“If there ever was a natural born TV presenter, it’s Sophia Seymour who has seamlessly guided us through Naples to the Maniero born. ”
““Looking for Lila is an utterly unique company.... Never has a city so been brought to life for me in a couple of days.””
“Seymour provides the sunshine....her big personality, fluent italian and love of Ferrante made her the perfect wet weather friend”
“Sophia will show the beating heart of Naples with her walks through the city’s backstreets and hidden courtyards...”
“Sophia was a lucky find…She has fast become our interpreter here in Naples, a human focus button in a city which, to outsiders, is still full of blurred codes and hazy rules. ”
“For a walk that takes you off the beaten track, check out Sophia Seymour, and let her uncover Naples’ beating heart for you, from the cities origins to the shady underworld, to the neighbourhoods immortalised in the best selling novels of Italian author Elena Ferrante. ”
““Using the Elena Ferrante Neapolitan novels as inspiration writer and documentarian Sophia Seymour escorts her charges through the neighbourhoods depicted in Ferrante’s writings, the books – and the walk – framing a unique insight into Naples’ food, architecture, art, politics and Mafia culture.” ”
“British writer (and adoptive Neapolitan) Sophia Seymour uses Elena Ferrante’s world-famous Neapolitan Novels as the inspiration for her itineraries through Naples. The result is authentic, off-the-beaten encounters with the city and its denizens, with local street food, artisan workshops and the odd secret garden all thrown in the mix.”
““Looking for Lila is one of the few tour operators to offer private tours of Luzzatti [Ferrante] neighbourhood....[....] The owners of the wine shop and espresso bar greet Seymour like an old friend. As we talk, we pass a fruitseller, and women hanging their washing out on balconies, who call Buongiorno as we pass””
Featured in: The Guardian, The Times, Rai 24, Conde Nast Traveller, Daily Mail, Lonely Planet, Vogue, The Financial Times, Rai News, Suitcase Magazine, The Idler, British Airways’ High Life Magazine, El Clarín Argentina, Culinary Backstreets and on Swedish Public Radio.
Inspired by the works of Elena Ferrante, Looking for Lila offers it’s charges a window into the hidden corners of Naples, showing off its splendour and characters in all its colours and shades.
Looking for Lila was set up by Sophia Seymour in 2017, she has a degree in Art History and Italian from UCL. She is regular contributor to the Guardian, Lonely Planet, Time Out etc as a writer and also works as a director/producer. Her debut documentary Teranga (Guardian / BBC Africa Eye) was filmed over three years in Naples. She is currently developing a feature film in the region.
In 2020, she gave one of her Ferrante tours to Richard E Grant on screen for his BBC4 Write Around the World series and in 2021, she was invited by Netflix to interview Paolo Sorrentino for his documentary Through the Eyes of Sorrentino (Netflix) in anticipation of the release of his feature film The Hand of God.
