Meet the Hypercritics

Giulia Avataneo

Editor-in-Chief - Giulia Avataneo, an Italian journalist, has worked for international news outlets such as Euronews and Agence France Presse. She is a video reporter and TV anchor with a passion for culture and foreign affairs. In 2020, she assumed the influential role of editor-in-chief of Hypercritic. She describes the project as “A safe space, free from advertising logic and algorithms, in which a new generation of humanists can find expression.”

Clara Gastaldi

With a scientific background and a humanistic turning point at the Scuola Holden, Clara Gastaldi is a cultural and culinary omnivore with collaborations including FondazioneOz, Slow Food, Unisg, and Gambero Rosso. Whether it's an article, a reel, or a recipe, she enjoys seeing ideas emerge and transform into reality. Specializing in education and soft skills, multimedia content creation and editing, and event organization, she has been the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Hypercritic since 2020. Driven by a passion for merging culture, inclusion, and innovation, she thrives on connecting people with ideas and experiences that inspire and bring change.

Alessandro Avataneo

Alessandro Avataneo is an author, director, and producer with experience in over thirty countries and a background in International Relations, Storytelling, and Digital Entertainment. His work spans film, theater, video games, and podcasts, with collaborations including UNESCO, Berlinale, RAI, Tate Gallery, and Museo Egizio. He is the author of The Art of Storytelling (2024) and The Great Atlas of Italian Wines (Rizzoli, 2023). A longtime teacher at Scuola Holden and other international institutions, he merges dramaturgy, cinema, and narrative design. Alessandro is also a strategic consultant and curator of high-impact cultural projects, including the 2010 Architecture Biennale in Maastricht. He explores the intersection of human creativity, storytelling and AI. With his sister Giulia, he co-hosts the podcast The Cinematic Experience and founded Hypercritic.

Christian Jennings

Christian Jennings is a British journalist and essayist. A correspondent for The Economist, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, Reuters, and Wired, he lives in Italy and has published books on 20th-century history for Longanesi, HarperCollins, and Bloomsbury.

Savina Neirotti

Cultural and Digitalization Consultant&Training. Savina Neirotti graduated in Philosophy and completed the first year of a Master's in Aesthetics at the University of Pennsylvania. She has been a partner of Scuola Holden from its inception for over fifteen years, with the role of managing director from 2018 to 2021. Since 2005 she has conceived and been in charge of Script&Pitch Workshops and TorinoFilmLab. She has headed the Biennale College Cinema program since its inception in 2012, and the Biennale College Cinema Immersive since 2017.

Ilaria Gaspari

Ilaria Gaspari lives between Rome and Paris. She studied philosophy at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa and obtained her PhD at the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne. She has published with Einaudi and in 2022, for Emons Record, she created the podcast Chez Proust, a fourteen-episode journey exploring In Search of Lost Time. With Hypercritic, she curated the exhibition on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the French author's death. She has also been a guest during our poetic marathons, accompanied by her dog, Emilio.

Andrea Donini

Andrea Donini is an adjunct professor of creative writing and argumentation at the University of Urbino. He has a background in communication, with a focus on narrative and visual storytelling from a sociological perspective. He studied in Italy and abroad, specializing in filmmaking and screenwriting at Scuola Holden. He believes in the power of stories to shape collective imagination and transform society – a principle that guides his work as an editor for Hypercritic’s Movies section.

Federica Gandolfo

Federica is a digital creative, lecturer, and content strategist focused on Storytelling and Gamification. She developed her skills at the Scuola Holden and explores the impact of narrative in education through interactive workshops and courses. As the video games editor at Hypercritic, she analyzes the cultural and artistic dimensions of gaming, believing in its power as a deeply immersive storytelling medium.

Annamaria Russo

Annamaria Russo is a Communication Sciences student at the University of Siena with an artistic background from the Siena Art High School. She has gained experience in the cultural sector, working at the Santa Maria della Scala museum complex and the Siena Tourism Observatory. Passionate about archaeology and the many forms of artistic expression, she explores the intersection of creativity and communication. This vision guides her work as an editor for Hypercritic’s Art section.

Micaela Emanuela Camaroto

Giulia Orati

Giulia Orati, who graduated in Economics and then attended the Holden School in Turin, has published novels and short stories and contributed to the writing of award-winning short films, including the Solinas Screen in Green Award and selections at the Berlin and Barcelona Fashion Film Festivals. On Hypercritic, she is the editor of the TV show section. Binge-watching and crazy theories are her daily bread, as any viewer since the days of Twin Peaks teaches. She believes in stories' power and that they improve the world.

Alessia Fontana

Kate Burney

Cristina Danini

Cristina Danini studied storytelling, reporting and screenwriting at Scuola Holden. She published an essay about Punk Hardcore movement in Turin and works in communication for culture and cinema. She's passionate about the art of shaping words, images and melodies to convey feelings and energy.

Zoe Di Francesco

Flavia Di Mauro

Davide Tiberga

Davide Tiberga is a video-editor and online columnist. After a thorough higher education (Film School diploma, minor in Literature and later major in Film Studies), in his professional life he balances film criticism and filmmaking, as he is a strong believer than in the arts and humanities theory and practice need to go in hand in hand.

Francesco Audino

Alessandro Maria Flavio

Alessandro Maria Flavio is an Amsterdam based Italian journalist and writer. After studying at the Scuola Holden, he earned a degree in Philosophy from the University of Turin and later specialized in Literature at the University of Amsterdam. His fiction has been published in Nazione Indiana and Neutopia. For Hypecritic, he writes about literature and film, seeking to highlight the way in which art and society mutually influence each other.

