ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amedeo Carrocci was born in 1968 in Pontecorvo (Fr). His father Ferdinand Peter Paul, is a lawyer, and his mother, Emilia Antonucci, a teacher of Classics. The family name is an ancient one and comes from the medieval Latin “corochium”. This was a sacred, military wagon used in the wars of that period. The wagon was prominent throughout towns in the Middle Ages and symbolised freedom. It was pulled by oxen, decked with signs and banners and contained an altar and bells. It was always guarded by hand-picked militia. Before a battle a priest would celebrate Mass from the wagon. During the fighting, it welcomed the wounded as is attested by a 13th Century document which can be found at the historical abbey of Montecassino (one of the largest medieval archives in the world). In fact, the town of Pontecorvo was within the papal enclave of the Kingdom of Naples and, historically under papal rule. He has enjoyed a markedly catholic education.

Amedeo comes from a long line of distinguished lawyers including, amongst others, his Uncle Franco Trotta who was the President of the Supreme Court and his great-grandfather who was a professor at the University of Naples and coined the slogan “death to death” during a campaign aimed at the abolition of the death penalty which was in force at that time. Amedeo Carrocci senior, the grandfather of Amedeo was an officer of the 4th Cavalry Genoa, fighting in Macedonia and Greece and was greatly appreciated by the local people for the respect he ensured his soldiers gave to the populace. At his home, evidence of this can be found in the gifts given to him in gratitude by a Macedonian Pope for protecting the local women. Moreover, he was a popular poet with a national reputation, composing poems for more than half a century.

Amedeo Carrocci attended the grammar school "Giosué Carducci”. He took part in the international Latin language competition, the "Certamen Ciceronianum Arpinas" named after Marcus Tullius Cicero. The Certamen is a competition of Latin translation and commentary on a text of Marcus Tullius Cicero. Open to students enrolled in the final year of high school throughout the world, the Certamen takes place every year in Arpino (Fr), Italy, in the month of May. The event was founded in 1980 by the dean of the Tulliano High School, Prof. Ugo Quadrini, who thanks to his assiduous commitment, quickly gave the Certamen an international dimension.

After graduating high school, in 1988 he undertook military service, taking an oath of loyalty to the homeland and then becoming a gunner in the regiment "Grenadiers of Sardinia" stationed at Bracciano (Rome).

After leaving the army, he enrolled at the State University "Gabriele D'Annunzio" University, Faculty of Law (This faculty is ranked among the top ten in Italy: The Law Faculty is ranked in fifth place, while Political Science is fourth, and veterinary medicine in seventh. The development strategy of the university over the years has enhanced those students who chose one of the two major study areas : the legal-political - communicative and agricultural -biological- veterinary). In 1992 he graduated with the highest honours. His thesis in aeronautical and aerospace law entitled "The bilateral nature of agreements in international air traffic between ICAO Contracting States" was prepared while residing in France and while he had access to the archives of the library of the European Union in Strasbourg.

During his university years he also attended the School of Photography in Teramo, run by the master Dino Di Patre, and has received various awards, and set up several solo photographic exhibitions for public administrations. His passion of photography and art will remain as something that continues to grow throughout his life; he is a supporting member of the TAU Visual, the national association of professional photographers based in Milan.

In the years 1992-1994 he attended, the Lazio School of Forensics in Rome, specializing in criminal law and criminal procedure and passing the state exam to become a lawyer.

Having undergone extensive professional practice as a lawyer, Amedeo Carrocci has worked closely with the Chair of General Theory of Law of the State University "Gabriele D'Annunzio" helping the distinguished professor, Giacinto Auriti, with the writing of a draft law and the relevant legislative initiatives. The focal point of this law is the attribution of citizens’ rights to the right of ownership of money at the point of issue. At the moment the law is pending approval by the legislative committees of both houses of the Italian Parliament.

