I arrived in Damascus in August 1998, a student of Arabic from Sapienza University of Rome. Since then Syria and Lebanon have been at the centre of my work: a thesis on Baath party propaganda, a PhD between Paris and Rome on the structure of power in the Asads’ Syria, more than twenty years living in Beirut.
Milestones
- 1998-2000. Oriental studies at Sapienza, Arabic courses in Damascus and Amman. I found and edit the student monthly Alì Babà and, in 2000, together with other young scholars, the website Aljazira.it, which translated articles from the Arabic press.
- 2000. Degree in contemporary Middle Eastern history, with a thesis on Baathist propaganda in Syria (1970-2000). First reportage, “Vernice fresca a Damasco” (Fresh paint in Damascus), in Conquiste del Lavoro.
- 2001. In Damascus I teach Italian at the Italian Cultural Institute and cover Pope John Paul II’s visit to Syria as a journalist. I write for Diario della settimana. After 11 September I work for Rai Televideo on the Arabic press. I start writing for Limes.
- 2002-2003. Internship at the Rome desk of Corriere della Sera, editor-in-chief of the monthly NoveNuove, articles for Liberazione and il manifesto. Master’s in communication at Tor Vergata; professional journalist since 2003.
- 2004-2008. PhD at the Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris 3), jointly with Sapienza, on political power in the Asads’ Syria. In Paris I work for Adnkronos International.
- 2005-2024. In Beirut from early 2005. From November 2006 to 2024, ANSA correspondent for the Middle East; in 2011 in Cairo for Tahrir Square, then the uprising and the war in Syria.
- 2010-2011. Digitisation of the archive of the Sursock family of Beirut with the British Library (Endangered Archives Programme, EAP358).
- 2013-2024. Context analysis and applied research for UN agencies (OCHA, WFP, UNDP), Italian development cooperation and the NGO COSV, on local governance, conflict and migration.
- 2023. Italian national scientific qualification (ASN) as associate professor in two fields.
- Since 2025. In Rome: analyst for ANSA and Limes, contributor to Swiss Radio (RSI) and il manifesto; lecturer at Tor Vergata and Sapienza.
- 2026. Damasco. Crocevia millenario nello spazio euro-asiatico. Work in progress: a book on Beirut.
Awards
- 2016: Golden Dove for Peace (Colomba d’oro per la pace), Archivio Disarmo prize.
- 2015: Syrian Studies Association prize for the best academic article on Syria.
- 2009: Medal of the President of the Italian Republic, Giornalisti del Mediterraneo prize, for my reporting on Lebanon.