Marta Guagnozzi

Teacher and passionate about art, history, and their dialogue with pop culture, Marta Guagnozzi contributes to the Art Team. From medieval miniatures and saintly icons to Victorian collectors and contemporary trends, she enjoys writing about how images from the past keep reappearing in today’s visual world. Her time in the UK deepened her fascination with nineteenth-century British art, collectors, and its passion for Italian culture. She’s especially drawn to interdisciplinary approaches that connect art history with broader cultural, historical, and visual studies, including certain aspects of fan culture, fantasy imagery, and other “cult” phenomena that echo classical and medieval motifs.

Chiara Lanza

Chiara Lanza is an English teacher, passionate about world literatures, nature, and their multiple intersections. After a master's degree in Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Turin, she earned a Ph.D. in Sustainable Development and Climate Change with a research focused on the relationships between humans, texts, and soils. As an Hypercritic contributor, she enjoys delving into poems and novels to unearth their meanings, connections, and hidden potentials.

Angelica Lazzarini

Angelica Lazzarini is a graphic designer with a creative mind. She furthered her studies in illustration and storytelling and pursued a master's in Publishing & Digital Media. Interested in the evolution of the modern cultural scene, she collaborated with Feltrinelli Education to develop cultural initiatives. She believes pop culture to be a unique instrument for new generations to learn about the world. It inspires her teaching of the History and Aesthetics of Anime and Manga and writing for Hypercritic’s Comics and Videogames sections.

Adamo Longo

Adamo Longo is a historian. A graduate in cultural heritage first and History and Philosophy later from the University of Siena, he is passionate about art, history, and travel. He has gained experience in the cultural sector by collaborating with various Sienese cultural institutions, such as the Intronati Municipal Library, the Tourism Office of the City of Siena, and the State Archives. His passion for culture in its many forms and declinations led him to collaborate as an author for the art section of Hypercritic.

Gabriele Iuliano

Gabriele Iuliano is a Japanese and English Comparative Languages and literature graduate. From a screenplay course at Scuola Italiana di Comix to self-taught bass guitar skills, he is all about the creativity and freshness in life. A year living and working in Japan increased his passion for the country’s culture and history, as well as boosting his love for cooking. As a contributor to Hypercritic, he enjoys analysing videogames and comics for intermedial connections and thematic bridges.

Maëva Le Roux

Mariarosa Palamara

Mariarosa Palamara went from rewriting Barbie’s commercial jingles as a child to working on social media and communication for various companies as an adult. She has a bachelor's degree in Literature, Music, and Performing Arts, a graduation thesis on stand-up comedy, a master's in Storytelling and Contemporary Humanities, and an upcoming master’s degree in Modern Linguistics, Publishing, and Journalism. She has always had a strong connection with video games and the stories they carry, the perfect tool to use as an author for the Hypercritic’s Videogame section.

Antonella Massaro

Samuele Morsia

Passionate about international affairs, cinema and video games, Samuele Morsia studied storytelling at Scuola Holden before pursuing International Studies at the University of Turin. As an Hypercritic contributor, he enjoys analyzing and delving into every aspect of video games, with a special focus on art direction and storytelling.

Manuela Murgia

Manuela Murgia is a foreign language student specializing in English and Chinese translation. Alongside her academic background, she nurtured her passion for writing and storytelling. This interest in the literary world, coupled with a more recent fascination for video games, role-playing games, and their growing impact on modern society, has led to a collaboration with Hypercritic, which started as a curricular internship as one of the website’s translators.

Silvia Nuzzolese

Silvia Nuzzolese holds a Master's degree in Foreign Languages from the University of Turin, with a specialization in English and Chinese translation. Combining her academic background with a keen passion for storytelling and art, Silvia contributes to Hypercritic's Movies and Books sections, seeking to explore the intersections between diverse worldviews and narratives.

Riccardo Pasquali

Riccardo Pasquali studied Methods and Topics in Arts Management at Milan’s Catholic University, merging a humanities and economics background. Working as an economic researcher and consultant for cultural institutions, he believes in the cross-disciplinary nature of knowledge. This same approach leads his contribution to Hypercritic in TV-Shows, Movies and Books sections.

Claudia Russo

Claudia Russo is a graduate student in Art History, a subject she studied at the universities of Siena, Paris and Bologna. She is passionate about cultural heritage, travel and fashion and she gained experience in the cultural sector working in various cultural institutions such as Santa Maria della Scala Museum complex in Siena. As an author for Hypercritic, she explores how the masterpieces of the past continue to live on in contemporary culture.

Maria Rosaria Scala

Maria Rosaria Scala is a graduate student in European Literary Studies, currently pursuing a master's degree in Spanish language and literature. She is passionate about modern art and narrative and has volunteered in the promotion of artistic and cultural activities in the community of Ercolano. As an author for Hypercritic, she explores new connections between art history and the development of contemporary society.

Alessandro Triolo

Graduated in Modern Comparative Cultures and freelance writer, Alessandro Triolo is part of the journalistic editorial staff of Canale 21 Extra, where he contributes to the evening news with interviews, video reports and direct interventions from the desk. He writes about music and literature for Le Rane - Music & Pop Culture and Hypercritic. He often organises meetings and poetry readings. From Messina, but currently in Rome.

Mirko Vercelli

Mirko Vercelli is a cultural anthropologist, educator and spoken word artist. He explores poetic inquiry into the intersection of new technologies and human experience. His writing has been featured in Nero and Scomodo. In 2024, he published the essay Memenichilismo, a research based on the relationship between depression and the internet.

Giulia Viganò