Where did you grow up?
I spent most of my childhood in a town near Rome called Albano Laziale. It’s a nice town with a lot of history. Interestingly, the new pope actually served as a vescovo—a bishop—there before becoming pope.

What were your hobbies as a child?
I played the piano for a while, though I was never particularly passionate or talented at it. My real passion was ballet—I absolutely loved it and even dreamed of becoming a ballerina one day.

Where did you go to university?
I began my Bachelor's degree at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, then went on to complete my Master's at Politecnico di Milano. While many of my classmates moved into careers in banking or consultancy after that, I decided to take a different path and pursue a second Master's in Paris, at Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI) and École Polytechnique.

Where did you do your PhD? 
I did my PhD in Finance at the Imperial College Business School.

Do you have any anecdotes or memories from your PhD?
I remember it like it was yesterday—the photo they took of our PhD cohort in 2017. Back then, I never imagined we’d go on to share so many experiences, or that I’d still be collaborating and staying in touch with most of them 8 years later.

Who are some of the economists, scholars or mentors who have had an important influence on your work?
My supervisor, Tarun Ramadorai, has had the most profound impact on my work. He’s a remarkably charismatic person, and even now, when his former students gather, you can sense that each of us shared a unique relationship with him—each full of stories and personal moments. The faculty at Imperial College—particularly Franklin Allen, Ansgar Walther, and Savi Sudaresan—have also shaped my research in significant ways. More recently, I’ve had the chance to connect with outstanding researchers in the field such as Nadya Malenko and Adriano Rampini, who have had a positive influence on me.

What is your main research focus?
My research focuses on the role of financial markets in addressing the climate change challenge. I began by documenting incentive problems and firms’ responses to regulation, and then proposed mechanisms to help mitigate those issues. More recently, I’ve become interested in whether the combined use of individually inefficient tools—market-based, regulatory, or otherwise—can still lead to effective outcomes. We are operating in a context of public coordination failure, but the urgency of the challenge demands solutions.

What led you to start researching corporate finance, sustainable finance, and carbon markets?
Before my PhD, I worked as a quantitative analyst on the trading desk of an oil company—ironically enough—which gave me a good understanding of commodities markets and initially led me to research oil. Around that time, Mark Carney’s speech on climate change really resonated with me. It made me realize the growing importance of sustainable finance, and I saw it as a meaningful and timely direction to pursue in my PhD.

What current research work are you really excited about and why?
Lately, I’ve been studying carbon offset markets—commodities like reforestation or carbon capture projects that deliver carbon emission reductions and can be bought either for regulatory compliance or voluntarily. These markets are fascinating because they could help ease the carbon mitigation burden while redistributing resources, especially since many offset projects are based in the Global South. But they also face serious credibility and efficiency challenges, which I believe academic research can help address.

Before starting your position at EPFL and SFI, you worked in the Development Research Group at the World Bank. Could you describe a specific project you've worked on that you felt especially passionate about?
One project I’ve been especially passionate about is a green credit line initiative in Brazil, where Banco do Brasil—supported by the World Bank—aimed to develop sustainable finance products to help SMEs adopt greener production technologies. I was involved in designing surveys and instruments for the project. Unfortunately, despite the availability of capital, it ultimately stalled due to severe political barriers and governance issues. It was a firsthand lesson in how institutional challenges can undermine even well-funded climate finance efforts.

What attracted you to Switzerland, EPFL and SFI?
I was attracted to Switzerland because it offers a fantastic quality of life — beautiful nature, excellent standards, and it’s close to my home country (stating the obvious 😊). As for EPFL and SFI, their reputation for top-notch faculty and a calm, focused research environment really stood out to me. Plus, many researchers at SFI work in my field, which I see as a huge advantage for collaboration and growth.

What languages do you speak?
I speak Italian and English, and a bit of French — hoping to improve that in the coming years! 😊

Tell us something exciting that happened to you in the last five to ten years?
Something really exciting that happened recently is that I became a mom to my beautiful daughter, Penelope. She just turned one, and it’s been a tough but amazing journey!

What is your favorite holiday destination?
Holiday destination? Definitely Greece! I’ve already checked off quite a few islands, but I’ve got a lifelong mission to conquer them all—one beautiful beach at a time! 😊