Prof. Dr. Giovanni Ventimiglia

Full Professor of Philosophy

T +41 41 229 57 72
giovanni.ventimiglia@unilu.ch
Frohburgstrasse 3, Room 3.B22


Consultation hour during semester: Wednesday 11-12am (appointments philosophie_tf@unilu.ch)
Appointments during the semester break: upon request

CV

Giovanni Ventimiglia (nationality: Swiss and Italian) is full (ordinary) Professor of Philosophy at the University of Lucerne (2016-), as well as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Theology,  member of the University Research Committee, Founding Director of the Centre for Theology and Philosophy of Religions (TheiRs) and of the online Master’s Programme in Philosophy, Theology and Religions (PhilTeR) of the same University. He is visiting professor for Ancient and Medieval Philosophy at the University of Zurich. 

He is the author of more than 100 publications in English, German and Italian, many of them peer reviewed.

His research team consists of 10 people, most of whom are funded through competitive research grants.

He is a permanent member of the Evaluation Body of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and serves as referee for the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany, as well as an expert for the Swiss Agency of Accreditation and Quality Assurance (AAQ). He is a member of several scientific societies including: Society for the European History of Ideas (SEHI), Society for Medieval Logic and Metaphysics (SMLM), Società degli Accademici Italiani in Svizzera (SAIS), Société Internationale pour l’Étude de la Philosophie Médiévale (SIEPM). He is also a member of the editorial board of several journals, including the European Journal for Philosophy of Religion, Synthesis. Journal for Philosophy, TheoLogica. An International Journal for Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Theology.

He has directed multiple research projects, some of which were funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) (Zwischen monastischer und reformierter Metaphysik: die schweizerische „Wiege“ der Ontologie im Zeitalter der Reformation from 2020 to 2023 and Metaphysik und Ontologie in der Schweiz im Zeitalter der Reformation (1519-1648) from 2016 to 2019). He is currently directing the SNSF project Senses of Being. The Medieval Reception of Aristotle’s doctrine starting from Metaphysics V 7 (1017 a7-b9) (collaborators: Marta Borgo, Jacopo Costa, Mostafa Najafi, Davide Falessi). He is Founding President of the Reginaldus Foundation, Switzerland. In 2015 he founded the Aristotle College in Lugano of which he was Honorary President until 2020.

From 2004 to 2016 he was ordinary professor of Theoretical Philosophy at the Faculty of Theology, Lugano, where he founded the Institute for Philosophical Studies (ISFI) (formerly the Istituto di Filosofia applicata) in 2003 (Director 2003-2017) and the Bachelor in Philosophy. From 2017 to 2022 he has been Visiting Professor of Medieval Philosophy in the Master in Philosophy at the Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano, Switzerland.

He received his Master Degree (summa cum laude) in Philosophy from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan in 1988. After passing a national public selection process of the Italian Ministry for the University, he studied in Germany, where he specialized in medieval Philosophy at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich in 1995. He earned his PhD in Philosophy from the Catholic University, Milan, in 1996. He completed his post-doctoral studies at the Catholic University, Milan, from 1997 to 1999. After a national public competition in Italy, he was appointed Researcher in Theoretical Philosophy in 1999. He obtained the title of Associate Professor in 2001 at the Faculty of Theology in Lugano, the title of Extraordinary Professor in 2003 and of Ordinary Professor in 2004.  He has been Researcher and Aggregate Professor at the Catholic University in Piacenza and Visiting Professor at the University of Pisa. He also earned the Italian national academic qualification (Habilitation) as Ordinary Professor of Theoretical Philosophy in 2013. He was Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King’s College London (2015), and Academic Visitor at the University of Oxford (2015, 2017, 2018) and visiting professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (2024). In 2016 he was appointed Ordinary Professor of Philosophy at the University of Lucerne. He was founder and main editor of the book series "Thomistic Metaphysics and Analytical Metaphysics” (Carocci, Rome).

He was Deputy Director of the Augustinianum College, Catholic University, Milan, from 1988 to 1990 and from 1994 to 1998, Academic Secretary of the Faculty of Theology of Lugano from 1999 to 2004, and member of the Commission of Culture of the City of Lugano from 2004 to 2008. He was founder and chairman of the non-profit Organization “Pro-filo umano”, whose main purpose is to promote philosophy as a form of social service.