Degree in Physics (University of Bologna, 1974)
Post-degree fellowship (1978-1982) at the Istitute for soil Study and Conservation (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry), Florence, 1978-82 
Researcher of the Italian National Research Council since 1982 . Initially based at the Res. Centre for Soil Genesis, Classification and Cartography (Florence) and later at the Res. Institute for Hydro-geological Protection  (IRPI, Perugia) he was researcher untill 1999, first researcher until 2001 and then research director until retirement (2014, Feb.). Since 2014, March, associate researcher at CNR-IRPI