Research fellow - Developer - Professor
Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna
:fontawesome-brands-orcid: 0000-0002-0799-1527
Research fellow at the Department of Cultural Heritage of the University of Bologna. Graduated in 2020 from the Digital Humanities and Digital Knowledge (DHDK) master’s program, I currently work at FrameLAB, a research laboratory at Ravenna, on various projects related to the digitisation, communication and valorisation of cultural heritage.
My research interests focus on the intersection between Data Management, Semantic Web technologies and Open Science, with an emphasis on the lifecycle of machine-actionable metadata.
My technical expertise lies in Ontology Engineering and, in general, in the design and development of semantic artifacts - such as ontologies and knowledge graphs - that aim to be compliant with the FAIR and CARE principles. I am also interested in implementing scalable pipelines for the automatic or semi-automatic extraction, manipulation, and transformation of data into open formats, including Linked Open Data. Moreover, I am dedicated to developing software tools - mainly using Python - that facilitate efficient data management and documentation.
Once graduated in Cultural Heritage Sciences (L-1) in 2017 from the University of Milan, I then obtained a master’s degree in Digital Humanities and Digital Knowledge (LM-43) in 2020 from the Department of Classical Philology and Italian Studies at the University of Bologna, with a thesis on the development of an ontology for the conceptual modelling of medieval manuscripts (which I published as a scientific article).
After work experiences both in research and in the private sector, in 2023 I took on the role of research fellow at the Department of Cultural Heritage of the University of Bologna, at the Ravenna campus, working on data modelling, data management, software development and Open Science in various projects focused on digitisation and valorisation of cultural heritage.
??? example “Research Fellow (March 2023 – Present, University of Bologna, Ravenna (RA), Italy)”
As a Research Fellow within the CHANGES project, I have gained consolidated experience in data modelling and management for cultural heritage, actively operating in Spokes 4 and 6.
Within Spoke 4, I worked on the case study for the Digital Twin of the contemporary exhibition "The Other Renaissance: Ulisse Aldrovandi and the Wonders of the World". In this context, I handled the ontology engineering of an application profile based on CIDOC-CRM and its derivative models, formalising both descriptive object metadata and digitalisation process paradata into machine-actionable formats. I also provided technical support for data conversion into a Knowledge Graph and developed software solutions for the automated generation of its documentation.
In Spoke 6, I collaborated on the SIRIUS project at the University of Bologna, focused on risk management for cultural heritage. My contribution centered on the development of an ontology dedicated to the formalisation of the risk assessment process, transforming a risk assessment methodology into a machine-readable process ready for computational analysis.
Concurrently, in my role at FrameLAB, I serve as an expert in data modelling and processing across various projects: from managing data about the castles of Emilia-Romagna and the landscape drawings of Liverani, to the digitisation of a collection of historical graphic design posters and the development of a narrative game to enhance the communication strategy of a museum in Cattolica.
Finally, I also participate in external projects as well. For example, I contributed to extending the SKG-IF data model to describe academic profiles used by researchers for detailing aspects of their career, and to describe indicators for monitoring Research Performing Organisations.
??? example “Adjunct Professor (November 2024 – Present, University of Bologna, Ravenna (RA), Italy)”
As an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Cultural Heritage, I have organised and taught the course on [Digital Humanities and Data Management](https://www.unibo.it/en/study/course-units-transferable-skills-moocs/course-unit-catalogue/course-unit/2025/531650).
The course focused on introducing humanities students to the process of managing data within the humanities. More specifically, I emphasised the practical application of tools - such as Python, Pandas and Jupyter Notebooks - to manage data, with a focus on bibliographic, archival, documentary, and artistic domains.
I introduced students to using Python for collecting and analysing data and publish them FAIRly, promoting the production and publication of open resources in line with Open Science principles.
??? example “Academic Tutor (April 2024 – Present, University of Bologna, Ravenna (RA), Italy)”
As an Academic Tutor at the Department of Cultural Heritage, I have organised and taught the course [Computer Skills](https://www.unibo.it/it/studiare/dottorati-master-specializzazioni-e-altra-formazione/insegnamenti/insegnamento/2023/455803), as well as administer exams to students attending it.
The course, while varying slightly each year, focused on a rich array of subjects: ranging from a general introduction to Digital Humanities and Computational Thinking, Internet and World Wide Web and Artificial Intelligence, to more specific themes related to Data Management, Digital Literacy and Data Modelling.
??? success “UX Designer and Information Architect (December 2021 – March 2023, CINECA, Casalecchio di Reno (BO), Italy)”
As a UX Designer, Information Architect and Consultant, I have carried out activities for supporting and designing large and complex portals and websites for universities and research institutions.
In particular, my efforts focused on: the collection, analysis, and formalisation of requirements expressed by universities and institutions; information architecture design; content modelling; wireframing; support in developing solutions; quality control; accessibility and usability testing; drafting documentation; client training; and ordinary management of support tickets opened by clients.
??? success “Research Fellow (June 2020 – December 2021, University of Bologna, Bologna (BO), Italy)”
As a Research Fellow at the Department of Classical Philology and Italian Studies, I have carried out activities related to the design and development of a digital edition of Aldo Moro’s works.
In particular, I focused on: ontology engineering to describe textual, contextual and bibliographic information about the works; benchmark analysis to define a series of reference models for designing and developing the Edition's website; support in developing the web application for semi-automatic text markup and bibliographic metadata; development of a series of Python scripts for converting data and metadata into suitable formats for web publication (such as HTML-RDFa, RDF and XML-TEI); User Experience Design and information architecture; project management; drafting documentation, guidelines and protocols; supervision and training.