Embedded Files
Constantly evolving...
While growing up I did competive swimming for a while; my specialty was backstroke. I am still quite fond of swimming, especially in the sea, and water activities more generally. I am also an advanced skier and, time permitting, I enjoy skiing in the Alps, especially on the mountains of South Tyrol and also of Veneto where I am originally from. I am passionate about art & design (in all forms); books (both fiction and nonfiction, the latter especially in psychology, neuroscience, and investigative journalism) -- and bookstores!; movies & TV series (again a wide range of genres, but with a soft spot on period pieces); good theater (especially in London!); and food (from all over).
Enjoy my ever-changing lists!
Art
Alberto Burri's Ex seccatoi in Citta' di Castello (Perugia, Italy) and his Cretto di Gibellina in Gibellina (Trapani, Italy)
Art Institute Chicago in Chicago, IL (USA)
Castello di Donnafugata in Donnafugata (Ragusa, Italy)
Diego Rivera's court at the DIA in Detroit, MI (USA) (and more)
Frank Lloyd Wright's houses in Oak Park, IL (USA) and his SAMARA house in West Lafayette, IN (USA)
Getty Museum in Los Angeles, CA (USA)
Giardino dei Tarocchi in Capalbio (Grosseto, Italy)
Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao (Spain)
Guggenheim Museum in New York City (USA)
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Copenhagen (Denmark)
Moderna Museet in Stockholm (Sweden)
Munch Museet in Oslo (Norway)
Pablo Picasso's Two girls reading at the UMMA in Ann Arbor, MI (USA)
Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice (Italy)
Segantini Museum in St. Moritz (Switzerland)
Books -- Fiction
Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits
Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin
Giorgio Bassani's Il Giardino dei Finzi-Contini (The Garden of Finzi-Contini)
Karen Blixen's Out of Africa
Dino Buzzati's Un Amore (A Love Affair)
Italo Calvino's Se Una Notte d'Inverno un Viaggiatore (If on a Winter's Night a Traveler) -- and many others...
Albert Camus's The Plague
Gianrico Carofiglio's Le Tre del Mattino -- plus the adventures of detective Penelope Spada, of marshal Fenoglio, and of lawyer Guido Guerrieri (the latter also translated into English)
Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory -- and many others...
Paolo Cognetti's Le Otto Montagne (The Eight Mountains) -- plus everything else!
Jonathan Coe's The Proof of My Innocence
Joshua Cohen's The Netanyahus
Alba de Cespedes' Quaderno Proibito (Forbidden Notebook) and Nessuno Torna Indietro (There's No Turning Back)
Umberto Eco's Il Nome della Rosa (The Name of the Rose) -- and many others...
Laura Esquivel's Como Agua para Chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate)
Elena Ferrante's tetralogy l'Amica Geniale (Neapolitan Novels) -- plus L'Invenzione Occasionale and I Margini e il Dettato
Dario Ferrari's La Ricreazione E' Finita
Gabriel Garcia Marquez's El Amor en los Tiempos del colera (Love in the Time of Cholera) Cien años de Soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude)
Paolo Giordano's La Solitudine dei Numeri Primi (The Solitude of Prime Numbers)
Kent Haruf's Our Souls at Night
Ernest Hemingway's Across the River and into the Trees -- plus everything else!
