I was born in Aarau, Switzerland, on the 18th of March, 1973. My family moved immediately to Bari, in southern Italy, and then to Milan when I was 3 years old.

As a child I was fascinated by nature, a passionate reader of  Gerald Durrell's expeditions all over the  globe, and certain I was going to become a biologist when I grew up.

In 1984, I came to New York City for the first time, where I attended the sixth grade.

My science teacher at the time, Mr. Mueser, further stimulated my love for habitats and animals, and suggested I use photography to document my findings.

When I was 14, I moved to Lugano, Switzerland, where I started high school, and began to be interested in art and history.

Soon after, I started to suffer strong headaches accompanied by sight problems and loss of consciousness. These phenomena happened more and more frequently, and I started to visit neurologists all over Europe, as well as seeking alternative cures, to alleviate the problems.

 

I went on having strokes for approximately 10 years, each causing loss of memory, sight loss, as well as having to learn how to read and write over and over again.

Nowadays, I can say, those difficult experiences are over.

During that troubled decade, what terrified me the most was my inability to communicate through words, which had completely lost meaning and significance to me.

I started to communicate through images. Photography rescued me where words had failed.

While biology still thrills me, I was drawn into photography with a greater urgency.

I have worked as a photographer in Lugano, studied at the International Center of Photography, and I am currently working in NYC.