Roberto Zapperi Rome, Italy, 1932
He studied history and cultural anthropology in Rome. Between 1981 and 1991 he was editor of the historical and anthropological section of the Biographical Library, published by the Institute della Italian Encyclopedia, and from 1984 to 1989 he was a visiting professor and director of studies at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. Zapperi-considered the greatest contemporary expert on the Renaissance in 1988 was appointed a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin, and in 2001 professor (Warburg-Professor) in Hamburg. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Zurich and a member of the German Academy for Language and Literature. Since 1992 a regular contributor to the cultural section of the prestigious German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He is the author of numerous books and essays, many of which have been translated into French, English, Japanese and Korean.