Carlo Levi's Cristo Si E' Fermato a Eboli (Christ Stopped at Eboli)
Ian McEwan's Machines Like Me
Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind
Eshkol Nevo's Three Floors Up
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah and Dream Count
Barbara Perna's The Adventures of Annabella Abbondante (La Verità Non è una Chimera, L’Essenziale è Invisibile agli Occhi, and Il Passato è una Curiosa Creatura) and Se Tu Non Ridi Più
Vasco Pratolini's Cronache di Poveri Amanti (A Tale of Poor Lovers)
Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's Le Petite Prince (The Little Prince)
Ignazio Silone's Fontamara (Fontamara)
Antonio Tabucchi's Sostiene Pereira (Pereira Maintains)
Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina
Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's Il Gattopardo (The Leopard)
Donna Tartt's The Secret History
Chiara Valerio's Chi Dice e Chi Tace and its sequel Fila alle Poste
Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence
Jeanette Winterson's Christmas Days and Frankissstein
Books -- Bios
Madeleine Albright's Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box (click for a summary)
Antonella Di Bartolo's Domani C'è Scuola
Lori Gottlieb's Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
Pietro Ichino's La Casa Nella Pineta and L'Ora Desiata Vola: Una introduzione tecnica ed esistenziale per solutori (ancora) poco abili al mondo meraviglioso dei rebus
Fei-Fei Li's The World I See. Curiosity, exploration, and discovery at the dawn of AI
Golda Meir's My Life
Books -- Non-fiction
Vittorino Andreoli's L'Uomo col Cervello in Tasca
***
Gianrico Carofiglio's Elogio dell'Ignoranza e dell'Errore; Con Parole Precise. Breviario di scrittura civile; and Della Gentilezza e del Coraggio. Breviario di politica e altre cose
***
Elaine Aron's The Highly Sensitive Person and related books (The Highly Sensitive Person's Workbook, etc.)
Take the test here
Nice complements to Aron's book are:
Esther Bergsma's The Brain of the Highly Sensitive Person
and
Jenn Granneman and Andre Solo's Sensitive: The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World
For more info, resources, and tests on sensitivity, see here and here
***
Lisa Feldman Barrett's Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain and How Emotions Are Made
***
Gayatri Devi's A Calm Brain: How to Relax into a Stress-Free, High-Powered Life
***
Kevin Dutton's Black and White Thinking
Susan Gelman's The Essential Child
Gregory Murphy's The Big Book of Concepts and Categories We Live By. How we classify everyone and everything
***
Chuck Manski's Identification Problems in the Social Sciences, Identification for Prediction and Decision, Public Policy in an Uncertain World, Patient Care Under Uncertainty, and Discourse on Social Planning Under Uncertainty
Saul Perlmutter, John Campbell, and Robert MacCoun's Third Millenium Thinking: Creating sense in a world of noise
***
Jisung Park's Slow Burn: The Hidden Costs of a Warming World
Bill Gates' How to Avoid a Climate Disaster
Nice complements to these books are:
Earthopia's 100 Ways You Can Help Save The Planet
Seth Wynes' SOS: What You Can Do to Reduce Climate Change -- Simple actions that make a difference;
On climate change education:
Katie Worth's Miseducation: How Climate Change is Taught in America
***
Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway's Merchants of Doubt: How a handful of scientists obscured the truth on issues from tobacco smoke to global warming
***
Frank A. Sloan, V. Kerry Smith, and Donald H. Taylor, Jr.'s The Smoking Puzzle: Information, risk perception, and choice
***
Robert Fogelin's Walking the Tightrope of Reason: The Precarious Life of a Rational Animal
