Rome's famous sites are being explored in a new light, as the Eternal City's African migrants are drawing upon their own life experiences to provide tours of the city that allow both locals and tourists to form new connections and bonds.

Twice a month, walking tours organized by the Laboratori 53 association are offered in English and Italian, aiming to break stereotypes and allow people in the city to see it through the eyes of the migrants who lead the tours. 

Kaba Coulibaly, a French asylum seeker and guide, said: "When they (non-migrants) see us they think we are thieves, we are bandits so we thought about it and said well we have to create something and at least sensitize people and show them and make them value our culture... so the idea of invisible guides was born."

Eve, a Frenchwoman who has lived in Rome for 28 years, said: "I don't have the opportunity to go to Africa but Africa is here so maybe I just need to make visits like this to discover people and worlds that are elsewhere but that are also here."

Alfredo Gagliardi, a resident of Rome, said: "Remembering things through the natural elements of Rome is very interesting... For example, the Trevi fountain for me, which I have seen since I was a child, is just a fountain, for them the sound of water reminds them of something in their country. It's interesting because I've never thought of such thing before."