Meet a Connect Moderator: Luigi

[InaS]

Connect Moderators are Local Guides just like you and me. They apply the knowledge they’ve gained as active members of our community to moderate Connect and help improve the experience for everyone. You may see them welcoming newcomers, explaining the program, answering questions, and sharing their knowledge with others.

Each month, we share some personal insights from one of our amazing Connect Moderators. This month, meet Luigi ( @LuigiZ ). Luigi lives inLucca, Italy, and speaks Italian, English, and a bit of Dutch.

Name: Luigi Zurolo

Location: Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. Originally from Naples, South Italy.

What I love about being a Local Guide: I love being part of a worldwide family with the unique, noble goal of helping each other. The most enjoyable aspect is to see your contributions being helpful to others, but also to find helpful contributions from someone else. I regularly use Maps to locate restaurants, check for streets, see how to reach a certain point, or [look up] information such as opening hours, which are often so difficult to find, even on that place’s website. We can find all that information thanks to someone (another Local Guide) who knows the place or has had an experience there. The same applies to me: I value all my experiences and let others know what I found, if it was the best sushi I ever had or the worst experience ever. Side by side, [we are a] family, a global one. We can share our experiences, learn from each other from different parts of the world, take examples and make friends, and, of course, have a lot of fun when we meet.

Why I’m a Connect Moderator: To help and be an example for other Local Guides. Connect is growing fast, and the Local Guides family is becoming bigger and bigger. It is a very nice responsibility to help and make sure everybody feels at home and welcome.

My favorite things to explore: New places and all kinds of restaurants. I love food, so I’m really passionate about trying something new and tasting different local dishes. As an Italian Local Guide, that’s the perfect match, [as I get] to share my experience, the quality of the food, and if it is a real Neapolitan pizza :-). Having a job that allows me to travel makes this even more interesting. I’m eager to explore cultures different from mine and to see other lifestyles.

My favorite type of contribution(s) to make on Google Maps: Restaurant photos and reviews. Being a food lover, I love to capture everything in a restaurant, inside and outside, and, of course, the food! If we have a meal together, the first rule is to not touch the dish until it has been photographed, but Local Guides might be familiar with that rule. Then, I leave a review on that restaurant to let them know how they did; if they are great, they have to know it, but if they did poorly, they need to know so they can improve. [Reviews] help others to know what to expect and make the right choice.

Languages I read/speak/write fluently: Italian is my mother language. I speak English very well; I did fully self-learn it (seriously) when I started traveling because of my job. I also speak a little bit of Dutch because I work for a Dutch company; I can understand mainly the content and formulate basic sentences.

Places I’d like to visit: Japan is on my bucket list. I would love to also visit countries such as Cambodia, Mongolia, Nepal, and Vietnam. South America is also on my list, with its culture very close to South Europe’s.

Fun fact about me: I think that whoever has met me recently would associate me with one word: selfie. That’s actually something I regularly do even during business meetings (yes, I do!). The funniest selfie? Back when selfies were not yet popular, I wanted to take a group picture. We were in a pub in the Netherlands for a party of one of the staff members, [there was] loud music, everyone was dancing (and drinking). I stepped on a table, took the microphone, and kindly asked everybody, over the music, to sit in the corner to take a group photo for our friend. The result? I took it [even though] nobody believed that it was possible.

We hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know @LuigiZ . Say hi or ask him a question below as he has a lot to share about Google Maps and Connect.

Interested in becoming a Connect Moderator? Learn more here.

Want to learn about other Connect Moderators?

Learn more about Julien in May 2020

Learn more about Jan in April 2020

Learn more about Emeka in March 2020

Learn more about Omer in February 2020

Learn more about Sumaiya in January 2020

Learn more about Steve in December 2019

Learn more about Jordan in November 2019

Learn more about Torben in October 2019

Learn more about Hiroyuki in September 2019

Learn more about Jesi in August 2019

Learn more about Alejandra in June 2019

Learn more about Adrian in May 2019

Learn more about Gregg in January 2019

Learn more about Stephen in November 2018

Learn more about Paul in October 2018

Learn more about Sonia in August 2018

Learn more about Nunung in July 2018

Learn more about Shirley in June 2018

Learn more about Farid in April 2018

Learn more about Ludwig in March 2018

Learn more about Karen in February 2018

Learn more about Ivan in January 2018

Learn more about Ermes in December 2017

[bdmafuz]

Congratulation @LuigiZ . Thanks @InaS for share with us.

[KashifMisidia]

Wow, @LuigiZ!!! , it’s great to know more about you. If someone doesn’t know one more thing about Luigi, I want to tell them that Luigi is One of the Super friendly persons on Connect. A man, famous for his great selfies and wonderful smile
Hope to meet you somewhere in the near future.
Thank you @InaS for sharing wonderful post
Shukriya ?

[Velvel]

Thanks @InaS for sharing this post.

Yuhuuu finally the special post about you comes @LuigiZ , our king of selfie

Congratulations! Keep spreading your positive energy and attitude to our community.