Kenneth Hammond's Beyond Rationality: The Search for Wisdom in a Troubled Time
Paul Thagard's Coherence in Thought and Action
***
Andrew Caplin's An Introduction to Cognitive Economics. The science of mistakes [open ebook]
Georg Weizsäcker's Misunderstandings. False beliefs in communication [open ebook]
***
David Robson's The Expectation Effect
***
Amy Herman's Visual Intelligence
Take the test here
***
Jaron Lanier's Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now
***
Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj's Unaccompanied Minors. Immigrant youth, school choice, and the pursuit of equity
For similar issues in the Italian context, see Marco Romito's Una Scuola di Classe. Orientamento e disuguaglianza nelle transizioni scolastiche
On the current state of the Italian's education system, see also Andrea Gavosto's La Scuola Bloccata
Luca Ricolfi's La Rivoluzione del Merito
***
Salman Khan's Brave New Words. How AI will Revolutionize Education (and Why That's a Good Thing)
***
Alessandra Minello & Tommaso Nannicini's Genitori alla Pari. Tempo, lavoro, liberta'
***
Mary Ann Sieghart's The Authority Gap
***
Piero Angela's Dieci Cose Che Ho Imparato
***
Masato Tanaka's La Meravigliosa Vita dei Filosofi
***
Chiara Valerio's La Matematica e' Politica
***
Jeanette Winterson's 12 Bytes
***
Maryanne Wolf's Reader, Come Home
***
Babcock, Peyser, Vesterlund, and Weingart's The No Club: Putting a Stop to Women's Dead-End Work
Bookstores
Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI (USA)
Do You Read Me!? in Berlin (Germany)
Love Story of Berlin in Berlin (Germany)
(For more bookstores in Berlin, see: The Berliner, The Columbist, I Heart Berlin, and Visit Berlin)
Libreria Paci in Citta' di Castello (Italy)
Marylebone's Daunt Books in London (UK)
Gower St's and Islington's Waterstones in London (UK)
Wellcome Collection in London (UK)
Come In English Bookshop in Palma, Majorca (Spain)
Casa del Libro Libreria in Palma, Majorca (Spain)
La Salina in Santa Catalina, Palma, Majorca (Spain)
Norli Byporten, Eldorado, and Litteraturhuset in Oslo (Norway)
Documentaries
Fannie's last supper (and more)
Food & Markets
Hinata Amsterdam in Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
Cafe' Zola in Ann Arbor, MI (USA)
Cannelle in Ann Arbor, MI (USA)
Monahan's Seafood Market in Ann Arbor, MI (USA)
Bar Mut in Barcelona (Spain)
Ikoya in Barcelona (Spain)
Paco Meralgo in Barcelona (Spain)
Pakta in Barcelona (Spain)
Ziryab in Barcelona (Spain)
Cafe' Neundrei in Berlin (Germany)
The Noodle Town in Berlin (Germany)
Prism in Berlin (Germany)
Da Vittorio in Brusaporto, Bergamo (Italy)
Diana in Bologna (Italy)
Tubladel in Ortisei, Bolzano (Italy) [off slopes]
Baita Saslonch in Selva di Val Gardena, Bolzano (Italy) [on slopes]
Osteria del Mare in Castiglione della Pescaia, Grosseto (Italy)
Onda Blu in San Mauro Mare, Cesena-Forli' (Italy)
Shanghai Terrace in Chicago, IL (USA)
da Fez in Citta' di Castello, Perugia (Italy)
Cibreo in Florence (Italy)
CaNaPepa in Sant Francesc Xavier, Formentera (Spain)
Antica Fattoria del Grottaione in Montenero d'Orcia, Grosseto (Italy)
Sa Capella in Sant Antoni de Portmany, Ibiza (Spain)
Mahane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem (Israel)
Il Caffe' delle Ragazze in Monte Marcello, Ameglia, La Spezia (Italy)
Padaria Sao Roque in Lisbon (Portugal)
Pica-Pau in Lisbon (Portugal)
Hakkasan in London (UK) [and other places]
The Ivy in London (UK) [multiple locations in London]
Kai in London (UK)
Miel Bakery in London (UK)
Moro in London (UK)
Origin Coffee in London (UK)
Andana in Palma (city center), Majorca (Spain)
La Malvasia in Palma (city center), Majorca (Spain)
