Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici

Associate professor of Indian and Central Asian archaeology and art history (Department ISO, Sapienza). He studied at the University “L’Orientale” of Naples, and earned a PhD in Central Asian archaeology at the Genoa University (1994). He has been a member of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Uzbekistan (1995-2010); Coordinator of the PhD course (Dottorato di ricerca) in Asia and Africa’s Civilisations (Sapienza) (2010-2013); Head of the first and second level programmes in Oriental Languages and Civilisations, at the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies, Sapienza University of Rome (2015-2021)

Fields of research interest: archaeology and art history of Central Asia and of the North-West of the Indian Subcontinent, with a major focus on religious iconography (Buddhist mural painting and sculpture; transmission of iconography; impact of South Asian traditions to Central Asian visual arts). He currently directs a research project (Sapienza) on the topic “Figurative arts in the Khotan oasis (Xinjiang, China): elements for chronological revision”, funded by Sapienza University of Rome  (2020-2023).