I hold a laurea in law from the Universita' La Sapienza in Rome, an LL.M in European Law from the University of Cambridge, and a D.Phil in European Law from the University of Oxford. I started my academic career as a Norton Rose European Law Lecturer at the University of Cambridge (New Hall, now Murray Edwards, 2000-2004), where I taught European Law, and supervised EU law and UK Constitutional Law. I also acted as Director of Studies for the College. I then moved to the University of Birmingham, where I was a lecturer from 2004-to 2006 and to Durham Law School, where I was first Reader and the Professor of European Union Law (2006-2018). Whilst at Durham I was also the Director of the Durham European Law Institute (2006-2011; and 2016-17).  
I have been visiting professor in several institutions, including the College of Europe in Natolin, and I held fellowships at the European University Institute (Fernand Braudel Senior Fellowship) and at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Durham. 

I am currently the Director of the Bocconi Lab in European Studies (BLEST, https://blest.unibocconi.eu/) and a Member of the Management Committee of the Institute for European Policymaking @BU (IEP, https://iep.unibocconi.eu/) as well Visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges and a member of the editorial board of the Common Market Law Review.

My research focuses on the law and policy of the European Union, with a particular interest in EU constitutional law, Fundamental Rights, Common Foreign and Security Policy, EU institutional balance, Union citizenship and internal market law.