and cultures. She graduated in English and South American Literature from the University of Siena and holds a Masters degree in Business and Tourism from Bocconi University in Milan. She received grants from University of Siena University to study in Germany and Ecuador. She became a licensed guide in 1999 for Siena, San Gimignano, Montalcino and Montepulciano. She loves Context family tours and she enjoys sharing the hidden treasures of Siena with her clients. She especially loves exploring farms and vineyards in Tuscany in order to share her passion for Brunello di Montalcino or Nobile di Montepulciano and Chianti wines along with the impressive Tuscan landscape.

Diane holds a PhD in interdisciplinary studies in architecture from the University of British Columbia and is a visiting scholar at the Faculty of Architecture at the Sapienza University of Rome. A former research fellow at the British School at Rome, she has been appointed as a heritage expert to numerous committees both in Italy and internationally on the conservation and restoration of architecture and urban heritage. One of her main research sites is Hadrian’s Villa, Tivoli, and the continued influence of the architecture of the Emperor Hadrian on Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Borromini, Bernini, and contemporary architects. Diane teaches architecture and urban history in Rome, including a specialized seminar on Michelangelo. Additionally, she was the founding curator of the international architectural collection of drawings, prints, and rare manuscripts for the Canadian Centre for Architecture. She was also an advisor to the Getty funded Architectural Drawings Advisory Committee (ADAG), at the Center for the Advanced Studies of the Visual Arts, Washington, D.C.

Born and raised in Florence, Alessandra has a degree in art history from the University of Florence with a specialization in seventeenth-century painting. She obtained an MRes from the European University Institute in Florence, where she defended her Ph.D in history, focusing on the patronage of Tuscan nobility in Europe during the seventeenth century. In addition, she holds a diploma in archival administration, palaeography, and diplomatics from the State Archive in Florence. She has been teaching art history and Italian for several years in various schools and institutions in Florence.