Author Bios

G. Franco Romagnoli

G. Franco Romagnoli was born and brought up in Rome, Italy, and educated at the University of Rome, after which he began a career as a director and cinematographer of scientific and educational documentaries.

Franco moved to the United States in 1954 when he was hired to set up the film section for WGBH-TV, Channel 2, Boston. He remained as Director of Photography and the Film Department until 1960; then, as a freelance producer-director-cinematographer, he made documentaries for PBS in the U.S. as well as feature films and commercials in Europe. He also filmed a number of documentaries for The National Geographic. During this time, his still photography was exhibited in New York, Boston and Rome, Italy.

From 1974 to 1976, Franco and his late wife, Margaret, were co-hosts of a television series on Italian cookery, "The Romagnolis' Table." The series was aired nationally on the PBS network; nine cookbooks followed. From 1979 to 1989 they supervised the operation of their three restaurants, "The Romagnoli’s Table" in and around Boston.

Franco’s travel and gastronomy articles have been published in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, The Los Angeles Times, Eating Well Magazine, Gourmet Magazine, Expressions (The American Express Magazine) Food and Wine Magazine, and Cook’s Illustrated. Two of his short stories, as well as travel-food pieces, have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly. He taught seminars on Italian culture and cuisine at Boston University and led eno-gastronomy tours to various regions of Italy.

In 1995 Franco was widowed, and in 1998 he married Gwen Mahle O'Sullivan, a lawyer and travel writer.

Franco’s book about living in Rome, "A Thousand Bells at Noon: A Roman Reveals the Secrets and Pleasures of his Native City" was published by HarperCollins in 2002.

Gwen and Franco have written a took together titled, "Italy, the Romagnoli Way: A Culinary Journey" published by Lyons Press in May 2008.

Franco’s book about his childhood in Rome during the tumultuous days of Fascist Italy, "The Bicycle Runner: A Memoir of Love, Loyalty and the Italian Resistance" (St. Martin’s Press) was published posthumously in August 2009. Sadly, Franco died in December 2008.

Gwen Romagnoli

Gwen Romagnoli was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pa., and received her B.A. at Syracuse University.

After graduation from college, she worked for several years in New York for the local NBC television station. Because of an earlier trip to Europe during which she fell in love with Paris and Rome, she left the U.S. to live in Paris. With her first husband, she subsequently moved to Bari, Italy, in the region of Puglia, where she taught English for six years at the American Studies Center and at an Italian Air Force base.

In 1970, after becoming a single parent, she moved to Rome and worked at the NBC News bureau as assistant to the correspondent. During that time, she wrote a monthly fashion bulletin for the Rome High Fashion Institute as well as articles about the Rome show business scene for the American daily, Variety.

In 1976, she moved back to the U.S. with her young son and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1983 Gwen received her J.D. from Northeastern University and clerked for the judges of the Massachusetts Superior Court. She then worked at a personal injury law firm before going to the state Attorney General's office as an Assistant Attorney General, and finally Deputy General Counsel with the state Department of Public Health. Her article on lawyer-retirees was published in the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly; she has also written articles on women and the law.

In 1998 she married Franco Romagnoli. She retired from the practice of law when they went to live in Rome for eight months in 2000 while Franco wrote "A Thousand Bells at Noon: A Roman Reveals the Secrets and Pleasures of his Native City." She then began to write travel and food articles which have been published in The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and Expressions, the American Express magazine.

Gwen and Franco wrote a book together: "Italy, The Romagnoli Way: A Culinary Journey." (Lyons Press, April 2008) It is about lesser-known places in Italy with a focus on the food in those areas.

Gwen currently writes articles for The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine. She is now working on a book, called "Learning to be a Widow."