expanding our curiosity in nature

Ladies Adventures

By AJS Volpe

Bringing her New York City know-how to Florence in 2008, Lori Anne Lo Presti understands what it is to be a connector and a networker.  Creating community is important for her.  For her, being in nature is extremely healing.  It was naturally fitting that she would combine the two and form an organisation that is known today as Ladies Adventures that launched in 2019.  Its community of members are walking aficionados who take to the hills and fields of Tuscany with a specialist guide, to spend the day in nature or venture onto longer treks.

A typical Ladies Adventure includes professional guides who teach the participants not only about the flora and fauna of the surroundings, but also the culture and customs.  The day might include a stop at a winery, offer an olive oil tasting or visit a local cheese artisan along the way.  The knowledge of each Italian guide is vast, and many are well-versed in poetry, history, art, local culture, literature.  “Our conversations on the walks can be filled with discussion that makes the cultural connection become even more meaningful,” Lo Presti explains.  “The guides have a deep passion for knowledge, and they are spurred on when people ask them the right questions and are curious about their surroundings.”  

Curiosity is a big theme for Lo Presti and one which inspired her to establish Ladies Adventures.  “To begin, the walks started as a hobby that included the things that I wanted to do,” Lo Presti explains.  “I wanted to get out.  I wanted to get back to nature and was curious to learn about the terrain around me.”  Her first hikes started with small groups of likeminded friends where they would get together and hike the hills around Florence.    As the frequency of the hikes grew, so did the size of its group.  Eventually, she created a structure of Ladies Adventure.  “Its growth has been organic and has expanded according to the interests of the community and the curiosity of its members,” she explains. Growing up in America and working in Wall Street for much of her career, Lo Presti is no stranger to networking and to making new acquaintances.  “I love promoting connections for the community that provides an opportunity for new people from different backgrounds to meet who normally wouldn’t network.”   

Normally a student of finance during her university days,  Lo Presti  first came to Florence in the early 1990s to enrol in an Italian Arts Programme and she became completely besotted by the beauty of the city.  “I had a Stendhal Syndrome reaction,” she explains, “I broke down and was overwhelmed with tears from all of the extraordinary beauty and understanding of both the city and Italy.”  Equally so with Ladies Adventures, she wants people’s curiosity to grow and embrace that wonderful feeling of learning new things and seeing new perspectives in the landscape.  She continues, “We are in this old ancient city and land that possesses so much, not only from an art and architecture point of view, but from a place of connection and purpose.  It would be a shame to live here with no understanding of what surrounds us.”

For Lo Presti, providing an experience in nature is an advantageous backdrop as it makes for a level playing field for understanding.  She explains: “The world has become very polarized, and oftentimes we're meeting people in an atmosphere of external distractions, judgments, and projections.  When you're in nature, however, it's very difficult to have such strong oppositions to one another as nature is a great equalizer for everyone.”  Aside from the fabulous hikes, and the breath-taking views of nature, establishing this type of balanced atmosphere runs very deep in the DNA of Ladies adventures where space is provided to feel safe, to let the guard down and to feel protected.  

With each step exploring various terrains and environs, the land becomes an important aspect of the experience for each adventurer as a connection is established -- the history of the land and its indigenous plants and trees are all seen anew.   “We use our eyes differently and see our surroundings with curiosity,” she explains.   “Especially on our longer three-day pilgrimages, there are many layers of history to discover, as well as understand the changes and uses the land has undergone.  There comes an interesting sense that people don’t want it to end.”  These longer experiences seem to allow for a sort of emotional cleanse for some people, and a sense of liberation for others.  Worldly possessions are shed as well as people’s fixed attitudes. “I love challenging people and helping them stretch themselves and go beyond towards something they never thought they could do,” she smiles. “It is a great feeling to know that if just one person feels happier or stronger or smarter, you’ve accomplished something beautiful. I love facilitating this sense of wellbeing, a sense of empowerment, a sense of being adventurous in both body and spirit.”

Looking ahead to the future, Lo Presti hopes to keep expanding the adventures with her newly created board of female directors.  More community events, educational opportunities and new options are being planned for families, couples, and the community at large.  “I have so many ideas and so many adventures that I want to create for my participants, and to truly create magical experiences for them,” she smiles.  When curating her itineraries, Lo Presti keeps in mind the benefit of collaborating with individuals and sustaining local business to share their talents on the excursion which in turn creates this community ripple where well-being looms large. “Creating relationships is an important aspect of Ladies Adventures,” she smiles. “And providing different types of experiences makes us better women because of it.”