Curriculum Vitae

Education

Academic training

Employment

Current and previous positions

Research

Current projects

Fieldwork

Ceramic studies and archaeological excavations

Study of ceramic materials — Islamic-period assemblages

• 2015–ongoing: Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project (Kurdistan-Iraq), with Cristina Tonghini, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice / University of Udine.
• 2011–ongoing: Baalbek (Lebanon), Deutsches Archäologisches Institut of Berlin and Lebanese University.
• 2019–ongoing: Northern Lebanon Archaeological Project (Lebanon), University of Udine and Lebanese University.
• 2019–2021: Ej-Jaouzé (Lebanon), Ministère Europe et Affaires Étrangers, France.
• 2019–2022: Central Bekaa Project (Lebanon), American University of Beirut.
• 2020–2021: Tyre (Lebanon), Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires Étrangers, France.
• 2019–2020: Byblos (Lebanon), Lebanese University.
• 2017–2018: Shayzar (Syria), Universität Basel.
• 2011–2014: Ziyaret Tepe (Turkey), University of Akron; Cambridge University; University of Mainz; Marmara University.
• 2006–2010: Apamea (Syria), Université libre de Bruxelles.
• 2004–2010: Shayzar (Syria), Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.

Archaeological excavations

• Since 2023: Bazhera (Kurdistan-Iraq), University of Udine — Director of the Project.
• 2022: Tell Zeyd (Kurdistan-Iraq), Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
• 2014–2015: Urfa (Turkey), Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
• 2010: Qinnasrin (Syria), Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires Étrangers, France.
• 2005–2010: Shayzar (Syria), Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.

Museum activities

Collections, exhibitions and heritage

• 2017–2023: Study of the ceramic collection from Fustat (Egypt), Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon. Curator: Dr Salima Hellal.
• 2011–2015: Study of the ceramic collection from Fustat (Egypt), Musées Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire de Bruxelles. Curator: Mieke Van Raemdonck.
• 2014: Collaboration in the organisation of the exhibition Siria, Splendore e Dramma, Rome. Coordinator: Prof. Paolo Matthiae, Sapienza University of Rome.
• 2008: Italian Cooperation project “Renovation and Rehabilitation of the National Museum of Damascus”, National Museum of Damascus, Syria.
• 2007: Organisation of the exhibition The Fascination of the Orient in Campania: a centuries long bond told by ceramics, National Museum of Damascus, Syria.

Teaching activities

University teaching and training

• 2022–: Courses “Cultura dell’Oriente Islamico”, “Arte e Cultura Visuale Islamica” and “Patrimonio Archeologico per il Turismo” at the University of Udine.
• 2020: Lecturer of “Islamic Archaeology” at the Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici, Aquileia.
• 2019: “Formation à l’étude de la céramique en archéologie”, Institut Français du Proche-Orient, Beirut, 25–29 March 2019.
• 2009–2018: Lectures within teaching programmes on Islamic Archaeology at Aquileia, University of Bologna, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Université libre de Bruxelles.

Organisation of scientific meetings

Selected meetings

• 2025: Round Table ISLAMit. Mappatura e Percorsi Digitali Del Patrimonio Islamico Del Nord-Est, 29 April.
• 2021–2023: Webinar Archaeology of the Middle East and North Africa from Late Antiquity to the Ottoman Period, with J. Bonnéric, Institut Français du Proche-Orient.
• 2020: Series of conferences Culture, patrimoine et cinéma, Institut Français du Proche-Orient and Institut Français, Beirut.
• 2019: Workshop Ceramic Studies in the Beqaa Valley: a Regional Perspective, Institut Français du Proche-Orient, Beirut.
• 2015: Co-organizer, International Symposium Networking through Fustat shards, Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels.

Editorial / Advisory Boards

Boards

• 2022–: West & East — Journal of the Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici (Universities of Udine, Trieste and Venice).
• 2022–: Bulletin d’études orientales — Journal of the Institut Français du Proche-Orient.

