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What do you teach at Ca’ Foscari? What are your main research interests? 
I teach Gandhara and Silk Road archaeology, Archaeology and Material Culture of Buddhism in South and Southeast Asia. My main research interests lie within the archaeology of religions, with a focus on urban sites, landscape geography, production techniques (pottery, stone) and excavations. Since I am essentially an archaeologist who has been excavating for more than thirty years, I am also very interested in the theoretical and interpretive aspects of stratigraphy, in the methodology of excavation, recording and research and in the issue of heritage in crisis areas or post-conflict phases.

What led you to pursue a research career? What are you most passionate about in your field of study? 
Research has always been the goal of my professional career; on the other hand, the professional life of an archaeologist is totally expressed in research through excavations, organisation of so-called human resources and teamwork skills. I am very interested in this last aspect, as well as in having an impact on a local or regional level, on a community level. Legal and administrative components of archaeological protection are also important to me, including guidelines or what is now called "best practice". 

What does teaching at the university mean to you?
It means sharing an experience and possibly training people for a job. Today, cultural heritage is at last also a career prospect, especially in non-European countries that are tackling the enormous potential of archaeological heritage, including its economic potential. Heritage, especially archaeological heritage, is increasingly perceived as a resource rather than a burden on the government. The extraordinary language skills of our students make them very well-placed candidates in an ideal ranking. I run the "oldest" Italian archaeological mission in Asia, which in 2025 will celebrate 70 years of continuous activity in the Swat Valley in Pakistan. My dream is to turn it into a training laboratory for our students. Maybe one day some of them will continue our activities.

You work in a department dealing with non-European worlds: what does working on cultural diversity mean to you in an increasingly interconnected world?
It means being able to give a broad, interconnected scope to any gesture, initiative, activity, that we would or could put in place. This is an enormous potential.