I was born on February 20 th 1979 in Naples, one of the most beatiful cities in this world. I don't have any brothers or sisters. My mom (Gilda) and my dad (Stefano) soon realized that one son like me was definitely enough. I grew up in Brindisi, a little town in Southern Italy, where I lived until the age of 9. Then I moved with my parents to Ferrara (near Bologna), where I completed my school education at the Liceo Scientifico "A.Roiti". In those years  I met all the best friends I am still lucky enough to have today. In July 2001 I graduated in Economics of International Institutions at the Faculty of Economics in Ferrara, after spending one year in Birmingham (UK) with the Erasmus program in 1998-1999. Right after graduation I moved back to United Kingdom for one year, and I got my Master in Economics at the University of Warwick in september 2002.