A multidisciplinary scholar focusing on Jewish studies, music and digital media, Francesco Spagnolo is the Curator of The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life and an Associate Adjunct Professor in the Department of Music at the University of California, Berkeley. His research and teaching interests intersect textual, visual and musical cultures, and he continuolsy contributes to academic and cultural heritage institutions, live and electronic media in Europe, Israel and the US.

Francesco received a BA (equivalent) in Music from the Conservatory of Milan (1986), a Laurea in Philosophy from the University of MIlan (1994), and a PhD in Musicology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2007), and conducted post-doctoral work at the EHESS in Paris (1995-1997). Before joining UC Berkeley, has taught at the University of Milan and UC Santa Cruz, and was a host for the cultural programming of Italian National Radio (RAI Radiotre).

His publications include the Italian edition of Imre Toth’s Palimpsest (2003), the audio-anthology Italian Jewish Musical Traditions (Hebrew University, 2006),The Jewish World: 100 Objects of Art & Culture (Rizzoli, 2014), and articles on philosophy, music, film and literature in academic journals and encyclopedias. At the Magnes, he created an integrated Archive-Library-Museum database, and several innovative digital humanities programs involving archiving, storytelling and an online dissemination of cultural heritage collections that combines database approaches and social media tools. His courses include Music in Israel; Performing Texts: Music, Liturgy and Jewish Life; Jewish Nightlife; and Mapping Diasporas.