Mark Gordon Smith spent his early childhood in Tuscany while his father was stationed at the port of Livorno along the Tuscan coast. This initial exposure to Italian culture led to a lifelong love of Italian. He is a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point. After leaving active military service, he worked in sales and human resources for several extensive healthcare and telecommunications companies.

In 2001, he moved to Florence, Italy, for four months and wrote the first volume of his “Italy is Calling” Trilogy. in 2005, Tuscan Echoes, A Season Italywas released. Tuscan Light, Memories of Italyfollowed in 2008. The third volume in his trilogy, Italia Lirica, Views From My Villa Window, is now available.

In 2003, he founded Private Italy Tours LTD, a tour operator offering six unique itineraries across Italy. Clients stay at gorgeous villas, local cooks are brought in for meals, and easy day trips bring Italy to life for clients. Mark and his company staff also offer custom itinerary planning for those who wish to visit Italy, Germany, Switzerland, or the Netherlands on their own.

Mark teaches and lectures on Travel in Italy, Conversational Italian, the Art and History of Renaissance Florence, and the Art and History of the Dutch Golden Age. The class locations vary from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, University of North Carolina Asheville, Coastal Carolina University in Myrtle Beach, Pawley’s Island, SC, and Brunswick Community College.

He has been privileged to study Renaissance Florentine art and history at the Accademia Delle Belle Arti in Florence, The Academy of Fine Arts. In addition, the staff of the Soprintendenza BAPSAE (Beni Architettonici, Paesaggistici, Storici, Artistici ed Etnoantropologici) in Florence provide access to unique and rare treasures across Florence and Tuscany.

His company is also involved in the restoration of Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces by female artists, in particular those by Artemisia Gentileschi and Suor Plautilla Nelli.