Davide Ferri

Davide Ferri serves as Head of Research Coordination & PR at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut while holding an adjunct faculty position in the Department of Art History at the University of Bern, Switzerland. His dual institutional affiliation bridges rigorous academic research with public engagement in art historical scholarship.

His research focuses on the intersections of images, environments, and political discourses primarily from 1600 to 1850. Key areas include Mediterranean Sea studies, Republic of Genoa history, territoriality and ecologies, postcolonial perspectives on embodiment, identity construction in visual arts, and urban space visualization. His work critically examines how territories emerge in images and how images shape terrestrial, aquatic, and coastal environments.

Ferri's publications demonstrate significant trends across historical periods, connecting seventeenth-century visual culture with contemporary art practices. His scholarship frequently addresses political dimensions of representation, ecological perspectives in art history, and postcolonial reinterpretations of historical imagery.

• DAAD Fellowship
• Swiss-European Mobility Programme Fellowship

As Head of Research Coordination at KHI, Ferri manages extensive research projects while teaching at the University of Bern. His professional trajectory includes positions at the Humboldt Forum Foundation, the Census of Antique Works of Art and Architecture Known in the Renaissance, and the Cluster of Excellence 'Image, Knowledge, Gestaltung.' His work bridges academic research with public discourse through project management, public relations, and outreach initiatives.

Ferri contributes to the academic community through his editorial board membership at ArtHist.net and board position at the Verein zur Förderung der Kunsthistorischen Instituts in Florenz.