I studied classics in high school and graduated from the University of Rome "La Sapienza" in 1991 with a major in Chinese History. After that I pursue graduate studies at the Australian National University, where I obtained my MA (Asian Studies) in 1994 and PhD in 1998. Since 1998, I've been teaching in this NUS History Department, where I pioneered courses on cultural history, the history of art, heritage and memory. My publications include Monastery, Monument, Museum: Sites and Artifacts of Thai Cultural Memory (2017), Thailand the Worldly Kingdom (2007), The Politics of Ruins and the Business of Nostalgia (Bangkok: White Lotus, 2002) and Lords of Things: The Fashioning of the Siamese Monarchy's Modern Image (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2002), and as sole editor, A Sarong fro Clio: Essays in the Intellectual and Cultural History of Thailand (2015). My next book, Devotional Conservation, forthcoming in 2027, is an anthropological and historical discussion of the conservation of manmade artifacts and the natural enviroment. The best way to engage me in a conversation is over a cup of REAL espresso--no Seattle imitations accepted!