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Profile image for Francesco Perono Cacciafoco

Francesco Perono Cacciafoco

Joined Atlas Obscura in 2024

Dr Francesco PERONO CACCIAFOCO (Ph.D. University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy, 2011) is, currently, an Associate Professor in Linguistics at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Department of Applied Linguistics (LNG), Suzhou, China, where he teaches Historical Linguistics (LNG307), Language Documentation (LNG210), and History of English (LNG105). Before joining XJTLU, he was a Senior Lecturer in Historical Linguistics at the Linguistics and Multilingual Studies Programme (LMS), School of Humanities (SoH), College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (CoHASS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, where he was teaching Historical Linguistics, Etymology, Language and Oral Tradition, Historical Semantics, and History of Cryptography. At NTU, he was also the Latin Language Lead Coordinator at the Centre for Modern Languages (CML). He got his Master of Arts in Classical Philology and Historical Linguistics (with a Dissertation on the History of the Latin Language) and his PhD in Historical Linguistics, Greek and Latin Philology and Literature, and Comparative Literature (with a Dissertation on the Historical Development of the Late Latin Language and Poetry) at the University of Pisa (Pisa, Italy), working with Prof. Claudio M. Moreschini and Prof. Maria G. Arcamone. His Research expertise and interests are mainly focused on Historical Linguistics, on the etymological reconstruction of Indo-European (prehistoric) place names (Historical Toponomastics), on the study of Aegean Civilizations and Scripts, on the documentation of languages from South-East Asia belonging, in particular, to the Papuan and Austronesian families, and on the History of Cryptology and Crypto-linguistics. His academic background includes also Comparative Literature, Classical Philology, Theoretical Linguistics, Historical Geography, and Paleoanthropology. He has mainly studied, in these fields, Contemporary Western Poetry and the parodic Literature of Medieval and Renaissance Europe, oral (Homeric) Literature in Ancient Greece, the History of Greek and Roman Medicine and Medical Literature, the relations between landscape and the naming process of place names, and the prehistory of languages in Europe and Asia. An Etymologist and Historian of Languages, he has developed Research work in Historical Linguistics and Mycenaeology at the University of Pisa (Pisa, Italy) and he has taught, as a Contract Professor, Comparative Literature and History of Greek and Roman Medical Literature at the International University of Pollenzo - UNISG (Pollenzo, Italy). He has published around 80 Research works (papers, books, conference talks, book reviews, and chapters in academic books) and he is the first Author of the academic handbook Place Names: Approaches and Perspectives in Toponymy and Toponomastics (2023), published by the Cambridge University Press. In the field of Indo-European Linguistics, he has developed the so-called New Convergence Theory (NCT) on Indo-European origins, working, among others, with Dr Guido Borghi (University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy) and Prof. Martin Bernal. He is the recipient of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), School of Humanities (SoH), Lecturers Excellence (LEX) Award 2018 (Best Lecturer). Francesco is an Academic Mentor and Reviewer at the Linguistic Society of America (LSA), where he is also a Member of the Committee on Endangered Languages and Their Preservation (CELP). Academic Profile: https://scholar.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/persons/FrancescoPerono
scholar.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/persons/FrancescoPerono

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Places I've been

Places this traveler has marked as been there.

The funicular.

Montecatini Terme, Italy

Montecatini Terme Funicular

The bright red cars take travelers through breathtaking Tuscan scenery.

Towers of San Gimignano

San Gimignano, Italy

Towers of San Gimignano

These medieval skyscrapers dominate the skyline of this small Tuscan town.

View of the front of the abbey.

Vallombrosa, Italy

Vallombrosa Abbey

A 14th-century abbey founded by a forest-loving order of monks now sits in the center of a pristine nature preserve.

Vasari Corridor

Florence, Italy

Vasari Corridor

This private skyway is filled with art and was expanded explicitly so that Hitler could appreciate a river.

Allegorical figures for the Demidoff monument, Gipsoteca Bartolini.

Florence, Italy

Gipsoteca Bartolini

A slightly creepy gallery of plaster cast models in the same museum as Michelangelo's David.

Ospedale degli Innocenti (Hospital of the Innocents)

Florence, Italy

Ospedale degli Innocenti (Hospital of the Innocents)

Renaissance hospital featuring a rotating door into which unwanted babies were dropped.

Ponte Vecchio, with the castle ruins in the background.

Dolceacqua, Italy

Dolceacqua's Ponte Vecchio

Claude Monet immortalized this medieval bridge in two of his paintings.

The old town square.

Seborga, Italy

Principality of Seborga

This small village claims to be independent from Italy because it was left out when the nation was unified.

Cappella Delle Brunate

La Morra, Italy

Cappella Delle Brunate (Barolo Chapel)

This brightly-colored chapel is a contemporary jewel standing in the middle of a La Morra vineyard.

Some of the slingshots on display

Albenga, Italy

Slingshot Museum

A slingshot from this delightful collection is awarded each year to someone who has "pulled metaphorical slings in favor of the weak and marginalized."

Various plants grow within the underwater farm.

Noli, Italy

Nemo's Garden

The world's first underwater farm is home to more than 700 plants.

Vanocni dum

Karlovy Vary, Czechia

Vanocni dum

A mansion where wonders of Christmas are celebrated all year long.

The sally port from above.

Andělská Hora, Czechia

Andělská Hora Castle

This ruined castle perched atop a rocky peak is a great place for a hike.

Lobby of the spa with one of its bathtubs on display.

Karlovy Vary, Czechia

Kaiserbad Spa

Before serving as James Bond's Casino Royale, this Victorian-era spa catered to the world's elite.

The Kongresshalle.

Nuremberg, Germany

The Kongresshalle, Nuremberg

This abandoned coliseum was intended to be a grand Nazi rallying ground before it was halted at the end of the war.

Taken in late Winter 2020

Nuremberg, Germany

Nuremberg Castle

A castle from the Holy Roman Empire that hosts traveling youth... in its stables.

Der Hase

Nuremberg, Germany

'Der Hase'

This strange sculpture depicts a giant nightmare hare crushing a man to death beneath its colossal bulk.

The Ochsenportal

Nuremberg, Germany

Ochsenportal

An ornate sculpture of an ox in repose marks the former entrance to Nuremberg's medieval meat market, which was destroyed during World War II.

Henkerhaus

Nuremberg, Germany

Henkerhaus

Nestled on the banks of a river in Nuremberg is a small museum that was once home of the city's official executioner.

Nuremberg Toy Museum

Nuremberg, Germany

Nuremberg Toy Museum

This historic toy museum brings a little whimsy to a city not usually remembered for such things.

The entrance to the tower

Liverpool, England

Prince Rupert's Tower

This abandoned lock-up was saved because of its connection to a local football team.

"All the people that come and go..."

Liverpool, England

Penny Lane

The Liverpool street made famous by the Beatles is real.

The Law Oak

Liverpool, England

The Law Oak

A thousand year old oak tree survives in Liverpool.

Robin Hood's Stone

Liverpool, England

The Archer Stone

Prehistoric sandstone menhir with Early Bronze Age cup and ring markings, also known as Robin Hood's Stone.

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