From an early age Amedeo has been a member of the Dante Alighieri society. This is a non-profit organisation of the Ministry of Public Education. The Dante Alighieri Society was founded in 1889 by a group of intellectuals led by Giosuč Carducci and was granted non-profit organization status by Royal Decree July 18,1893, n . 347. Its primary purpose, as stated in Article 1 of its Statute, is to "safeguard and promote the Italian language and Italian culture throughout the world, reviving the spiritual ties of compatriots abroad with their motherland and nurturing among foreigners a love and worship for Italian culture. The society oversees the spread of Italian language and culture throughout the world: part of its role is its work as the president of Dante youth groups(Committee Arpino) and, up until to September 1993, had organised trips to more than 12 countries around the world. In that same year at the International Congress held in Avignon (France), members of the society met with the Moldovan delegation led by the then dean of the Dante Alighieri School in Kishinev, the late and much lamented Professor Lilia Filip, who represented Moldova for the first time in Europe. The delegation was warmly welcomed by all the representatives of the Member States and, in particular, by Dean Prof. Ugo Quadrini, then the Auditor of the Company, who promised to send the young lawyer Amedeo Carrocci to Moldova for the following Dante celebrations. In May 1994, Amedeo Carrocci flew to Moldova for the first time where he spent his days as the official guest of the Dante Alighieri High School.

In the summer of 1994, Amedeo Carrocci hosted the Head of the Department of Culture of Kishinev and the publisher Anatol Vidrascu in order to agree a non-profit collaboration based on cultural exchange. From this meeting, he edited a project in Moldova which for the first time ever gave rise to a selection of poems by the poets Giacomo Leopardi and Giuseppe Ungaretti: the result was a beautiful book of poems translated by poets Vasile Romanciuc and Iulian Filip and introduced by the academic Mihai Cimpoi. Ten thousand copies were printed and distributed to Italian and Moldavian schools and libraries, with the poems printed in parallel text.

In the same year, another project began. This was the first publication of a prestigious photo album that illustrated the natural beauty, history and culture of the young and independent Republic of Moldova: this project contained photographs taken by Amedeo Carrocci and was carried out under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic. The album contained an introduction by the then President, Petru Lucinschi, as well as a brief introduction by Maria Biesu, the leading light of the National Opera. The album was, as mentioned previously, the first high quality work of its kind printed in Moldova, and it was critically acclaimed by the press and critics alike.

In 1997, Amedeo organized an exhibition of works by Diana Zonfrilli in Kishinev, in the National Museum of History. Zonfrilli is one of the first Italian painters who has been inspired by the Moldovan landscape. Her works include "On the River Nistru ". Zonfrilli (officially listed by both the Mondadori and Comandini catalogues) is an artist of international fame, and as such this exhibition of her paintings represented for the first time, a major artistic event between Italy and Moldova.

In September 1997, Amedeo Carrocci was appointed as the organiser of the twinning agreement between his native city, Pontecorvo, and the Moldovan city of Orhei: over the years, as a result of this twinning, many initiatives have taken place between the two cities including numerous delegations and exchange trips. Also in 1997 Carrocci collaborated as an external consultant on the preparation of the agreement between the Republic of Moldova Government and the Italian Government. This agreement relates to air traffic freedom and air services and accords air traffic rights to both countries. It was signed in Rome on 19 September 1997.

As a result of all his work (the international exhibition of paintings by Diana Zonfrilli , the twinning contract entered into with the Moldovan city of Orhei, and finally the first agreement between Italy and Moldova in the field of air traffic); and in consideration of all the cultural and humanitarian benefits which have accrued over the years for the Dante Alighieri High School, Kishinev owing to Amedeo’s work, the President of Moldova, Mr. Petru Lucinschi, awarded him by presidential decree, honorary Moldovan citizenship in 2000.

In 1999, Amedeo, with the editorial group "Litera" launched the series titled "Moldova - Third Millennium" in which he addressed issues of a socio-historical nature such as: "The Roman- Christian spiritual heritage", "The value of the right", " Law and Ethics", "Taxation : the new Communism ", etc. ... In the appendix to the first volume - which bears a brief introduction by Dr. Alexei Barbaneagra – there is a photographic section relating to the Centrul DE Drept Union of Lawyers of Moldova. The whole series was financed by Amedeo Carrocci himself as a non-profit venture.

In 1999, again with the publishing group "Litera", and still funded personally by Amedeo, he launched another series of volumes entitled "Law in the Italian mould", published in Russian and Romanian and which included contributions by Italian jurists and Moldovan lawyers. Carrocci is in fact the author of the first volume of this series entitled "The bilateral nature of agreements in international air traffic”, the volume contains an introduction by the then Minister of Transport Dr. Victor Tsopa and, in the appendix to the book , there is a brief study on aviation sports in the Republic of Moldova signed by Nicolai Poddubnih. It describes the collaboration with Victor Tsopa over the years who has played a variety of roles and was Director General of Civil Aviation and, later, Minister of Transport .

