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My name is Samuele Roberto Piccoli, although I am generally known as Roberto Piccoli.
I was born on November 13, 1950. My birthplace, by pure chance, is Maddalena Island -- one of the most beautiful of the Mediterranean See, off the northeast coast of Sardinia -- but my origins are elsewhere, since my mother was born in Philadelphia, USA, though of Ligurian origin (north-western Italy), and my father is from Treviso (north-eastern Italy). When I was one-year-old my family moved to Rome, where I grew up and attended schools until graduation (at Istituto «S. G. Calasanzio» -- High School, equivalent to the British Grammar School). In 1972, after studying political science for two years at the University of Rome (School of Political Science) I moved to Treviso -- that is the town where, since then, I have lived and worked -- and attended the University of Venice (Department of Philosophy). In 1975 I received a B.A. degree in Philosophy. In 1980, during the summer, I studied English at the San Francisco State University (International College) and traveled all over the United Staes of America -- it was a wonderful three-months-long experience I would have never forgot. By the winter of 1987/88 I returned to the U.S. and visited natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon, or unique cities such as New Orleans and Las Vegas, that is some of the American beauties I had missed seven years before. Another thing I will never forget is the period (june-august 1983) I spent working in a great luxury Hotel nearby London. I am a school teacher (Italian Literature and History) at Istituto Luzzatti, Treviso, a High School where I have taught since 1983; since January 2000 I have also maintained its Web site. My teaching and research interests lie chiefly in the connections between literature and philosophy. I am also interested in bioethics and political philosophy. Since 1990 I have chaired the Centro Walter Tobagi, a research center for philosophical, ethical and political studies, and since 1997 I have also maintained its Web site, which offers pages on various topics, such as spirituality, books, multimedia, and bioethics (Bioetica & Bioetiche is one of the most visited in Italian language) On March 21, 1998 I created Tribute to Ralph Waldo Emerson -- a Web site dedicated to the great American essayist and poet (1803-1882) who was a leader of the transcendental movement -- which I consider my chief contribution to the World Wide Web. In August of 1999 Tribute to R. W. Emerson was placed onto the list of web sites ("The Web's Best Sites") specially recommended by the on-line edition of Encyclopædia Britannica, and in November of 1999 it was granted the prestigious "StudyWeb Excellence Award". In June of 2000 I created La bioetica spiegata ai ragazzi, an educational hypertext aimed to explain in outline to high school students the major issues of bioethics. My most recent contribute to the WWW (September 2000) is a web site entirely dedicated to an Italian scholar and politician whose mission is to modernize the left. At the moment, he is the Prime Minister of Italy: Professor Giuliano Amato (the site is also in English). My favorite books -- apart from some of Emerson's essays, which I have spoken about on my above mentioned web site -- are too many to be reminded, but should I mention only one of them I would certainly indicate The Holy Bible. On the other hand I could mention some poems I love in a very special way: St Francis of Assisi's Canticle of Brother Sun, Rabindranath Tagore's Gitanjali ("Song Offerings"), Rudyard Kipling's If, Giacomo Leopardi's The Infinite and Canto notturno di un pastore errante dell'Asia, Ugo Foscolo's Dei Sepolcri. As for my musical tastes, strange it might seem to be, I have a predilection for both the ancient Gregorian Chant and the contemporary Gospel music. Sometimes I enjoy listening to Country and Folk music -- from the legendary Hank Williams and Woody Guthrie to the great Johnny Cash --, mostly when I am driving my car & travelling all over Europe or America. I also enjoy Enya's "celtic" sound. I have loved many films and directors, especially 1959's Rio Bravo, by Howard Hawks -- "the greatest optimist the cinema has produced" (David Thomson) --, almost all Alfred Hitchcock's and Vittorio De Sica's masterpieces as well as John Ford's most classical westerns. I have also a predilection for contemporary directors, such as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, and movies, such as 1997's Life is Beautiful (by Roberto Benigni), 1991's The Fisher King (by Terry Gilliam), 1989's Dead Poets Society (by Peter Weir) and 1981's Excalibur (by John Boorman). 
I have played several sports: tennis, horse-riding, skiing, swimming, canoeing. Horse-riding is still my favorite one. My wife too, Clara, is a school teacher. We have a beautiful six-year-old child, Benedetta. I am member of My email address is: rob_piccoli(at)yahoo(dot)it (please replace (at) with '@' and (dot) with '.') Last but not least, feel free to visit my weblog (Wind Rose Hotel). top |
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Treviso is a town of just over 80,000 people, about half an hour from Venice.Situated at the confluence of the Sile and Botteniga rivers and intersected by canals, the town looks very picturesque. It was originally a Roman settlement (Tarvisium) and in the Middle Ages became a free commune. Characteristic of Treviso are the frescoes on house facades. Noteworthy architectural landmarks include: 
the Cathedral (11th-12th century renewed in the 15th-18th century), with seven domes and painting by Titian, Pordenone, and Paris Bordone;
the 14th-century Church of San Francesco, which has an annexed cloister and convent;
the 14th-century Romanesque-Gothic
Church of San Nicolò–the most imposing church in Treviso–, with an annexed convent, and remarkably valuable frescoes and paintings.
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Maddalena Island lies in the Tyrrhenian Sea (of the Mediterranean) off the northeast coast of Sardinia. It is the principal island of the Maddalena Archipelago, which includes the islands of Maddalena, Caprera, Santo Stefano, Spargi, Budelli, Santa Maria, and Razzoli. The harbour of La Maddalena was an important Italian naval station until its installations were destroyed by Allied bombing in World War II. Napoleon's forces had bombarded the harbour in 1793 without success, and Horatio Nelson made it his headquarters during 1803-05. The U.S. Navy's Sixth Fleet maintains a permanent support facility for nuclear submarines there. |
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