Costuming & consulting service for movies, TV docs & living history/reenactment events
Relevant working experiences
1986 – Started re-enacting as a Piedmontese artilleryman of 1859.
1988 – Translated the Austro-Hungarian drill manual, and drilled the recreated Austrian 45th regiment which I led in the Palestro 130th battle event of 1989.
1989 – Started Napoleonic re-enactment In Italy with the Italian Royal Guard and 5th Line regiments, founding the society “L’Armata d’Italia”.
1995 – At the 180th event of Waterloo I led the two units of the Armata d’Italia, and coordinated all re-enactors from Italy.
1996 – Founded and trained the recreated Italian 1st Light Infantry regiment.
1998-9 - Organised and trained various units of Italian Napoleonic reenactors into a “combined battalion”, that I led into battle at the re-enactment of Sacile.
2000 – Led the combined Italian battalion (80 plus men) at the battle of Marengo’s 200th anniversary event.
2003 – Recreated, kitted out and and drilled the “Gardes Françaises” of mid-18th century.
2007 - Organised the 300th event of Antegnate, with more than 90 reenactors, from conception to actual staging.
2007 – Male Head Tailor (cutter-fitter) for the costumes of the block-buster Anglo-Russian production “The Nutcracker”, directed by Andrej Konchalovsky and shot in Budapest, Hungary.
2008 – Recreated, kitted out and drilled the Italian-based light company of the Black Watch 42nd Highlanders of 1815.
2009 – Perfected my tailoring skills at Henry Poole’s of Savile Row, under Livery Department tailor Keith Levett, for the new liveries of the Royal Stables.
2010 – Led the light company of the Black Watch at the Waterloo event.
2011 – Founded “Le Polytechnique”, an agency devoted to promotion, consultancy and event organisation for renactors.
2012 – Organised the promotional event of Lucca’s Comics & Games, re-enacting the battle of Bunker Hill, for the launch of PC game “Assassin’s Creed III”. I selected, coordinated and kitted out (with bulk-made and custom-tailored uniforms) all the re-enactors, wrote the script and supervised the stage of the battle.
2015 – Researched, created and exhibited the collection of 26 fully-costumed, life-size mannequins of the French “Maison du Roy” at the National Archives, Palazzo del Senato, Milan.
By hiring me as an advisor or consultant, you will acquire my baggage of knowledge and resources, and a wide network of experts for any project.
My aim is to provide timely solutions that answer both the artistic and historical accuracy goals of the production while still being cost- effective.
I have knowledge and creativity, and can provide a wide-ranging pool of technical skills as a trainer, instructor, coordinator, designer, and scene choreographer. I also have a long-time experience and the ability to work well in a team environment, and can show positive and inspiring leadership.
From my own knowledge and wide-ranging interests (from antiquity up to the II World War), as an advisor I bring with me my inspiring passion. On my own, or teamed with my collaborators of “Le Polytechnique”, I can assist productions in filming at historic sites or other locations, and securing the loan of various historic matériel such as camp equipment, weapons and cannons. To get an idea of what we can do as advisors and coordinators in a production or event, please watch the videos on Lucca’s Bunker Hill promotional event at the bottom of this page.
As a reenactor/extras trainer I can instruct them in the drill, military protocol, bearing, uniforms and equipment to be worn, and how to behave correctly in front of the camera for the period portrayed. As a coordinator I also ensure the smooth interaction of reenactors from different groups and even countries, so that they can act as a single unit or work team without troubles that may arise from being used to different drills, languages, and ways of operating.
My task can extend to recruiting the necessary number of reenactors, organising them for the various shootings, acting as a link between them and the production staff and crew, supervising their kitting out, checking that they are constantly dressed correctly for each scene to be shot, and ensuring that they look and act correctly during the shooting.
As a historical advisor I can interface with all the departments, including Wardrobe, Props, Weapons Master and also Set Dressing and Makeup, as well as answer questions both in the pre-production phase and during shooting, as to what and how to wear, how to behave, appearance, makeup, etc.