Fulvio De Bonis doesn’t design trips, he orchestrates feelings.
As the charismatic force behind Imago Artis Travel, Fulvio De Bonis has built a reputation for transforming Italian travel into deeply personal, story-led experiences. His company’s mission is simply to create unforgettable memories. Of course, in practice, the behind-the-scenes work that goes into those creations is anything but simple.
Like most redheads, De Bonis exists slightly outside the expected, just like the experiences he designs with Imago Artis. He was originally meant to be named Flavio, he explains: “‘Fla’ in Latin means blond. And my dad changed [that] to ‘Ful,’ meaning red.” It’s the perfect origin story for someone who has never fit neatly into a category.
For De Bonis, luxury is not defined by thread counts or Michelin stars alone. It is something deeply personal and might vary from person to person. One guest’s luxury might be the silence inside a private chapel at dawn; another’s might be the thrill of driving a vintage Ferrari through the Tuscan countryside. De Bonis has built his career on quickly identifying those distinctions. He reads his clients’ personalities like a second language, listening closely to what moves them and translating what he hears into experiences that feel uncannily tailored.
“They’re coming back because they found the unexpected,” he says of his clientele, who have included the likes of Kim Kardashian, Christian Bale and Jeff Bezos. “They have an idea of Italy … and the reality is completely and totally different.”
Experiencing that difference comes with immersion. A morning espresso becomes theatre. A simple plate of carbonara becomes generational storytelling. “Luxury is very personal,” he explains. “It should be a memorable experience.”
For a fashion devotee, that might mean stepping behind the scenes into a Roman atelier to meet the artisan stitching a custom pair of shoes. For a history obsessive, it could be unlocking the doors to a private palazzo normally closed to the public. For a family travelling with children, it might be a hands- on pasta lesson with a nonna who reminds them of their own grandmother. The common thread isn’t exclusivity alone, but emotional resonance.
He describes his team as directors orchestrating experiences like filmmakers. “We are like the Martin Scorseses of the experiences we build — the logistics, the setting — we have a lot of people acting without knowing it.” Guests don’t simply observe Italy, they step into its constantly unfolding narrative.
Though the company partners with five-star hotels, private villas and elite collections across Italy, offering everything from helicopter transfers to behind-the-scenes access in historic palaces, De Bonis insists that prestige is secondary to connection.
That ethos of connection and personal service was tested in 2020, when so much of the world was forced to pivot. “We had a lot of reservation in place, a lot of bookings in place. Then the world ended,” he says plainly. Instead of holding deposits, Imago Artis Travel returned every payment.
“The way we came up from this horrible and terrible situation was giving back all the deposits to the customers,” he says. But when borders reopened, guess who were the first to rebook? Those same clients, many with friends in tow.
De Bonis believes Italy’s true luxury lies in its people and in multicultural exchange. “Make a human being free,” he says of his wish for the world. “We have to understand that the multi-ethnic, ethical and a multicultural aspect is for us the way to move on to a beautiful and incredible future.”
Even as a Roman who grew up playing near the Colosseum, he continues to discover his country anew through the eyes of his guests. Their reactions to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, to ancient churches and to standing espresso bars reveal nuances and small miracles he might otherwise have overlooked. “That’s why we keep learning about our destination every single day through our customers.”
At its core, Imago Artis Travel is not about exclusive access, though it unlocks some of Italy’s most difficult-to-open doors. It is about emotional access. Access to memory, to nostalgia, to culture and to one’s own freedom.
“My dolce vita is being able to enjoy little moments,” he says simply. A coffee. A conversation. A shared story.
In Fulvio De Bonis’s Italy, those are the moments that make life, and travel, so unforgettable.
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