Paolo Apolito taught Cultural Anthropology at the University Roma Tre and the University of Salerno. He studies religious and ritual phenomena, celebrations, visions of Mary and recently rhythms and musical communication. His books include: Il cielo in terra. Costruzioni simboliche di un’apparizione mariana (il Mulino, 1992); La religione degli italiani (Editori Riuniti, 2001); Internet e la Madonna (Feltrinelli, 2002); and Il gioco del festival. Romanzo del Giffoni Film Festival (L’Ancora del Mediterraneo, 2004). His latest work is Ritmi di festa. Corpo, danza, socialità (il Mulino, 2014) which served as the basis for a theatrical monologue that he presents as the “anthropologist making house calls”. He was President of the National Committee for the Enhancement of Italian cultural traditions, established by Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MiBACT).