Introduction: The Story You Tell Yourself
Every great journey begins with a story. Not the story others tell about you, but the story you whisper to yourself in the quiet moments, when the world’s noise fades and you are left alone with your hopes, your doubts, your dreams. I am Peter de Kuster, and I invite you to walk with me through Rome—not just as a city of stones and statues, but as a living stage for the greatest story you will ever tell: your own.
To guide us, I have chosen a companion whose footsteps echo through the centuries: Francesco Petrarca, known to us as Petrarch. Poet, thinker, restless traveler, Petrarch was one of the first to recognize that the greatest adventures are not only outward, but inward—that the stories we tell ourselves shape the worlds we build.
In this story, you will discover how Petrarch’s journey through Rome can become a mirror for your own leadership. You will see how the Eternal City, with its ruins and rebirths, can inspire you to explore, question, and ultimately transform the narrative you live by. And you will find a place—an extraordinary Roman library—where you can pause, reflect, and begin to write the next chapter of your own story as a leader.
Let us begin.
The Call to Rome
In the fourteenth century, Rome was a city of ghosts. Its ancient grandeur lay in ruins, its streets haunted by memories of emperors and poets. Yet for Petrarch, the city was not a graveyard but a promise—a place where the past could be reborn in the present, where a new story could be written.
Petrarch’s call to adventure was not a trumpet blast, but a whisper: a longing for meaning, for connection, for greatness. He wrote of his “burning desire to see Rome,” to walk where Cicero and Virgil had walked, to touch the stones that had witnessed the rise and fall of empires. He was not content to read about Rome in books; he needed to see it with his own eyes, to feel its weight in his bones.
Every leader knows this call. It is the moment when you realize that the life you have been living is too small for the dreams you carry. It is the urge to step out of the familiar and into the unknown, to seek not only new places but new possibilities within yourself.
Petrarch answered the call. He packed his books, his pen, and his doubts, and set out for Rome.
Crossing the Threshold
Arriving in Rome, Petrarch was overwhelmed. The city was both more magnificent and more desolate than he had imagined. The ruins of the Forum, the shattered arches, the silent columns—all spoke of a greatness lost, a story interrupted. Yet in the silence, Petrarch heard a challenge: What will you do with what you find? Will you mourn the past, or will you help to shape the future?
This is the first threshold every leader must cross: the decision to see not only what is, but what could be. Petrarch could have turned away, discouraged by decay and disorder. Instead, he chose to see Rome as a canvas, not a tomb—a place where the story of humanity could begin again.
He wandered the city, notebook in hand, recording his impressions, his questions, his awe. He wrote letters to friends, describing not only the sights, but the feelings they stirred in him: “I am torn between wonder and sorrow, between admiration for what was and longing for what might be.”
In these words, we see the heart of the leader’s journey: the willingness to feel deeply, to be moved by both beauty and loss, to let the world’s story touch your own.
Trials and Temptations
Petrarch’s days in Rome were not easy. The city was dangerous, its politics treacherous, its comforts few. He struggled with loneliness, with doubt, with the fear that his quest was foolish. He wondered if the story he sought was just an illusion, a dream that would fade in the harsh light of reality.
Yet it was in these trials that Petrarch found his strength. He realized that every leader must face moments of uncertainty, must walk through valleys of confusion and fear. The story you tell yourself in these moments—whether of defeat or of hope—will determine the path you take.
Petrarch chose hope. He found solace in the ruins, inspiration in the fragments of marble and verse. He began to see Rome not as a city of endings, but of beginnings—a place where every broken column was an invitation to rebuild, every faded inscription a call to remember.
He wrote: “Rome is a mirror for the soul. Its ruins remind us that all things pass, but also that all things can be renewed. The story is not over; it is ours to continue.”
The Meeting with the Mentor
In every hero’s journey, there is a mentor—a guide who offers wisdom, encouragement, and sometimes a challenge. For Petrarch, the mentors were the voices of the ancients: Cicero, Seneca, Virgil. Through their works, he found not only knowledge, but companionship. He realized that the stories of the past could become guides for the present, that wisdom is a torch passed from hand to hand.
As a leader, you too have mentors—some living, some long gone. Their stories, their struggles, their triumphs can light your way. The question is: Will you listen? Will you let their lessons shape your own narrative?
In Rome, Petrarch spent hours in libraries, poring over manuscripts, seeking not just facts but meaning. He understood that leadership is not about knowing everything, but about being willing to learn, to question, to grow.
The Revelation: The Power of Your Story
One evening, as the sun set over the city, Petrarch climbed the Capitoline Hill. He looked out over the rooftops, the domes, the scattered ruins. In that moment, he understood: The most important story is not the one Rome tells about itself, but the one he tells about Rome—and about himself.
He realized that every leader is, at heart, a storyteller. The way you frame your experiences, the meaning you give to your challenges, the vision you hold for the future—these are the tools with which you shape your world.
Petrarch wrote: “We are the authors of our own lives. The story I choose to tell will become the life I lead.”
The Return: Sharing the Gift
Petrarch left Rome changed. He returned to his friends, his readers, his world, carrying not only memories but a new sense of purpose. He became a champion of renewal, a voice for humanism, a leader who inspired others to seek their own stories.
His journey teaches us that the leader’s task is not only to achieve, but to inspire—to help others see the possibilities within themselves, to invite them to become co-authors of a shared future.
The Place: The Angelica Library
To experience Petrarch’s journey for yourself, I invite you to a remarkable place in Rome: the Biblioteca Angelica. Founded in 1604, it is one of the oldest public libraries in Europe, a sanctuary of wisdom and reflection just steps from the bustling Piazza Sant’Agostino.
Here, surrounded by centuries of stories, you can pause and ask yourself: What is the story I am living? What is the story I wish to tell? In the quiet of the reading room, you can write, reflect, and begin to craft your own hero’s journey as a leader.
An Invitation to Your Own Story
Petrarch’s journey through Rome is not just history; it is a living invitation. As you walk the city’s streets, as you sit in the Angelica Library, as you listen to the echoes of the past, you are invited to become the hero of your own story.
Leadership is not a destination, but a journey—a series of choices, challenges, and transformations. The story you tell yourself is the map you follow, the compass that guides you, the legacy you leave.
So I ask you: What story will you tell? What journey will you begin? The adventure awaits—in Rome, in the library, in your own heart.
The Hero's Journey in Rome 