ROME – Michael Ivy, who has died at age 70, started work at the British Council in Naples as a young teacher in 1980 and didn’t move to Rome from his beloved Neapolitan haunts until 1998. Although he settled into what he called his ‘Royal Borough of Centocelle,’ the popular Roman quarter, Naples and the islands of Capri and Ischia always had a special place in his heart and he kept going back to the enchanting port city to visit friends and ex colleagues.

 The British Council played an enormous part in his life, so when he retired, he missed it terribly. Even though he wasn’t always enamoured of the business decisions that were made there, he would always talk about colleagues past and present with fondness. Everyone in the expatriate world of English teachers in Rome and Naples knew Mike for some reason, whether it was through work, cycling, photography, the arts in general or politics. He was erudite, but modest, and could hold a conversation with anyone.

 His affability and eccentricity were two traits that drew people to him. Mike was rather old fashioned , viewed by Italians as the typical English gentleman, often resorting to what they thought were obsolete expressions and vocabulary, which caused him to be the subject of mirth, but in an affectionate way.

 Mike had a gift for friendship and valued his friendships greatly. Every week-end he would buy the Financial Times and whenever he met up with friends in the bar for a coffee, he would bring cuttings from it that he thought might be of interest to them.

 He did this with many people. As he was a keen photographer, he would make postcards from his photos and send them to his friends with whom he kept in touch far and wide.

 He loved languages, having studied history at University College, London, while his father was a lecturer at Durham University. He spent some time in France for his education and he also travelled widely in North Africa with his parents and friends.

 Cycling was another passion. Every weekend he would go off somewhere, whether other people were going or not. He didn’t think twice about going up mountains or cycling in the dark. He went cycling with friends in France every summer. Mike loved the cinema. He went to all the film festivals, including Cannes and Venice. As he spoke ItaIian, French and some Arabic, he liked to watch films in the original language.

 One of his close friends in the teaching community, Theresa McGowan, said “Mike is sorely missed by everyone. There won’t be anyone else like him in our lives -- he was one of a kind.”

 La Repubblica published an article about Shah Mat, a club he frequented in Centocelle. Mike used to take photos of the musicians there and when his family came over, they treated them with great respect, in honour of their friend Mike. The article paid homage to him.

 Michael’s funeral was held at All Saints’ Anglican Church in the Via del Babuino and he was buried at Prima Porta cemetery. At the wake, one of his Neapolitan friends sang ‘O sole mio’ and everyone joined in, causing a few tears to be shed.

 Michael Ivy died after a long illness. He is survived by his mother and two sisters.