I am a full professor of Japanese language and literature at the University of Milano-Bicocca.
After graduating in Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures (first language: Japanese) at the “La Sapienza” University of Rome, I completed my studies in classical literature at the Tokyo University of Foreign Languages (1989-1991). From 1992 to 1999, I taught Italian at the Faculty of Art of the Tohoku University in Sendai and at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Kyoto.
My research focuses mainly on the prose and poetry of the Nara and Heian periods and on the influence exerted by classical literature in the literary production of the 20th century.
I have translated several works of classical and modern literature, including: Anonymous, Ochikubo Monogatari 落窪物語 (Storia di Ochikubo, Marsilio, 1992), Ihara Saikaku, Nanshoku Ōkagami 男色大鏡 (Il grande specchio dell’omosessualità maschile, Frassinelli, 1997), Hiruma Hisao, Yes, yes, yes (Yes, yes, yes, Marsilio, 1997), Mishima Yukio, Kamen no Kokuhaku 仮面の告白 (Confessioni di una maschera, Mondadori, 2004), Mishima Yukio, Haru no Yuki 春の雪 (Neve di primavera, Mondadori, 2006), Anonymous, 浜松中納言物語 (Aracne, 2013), Tanizaki Jun’ichirō, Shōshō Shigemoto no haha 少将滋幹の母 (Einaudi, 2013), Fujiwara no Kintō, Wakanrōeishū 和漢朗詠集(Wakanrōeishū. Raccolta di poesie giapponesi e cinesi da intonare, Ariele, 2016), Natsume Sōseki, Higan sugi made 彼岸過迄 (Neri Pozza, 2018), Anonymous, Ise monogatari 伊勢物語 (I racconti di Ise, Marsilio, 2018), Natsume Sōseki, Nihyaku-tōka 二百十日 (Il 210° giorno, Lindau, 2019), and a collection of short stories by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke (Lucifero e altri racconti, Lindau, 2019).