I was born in in a small town, Reggio Emilia, in Northern Italy from a family of industrial dealers. When I was a child, I was always attracted by things in the underground, like, minerals, fossils, hidden objects, then archaeology became my first passion. It was a natural choice to start classical studies in 1975 (“Liceo Classico”), learning ancient languages such as Latin and Greek and studying ancient history and archaeology at the University of Bologna (1980-85). I played soccer, "subbuteo" and guitars (jazz and classic).
I continued my journey on the study of the past with a Diploma of Specialization in Archaeology (University of Bologna, 1988). In all this period I was also a professional archaeologist, attending fieldwork and excavations in different parts of the world.
In 1990 I started my PhD at the Sapienza University in Rome (Archaeology-Etruscology) and in 1994 I was the first digital archaeologist invited to China (Xi-An) by the Italian Foreign Ministry, thanks to the first Italy-China cooperation program in conservation and cultural heritage. In those years I also started to work, as archaeologist, in a supercomputing center (CINECA, Bologna). It was a pioneering and challenging period where I learned how to make archaeological simulations and remote sensing classifications by coding in Unix, an operative system without any graphic window.
In 1996 I wrote and edit my first popular and cutting-edge book on Virtual Archaeology, creating the foundation of a new discipline and research field. The book collected the best computer simulations and digital archaeological reconstructions available at that time and it paved the way for a new era in the digital humanities. Initially received with a bit of skepticism, in a few years it became one of the most quoted references in the field. At that point Virtual Archaeology turned on an established research topic with dedicated university courses, conferences and publications.
In 1998 I became Senior Scientist at the Italian National Research Council (CNR), then CNR Chief of Research of Virtual Heritage and Professor of Virtual Environments for Cultural Heritage at the University of Lugano.
In 2008, my wife and I decided to change our life for new challenges, and we moved to US, where I accepted the position of full professor of World Heritage at the University of California, Merced. Italian immigrant in 2008, I became American citizen in 2018.
In that position I created the first program in the United States on World and Digital Heritage, experimenting with the first fully immersive virtual simulations of 3D cultural heritage. In 2009 I organized a pioneering workshop on “cyberarchaeology” at Stanford University during the TAG (Theoretical Archaeology Group) Conference. The definition of digital/cyberachaeology opened the doors to a new dimension of studies and research in this area and beyond.
In 2013 I moved to North Carolina, where Duke University offered me a Chair and the position of William and Sue Gross Distinguished Professor of Classical Studies Art, Art History, and Visual Studies. At Duke, I created the Dig@Lab, dedicated to digital and virtual archaeology. In 2021-22 I moved my core research to the intersection of AI and neurohumanities. I spent the Fall 2024 as Research Fellow at the Italian Academy in NY and I will be AAAS-SPTF fellow in 2025. I currently live in between Washington DC and New York.In 2024, I established a virtual lab on AI and neurohumanities, which I hope will find a new home soon.!