Francesca R. Piro is a pathologist, M.D. and cultural promoter. She has been in public health for over 20 years, dividing her time between her career and her interests and commitments in the fields of culture, the environment and civil rights. She is co-founder of Progetto Mediterranea, a nautical, cultural and scientific expedition in the Mediterranean Sea, with which she sails for long periods during the year, searching for Mediterranean thought and identity. From 2015 she has also founded La Linea d’Ombra.Roma, an independent cultural space, a meeting place and a forum to share ideas between writers, artists and intellectuals.