International congresses, conferences, seminars

Last ten years

• 2026: “Rethinking Common Glazed Ceramics in Medieval Lebanon: Technology, Context, and Function”, Sailing Uncharted Seas, University of Warsaw, 23–25 June.
• 2025: “Signatures and Symbols on Mamluk ‘Blue and White Ware’: An Evaluation of the Archaeological Record”, Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, Cairo, 19–21 October.
• 2025: 14th ICAANE, Lyon, 2–7 June — “Bazhera Archaeological Project: Material Evidence of a Stopover Station in Iraqi Kurdistan During the Ottoman Period”; poster with M. Dallai and C. Stancanelli on Late Islamic occupation at Bazhera.
• 2025: Islamic Archaeology Day 2025, UCL Institute of Archaeology, 1 February — “Stations of the Ottoman Period in Iraqi Kurdistan: preliminary results from the Bazhera Archaeological Project”.
• 2024: XIV Congresso internazionale per lo studio delle ceramiche mediterranee, medievali e moderne, Ravenna, 18–23 November — “Ottoman pottery in northern Iraq: new evidence from Tell Zeyd” (with C. Tonghini).
• 2024: Storie Altrove, University of Turin, 20–21 June — “Mobile workshops e delocalizzazione della produzione ceramica nel mondo islamico: un’analisi del dato archeologico”.
• 2024: Seminar on Italian archaeological missions in Iraqi Kurdistan, Italian Consulate, Erbil, 29–30 April — “Bazhera Archaeological Project: Presentation and Preliminary Results”.
• 2023: Victoria and Albert Museum webinar, 15 December — “Sphero-Conical vessels and some enigmatic scratches: archaeological perspectives from Baalbek”.
• 2023: University of Bologna workshop, 12 December — “Ceramica islamica dalla laguna di Venezia: il contributo dell’archeologia”.
• 2023: ICAANE, Copenhagen University, 22–26 May — “Methodological approaches to the study of ceramic finds from survey: the case of the Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project” (with C. Tonghini).
• 2023: Baalbek Project workshop, DAI Berlin, 17 May — “New perspectives on sphero-conical vessels from Baalbek”.
• 2023: ARWA online conference, 18 January — “Baalbek Urban Society during the Middle Islamic period: a Ceramic Perspective”.
• 2022: University of Udine, 15 December — “Islamic Archaeology in Kurdistan: New Achievements and Perspectives” (with C. Tonghini).
• 2022: University of Udine, 8–9 November — “Preliminary considerations on Medieval and Ottoman Material Culture from the region of Koura”.
• 2021: Ifpo webinar, 8 July — “A Glimpse into Urban History from Late Antique to Mamluk Period” (with H. Lehmann).
• 2021: 12th ICAANE, University of Bologna, 6–9 April — “The Islamic Europos” (with V. Gallerani).
• 2020: Culture, patrimoine et cinéma, Ifpo / Institut Français, Beirut, 5 March — “Patrimoine Disparues”.
• 2019: Institut Français d’Erbil, 25 September — “Land behind Mosul: preliminary results on the Islamic period settlement from the Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project”.
• 2019: Ifpo Beirut, 18 March — “Medieval Ceramics in Baalbek: regional contexts and interregional connections”.
• 2019: Archaeological Landscapes of Mesopotamia between Prehistory and the Islamic Period, 15–16 January — “Land behind Mosul: Settlement as Seen from Pottery Evidence”.
• 2018: Leiden University, 19–21 November — “Material culture and human landscape in Lebanon during the Islamic period: Baalbek and the Beqaa Valley”.
• 2018: 11th ICAANE, LMU Munich, 3–7 April — “The Islamic period settlement in Kurdistan/Iraq: results from the Land of Ninive Archaeological Project” (with C. Tonghini).
• 2017: University of Poznan, 18–20 May — “Land behind Mosul: evaluating material culture and settlement of the Islamic period”.
• 2016: Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée, Lyon, 18–21 May — “Food Habits and Tableware in Venice: The Connections with the Mamluk Sultanate”.
• 2015: XII International Congress on Medieval and Modern Pottery in the Mediterranean, Antalya, 19–24 October — “Ceramic evidence from South-Eastern Turkey: the Medieval Assemblage from Ziyaret Tepe (Diyarbakır)”.
• 2015: Networking through Fustat shards, Musées Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire, Brussels, 26 March — “The Fustat ceramic collection from the Royal Museums of Art and History” (with E. Coudyzer).