Until we meet again and definitely do selfie together again

A big hug

[HiroyukiTakisawa]

Hi, @LuigiZ ,

I’m looking forward to your future success! Let’s enjoy LG together with us

Thank you for introducing this great Connect moderator, @InaS

[AniaKiser]

Thanks @InaS for this post. Congratulation @LuigiZ, our “selfie-man”! Your love to take selfie everywhere is great! It cheers people up,as it does your wide smile I’m happy we had an opportunity to meet in person

All the best for you!

Greetings from Poland

Ania

[LuigiZ]

Oh wow, thanks a lot for such a wonderful post @InaS .

Thank you @bdmafuz .

You are always extremely kind @KashifMisidia , appreciated and thank you very much! I really hope to meet you somewhere as well, and I’m sure there will be a chance .

Thanks a lot @Velvel , your words are so nice, hope to meet you again and of course take another selfie! Big hug to you as well .

Thank you very much @HiroyukiTakisawa , really a pleasure and honored to be part of this beautiful community (family), hope to see you again! Perhaps somewhere in Japan as I’ll need to visit it once .

Thank youuuuu @AniaKiser , honored to read your appreciation and yes I’m glad as well that we met in person hoping to meet you again somewhere .

[anazizullah]

Amazing
@LuigiZ is one of my favorite persons here on connect, He is so helpful

Love to see your smiling face brother. Keep smiling, Happy Journey

Thanks a ton, @InaS for letting us know about this nice person

[NunungAfuah]

Thanks @InaS for sharing about @LuigiZ . He has a charming smile ever! Hope to see you again someday @LuigiZ

[Thanos_Pal]

@LuigiZ

Great… Congratulations Luigi.

I’m so happy for you. You deserve it.

Well done.

Thanos

[NyaiNurjanah]

@LuigiZ

Luigiiiiiiii the person so lovable and fun

You can see the pictures everyone can free laughing

Taking selfie credit from Connect Moderator @Luigi

I’m really glad to read this post

Thank you @InaS

[LuigiZ]

Oh you are so kind @anazizullah , very honored to read your nice words . Thank you very much and see you around .

Thank you very much @NunungAfuah , what beautiful words . It has been a pleasure meeting you in person and hope to meet you again as well .

Hey my friend @Thanos_Pal , thanks a lot! We had a very nice journey in November, hope to see you again somewhere !

[KishorMali]

Congratulations. @LuigiZ

You both are from the Italy ,

@LuigiZ @ErmesT .

Of course that’s Amazing.

Thanks for sharing. @InaS

[OliverKIWI]

@LuigiZ Yay! it’s you! How wonderful!!

Here is a pic for you from New Zealand:)

[LuisMGonzalez]

@InaS thank you for this great post about my dear friend @LuigiZ . Without any doubt he is the perfect example of what this program is all about: always helping others with kindness and community spirit. Having the opportunity of knowing him in person was one of the highlights of my Connect Live experience, last year in San Jose. For instance, my first memory from those amazing days, was the reception my fellow local guides offered me at the hotel lobby late at night after my delayed arrival flight (winter storm in Canada). As the picture that I am posting here shows, the selfie maker was there to commemorate it. Classic Luigi!

My reception at Connect Live 2019 included a selfie made by the one and only Luigi.

[ErmesT]

Thanks for this post, @InaS

This is my very first photo with @LuigiZ , on July 12th of last year, when we both attended an amazing meet-up in Castelluccio di Norcia, organized by @manulele81

First Impact: energy and sympathy all the time, on of the best smile (second only to @Nyainurjanah ) I have ever seen, contagious. From that day, a long run together.

I am so happy to see this post

[Julien44]

Thanks a lot @InaS for sharing our great team member, friend, moderator, contributor and off course best selfie man ever.

It has been nice to learn some more about you @LuigiZ . You are so great, so nice and always with a wonderful smile on your face.

You show us the good path with such a positive energy. You are off course an example ! Keep it up !

I miss you my friend and also the good souvenirs from CL19. We have spent so many good moments together.

I hope to see you soon.

Muchos besos from France

[LuigiZ]

Oh my dear @Nyainurjanah , thanks a lot, you are my shoulder in terms of smile and energy, see that beautiful photo you shared, you are next to me with your wonderful smile .

Thank you very much @KishorMali , yes proudly Italian we bring our colors (and food too?) here on Connect .

Thanks a lot @OliverKIWI , wow your photo is so nice and thanks for it, you know your country is my favorite .

[Ant_Bad_Yogi]

@LuigiZ It’s nice to know about your selfie story, hahaha. You were one of my favorite local guides since you were not Connect moderator. And now you still are one of my favorite Connect moderators and Local guides.

[JordanSB]

Anyone who has ever had the pleasure to meet @LuigiZ , @InaS knows how much of a ray of sunshine he is. Always smiling, upbeat, and an excellent addition to any meetup or gathering. He is also so much fun to interact with here on Connect!