Born as the son of immigrants from rural Southern Tuscany first to Frankfurt, Germany and then to other cities and countries (primarily Milano, Italy) I completed my studies as and MS in environmental engineering and then a PhD in Hydrology. Until 2006 I have worked in a STEM setting (universities, science parks, corporate consulting). From the end of 2006 I have started to develop my own line of projects on promotion and protection of lesser-known assets in the fields of culture, environment, and open innovation. One of the pillars of this work is the re-engineering of the connection between cities and rural locations. In this, I have a pilot site between Southern Tuscany, where I am based since 2011, and Milano, and I collaborate with many other professionals around Italy, Europe and other continents.