What a beautiful youth! In the project of the Town Ambassadors network of the Metropolitan City of Rome, the municipality of Jenne and its mayor Giorgio Pacchiarotti have chosen the youngest Town Ambassador. And it was a wave of proposals.
Eleonora Zompatori is 28 years old and has been living in London for 9 years and today she is the general manager of a chain of restaurants.
Her paternal grandmother was from Jenne and she has spent there every summer since she was 14 years old. She finished school at the prestigious hotel institute in Fiuggi (where she lived in a boarding school), she immediately went to Jenne where she had (indeed she still has) her group of friends of the same age.
Then the desire to fly and experience and then London. Before Brexit and Covid, London was the most cosmopolitan city in Europe, the place where young trends were born and where the air smelled of novelty.
The beginnings are the same as many other boys, waitress in an Italian restaurant, then South American. Meanwhile Elonora grows and becomes head of the dining room and then manager and today the owners have opened 4 other restaurants.
“I like the contact with the customer, I feel a real emotion when I see them happy, when they thank me for the advice I have given them. And maybe when they make positive reviews. With our small gestures we can change people's day and make it better. The secret of tourism is hospitality”.
These words aroused many conflicting emotions in me. In our territories I have noticed that people often don't know how to welcome, as if they didn't believe that it is possible to live on tourism. But tourism is an industry and must be tackled with professionalism, with all the tools available. It is a digital and emotional commitment at the same time and all the platforms that are already available can/must be used.
Probably Eleonora could be a 'coach' for many young people who would like to stay in the beautiful Aniene Valley and who need someone to give them advice on how to approach this world.
Her bonds with Jenne are very strong and she tries to go back a couple of times a year, especially during the Pantasema when all the group of friends is engaged in the organization and then in the final fun.
“I also try to come back for the 'ndremmappi' festival which is the strongest link with my grandmother. For me, food is the sensory discovery of places and people. The image of my grandmother preparing them and their taste immediately bring me back home. Yet we are three brothers, but I am the only one who has this visceral bond with the country".
And it is not strange, within the same family it very often happens that only one of the children inherits the love of the grandparents or parents for the roots. And perhaps those who leave bond even more with the memories that allow them to see the positive things that those who stay are unable to see. From afar you can and have the right detachment in looking at the present.
And this story, which will actually begin immediately after the Award when the Town Ambassadors will begin their work as influencers, could only end with some words that moved me: "my grandmother will be proud of me!"
Follow us