Pictured in Rome, Livia Hengel is an Italy insider who shared her secret places with Forbes. Rome-born writer and photographer Livia Hengel describes herself as a person who has “a penchant for la dolce vita and a severe case of wanderlust.” After leaving Italy as a child, this citizen of the world lived in Peru, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey and the United States. Lucky for us, her birthplace drew her back seven years ago.

“As soon as I arrived back in Rome I scoured every blog and guidebook I could find for insider tips on Italy and made long lists of cities, restaurants, museums, hidden corners — everything. Then in my free time I would travel around Italy as often as I could,” said Hengel. “There was a sense of rediscovering my roots and wanting to belong somewhere that really spoke to me and motivated me to become an insider in Italy.”