He has a bachelor's degree in Literature from the University of Florence, and a PhD in Italian Studies from the University of Toronto. He has been at Stony Brook University since 1994, and his academic interests include history of the Italian language, the automobile and society during the early 1900s, as well as the digital humanities. In his spare time he is an obsessive photographer, a regular visitor of automotive museums, and a mild-mannered soccer fan, rooting for Inter Milan FC. He lives near Port Jefferson with his wife and son.