Laura Weinstein is an Emmy-nominated, National Geographic-trained documentary film researcher, producer and writer living in Rome since September 2004. She has also spent time in front of the camera for VH-1, the Associated Press and the United Way, and was interviewed on stage by the late, great Spalding Gray.
A Baltimore native, Northwestern University grad and long-time Smithsonian Resident Associate, Laura has been studying ancient history, religion, art history and archaeology for the past 35 years. She made historical films her specialty over a 16-year career with National Geographic TV and Film, Discovery Channel, PBS and Time Life. Laura’s intense research and writing about the revolutionary Italian painter Caravaggio also gives her a valuable anchor on the Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque periods.
Whether you know a lot about history and art, or absolutely nothing, Laura combines her storytelling skills with her boundless enthusiasm for Rome to make the myriad sites of the city even more enthralling and comprehensible than at first glance.
In the US Laura excelled at public speaking, and in Rome also, she is a frequent guest lecturer for American university students. Laura has a particular passion for the intersection of Pagan, Jewish and Christian history. She enjoys illuminating for travelers how Rome - maybe more than any other city in the world - reveals the fascinating overlaps and transitions from one religion to another.
