Staff
Meet the Team of SiracusaCulture
Sergio G. Grasso
Editorial Director
When he was young, he was a voice actor for actors such as Orson Welles and Jeff Goldblum. He is a teacher or Anthropology of alimentation, food-writer, expert and popularizer of social history of food, he curated gastronomic events connected to the representation of food in the art of Caravaggio, Leonardo and Michelangelo. Author and TV presenter, he worked for Rai programmes such as Unomattina, Lineaverde and La prova del cuoco. Creator of the Girotonno of Carloforte and of Mediterraneans in Saudi Arabia and part of manifestations such as the Cous-Cous Fest in San Vito Lo Capo and the Festa del Torrone in Cremona. He writes and is part of the editorial board of SiracusaCulture.
Ingrid S. Kimbell
Editorial Director
In Ortigia, where she has lived for many years, no one would recognise her by her real first name. For everyone she is Susi. She was born and raised in Scotland, where she graduated in history of art and Italian with a dissertation on L’annunciazione by Antonello da Messina and, quite inevitably she moved to Siracusa. Founder and director of Exedra Mediterranean Center, a center for Study Abroad Programs, she works with foreign institutions for the realisation of courses and study programs for young foreigners. When she isn’t working, she plays the cello in a string quartet, draws, sows, embroids and takes part in theatrical activities. But now she is also in the editorial board of SiracusaCulture.
Francesco Santalucia
Editorial Director
Architect with a passion for the promotion of the cultural and human heritage, he lived a great part of his professional life in Siracusa working on the restoration of monuments such as the Castello Maniace, on repairs such as the one on piazza Duomo, and fighting for the conservation of the landscape. He later directed the Villa del Casale in Piazza Armerina and the Museo Interdisciplinare regionale di Enna with the annexed Museo di Centuripe. After having left the public administration, he curated the exhibit Cerere Exposed. Il cuore della Sicilia a Expo Milano 2015 and he created the cultural Association La palma e l’ulivo with which he continues his work of promotion of the cultural and human heritage.
He now writes and is part of the editorial board of SiracusaCulture.
Antonio Gerbino
Chief Editor
A lifetime spent telling stories with words, pens, type-writers, computers, the camera-lens. The latest one is told in the book Il patrimonio degli equivoci. Allarme beni culturali in Sicilia because this is an area which he has dealt with for a long time for work and for personal interest. He directed the organisation of the International Prize for Cinema and Narrative Efebo d’oro for many years, and was a founder of No mafia Memorial. He couldn’t resist the thought of guiding SiracusaCulture and is chief editor.
Angela Campisi
Staff Coordinator
The gentle firmness expressed with a luminous smile, the managerial competence, the interest for cultural heritage and dynamics of tourism, the attention and sensitivity towards social themes, the voluntary experiences have all led her quite naturally to be the Staff Coordinator.
Diego Monticciolo
Webmaster & Graphic Designer
Creative, meticulous and ambitious in everything he does, even in his effort for SiracusaCulture which he follows since its inception. He studied and worked in Sicily and Emilia Romagna. An IT expert, he creates and manages online portals and has a passion for the development and promotion of tourism.
Vittoria Gallo
Social Media Manager & Photographer
Tenacious, strong, creative, eclectic, efficient, persevering. In conclusion, Vittoria! The name perfectly expresses her skills. All the rest can be discovered in her photographs, her great passion.
Sara Cilea
Text Translation Curator
Actress from Siracusa who graduated in Drama in England. She lives and works in Siracusa where she welcomes students from all over the world and teaches them the Italian language and culture (particularly Sicilian!). She produces shows on historical and local subjects and directs a theater course for children. She takes care of translations for SiracusaCulture.
Salvatore Chilardi
Author
Archeo-zoologist and paleontologist, laureate in science and specialised in cultural heritage. He studies the relationship between humans and animals in ancient societies, as an economic resource, as food, and as a social and ritualistic symbol. A keen reader of history and of classics of Greek and Latin literature, but also of texts on astrophysics and quantum mechanics, he lives constantly in the balance between the world of numbers and that of letters… and he writes for SiracusaCulture.
Nicoletta Longo
Author
After her studies and a brief but intense experience in the Archeological field she turned her professional career to teaching. She is passionate about music and comics but particularly loves archeology, art and the territory and currently dedicates her free time to cultural associations and writing for SiracusaCulture.
Luana Aliano
Author
Luana Aliano She teaches history of art, is President of the Association SiciliAntica for the province of Siracusa. She took care of the formation and applied teaching of cultural heritage, she worked in an Ethnographic museum in Noto, was expert on the subject at the Faculty of Architecture, curated various publications on the theme of technological innovation applied to cultural heritage. She writes for SiracusaCulture.
Salvo Canto
Author
Playwright, theatrical producer, actor, singer, musician, educator from Siracusa. His biggest flaw is the effort he puts in trying to make this list longer… getting to the point of writing for SiracusaCulture.
Valentina Corsale
Author
She studied and worked in Sicily and Lombardy. Specialised in Classical Archeology, with a particular passion for Egyptology and a strong interest for Mythology which she loves to communicate through her educational efforts. She splits her free time between nature and books and now even writes for SiracusaCulture.
Caterina De Benedictis
Author
She lives in Trento, regretfully, as she works there, and she likes “o’ Sud”. She isn’t an easy person but she loves people, particularly the difficult ones. For mysterious reasons she hates who whistles or sings quietly. She is passionate about cats, particularly for the most beautiful of them all, her Martino. She is also a sociologist, but only for true passion.
Filippa Dolce
Press Officer
Journalist, author, producer and presenter of radio programmes, she directs Radiocom.tv, the radio dedicated to Italians around the world and collaborates with the circuit InBlu Radio. She is specialised in Metodologia della Critica dello Spettacolo, and she writes about economy, civil and comunion economy, school and culture.
Matilde Magnano
Author
She studied and works in Sicily, the land she loves. Teaching is her profession but it is also one of her passions. For many years she has been working with public and private authorities in initiatives of cultural and touristic promotion and of territorial marketing. Her days are entirely dedicated to her students and her homeland, which is a study subject and a source of inspiration! But she also finds time to write for SiracusaCulture.
Carlotta Zanti
Author
Through her University studies in Communication Science and Tourism Management, she transformed her passion for communication through social media and for her Siracusa into a profession. Every one of her texts or photographs tells of a place that smells of history, starting from Ortigia, in which she is lucky enough to live in. She works in festivals and cultural associations and foundations in order to tell and reveal the sweetest secrets and marvels of her land.