Other

 As every former fantasy-obsessed teenager knows too well (guilty as charged), I think our core interests are not just hobbies: they tell and shape who we are as human beings much more than our supposed achievements, and represent the purest sources of joy and friendship, which are ultimately the same thing. 

🖋️ Prose & Poetry  🖋️

I have extensively talked about my writing, but here is the usual truth: I am even happier of what I read. 

Some of the authors whose words have resonated with me the most are Woolf, Pessoa, Dostoevskij, Dickinson, Ritsos, Seneca, Rilke, Rosselli, Pavese, Saramago, Yourcenar, Miłosz, Montale, Proust, Sappho, Leopardi, Mishima, Tolkien, Haratischwili, Pozzi, Hugo, Anedda, Cărtărescu, Homer, Musil, Plath, Penna, Rijneveld, Sophocles, Nabokov, Szymborska, Dante, Hikmet, Kavafis, De Angelis, Yanagihara, Marías, McEwan, Rimbaud, Bre, Sarajlić, Glück, Steinbeck, Bulgakov, Brontë, Fortini, Rich, Farrokzhad, Lee Masters, Kristof, Wallace, Cappello, Pizarnik, Senghor, Lewis, Galloni, Tartt, Calvino, Austen, Krasznahorkai, Zateli, Tolstoj, Archilocus, Tokarczuk, Giudici, Bishop, Kafka, Shafak, Whitman, Sereni, Oliver, Hesse, Dimitrova, Quasimodo and many others (I also like lists). 

My dear friend Greta Colombani is an extremely talented writer as well: check out her work! And feel free to contact me if you want to discuss literature (or pretty much anything!)

🧠 Psychology & Philosophy 🧠 

I find human beings extremely fascinating creatures, and, while I consider mental health a top priority of our times, I am quite interested in psychology in general. I am also into psychological typology, especially the model derived from the work of Carl Gustav Jung (I am an introverted intuitive, INFJ in MBTI terms). If you are curious about other people's types, you can find some answers on The Personality Database, to which I heavily contribute.

Asking existential questions is also a deeply human behavior, and I am passionate about exploring and discussing the "big why's" so eloquently put out already in Ancient Greece. To avoid further lists of my favourite philosophers, I will just mention Simone Weil who is also one of my lifelong heroes; on a funny note, if you want to discover "who died and left Aristotle in charge of ethics", I have a suggestion.

🎵  Music & Cultural Events 🎵 

Music has always been a huge part of my life: in my early youth I have been playing the piano, and somehow sang in a cd recording when I was a child. If you meet me walking on the road, I will probably be daydreaming with the headphones of my old blue iPod in my ears. I mostly listen to traditional folk(ish) songwriting in various languages, as well as to modern indie-folk (hi, Sufjan Stevens! Hello, boygenius!), but I enjoy contaminations from (conscious) hip hop, (progressive) rock, electronic, pop, metal and celtic music.

I also love travelling as well as going to concerts, theatres and festivals across Europe, and I was a Eurovision nerd long before Italy conquered the trophy. I always find some interest in popular events, and I think culture is a treasure not to be left hidden: I like attending events such as the Salone Internazionale del Libro and I took part in some collective readings of the Letture della Normale (you can find me reading Boccaccio's Decameron). As a member of the Società Dante Alighieri, which promotes Italian culture and language around the world, I am also in the jury of the Strega Prize, the most prominent Italian literary award. 

🎦 Cinema & Tv Series 🎦

I consider myself as a "serievore". I am also especially convinced that watching tv series can boost your language skills in ways you are not even aware of, so I enjoy combining nice series with the languages I am studying: my favourite shows overall are Sense8 and This is us, but my Spanish would be a lot worse without El ministerio del tiempo, not to mention my Greek without Sto para pente, my German without Dark and my Portuguese without Três por cento. 

I developed a passion for cinema in general during my university years, thanks to some lovely friends who patiently explained to me what a movie is and took me watching a good number of them. Living now in Belgium, I enjoy attending the International Film Fest Gent to get some new inspiration, and if you would like to tell me about the movie or series that changed your life, I am always open to suggestions!

🌍 Politics & Society 🌍

I am deeply concerned about what is happening in the world. As many of us, I don’t do enough about it, so there is no point in feeling morally superior to anyone. But there is point in feeling collectively responsible to be informed and to help in whatever form we can, either directly by volunteering or indirectly by supporting reliable organisations, and always being kind to ourselves and to other people, educating each other on the many things we don’t know.

As both citizens and researchers, we should not remain in our ivory towers but contribute to common knowledge: therefore, I try to update Wikipedia entries in different languages, promote linguistic diversity and take part in outreach activities.

Moreover, I think the problems humanity is currently facing, such as climate change and democratic crisis, cannot be solved within national borders, but transnational action is needed: this is why I am a member of the global community of Atlas and share its Philosophy of Unity.

As an immigrant myself (ahem, expat), I am also in favour of the creation of safe and accessible ways for people to escape from war, misery and persecution. In this sense, I am convinced that education is key to the future: I volunteered as a teacher for immigrants back in Pisa and I currently support Still I Rise, an independent organisation which builds schools for refugee and disadvantaged children all over the world. 

Finally, I believe all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. I fully support the LGBTQ+ community, I stand for gender equality and for social, economic and environmental justice, and against all forms of fascism, racism, ableism, bigotry and discrimination.