Hereditary passion for the sea has been passed down from his grandfather. Born on the 26th August 1981, the Italian athlete started sailing at the age of 12 (“I wasn’t any good at skiing”) and rose up quickly, winning the Class Championship twice and then the silver medal in the Campionato Italiano Classi Olimpiche (Italian Championship Olympic Classes). In 2002, he joined the Sports Group of the Guardia di Finanza. For years, he raced in Finn, where he won several gold medals at the Italian Championships and in which he participated in the 2008 Beijing games. The route to Rio is mapped out and the goal is to win and to also make his wife, Nathalie, and his daughter, Ginevra, happy.