Acknowledgements
Beside the curators who supported my research throughout Italian and European museums, libraries and archives, I would like to thank Federico Rausa, Arturo Fittipaldi and Thorsten Opper for having helped me during my PhD years, and Nicholas Penny and Adriano Aymonino, not only for the many suggestions, but also for their patience in the last few months, when I had to divide my “leisure” time between this book and the forthcoming, new edition of Taste and the Antique.
I am grateful to Brill for having believed in this project: I will always cherish the day, in 2014, when I received the first email from Liesbeth Hugenholtz in response to my book proposal.
I am especially indebted to my Professor, Carlo Gasparri, who 20 years ago, when I was still a student at the University of Naples, introduced me to the fascinating fields of the Antikenrezeption and the History of Collecting and since then has followed all the stages of my professional fulfilment, and to Ian Jenkins, who in 2007 welcomed me into the Department of Greece and Rome of the British Museum and since then has been a mentor and a friend. I thank them both for having put their trust in me, despite my many flaws, for having shaped my awareness as a scholar, for having contributed in all these years to my personal growth.