His research interests focus on various aspects of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art and archaeology, among which: the relation between visual evidence and written texts; mythological images and their contexts; the role of monuments in the transmission of cultural memory and identity; the reception of classical past in modern scholarship. His approach lays strong accent on intercultural influences and on the value of cross-cultural comparisons.

Examples of these interests are represented by his studies on Pausanias and on Etruscan art. In the first case, he has devoted special attention to the way in which "ancient" Greek art was viewed and described in the Roman Imperial period, as well as to the specific and peculiar ways in which monuments and places are used as lieux de mémoire , as physical carriers of memory, by Pausanias. In the other case, his interest has been stimulated by the methodological and hermeneutic problems raised by artifacts such as Etruscan urns and mirrors, which use scenes of Greek mythology to talk about values deemed relevant to Etruscan society.