Mocaro in Palma (city center), Majorca (Spain)
Tast Club in Palma (city center), Majorca (Spain)
Rotana in Palma (Santa Catalina), Majorca (Spain)
Bruno in Port Calanova (south of Palma), Majorca (Spain)
Cafe Balear in Ciutadella, Menorca (Spain)
Nonna Bazaar in (north of) Ciutadella, Menorca (Spain)
Al Duomo in Taormina, Messina (Italy)
Antonio il Macellaio in Panarea, Messina (Italy)
28 Posti Bistrot in Milan (Italy)
Bottega Sicula in Milan (Italy)
Cantina Piemontese in Milan (Italy)
Coke Tales in Milan (Italy)
Dal Bolognese in Milan (Italy)
Dim Sum in Milan (Italy)
Dongio' in Milan (Italy)
Gastronomia Stadera in Milan (Italy)
Gastronomia Yamamoto in Milan (Italy)
Gattullo in Milan (Italy)
Gennaro Esposito in Milan (Italy)
Langosteria in Milan (Italy)
La Brisa in Milan (Italy)
Mercato del Suffragio in Milan (Italy)
Niconoce in Milan (Italy)
Ombra in Milan (Italy)
Pasticceria Gelsomina in Milan (Italy)
Pasticceria Martesana in Milan (Italy)
Ratana' in Milan (Italy)
Razdora in Milan (Italy)
Re Fosco in Milan (Italy)
Soyko Ramen in Milan (Italy)
Yapa in Milan (Italy)
Dani' Maison in Ischia, Napoli (Italy)
Le Stufe in Ischia, Napoli (Italy)
Chelsea Market in New York City, NY (USA)
Don Antonio Starita in New York City, NY (USA)
EN Japanese Brasserie in New York City, NY (USA)
Cafe' Tekehtopa in Oslo (Norway)
Fiskeriet Youngstorget in Oslo (Norway)
Grezzo in Oslo (Norway)
Lorry in Oslo (Norway)
Pasticceria Vabres in Palermo (Italy)
Ferdi in Paris (France) [also in London/Geneva/Riyadh]
Coromandel in Rome (Italy)
Zia Rosetta in Rome (Italy)
Don Camillo in Siracusa (Italy)
Matbaren Mathias Dahlgren in Stockholm (Sweden)
Frammat in Stockholm (Sweden)
Rolf Kok in Stockholm (Sweden)
Liccamuciula in Marzamemi, Siracusa (Italy)
Antiche Carampane in Venice (Italy)
Ostaria dai Zemei in Venice (Italy)
Osteria alle Testiere in Venice (Italy)
Tatte Bakery & Cafe in Washington DC (USA) [also in Boston and NJ]
GreyHouse Coffee in West Lafayette, IN (USA)
Heisei in West Lafayette, IN (USA)
Movies
(The) Bridges of Madison County
Castle in the Sky [animation]
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Como Agua para Chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate)
Emma [1996 TV movie]
Esterno Notte (Exterior Night)
Fabrizio De Andre - Principe Libero
(The) Godfather & Godfather Part II
(The) Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
(The) Ignorant Fairies (His Secret Life)
I'm Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui )
Kiki's Delivery Service [animation]
Lady and the Tramp [animation]
Little Women by Greta Gerwig
Lo Chiamavano Jeeg Robot (They Call Me Jeeg)
Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown)
My Neighbor Totoro [animation]
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind [animation]
(Le) Otto Montagne (The Eight Mountains)
Porco Rosso [animation]
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Spirited Away [animation]
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Madre)
(The) Wind Rises [animation]
(The) Worst Person in the World
Plays
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Poetry
Emily Dickinson's Hope is the thing with feathers (254)
Salvatore Quasimodo's Ed e' subito sera
Series
Bosch, Bosch: Legacy, and Ballard
Hanno ucciso l'Uomo Ragno - La leggendaria storia degli 883
Strappare Lungo i Bordi (Tear Along the Dotted Line)
Sountracks
Joe Hisaishi's Evening Wind (Totoro)
Michael Nyman's The Piano soundtrack
Lady Oscar's soundtrack
Sing Street's songs: The Riddle of the Model, Up, Drive it Like You Stole It, etc.
Stand-up comedy
Theatres
Life Saviors and Other Useful Tools
Happy light
Inversion table
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