About me

I was born in Bologna (Italy) in 1960.
I am married with Silvana Greco, a sociologist.
With Silvana we live between Berlin and Milan,
with several stays in Northern Italy and the Balearic Islands.
After having taught at the Università Ca’ Foscari in Venice (Italy),
I am now a Professor at the Freie Universität Berlin (Germany).

As a teenager, and still today, I was fascinated by ancient languages. I studied Latin, Greek and Sanskrit, and then I delved into some Near Eastern languages, primarily Hebrew and Arabic.
I researched the mysticism of medieval and modern ages, and worked on the encounter
between the Italian Renaissance and Eastern cultures.

I have always had a strong passion for the world of visual art. Way back in 1987, I co-founded an art gallery in Bologna, Italy.

In the following decades, I curated a number of art exhibitions,
for museums and cultural institutions
in Italy, Germany and the United States.

I also like to express myself as an artist, especially through photography. In my images, I explore urban space, architectures or objects of use, through color shifts, perspective changes,

close-ups.

In this I follow the words of Allen Ginsberg,

a great American poet:

“The message is: Widen the area of consciousness.”

Since 2000, I have contributed a weekly column to the cultural supplement
of the Italian economic daily, «Il Sole 24Ore».

I am the President of the

Fondazione Palazzo Bondoni Pastorio

in Castiglione delle Stiviere.

At the Foundation,

I am particularly involved on Jewish and Renaissance studies.

When necessary, I lend a hand in the many activities

of the Palace, from graphics to accounting,

from logistics to publications.

more about me