Stefan Festini Cucco earned his joint PhD in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the Universities of Salento and Cologne. He also holds an MA in Anthropology from the University of Leipzig and a BA in International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Trieste.

For the past five years, he has worked as a research associate and lecturer at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano in Italy. As part of the 'BIOmen – Biodiversity in National Parks: Coupling Scientific Data with Human Perceptions project, his research focused on understanding how biodiversity and nature conservation are perceived by various actors, including ecologists and botanists in the Stelvio National Park in Trentino and the Asinara National Park in Sardinia. Subsequently, he undertook extensive fieldwork with nomadic pastoralists in north-east Italy as part of the 'Global Pastures – Ethnographic Exploration of Alpine Grassland Connections' project, a collaboration between the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano and HES-SO Valais. This project explored alpine grasslands and their global connections from an anthropological perspective, considering various human and non-human actors, including nomadic pastoralists and their multi-species herds, sedentary farmers, hunters, traders and pasture owners. The research highlighted the dynamic relationships and evolving practices of herds navigating feral mountain pastures and urbanised plains in contemporary landscapes.

Stefan Festini Cucco also conducted fieldwork in the Rif region of northern Morocco. His book, Rifian Society, Culture and Politics in Mediterranean Morocco (Routledge, 2025), provides a comprehensive exploration of the region and the city of Al Hoceima. By combining local voices and ethnographic insights, the book sheds light on the multifaceted dynamics of the Mediterranean region. Themes covered include maritime and mountain economies, ecologies in times of climate change, transregional entanglements, migration and the relationship between the inhabitants of the Rif and the Moroccan state.

Festini Cucco's current research interests include environmental anthropology, more-than-human anthropology, the perception of biodiversity, and the relationship between ecosystems, landscapes, and nomadic pastoralists in the Alps and Mediterranean. Additionally, he is interested in multisensory ethnography and the anthropology of sound.

Contact: stefan.festini[at]mail.com