My life outside academia

Outside of academia, my life is a mix of disparate and seemingly unrelated interests. Some of these, the deeply rooted ones, essentially date back to my high school years, and even further back. I am extremely passionate about music and have been playing since I was a child. I graduated in flute from the Como Conservatory of Music, where my teacher was Maurizo Saletti. Although I don’t play too often in public, I am always happy to practice with other people. The repertoire I usually play is mainly classical (in a broad sense), although I don’t disdain to venture into less traditional genres for my instrument, such as folk, blues or even rock.

Music aside, you can easily engage me in any conversation about almost any aspect of art, broadly understood, and culture - not saying I’m any kind of expert, though. Be it literature, figurative art, history - from history of science to history of philosophy, anything will do - I am always eager to learn more . I also have a personal, shall we call it, creative/artistic side! The main role in this hidden side of mine is played by photography. Indeed, despite being a relatively recent discovery for me, photography - particularly landscape photography - has quickly become an essential part of the way I look at the world around me (here is a gallery I put together with some of my shots).

Also, when I’m not doing maths, playing the flute or thinking aimlessly about the above, I love being outdoors and being active. The mountains are somehow my natural environment, and hiking is definitely my thing. When that is not an option, I content myself with some sport. I love all sorts of martial arts, and while doing my PhD at SISSA I came across HEMA - aka historical fencing. I practised the art of the Renaissance sidesword and the Baroque rapier during those years. Since my move to Sheffield, I’ve also taken on bouldering and I’m planning to move onto sport climbing in the near future. Who knows, I might even try my luck with some trad climbing sometime!

ἀλλὰ τὸ δοξάριόν σε περισπάσει;
[...]
ὀ κόσμος ἀλλοίωσις, ὀ βίος ὑπόληψις.

— M. Aur. Imp. Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν, IV, 3