Barbara Perucka has been living for more than five years in Madrid. She earned her Ph.D. in Art History, as well as her Bachelor’s degree in Italian Philology, at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (Poland). Her research interests focus on medieval painting, art at European courts, and travel literature. Her doctoral thesis was dedicated to the decoration of a French manuscript "Livre des merveilles" (Book of Wonders, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms. fr. 2810). She has published papers about late medieval tapestries and medieval illustrated accounts of a journey, and was a professor of art history at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and Nebrija University in Madrid. She also received several research grants in Paris, Dijon, Vienna, Pisa and Brussels.

Michael is a practicing artist and Ph.D. candidate with his research focusing on humor in contemporary art at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. He received his B.F.A. in sculpture from the University of Illinois at Chicago and M.F.A. in painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he was the recipient of the SAIC Graduate Fellowship. He has worked as an instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an advisor at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He has exhibited his work across the US as well as Cologne, Thessaloniki, Coimbra, and Madrid. He recently moved from New York to Madrid to conduct his research and explore all of the amazing history and art the city has to offer.

.Hi, my name is Alessandra and I've loved Madrid since I was a little kitten (you must know that we people from Madrid are called cats!) And that love has just only increase over the years. First in the university, I studied its history, its art and culture, admired the quality of its great monuments. . . Then I started diving into the deepest corners of the city. That's when I became a local guide, an expert in the city and I've been doing this wonderful job for over 20 years! I'm also a Storyteller (and sometimes an actress too), searching for the small stories hidden behind the monumental palaces, waiting for someone to be unveiled. Those details that remain in our memory for a long time. I'm looking forward to showing you Madrid, and trying to transmit the passion and admiration I feel for this city, for my city. Give me the chance and I'll show you the highlights and the spirit of this wonderful capital city and its beautiful surroundings, such as Toledo, a trip to the past just half an hour away from Madrid!