In 1998, in Italy, he published a photographic collection under the auspices of the President of the Lazio Region and the University of Cassino. Entitled "Pictures from the land of St. Benedict and St. Thomas Aquinas" this made him an internationally recognised photographer and editor: the album (208 pages, in high quality) contains artistic photos of one of the most beautiful regions of Europe. There is also an appendix of historical documents from Rocco Bonanni and Angelo Pantone, as well as poems by Maria Cristina Borgese.

In 2000, the lawyer Carrocci became a founding member of the publishing house Garuda Art and, in collaboration with the poet Ion Hadârca? published a Russian-language book entitled "Unnecessary Sermons from the West” containing, amongst other things: contributions to the debate on freedom of information and the legal issues of abortion. These were regarded as hot issues for the legislature in Moldova at that time. In addition, several public speeches and articles were published in the magazine "Avocatul Poporului " on topics related to the difference between law and ethics, between the physiology and pathology of the law, etc.

In 2001, he launched the idea of an editorial collection " O carte pentru o seara " (A book for one evening only). This collection was put together by him and edited and published by Anatol Vidrascu with the first volume, the work of Att. Carrocci entitled "In cautarea unui guvern bun" (ISBN 9975-74-343-9); several other volumes followed and included authors such as: Mihai Eminescu (Steaua) , Marcus Tullius Cicero (Despre Prietenie), William Shakespeare (Sonnets), etc...

In the same vein, after having stayed for about three years at his own expense in Moldova and having personally experienced living conditions there, Amedeo published with Graficart, a work entitled “Moldova din imaginatia mea” in 2002. “By a Moldovan citizen" is a book which, through ten points, makes an appeal to his countrymen to shake themselves in both conscience and cause, at parliamentary and governmental levels; he calls for major democratic reforms which he sees as necessary in order for Moldova to get to the level of the standards of other European countries.

Between 1998-2000 he was the area manager of the company Tobacco Europe, through which he established relationships with various organizations including a Moldovan company, MMZ based in Ribnita (Transnistria).

On July 28th 2000, he was sworn in as a member of the Bar Association of Moldova.

In that same year he worked with the lawyer. Prof. Italo d'Onofrio Jovari of Mŕncipa and Eurowest Funding SA on an investment project for the countries of Eastern Europe worth 1.5 billion dollars. In this project they held a series of meetings in Moldova and Germany with Ambassador Aurelian Danila and the then head of the Moldovan Government Dr. Dumitru Braghis.

He enrolled at the Public Administration Academy (AAP) at the Presidency of the Republic, specialising in "International Relations", graduating in 2003 and obtaining the diploma of honour. In the same year with Graficart, he published a volume of legal and economic essays titled "Eseuri".

In 2003 he was awarded "Premiul literal de Craciun” by the Municipality of Kishinev, for the book "Eseuri" which has a preface signed by Mihail Platon, Advisor to the President of the Republic, professor and a luminary in the Science of Finance, and also an introduction by Prof. Roger Reynolds, Harvard.

In the same year he funded the printing of the volume entitled "10 ani de implinirii" for submission to the Public Administration Academy.

In 2002, he launched a new series of luxury photo albums which dealt with themes relating to the historical, landscape, folklore and ethnicity of his second home, Moldova. The series currently includes the volumes "Colours of Moldova", "Scent of Moldova", "Woods of Moldova", "Kishinev in black and white", the latter containing two prefaces, one signed by the architect Eugen Bizgu, the other, signed by the poet Ianos Turcanu.

On the days of 2nd and 8th May, 2001, Amedeo presented to notaries Dr. Olga Busuleac (no. Registration Act 3865) and Dr. Elena Mocanu (Act no. 2-1794) in Kishinev two distinct acts: These are the "In search of good governance”, acts of 25 pages each. They call for the establishment of a free association of civic culture, strictly independent and autonomous, and not tied to any legal, political parties or movements or electoral alliances, The purpose of these acts was solely to help with analysis and recommendations in order to constantly improve the functioning of democratic institutions in Moldova. In 2001 he was a founding member of the Union of Jurists Moldova (UJM), an organisation of which he is still part.

