Alberto Angela (; born 8 April 1962) is an Italian paleontologist, writer and journalist. Angela is a famous history and
science communicator
Science communication is the practice of informing, educating, raising awareness of science-related topics, and increasing the sense of wonder about scientific discoveries and arguments. Science communicators and audiences are ambiguously def ...
in Italy.
Biography
Alberto Angela was born in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, where his father worked as correspondent for
RAI
RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...
.
He accompanied his father, Italian TV announcer
Piero Angela
Piero Domenico Angela (; 22 December 1928 – 13 August 2022) was an Italian television host, science journalist, writer, and pianist.
He started as a radio reporter, then became a foreign correspondent, and established himself as the host of ...
, on his trips ever since he was a child, something that allowed him to learn many European languages and to acquire a cosmopolitan culture. After being a student in France, he enrolled in a course of Natural Sciences at the University "
La Sapienza
The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...
" of
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, finally graduating with 110/110 and a prize for his thesis. He also studied at multiple American universities, where he took courses of specialisation from
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
,
Columbia and
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
and further focused on
palaeontology
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
and
paleoanthropology
Paleoanthropology or paleo-anthropology is a branch of paleontology and anthropology which seeks to understand the early development of anatomically modern humans, a process known as hominization, through the reconstruction of evolutionary kinship ...
. Once out of university he started working in the research field participating in paleoanthropologic digs in various places in the world, among which
Zaire
Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...
,
Ishango
Ishango is a Congolese lakeshore site located in the north-eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa, previously known as Zaire. This present day village is known as a "fishermen settlement" as it lies on the shores of the Semli ...
,
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
,
Olduvai and
Laetoli
Laetoli is a pre-historic site located in Enduleni ward of Ngorongoro District in Arusha Region, Tanzania. The site is dated to the Plio-Pleistocene and famous for its Hominina footprints, preserved in volcanic ash. The site of the Laetoli fo ...
, Sultanate of the
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
,
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
, and the
desert of the Gobi.
In 1988 he published an essay on the new techniques of interactivity in scientific museums, entitled ''Musei (e mostre) a misura d'uomo. Come comunicare attraverso gli oggetti''. Together with his father he has written various books of scientific subjects: ''La straordinaria storia dell'uomo'' (1989), ''La straordinaria storia della vita sulla Terra'' (1992), ''Il Pianeta dei Dinosauri'' (1993), ''Dentro al Mediterraneo'' (1995), ''La straordinaria storia di una vita che nasce - 9 mesi nel ventre materno'' (1996), ''Squali'' (1997), ''Viaggio nel Cosmo'' (1998).
As a journalist, he has collaborated with various daily papers and periodicals, among which ''
La Stampa
''La Stampa'' (meaning ''The Press'' in English) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin, Italy. It is distributed in Italy and other European nations. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy.
History and profile
The paper was fou ...
'', ''
Airone
''Airone'' ( en, Heron) is an Italian science magazine devoted to science and technology issues. It is published in Milan, Italy, by Editoriale Giorgio Mondadori (former company, now a division of Cairo Editore, a subsidiary of Cairo Communicat ...
'', ''
Epoca''.
On television programs, he has conceived and written together with his father ''Il pianeta dei dinosauri'', transmitted by
Rai Uno
Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and general ...
in 1993; he is one of the authors of a series of TV program(s), including ''Superquark'', ''Quark Speciale'', and ''Viaggio nel cosmo'' for
Raiuno
Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and genera ...
. He is also author of the afternoon documentary container-program ''Passaggio a Nord Ovest'', on the same channel. In 1998 he was a commentator in the field in the Italian version of the series of documentaries "Big Cat Diary" devoted to the great African feline, entirely realized in co-production between
RAI
RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...
and
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
Together with his father, Angela was the host of the program ''Ulisse'', from 2001 on
for television. In 2002 he was attacked and robbed by bandits while filming a TV program, in the desert of