I was born in Pieve di Cento (Bologna) on March the 29th
1967.
On November the 11th 1990 I got my university degree (in
Classcal Studies) at the Università degli Studi di Bologna, with a
thesis on Apologia e amore di verità: il Contra Hieroclem
di Eusebio di Cesarea.
In November 1999 I got my PhD in Jewish Studies at the
Università degli Studi di Torino with a thesis on “Francesco Zorzi:
Qabbalah cristiana e armonia del mondo”.
In June 1998 I got a Diploma in Jewish Studies (with
distinction) at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies il
Diploma in Jewish Studies.
In the spring of 1999 I was visiting professor at the Università degli
Studi Ca' Foscari in Venice for a course concerning «L'ebraico nel
Rinascimento».
From June 1999 to January 2000 I was associated with the
Sonderforschungsbereich “Judentum Christentum”, funded by the
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, on a project concerning the Latin
translationd of the Book Bahir in the Renaissance.
From January 2000 to January 2005 I was Wissenschaftlicher
Mitarbeiter at the chair (prof. Giulio Busi) of Jewish Studies at
the Institut für Judaistik of the Freie Universität in
Berlin.
During these 5 years I held following courses:
Sommer semester 2000
Einführung in die jüdische Philosophie des Mittelalters
Einführung in die jüdische Literatur des Mittelalters
Winter semester 2000-2001
Die jüdische Schriftauslegung des Mittelalters
Sommer 2001
Einführung in die jüdische Literatur des Mittelalters
Geschichte der Juden in der Neuzeit
Winter 2001-2002
Die jüdische Schriftauslegung des Mittelalters
Einführung in die jüdische Liturgie
Sommer 2002
Einführung in die jüdische Literatur des Mittelalters
Die jüdische Fabelliteratur des Mittelalters
Winter 2002-2003
Die jüdische Schriftauslegung des Mittelalters
Sommer 2003
Einführung in die jüdische Literatur des Mittelalters
Geschichte der Juden im Mittelalter
Winter 2003-2004
Die jüdische Schriftauslegung des Mittelalters
Lektüre der «Iggeret ha-qodesch»
Sommer 2004
Einführung in die jüdische Literatur des Mittelalters
Gershom Scholem: Leben und Werk
Winter 2004-2005
Einführung in die jüdische Schriftauslegung des Mittelalters
Das Buch Bahir
In the sping of 2003 I was also visiting professor at the Università degli
Studi di Bologna offering a seminar on «La qabbalah tra
mistica ebraica e interpretazione cristiana».
From February 2005 to February 2007 and again from October 2008
onwards I got a grant for research purposes at the chair of Hebrew
(Prof. Mauro Perani) of the Dipartimento di Storie e Metodi per la
Conservazione dei Beni Culturali of the Università degli Studi di
Bologna, Ravenna campus, for a project on: Censimento,
catalogazione, edizione del testo ebraico con traduzione italiana
delle lapidi sepolcrali degli antichi cimiteri ebraici dell'Italia
centro-settentrionale (secc. XVI-XIX).
From October 2005 I am involved in the interdisciplinary
Forschergruppe at the Philosophical Faculty of the Freie
Universität in Berlino (speaker Prof. Wilhelm Schmidt-Biggemann),
supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft bearing the
general title «Topik und Tradition». I am working on a Lexicon of
the Christian Kabbalah of the Renaissance.
In this context I held following course:
Sommer 2007
Jüdische Philosophie der Renaissance (Crescas, Albo, Sforno)
During the sommer semester 2008 I have been visiting professor at the Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt where I gave following courses:
Allgemeine Einführung in das Judentum (Vorlesung)
Die Neuentdeckung des Judentums in der Renaissance (Seminar).
From Octobr 2009 to November 2014 I was Directeur de recherche at the Institut de Recherche et d'Histoires des Textes in Paris of the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique and, during the academical years 2010-11 through 2014-15 I have been also Chargé de conférences at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes at the Sorbonne, giving following courses:
Textes hébreux de la tradition mystique entre traduction et interprétation: les bibliothèques humanistes aux origines de la cabale chrétienne de la Renaissance
Anno accademico 2011-2012
Le « Portail du questionneur » (Sha‘ar ha-sho’el) d’Azriel de Gérone : lecture et commentaire du premier catéchisme cabalistique
2012-2013: Le « Portail des secrets » (Sha‘ar ha-razim) de Todros ha-Levi Abulafia : Lecture et commentaire
2013-2014: Correspondances hébraïques des humanistes entre XVe et XVIe siècle
2014-2015: Le « livre du mystère » (Sefer ha-Peliah) et ses lecteurs
In November 2014 I have been appointed Full Professor of Hebrew at the Dipartimento di Beni Culturali of the Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna.
During the sommer semester 2014-15 I have held a seminar at the Dipartimento di Storie, Culture e Civilità in Bologna on:
Piccola cogmogonia Portatile: Il Sefer Yetzirah e i suoi lettori
From 2008 onward I have served as an assistant editor of the scholarly journal "Materia Giudaica"
From 2009 to 2012 I have been in the editorial commitee of the journal "Cahiers du Judaïsme.
I serve regularly as referee or editorial consultant for publishing houses as Adelphi, Milan and Brill, Leiden-Boston, and for the editors of several academic journals such as «Journal of Jewish Studies», «Jewish Studies Quarterly», «Sefarad», «Kabbalah», «Revue des Études Juives», «Materia Giudaica», «Zutot. Perspectives on Jewish Culture», «Henoch», «Ars Judaica», «Renaissance Studies», «La Bibliofilia», «Journal of Transcultural Medieval Studies», «Politica e Religione. Annuario di teologia politica», «Allgemeine Zeitschrift für Philosophie».
