After obtaining a degree in art history and Italian studies at the American University John Cabot University (magna cum laude), he won the position as Assistant to the Director for the prestigious Master of Science (MSc) program in Art, Law and Business, at the famous Christie’s auction house in London.
Assistant to the Academic Coordinator at John Cabot University, he teaches foreign language and art history at international public and private institutions, such as Roma Film Academy, Rome, Talketika, Madrid and LIT Services, Genoa and the United States. He translates texts and subtitles for the American film production company Compass Light Production, of which he is also a reviewer and a freelance correspondent for Italy. He curates and writes the linguistics section of the Italian-American magazine “We the Italians”, for which he also works as a translator.
1. Question: When did you know you wanted to be a teacher?
Answer: I was 17, and I was studying Russian and Arabic (or at least I was trying!). All of a sudden, I had a vision: why don’t you teach? At that time, I was living in Southern Italy, and being a native English speaker was a sort of rarity. Therefore, I went to the Manager of the school and I asked: can I offer a course for free? He accepted. Two weeks later, I started. First class: 25 people of all ages, genders and countries! I started with grammar, tenses, rules… all natural, spontaneous, and engaging. Beautiful for me (and, I guess) for the students, who eventually became 180!
2. Question: What strategies did you use to be successful in college?
Answer: First of all, I studied what I liked, which I presume makes the experience easier, more inspiring, and, eventually, successful. And then, it goes without saying: I studied, studied, and studied. As I loved the subject, I ‘made love’ (can I say that as a Professor?) with all the works of art, the artists, and the anecdotes I encountered; then, I did my best to present them in the best way: as my lovers! So I guess that my exams were pretty engaging and I graduated with a high grade. This gave me the opportunity to be accepted to some of the best universities worldwide. Yet, I also worked a lot while studying. I continued my teaching career in Italy and abroad. I also curated art shows, won prizes, proposed volunteering projects at schools, prisons, institutes… everywhere! So, my CV showed contrasting experiences of writing, curating, teaching, languages (in the meantime, I studied German, French, Swedish, and Sanskrit), which companies liked. To sum up: study what you like, work while studying, learn languages, and be adventurous!
3. Question: What advice can you give to students taking your class?
Answer: Tell me if I’m being boring; ask questions; be curious; contemplate—if you have an interest—art, it’s always nice; tell me if I’m doing well, stop me if I’m not!
4. Question: What do you like best about teaching at Rome Business School?
Answer: First of all, the staff, which I find young, always-smiling, and open, in the sense that you can really sit down with them and start a project, an idea… Then the academics-location-approach triangle: great programmes linked to Rome and approached in a very international way. Take the Master course in Arts and Culture Management: you are in Rome, one the world’s most prestigious cultural cities, and you are studying at a business school with an international perspective: I mean! I struggled a bit before joining Christie’s. There aren’t many programmes focusing on culture and business around. These features make the RBS a strategic place which attracts very interesting(ed) students and colleagues, thus becoming, also, a networking space and, more simply—yet usefully—a meeting place for expats from everywhere.
5. Question: What are your top expectations from students?
Answer: Upon completion of the semester, some students—a good number of them—emailed me asking to meet in person and to get to know each other a bit better. This is what I expect from students (and from me, of course): to stimulate their excitement and curiosity. Even though it does not seem very academic, if you stimulate curiosity and excitement in a person, then half of the work is already done. Of course, what I try to do in class is to teach a methodology by which to approach the work. But, in the world of today, where education is increasingly becoming an industry, and less inspiring to the most delicate part of our human and intellectual growth, values such as curiosity and excitement for knowledge should, in my opinion, be protected. The interest for a subject can be saturated, but the thirst for knowledge is pretty immortal and almost spiritual.