In 2002 he began actively working with the Faculty of Law of the State University of Moldova (USM) and with the Rector to promote and enhance collaboration between foreign State Universities and Italian universities in particular: Amedeo was fundamental to this process, acting as a willing point of reference between the various parties. Between 16th and 19th January 2003, he hosted a delegation of the Chancellor of USM and the Dean of the Faculty of Law in Italy and worked on a program that gave rise to the signing of two separate co-operation agreements with two different State Universities : the University of Rome "La Sapienza" and the University of Cassino. The co-operation agreement with the University "La Sapienza" was in fact signed on 16th January 2003 and countersigned in Kishinev on 14th April.2003; the agreement with the University of Cassino was signed in the afternoon of 16th January 2003 and countersigned in Kishinev on 28th July 2003 . During their visit, the Moldovan delegation visited the Royal Palace of Caserta , the Abbey of Montecassino, and finally, they met with the leaders of the “Accademia Giuridica Ciceroniana” of Arpino in order to lay the foundations for future collaborations.

As of January 2nd, 2003, when he applied, he was taken on by USM as the chair of “Drept International si Drept Relatii Economice Externe” in the function of Conferentiar Universitar until 30th June 2003 (10:01:03, A position which has since been renewed).

In 2004 he started a personal commitment with all the major Moldovan state institutions - the Presidency of the Republic, Parliament, the Constitutional Court, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, the Minister of Education, and finally the National Bank of Moldova - to urge them to reform the tax system and to return monetary sovereignty to the people. He gave a series of interviews with major newspapers, television stations and national Moldavian newspapers and his cause is now well documented. Finally, in the spring of 2005, he prepared a bill that was presented to legislative committee of the Parliament of Moldova which hopefully will one day be approved.

In early 2005 he was asked to work with the IOM, the World Organization for Immigration (www.iom.md), on the training of 400 Moldovan workers destined for the Italian labour market. The Italian staff in Rome is directed by Dr. Andi Gjonej, while the agency in Moldova is directed by Dr. Martin Weyss.

In 2004, he published with Graficart, a booklet, in Russian and Romanian, entitled "Nihil novi sub sole", which was distributed free to schools and libraries.

In October 2005 he became a founding member, of the Italian branch of the publishing house Edizioni Socogen which has been in existence since 1995.

In 2005 he produced, again with Graficart, the prestigious volume entitled "Timeless Time" which was published in three languages, Romanian, Russian and Italian, and which offers a translation of the poems of Giuseppe Ungaretti, along with photographs that illustrate all the melancholy of the landscape of Moldova, and presenting a view of the art and crafts of Moldova for its promotion abroad.

In 2006, he became an official member of the National Union of Writers of Moldova and, with that organisation, has had published, entirely at his own expense, the series entitled "The New Muse - Moldova". In this series, Amedeo Carrocci personally translated into Italian, ten more poets from the Bessarabia region, accompanying each poem with images inspired by the theme of the poem. Each volume was published with at least 1,000 copies of which, 100 belong to each poet; and the rest were distributed free to public schools and libraries. The last poets that he translated and that will be printed are Gregorie Vieru together with Liviu Damian, and Arcadi Suceveanu together with Ion Vatamanu. The poets published so far are: Iulian Filip and Ianos Turcanu, and Nicolae Dabija and Ion Hadârca? and Nicolae Esinencu and Dumitru Fusu.

In 2005-2006 he worked as the spokesman for USM in their collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the National Union of Writers and Artists of Italy. The result was a work entitled "Dragoste si moarte - Moldovan Tribute to Giacomo Leopardi". This volume represents the first time the burial poems of the Italian poet Leopardi (the greatest national romantic poet) have been translated into Russian and Romanian. The book has the support of, among others, the Campania Region, the World Centre of Poetry and Culture of Recanati, The Leopardi National Centre of Studies (under the direction of the Ministry of Culture) and the Umberto Mastroianni International Foundation for Visual Arts.

Since 2007 he has been a member of the International Fund Orvieto Fotografia (FIOF) in Italy which promotes photography as a universal means of communication and language and follows the cultural growth of professional European photographers (www.orvietofotografia.org).

He is currently a member of the Council of the Bar of Cassino.

He has published and continues to publish theses, and is currently preparing an Italian translation of the anthology "Poezia Acasa – Poeti contemporani din Basarabia", which he intends to publish, as usual, relying on his own financial resources.

On 20 June 2007 he was awarded an honorary degree by the State University of Moldova (USM).

He has recently published works entitled "Juridical Eye" (2008), "The Dignity Free" (2009) and "Ladies of the Cake" (2010).

He is married with three children. He continues to think , defend, write and photograph ...