Rome is the Eternal City, and I have been happy to call it home for the past year. I moved here with my family from Dakar. I have experience writing about cities, which I’ll explain in more detail below. I absolutely love sharing my discoveries about its art and architecture, but also practical tips, events and maybe even local politics. Rome With Bert is also part of my (legal and Italy-based) business, helping people plan their trip to Rome or their move to Rome.
Who am I?
I am Bertrand. Originally from France, I have also worked and lived in Paris, Boston, New York, Port-au-Prince, Dakar and Quimper. I hold a Master’s in Political Science with a major in Urban Studies. I am also a tech enthusiast, and I have created several ventures in digital communication, building websites, apps and more. I also hold a Cyberdefense Engineer degree from ENSIBS in France.
Writing about cities
During my studies at Sciences Po, where I specialized in urban planning, I read and worked extensively on cities, local public policies and urban sociology. I also took classes at Boston University during a year abroad focused on urban studies, combining sociology, history and urban development. Beyond those purely academic exercises, I created and maintained a city guide called ManManPemba while I was in Port-au-Prince. ManManPemba started as a blog and grew into a full platform, with an app, a website and a weekly newsletter that I sent to more than 5,000 readers.
Writing content without AI
Content about Rome online is abundant. Some comes from old-school blogs, some from IG/TikTok posts. I have always preferred those blog posts hand-written by locals. So first, I am taking an oath that I will not write blog posts here with AI. The only thing is that, since English is not my mother tongue, I will use tools to check my grammar once in a while. Even though the website and the blog were coded with Claude, I want this blog to be an exercise for me to write original, genuine, local and opinionated content about Rome for the reader.
Writing about what?
For now, here are the blog categories: Food & Wine (restaurants and local food), Practical (for travelers and locals alike), Neighborhoods (deep dives into a neighborhood or its streets), History (I am thinking of adding a visual timeline too), Art & Architecture (museums, churches), Culture (books, movies and series about Rome) and Itineraries (for travelers and families visiting). I also plan to focus on photography, with my own content.
Your advice
My hope is that my blog posts and content online will spark comments and questions, so do not hesitate to email me at ciao@romewithbert.com