Research Team

Since October 2018: researcher at the department of Agricultural and Food Economics, Università Cattolica of Piacenza

March 2014 - October 2018: Post-doc at the department of Agricultural and Food Economics, Università Cattolica of Piacenza

2010-2014: PhD at the department of Agricultural and Food Economics, Università Cattolica of Piacenza

Linda Arata 

He is Full Professor at the University of Milan. He graduated at University of Milan (110/110 Magna Cum Laude) and he got his PhD in Agri-Food Economics and Policy at the University of Padua. He has been visiting researcher at University of Reading (UK). He has been founder and Director of the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Milan (2017-2022). He is Professor of Agri-food Economics and Policy. He is member of the Doctoral Committee of the PhD in Economics and of the PhD in Environmental Sciences. He has been founder and Editor-in-Chief of the international scientific journal “Agricultural and Food Economics”, published by Springer, indexed in Scopus and WOS.  He was member of the International Jury for the “EXPO Awards” of EXPO Milano 2015. He is the coordinator of the PRIMA project GREENDRIEDFRUITS and he participated in the coordination of several research projects. His research interests include food policy, economic analysis of food supply chain, consumer behavior, environmental sustainability, and circular and bio-economy.  

Alessandro Banterle 

Roberta Capitello is a Full Professor of Rural economics and appraisal. She holds a Ph.D. in Mountain and Forestry Economics from the University of Trento in 1997. She is a member of the teaching committee of the bachelor's and master's degrees in Viticultural and Oenological Science and Technology.

She is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Wine Business Research and a member of the executive board of the Academy of Wine Business Research. 

Her main research interests are:

• food and wine marketing with a special focus on consumer behaviour, typical food and wine, place-based marketing for food and drinks, brand strategies at individual and collective levels, communication, also in relationship with food and wine tourism;

• sustainability in the food system.

Her research has been published in international scientific journals in the fields of agricultural economics and agri-food marketing.

She coordinated a European project funded by SUSFOOD2 Era-net investigating sustainable food behaviours among European young adults (2018-2021). Currently, she is the coordinator of the local team of the international project AQUABALANCE (2024-2027) "Balancing economic, environmental and social sustainability in the European aquaculture industry".

She was awarded “2016 Outstanding Reviewer” by the International Journal of Wine Business Research. She is the first author of a book on the wine market in China that has received the “2017 OIV Special Mention” from the International Organization of Vine and Wine. 

Among Third Mission activities, she participated in activities promoted by the Italian Association of Cities of Wine. She was an auditor in the OIV on behalf of the Great Wine Capitals network. 

Roberta Capitello 

Giovanni Ferrazzi holds a PhD in Agri-food Economics and Policy and he is currently Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental Science and Policy of the University of Milan, where he teaches Business Economics and Elements of Food Legislation and Essentials of economics.

Its research activity  focuses on the analysis of the agro-industrial system and the analysis of business management systems in agriculture and in the agro-industrial sector,  with a particular focus on the management of the food surplus and food waste.

He is  founder and member of the Board of Feed From Food (FFF), a limited liability company and also a University Spin Off, supported by the University of Milan.

Giovanni Ferrazzi

Azzurra Giorgio holds a MSc in General Management and a BSc in Agricultural Sciences, she is currently Research Fellow at the Department of Environmental Science and Policy of the University of Milan. With a professional experience as a strategy consultant and start up entrepreneur, her research activity is focused on crop production, food value chain, digital transition and sustainability strategies in agri-food systems.

Azzurra Giorgio

Sonia Morandi holds a BSc and a PhD in Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano. She has professional experience in energy sustainability, with a particular focus on renewable energy sources. Currently, she is a Research Fellow at the Department of Management of the University of Verona, where her research focuses on consumer analysis in the context of corporate social responsibility within the agri-food sector. 

Sonia Morandi 

Sara Speri holds a MSc in Marketing and Business Communication from the University of Verona and a BSc in Economics, Markets, and Finance from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. With a focus on sustainability and marketing in the wine sector, she gained valuable experience at The Porto Protocol Foundation, exploring sustainable practices within the industry and fostering collaboration among key stakeholders across the wine value chain. She also supported sales and communication for a winery and contributed to research on Generation Z's wine festival experiences for Vinitaly and The City.

Sara Speri