Who I am

I graduated in 1969 from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the “La Sapienza” University in Rome, at the time I was father of Odette, born a year before.

Experience in the USA

A few months after graduation I passed an exam (ECFMG) for medical graduates who wanted to specialize in the United States, where I wanted to move to complete my studies.

From 1970 to 1973 I studied Pediatrics in New York in one of the most prestigious institutions of the city, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, earning the “Board of Pediatrics”, that is, the diploma of specialization in Pediatrics.

In the meantime, in September of 1972, Marta, my second daughter, was born.

Immediately afterwards, at the same University, I undertook a Fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology under the guidance of Murray Davidson, the undisputed USA authority in the field. I obtained the specialization at the end of three years of studies, in June 1976.

During this period, in 1975, I was elected “Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics“, a title given to pediatricians who demonstrate particular merits in the field of health protection and psychological well-being of children.

Return to Italy and the opening of a private practice

Six years after my arrival in New York, following a plan I had made before leaving Italy, I decided to return to live and work in Rome.

Here I started a private practice in the center of the Eternal City, an activity that lasts till today.

My editorial work / my books

Within the first ten years of this activity, I had come to realize the great need that existed in Italy to provide information that was more modern and scientifically correct.

I therefore dedicated myself to observing and noting down all the antiquated beliefs in the field of children’s health – beliefs that burdened their existence and profoundly altered their physical and mental development. 

therefore decided to write my first book, a long work that lasted until 1985, the year in which Gaetano Manti, director of the SFERA publishing house, enthusiastically offered to publish it with the title of “Capire tuo figlio” (“Understanding Your Child”).

The book sold more than one hundred thousand copies and marked the beginning of my career as a disseminator of information that continues unbroken to this day.

Another two books then quickly followed: “Curare tuo figlio” (Healing Your Child) and “Nutrire tuo figlio” (Feeding Your Child), focused on children’s physical health.

Collaborations and articles

Since the release of the first book I started to contribute regularly with monthly articles to the publications of the SFERA publishing house : “Io e il Mio Bambino” (Me and My Baby) and “Donna e Mamma” (Woman and Mother), for which I also acted as coordinator and supervisor of the Scientific Commission for more than 15 years.

I then worked for several years with the major newspaper “Il Corriere della Sera” contributing to their weekly health insert.

Parenting School and a holistic view of children and their families

In the meantime, the urge was growing in me to take an even deeper interest in the relationship between parents and children. Pressed also by the parents’ recurring questions, I wanted to understand  how to help families improve this relationship and foster the healthy psycho- emotional development of their children.

After a thorough research on the institutions that could have helped me to acquire a competence in this field, I decided in 1989 to go to La Jolla, California, to attend the “Parent Effectiveness Training“, by Thomas Gordon, a student of Carl Rogers, of which I had greatly appreciated some publications.

The path was enlightening, fabulous, and profoundly enriched me both as a pediatrician and as a man.

I immediately started to organize courses in parenting for my patients, who immediately reacted with great enthusiasm and encouraged me to continue this activity regularly.

In 1995 the experience and the studies pushed me to create  a course of parenting in video, from the title “Parents today” with the SD Cinematografica of Rome. In each episode of the series I explained how to deal with the various problems related to communication with children.

My penultimate two books: “Come parlare ai nostri figli” (How to Speak With Our Children) and “Si fa come dico io: il conflitto di potere fra genitori e figli” (You Do as I Say: the conflict of power between parents and children), published between 1998 and 2004, have these themes as their subjects.

Gastroesophageal reflux

Among the thousands of problems I faced as a pediatrician, one in particular emerged as the most common and very difficult for parents to deal with: gastroesophageal reflux.

As a gastroenterologist, I gradually found the most effective methods to give relief to these suffering children and some peace to their parents.

Taking advantage of the experience accumulated in many years I wrote my latest book, “Il reflusso gastroesofageo nei bambini: come capirlo, come curarlo” (Gastroesophageal Reflux in Children: how to understand it, how to treat it).

This disorder, though not a real disease, causes much emotional and social distress, very often overlooked by my colleagues.

This was the central topic of my latest speech, in October 2019, to pediatricians at the New York Medical College, entitled: “Gastroesophageal reflux in children: an important psycho-social problem“.