Paolo Servadei

Born on Italy's Adriatic coast, Paolo grew up in a medieval city, where studying 13th-century handwritten chronicles as a teenager ignited a lifelong pursuit of history, knowledge and discovery. Before beginning university studies in Bologna, home to the oldest university in the Western world, he was already exploring the Western Balkans during Tito's Yugoslavia. By the age of nineteen, Paolo had traveled overland to India and back, witnessing political upheaval and revolution firsthand, sparking a lasting interest in travel and cultural immersion.

Returning to Bologna, he pursued studies in law, political science and sociology, discovered anthropology and began working as a social researcher. Over subsequent decades, his academic pursuits were matched by extensive travels throughout the Mediterranean, Europe, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and East Asia, deepening his knowledge of history and local cultures. Paolo has spent more than a quarter of his adult life in Indo-Asia and has lived in Southeast Asia since 2013.

His experiences have shaped a multidisciplinary perspective that includes an appreciation for beauty and cultural nuance, an interest in languages, regional cuisines and photography and a strong connection to nature. A natural storyteller, Paolo enjoys sharing his knowledge and firsthand experiences, welcoming questions about the remarkable places and people encountered along the way.