Born March 11 1946, Turin (Italy).
Education and professional career
- 1960-1965 : Secondary studies at Massimo-d'Azeglio high school, Turin
- 1965-1969 : Faculty of Arts, University of Turin. Bachelor of Arts
- 1972-1976 : Assistant, then Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Letters, University of Turin
- 1976-1982 : Professor Extraordinary, then Full Professor of Italian Literature, Faculty of Letters, University of Geneva
- 1982-1988 : Professor Extraordinary, then Full Professor of Italian Literature at the Faculty of Education, University of Padua
- 1988-1999 : Full Professor of Italian Literature, Faculty of Letters, University of Turin
- 1999-2020 : Professor at the Collège de France, chair Modern literatures of Neolatin Europe
Awards and distinctions
- Member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome (founded 1603)
- Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Cambridge, MA (founded 1780)
- Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, London
- Member of Arcadia, Accademia Letteraria Italiana, Rome (founded 1690)
- Member of the Accademia delle Scienze, Turin (founded 1783)
- 1975 : " Bonavera " prize for Belles-Lettres, Accademia delle Scienze, Turin
- 1979 : " Vallombrosa " prize, Florence, for criticism and poetry
- 1991 : " Roncaglia " prize for Belles-Lettres, from the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome
- 1997 : " Antonio Feltrinelli " prize for literary criticism, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome
- 2010 : " Cesare Pavese " prize
- 2010 : " Pisa " national prize
- 2021 :Gay-Lussac Humboldt Prize
